# Best point and shoot



## rut-ro (Oct 12, 2008)

Just wondering what the best point and shoot ya'll think is best for its money. I would like to take crisp pictures up to 60 yards

Thanks


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## Jerry-rigged (May 21, 2004)

I have a buddy that is really picky about cameras - buys and returns probably 3-4 per year looking for the "next best thing" He really likes his SX40.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/822123-REG/Canon_PowerShot_SX40_IS_Digital.html

It has a huge zoom out to 840mm (eq). Realize that to use all that zoom and get a crisp pic, you will probably need to use a tripod and a delay release shutter...

On the other end, it is 24mm (eq) which is really useful for big birthday parties in small rooms.


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## rut-ro (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks JR, I should also say this camera will be my in car camera to take pics of things I think look cool while im riding around.


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## Jerry-rigged (May 21, 2004)

So what are you looking for? Big zoom? small size? best pic quality? Indoor pics or outdoor pics? Price range?

When you said "crisp pics at 60 yards" I thought you wanted a big zoom camera...

As far as taking pics from a moving car, I have a 20x zoom camera (540mm eq max), and no way can I take fully zoomed pics from a moving car, especially while driving.

For less money, with a smaller-but-still-good zoom, check out Panasonic's "ZS" line. 16X zoom, and 24mm wide on the short end. Also, this line used to tbe called the "TZ" - look for a TZ5 or TZ7, used or on clearance. The 5 and 7 had 10x and 12x zoom (I think) and a good reputation for taking decent pics outside.


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## MrsFish (Nov 18, 2009)

Just got the SX40 for mine and the Mr's early Christmas gift. Haven't played with it too much, but dang, that zoom is crazy!

Seems to be a good all-around camera


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## rut-ro (Oct 12, 2008)

I drive alot for work and am in the city and country side all the time. Many times I wish I had a camera to snap a shot of a windmill or a deer i seee in the field.

most shots will be outside and from a stopped positon

Thanks for the replys


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## B-Money (May 2, 2005)

I am happy with my Nikon P100


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## Cudkilla (Nov 5, 2004)

If you are looking at the small form factor(compact) types I recommend the Lumix series. The ZS series have a pretty hefty zoom rang on them. I like this genre of cameras because at times when I travel light to remote areas, I hate to carry a ton of gear and these cameras almost don't weigh anything and yet still take pretty acceptable pics with very little fuss. Here are some pics I took on a recent trip to the golden triangle area in Thailand with a ZS3 10.1 MP.


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## Arlon (Feb 8, 2005)

What do you want to do with your pictures? Post on the internet or make prints for the wall? Might look at some of the newer "super zooms" like the Nikon L120 and it's competition HERE.. Won't fit in the pocket but has a little more zoom power.

More pixels means better prints but poorer low light performance. All a trade off.


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## rut-ro (Oct 12, 2008)

Arlon said:


> What do you want to do with your pictures? Post on the internet or make prints for the wall? Might look at some of the newer "super zooms" like the Nikon L120 and it's competition HERE.. Won't fit in the pocket but has a little more zoom power.
> 
> More pixels means better prints but poorer low light performance. All a trade off.


A little bit of both I would like to share some photos here and print some for the house if I get one I like


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## Formula4Fish (Apr 24, 2007)

Arlon said:


> More pixels means better prints but poorer low light performance.


Arlon,

Would you please explain why you say "more pixels means poorer low light performance"?

"Low light performance" is a function of f/stop and shutter speed, niether of which have the slightest thing to do with the number of sensor pixels.


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## Arlon (Feb 8, 2005)

Formula you need to consider something called ISO. THAT is a big part of low light performance. F stop and shutter speed have nothing to do with the CAMERAS low light performance. Small pixels (lot of them) are very noisy at high ISO numbers, big pixels absorb a lot more light and much less noisy..

F1.4 at 1/2 second is the same for any camera the lens is stuck on. The ability to get a useful picture comes from the ISO capability of the camera as much as the lens settings. Try the same lens and settings on a VERY expensive Nikon D3X and a much cheaper Nikon D700 at ISO 3200... See which one has a useful picture and the best low light performance.. D3x (with twice as many pixels on the same sized sensor as the D700) makes great big prints but it isn't worth a darn for shooting in low light.

Agree there is one P&S camera out there using an f1.8 lens that will definitely help it's low light performance too if compared to an identical camera with an F3.5 lens. The ultimat is a camera with large pixels AND a fast lens.. 

I'm more used to cameras with interchangeable lenses where the ONLY difference in low light performance is due to the pixel size..


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## Jerry-rigged (May 21, 2004)

Or get a camera with BOTH a fast lens, and a larger, low pixel count sensor.

I just picked up a Panasonic LX5, and have had it for about 2 weeks. It has a F2.0 lens and 10mpx on a large-for-a-compact-camera 1/1.7" sensor (most compacts have a 1/2.3" sensor). With the fast lens, and decent sensor, it seems to match my SLR (with slow kit lens) in low light. SLR gets about a stop or two better ISO, but the LX5 has a stop and a half faster lens. The downside of the LX5 is the zoom is only x3.3, from 24mm (nice) to about 90mm(meh). Plus, the F2. lens is big, so the camera is not as compact as most compacts.

Along this line of thought, here is another general rule to think about-
Compact Cameras with big zooms are not the best for indoor picture. They normally have very small sensors + slower lenses. Take the Panasonic ZS line mentioned above. Small 1/1.25 sensor, plus the lens is f/3.3-6.? So no good high ISO, and no fast lens, plus a small, weak flash = not great indoors. Outdoors, where you can shoot ISO 100 and the slow lens does not matter, it is a great camera, has a really useful wide angle and long zoom, sharp lens, it takes great pics.


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