Please recommend me a point & shoot camera...

[sidicks]

I'm looking to buy a camera for my parents - needs to be something simple he can just pick up and press a button, rather than something 'better' but with multiple functions and flexibility that he will never use.

Budget is anywhere between £50 and £250 depending on what the experts 'recommend'.

[Zerotonine]

I have a manufacturer refurbished Fujifilm F660 EXR which comes with me everywhere, £50 on eBay with 6 months Fujifilm Warranty. I sent it back as it was blurring on one edge and Fujifilm sent it back within a week with a completely new lens assembly. I cannot fault it, it is simple, gives better results than a lot of camera phones, 16MP so not too crazy, and if it breaks out of warranty I can bung it in the bin and buy another.

[Simpo Two]

I'd head towards Panasonic Lumix. There's just something about the brand that I like and trust.

[sidicks]

Simpo Two said:

I'd head towards Panasonic Lumix. There's just something about the brand that I like and trust.

Thanks - I'll take a look.

[Sam All]

Simpo Two said:

I'd head towards Panasonic Lumix. There's just something about the brand that I like and trust.

What this knowledgeable man said . I like the LX7 but I suspect a TZ is better for them.

[rich888]

John Lewis are selling the Sony RX100 MK1 for £249.99 which is just under budget. I've compared both the Sony and Panasonic cameras in store and preferred the Sony because it was more solidly built and physically smaller, so ideal for putting in your jacket pocket. Buy it with the John Lewis 3 year extended warranty for piece of mind.

The Sony RX100 also has full 'Auto' mode, and can actually produce excellent photographic results compared to the rest due to a larger sensor and better optics. Just look at the quality of the photos GetCarter regularly posts on here to appreciate what can be achieved.

There are bigger, better, and more expensive cameras out there, and a DSLR might perhaps totally outclass it, but for point and shoot there is little if any competition. It outclasses nearly all.

[Sam All]

That Sony also a very good shout, did not realise it was in budget.

[Simpo Two]

If the OP is into reviews this will keep him busy for a bit: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews?category=compacts&...

The side by side comparison feature can be handy: http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras?u...

[rich888]

Cheers for the links to the comparison websites which have plenty of useful tech information before moving onto the more in-depth reviews.

[colin79666]

Another shout for the Lumix. I picked up a refurbished TZ60 from the Panasonic eBay store a month or two back and just returned from my hols with some great pics. The 30x zoom lens is really handy and doesn't add much bulk.

[rich888]

I was discussing various compact cameras with the John Lewis salesman on Sunday and he demonstrated the post-focus facility on the new panasonic TZ100 (I think), this looked very impressive indeed by the way it took some 40 photos in brief succession, from which you could select the appropriate image with the correct focus point to save.

Now what made me sit up and pay attention is that you probably could copy multiple images into Photoshop and do some very clever stuff using differing focal points to achieve magical blur effects that you simply wouldn't be possible with conventional optics. Bokeh comes of age.

I didn't pursue this line of questions due to the wife interrupting, so I'm not sure if this option is available on any of the Panasonic range of cameras such as the TZ70 or TZ80, but I think it might be worthwhile investigating further.

[Simpo Two]

rich888 said:

I was discussing various compact cameras with the John Lewis salesman on Sunday and he demonstrated the post-focus facility on the new panasonic TZ100 (I think), this looked very impressive indeed by the way it took some 40 photos in brief succession, from which you could select the appropriate image with the correct focus point to save.

One might suggest that the camera's AF system isn't very good then!

I came back from Scotland last week with 963 photos to process. I'd hate to have to look at 38,250 (and then throw away 37,287!)

[rich888]

Simpo Two said:

rich888 said:

I was discussing various compact cameras with the John Lewis salesman on Sunday and he demonstrated the post-focus facility on the new panasonic TZ100 (I think), this looked very impressive indeed by the way it took some 40 photos in brief succession, from which you could select the appropriate image with the correct focus point to save.

One might suggest that the camera's AF system isn't very good then!

I came back from Scotland last week with 963 photos to process. I'd hate to have to look at 38,250 (and then throw away 37,287!)

Haha, good point, though you don't have to use the post-focus option if you don't want, is just there if selected from within the menu options, it also does 4K video which might be of interest to some users on here. Actually I just noticed that the TZ100 costs far more than the budget originally specified by the OP, so can probably be ignored.

One more compact camera that might be of interest and which is within budget (£219) is the Sony WX500, which is the same size as the larger sensor RX100 model, though has a longer 30 x zoom. The smaller sensor fitted in the WX500 is the trade-off for the increased 24-720m zoom lens.

[Simpo Two]

The 4K video might be useful to some if their editing kit can handle it, though quality may be poor in low light. IMHO the focus malarkey is really just 'tech' solving problems that don't exist to get more bullet points. When admiring lists of bullet points ask yourself 'How much of this stuff do I actually need?'. If you don't need it you're probably better off spending the money on something with fewer gimmicks but which does the stuff you need inherently better.