Dragonophile

I am going on a trip to Portugal & Spain this June. I have quite a few larger and expensive cameras but I do not want to take them for reasons of weight and potential loss (as I once left a camera on a bench and walked away distracted while vacationing). I have been researching cameras and my two main criteria are size and zoom. I want something that will fit in my shirt or coat pocket. I want a zoom of at least 200mm. The three cameras in this thread title seem to best fit my needs.

The Sony HX90V and Panasonic ZS60 obviously have the smaller sensor but a much bigger zoom (720mm) than the ZS100. These two seem to mirror each other closely, except I believe the Sony has built-in GPS.

The Lumix ZS100 has the one inch sensor but only zooms to 250mm. I am assuming it will give better low-light performance but one noted review says its lens can be a bit soft when zoomed.

The Lumix ZS100 is more expensive, a consideration if the picture quality is not appreciably better.

I will be just taking typical vacation photos that will probably get printed in a Shutterfly book for my personal use. While I want very nice pictures, the primary goal is to have photos that will serve to refresh my memory of my vacation. I will not be studying them minutely.

Any thoughts? I am leaning towards the ZS100 but...

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

If you don't mind the smaller 1/2.3" sensor, the Sony takes very nice images.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I would go with the Panasonic ZS100 with a one inch sensor and focal length to 250mm. It should fulfill your needs satisfactory. A friend took a compact, crop sensor, Sony a6000 mirrorless to a European vacation with only 2 lenses. A 16-50mm, and the other a 55-210mm. The two lenses worked out just fine, for him.

lhardister Loc: Brownsville, TN

I bought a ZS60 for my wife for Christmas last. I chose it over the ZS100 solely for the extra reach (30x magnification) in the hope/expectation that it may be used for birds and wildlife from time to time. Its picture quality is quite sufficient to refresh memories of your vacation, but for the most part I consider it simply "OK" with regard to picture quality (IQ). It is a little too thick, front to back, to fit properly in an ordinary shirt pocket, or even in the pocket of an ordinary sport coat. Its aperture range is limited, and it is not really great in low light IMHO. I would assume that on a trip to Spain and Portugal, you would be shooting landscapes, architecture, street scenes, people and the like--things that will pretty well fill the frame without much zoom--unlike birds and wildlife. If that assumption is correct, I think that as between the ZS60 and ZS100, you should go with the latter. Even though you may feel now that picture quality is not all that important, it is not unusual for me to look at some of my older pictures and wish that I had done a better job with them. (That occurs with more recent pictures, too, but not as often when strictly picture quality is the consideration.)

I won't undertake to address the Sony HX90V since I do not own one and have not done any research on it.

Don't overlook the capabilities and convenience of today's smart phones to record "memory refreshing" images.

Have a great trip with lots of great pictures and memories.

lhardister

Patrick9 Loc: Muncie, IN

I very recently was also considering the Sony RX100 and the Panasonic ZS100. What I wanted was a quality camera that I could carry in my pocket on vacation. I think they are both great cameras. I went for the higher zoom range. I chose the Panasonic ZS100. This was my personal choice and I have not had any second thoughts.

Dragonophile

Appreciate all the responses. Thanks.

Stach Loc: Staten Island, NY

Hi; I have a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LF1. It has a long Zoom which I rarely extend to it's max. It has a moderate size sensor and so far though I generally use ISO 200, I have gone as high as ISO 800 with what I consider excellent results. I have printed some of them as large as 13" x 19" with no discernible noise or any other problems. The camera also has an eye level viewfinder which I don't think any other point and shoot has. It's small and I only use it when necessary, but it's great to have when needed. The camera fits in my pocket and I always have it with me. I believe that Costco now has the DMC- ZS50 or 60 on sale for around $230 with an SD card and case included. When I look at some of my photos, I often wonder why so may photogs buy the larger much more expensive cameras. I did when I was younger and made a lot more money. It was fun to stay current and buy new every so often. Now I am very happy with my DMC-LF1. It does a great job for me. Whatever you decide, have fun.

insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Have been to both countries and from my personal experience I think you will appreciate having a camera with more than a 250mm reach.