Help from Kenny please!

[LD]

Hello my lovely

I'm going to Lapland in December and want a point and shoot simple camera (no interchangeable lens thingies) but I want it to them be able to take good gemstone/jewellery photos after the holiday. Can you suggest a great all rounder for me please that won't break the bank?

 

[emmmme]

I'm aware that I'm not Kenny, but until he chimes in you might want to check out "Large sensor compacts" for a range of cameras that will get you the best image quality in a fixed-lens compact camera. The Canon G1 X is under $700. Not sure what your bank-breaking point is...

Here's an in-depth review - http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong1x

Good luck finding one! I'd love to see what Kenny will recommend as well.

 

[sonyachancs]

I'm not kenny neither, but the panasonic here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-fz200 is a pretty good choice. I've got a panasonic 4/3 and I'm really loving it.

I've owned a nikon and canon, and always felt a little like their compact options were a slight afterthought from their slr systems. not that they aren't great cameras and brands, but somehow the usability of their compact systems never impressed.

but the panasonics and olympuses and sonys (crazy expensive) - I think these make lovely compact cameras with great specs (and less markup associated with the canon and nikon name, at least in asia!)

 

[kenny]

I'm not Kenny either, but I play one on Pricescope.

There's no substitute for doing hours of research reading reviews and comparing specs and features of cameras in your price range.
I don't want to recommend a specific model without spending zillions hours researching them and I'm sorry I don't have the time to do a proper job.
My expertise is with a certain corner of the Nikon DSLR world.
If you asked me which Canon DSLR stuff to buy I'd be equally worthless.
Just because I know a lot about my niche doesn't mean I know about other niches. Sorry.

I recommend going to b&hphoto.com and sorting all the point and shoots by price.
Then scroll to your price range and pick a few to compare.
Another approach is to sort by 'Best Sellers' and then scroll down till you find the most popular point and shoot in your price range.

I will recommend focusing on two specs, sensor size and minimum focus distance.
You want the largest sensor size and the shortest focus distance.

If your price range is over $500 I'd seriously consider the mirror-less NEX Sonys and the Fujipros.
You don't have to buy any extra lenses and I've heard the new mirror-less cameras have the best combo of simplicity and quality, and future expandability if your interest grows.

 

[sonyachancs]

I agree with kenny that nothing beats looking through the reviews to find something that fits YOUR needs! but if you're looking at the mirrorless, I can help!

I'm not sure when you said you don't want something interchangeable as meaning you definitely just want a traditional point and shoot, or if you just don't want anything fussy. there's a world of cameras that popped up in the last few years that rather floats between the slr and point-and-shoot spectrums.

the mirrorless ones are the most popular in that group - and while the name refers to something technical, it translates to less bulk for general consumer. it's a great category of cameras because it's lighter, has better performance especially in low-light conditions and offers great quality without too much additional weight.

you have the sony NEX and olympus OMD that are great in the more powerful range (also therefore more expensive), and then you have 4/3 systems like the panasonic lumix and olympus ep. these are all with interchangeable lens, but they have an 'auto' setting, so you can use them exactly like a point and shoot! (and they give you growing space in case you find you want to be more specific in the future). you also never have to change lenses!

if you really don't want interchangeable lenses, then you have two point-and-shoot categories. one is the prosumer version (which is like the one I introduced up there) - slightly bulkier, but better quality and usually higher resolution and zoom functions; and then you have the very traditional slim and flat compacts. these two categories I used to use, but am no longer up to date with the current releases.

but nothing beats going to the store and trying them out! and then checking reviews and buying them online :p much like the way we buy jewelry

 

[ilovegemstones]

I am not Kenny either but Kenny, you must be an amazing photographer and have a great camera because we have 4 varieties of Neocardinia shrimp and I have never taken a picture of one as nice as your avatar pic!

 

[LD]

I'm not Kenny but thank you all to the "Kenny's" who answered.

Looks like I'll have to do some research and unfortunately that will mean I'll end up not buying something not because I'm lazy but simply because I get really overwhelmed by tech speak. We don't have a shop in the vicinity with anybody who would be able to help either Never mind, I'll have a go at looking at some websites and if it gets too much I'll just stick with my old one and then I guess if it drops in the snow I won't be sad

 

[kenny]

I am not Kenny either but Kenny, you must be an amazing photographer and have a great camera because we have 4 varieties of Neocardinia shrimp and I have never taken a picture of one as nice as your avatar pic!

Thanks.
I raise baby shrimp.
Here are two more threads with pics of shrimp, adult and fry.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ten-shrimpy-pics.141212/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ten-shrimpy-pics.141212/[/URL]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-baby-shrimpies.188891/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-baby-shrimpies.188891/[/URL]

 

[VapidLapid]

I decided that your budget is in the 500-750 range and looked at them all today when I went to buy.....film!

I chose this one for you

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/910169-REG/fujifilm_finepix_x20_digital_camera.html

 

[T L]

I am not Kenny either but Kenny, you must be an amazing photographer and have a great camera because we have 4 varieties of Neocardinia shrimp and I have never taken a picture of one as nice as your avatar pic!

Thanks.
I raise baby shrimp.
Here are two more threads with pics of shrimp, adult and fry.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ten-shrimpy-pics.141212/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/ten-shrimpy-pics.141212/[/URL]

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-baby-shrimpies.188891/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/more-baby-shrimpies.188891/[/URL]

Good for you Kenny. I only raised and killed those "sea monkeys" once.