Point and Shoot Camera

OverclockN'

OverclockN'

Well-known member
Going on a trip next week and decided I don't want to bring my DSLR. So, I'm in the market for a $200 or less simple point and shoot that I can find locally at any Best Buy or similar large electronics retailer in the Midwest. I don't even know where to start, and of course waited until the last minute.

Up for any suggestions. There will be lots of water, so some type of waterproof or resistant camera would be great. The ability to take HD video with it would be even better. Needs to be small.

Thoughts?
 
Something waterproof from BB, Id probably stick with Olympus for about $200. Had a few in the past (tank like) but Panasonic's sub 200 seem good too, havent used Fuji so im not sure what they are like. But yeah, lots of options :runaway: Its been a while since ive looked at these, but check to see if audio mutes while zooming on some of these models. So very annoying!

Sony's spec look ok but not sold on their design, not sure how rugged they are but they seem to be most compact.
 
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I got a Canon S100 that makes wonderful pics for its small size. Actually can handle a bit rain, but definitely not waterproof.

There might be better successors though, its been a while since I used it ;)
 
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If you can find a new Canon G15, it is awesome...

Also Panasonic FZ and TZ series where always pretty good...

This is as much I can help :(
 
If you have a camera rental place nearby you could probably rent something nice that has what you need for around that price or less.
 
He's just looking for a point and shoot, sub $200, its pretty much a fun gadget to take and beat up instead of his DSLR.
 
**G.I.BRO** said:
He's just looking for a point and shoot, sub $200, its pretty much a fun gadget to take and beat up instead of his DSLR.
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:arrow_up:

Spending a week on a sail boat in the Virgin Islands. Lots of boat time, snorkeling, and island exploration. Decided it was best to leave the DSLR at home, considering the amount of water and size. Not exactly the best thing to carry around for hours. Also, not a great idea to carry my cell phone everywhere. I'd rather have a dedicated point and shoot. Doing a hiking trip in June too, so what I buy now... I can use then.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll check them out! :up:
 
OverclockN' said:
:arrow_up:

Spending a week on a sail boat in the Virgin Islands. Lots of boat time, snorkeling, and island exploration. Decided it was best to leave the DSLR at home, considering the amount of water and size. Not exactly the best thing to carry around for hours. Also, not a great idea to carry my cell phone everywhere. I'd rather have a dedicated point and shoot. Doing a hiking trip in June too, so what I buy now... I can use then.

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I'll check them out! :up:
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Ohhhalalala... nice man. Sounds like a lot of fun!!!

To be honest anything around $200 will be roughly the same in terms with pic performance. Some may do different movie modes tho, so watch that. I suggested the Olympus cause they have usually pwned the market when it comes to rugged/waterproof yet solid pic quality performance as they've been making such cameras for suuuuch a long time. I also suggested the Sony because they seem to be the most compact out of these $200. Sure there are other choices, but just trying to narrow down this huge market.

Also look at the other small factors; types of batteries, memory cards (some take micro instead of reg SD) and other feature (wifi, gps..etc) like stuff that may excite you or not.
 
The Sony DSC TX30 seems like the best option so far. Hope they have it at BB, or a local retailer. Going to purchase tonight or tomorrow. Still looking at other options also.
 
That cam should be fully submergable, sample videos on yt show some awesome stuff.

My biggest worry would be the front flappy door thing. I had something similar on my older Olympus and that was the only part that broke on it. Once it became loose it would auto shutoff because it thought it was closing. There was no other way to turn it on as well. Also, finger placement with larger hands as your thumbs might hit the touchscreen options more often than youd want. You wont know for sure until u use it tho.

Then again im probably looking too hard into this, as i usually do lol

Not sure how comfi you are with manual controls, but u might want to look at having that option. Other than that the cam seems pretty solid. Its amazing what $200 can get yeah these days. Seems crazy that we would spend $600 on a 6mp model with much less performance and features less than 10yrs ago.
 
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Couldn't find any options we discussed here locally, and ended up going with the Samsung WB350F. I like it so far, but we'll see after some heavy use. I was really pressed for time and couldn't research/order like I usually do, but that happens. Heading out for the trip tomorrow.


Thanks guys! :)

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B&H has a sale going on RIGHT NOW for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT5 (orange) for $197.95, which is $100 off.

Take a look.
 
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