Roughly $300 for a low light P&S

[AViking]

Girlfriend wants to buy a compact camera to take around for around $300. Using her mobile phone and old P&S compared to my D600 isn't very fun for her. What would be the best for around this budget?

The one I was mostly seeing was the Panasonic Lumix LX7. Anything better than this?

Also, where to buy? Does anyone still sell stuff on the net without paying sales tax?

 

[CuriousMike]

The LX7 isn't going to compare to your D600 in low-light... expectations must be set.

 

[AViking]

Yeah I didn't mean to give the impression that she was expecting the same quality. It's just that she doesn't enjoy using her shitty cell phone to take pictures and never getting anything reasonable while I always get good pictures. For $300 what's the best P&S with low light capabilities?

 

[AkumaX]

I know its out of your price range, but the Sony RX100 is the best low-light P&S on the market due to its sensor size (1").

I'd say, find other cameras that you'd like, and see if you can get a bigger sensor-size version of it?

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100 (scroll about 1/3 down)

 

[tdawg]

Nikon 1 V1? Refurbs are under $300 w/ lens if you can find them. And with an adapter, she can borrow your lenses too.

 

[AkumaX]

http://www.adorama.com/ICAS100BKR.ht...ce=rflaid62905

S100 for $189?

 

[tfinch2]

http://www.adorama.com/ICAS100BKR.ht...ce=rflaid62905

S100 for $189?

Shows $319.95 for me.

 

[AkumaX]

Shows $319.95 for me.

AT's redirect killed the price, try cutting/pasting:

http://www.adorama.com/ICAS100BKR.html?emailprice=t&utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=rflaid62905

 

[CuriousMike]

AT's redirect killed the price, try cutting/pasting:

http://www.adorama.com/ICAS100BKR.html?emailprice=t&utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=rflaid62905

That's a killer price for that camera.

I know the LX7 has the superior lens, but depending on the OP's genuine needs, the S100 might fit the bill.

While having not as fast of a lens, it is smaller which might win points for the wife.

 

[iGas]

Not a P&S, but the EOS M + 22mm is pretty close for a small camera, or perhaps a used EOS M & a 50mm f1.8.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

Nikon 1 V1? Refurbs are under $300 w/ lens if you can find them. And with an adapter, she can borrow your lenses too.

The V1 will be better than the S95/S100 in every area EXCEPT being a camera that she can easily "take along" everywhere she goes. I'm much more likely to take the V1 with me when I go to take snaps of the family over my D7000 due to size/weight. But, I take almost all my snaps with my S95 which is in it's $30 custom semi-rigid case on my belt as part of my EDC.

The S100 "...is the world's best pocket camera, but it's still a pocket camera." - Ken Rockwell. The $190 price makes the S100 very tempting.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/s100.htm

 

[NAC]

The LX7 is probably the best choice for compact low light at about $300. The S100 will be pretty good too, so perhaps chose that if she prefers the size & cuteness of it.

V1 doesn't have a built in flash, and the Nikon accessory flash is over $100. It also is quite a bit bigger than the above two cameras.

 

[xSauronx]

The LX7 is probably the best choice for compact low light at about $300. The S100 will be pretty good too, so perhaps chose that if she prefers the size & cuteness of it.

V1 doesn't have a built in flash, and the Nikon accessory flash is over $100. It also is quite a bit bigger than the above two cameras.

i love my lx7, but id never suggest it for low light photography; gets pretty noisy IMO when you start to crank the ISO up. its small, but bulky compared to an rx100 or s100. i would have loved an rx100 when i got the lumix but it is pricey. it has a built in flash which helps but...its still a built in flash.

the eos m w/ pancake prime would probably be about the same size and it has a much better sensor that would probably be nice for low light shots. $330 at amazon. you can get the zoom lens later. zooms on a nice P&S arent anything to write home about anyway.

 

[NAC]

i love my lx7, but id never suggest it for low light photography; gets pretty noisy IMO when you start to crank the ISO up. its small, but bulky compared to an rx100 or s100. i would have loved an rx100 when i got the lumix but it is pricey. it has a built in flash which helps but...its still a built in flash.

the eos m w/ pancake prime would probably be about the same size and it has a much better sensor that would probably be nice for low light shots. $330 at amazon. you can get the zoom lens later. zooms on a nice P&S arent anything to write home about anyway.

Fair enough. I'd just be concerned about focus speed, or even getting focus in low light with the EOS M. But I'm sure you are correct it will have less noise.

 

[blastingcap]

Girlfriend wants to buy a compact camera to take around for around $300. Using her mobile phone and old P&S compared to my D600 isn't very fun for her. What would be the best for around this budget?

The one I was mostly seeing was the Panasonic Lumix LX7. Anything better than this?

Also, where to buy? Does anyone still sell stuff on the net without paying sales tax?

If you don't mind slightly worse low light performance, get a Panasonic LF1. Very small and compact and light. Has EVF for emergency situations where glare is too much on the LCD to frame a photo. Has decent-sized lens and sensor with lots of zoom range. http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Lumi.../dp/B00CFCTDMC There was a sale bringing it down to nearly $300 a while back.

If $300 is a hard limit then a LX7 is hard to beat, though it has more size/bulk.

I have a RX100M2 and had an RX100 before it. It's not worth $750 or whatever crazy price they charge these days. The people who are recommending that should know better than to recommend a camera that is over twice the price he asked for.

 

[AViking]

I'm going to have to let her see the size difference in her hand with the LX7, S100, LF1. The rx100 is more than twice the price and is a non-starter.

I've taught her how to use my D600 but the whole point of this camera is small and easy to take quick pictures with. I highly doubt she would consider a camera that can switch lenses. She wants to be able to pull it out and take pictures fast while I'm either taking 5 seconds to get my camera out of the bag or switching lenses. Besides she's never going to put any of my lenses on the camera since they're too big, heavy, and are full frame. She wants to complement my pictures, not replace them.

 

[iGas]

My S95 see just as much action as my 5D mkii (5 lenses, and 3 of them are L), because it is portable and produce damned good pictures for such a small camera and convenience.

IMHO, the LF1 & S100 would make a great companion for the 6D, and so as the EOS M kit with 22mm.

 

[blastingcap]

Hey OP I would like to change my answer. Try the Nikon P330 instead. It is lower cost and should produce basically LF1-equivalent image quality, but with the added advantage of wider angle and larger aperture maximum, too. You do give up the EVF, but the EVF is too low-rez for anything other than emergencies like bright glare obscuring the LCD, anyway.

Canon's S-series is good but way overpriced for what they are. They do not compare favorably with cameras like the Nikon P330 or Panasonic LF1. For a long time they were king of the hill because nobody else put that much image quality in such a small package with manual controls. But today is much different and Canon's S-series is no longer king of the hill.

 

[AViking]

We messed with the LX7 and LF1 and she liked the LF1 better. I just hope it is easier to use once you get used to it since it seemed to me to be a menu diving nightmare. How do you even change the ISO!?

I didn't get a chance to look at the P330 but it sounds like it is one of the slowest cameras ever made according to reviews. I can't give her a camera that takes 6 seconds to write a picture to the card or 27 seconds on burst mode. Not going to happen.

 

[mchammer187]

Fuji XF1 is the largest sensor you can get at that price range so I would consider that. I wouldn't recommend it before but after the price drop it is worth it at 199 at Amazon.

 

[shortylickens]

The LX7 is great and pretty much what you want, but it doesnt compare to the D600.