Big Yankee Fan

Looking to buy my wife a simple point & shoot camera for a trip she's taking and would like some suggestions from this august group. I should also say that we have been a Canon family for many years. Thanks. Mike

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Point and shoot is fine but 2 things to point out. 1) the camera will have a delay to focus and fast moving objects will be in a different spot when taken ( an apple falling from tree will show the apple on the ground. 2) off you hold the camera away from your face to see the picture (And not look thru the eye peace) you can shake the camera so a slow (Long exposure--dark location) can be blurred from moving the camera. To the face will steady it.
Both of you have fun.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

I suspect she has a very good and simple point & shoot camera right now. It's called a smart phone.

I have a Samsung Galaxy S8, and a couple of recent automatic upgrades provided the camera with some new functions which are very appealing to me. Along with the Photo setting which it came with, I now have "Selective focus" and "Pro."

The Pro mode allows me to set ISO, apeture, white balance, color temperature, tint, contrast, saturation, highlight, shadows, and manual focus.

I used to carry my Canon XSi/T2i/760D everywhere I went, so much so that friends thought I had it surgically attached to my hand. No more. I leave it in the car if I'm just running in and out to a store, saving it for specific expeditions to wildlife refuge, zoo, safari park, wildlife sanctuaries, arboretums, etc.

I understand from non-DSLR friends that the newest Samsung and iPhone have even more awesome cameras.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

Too many variables to give a specific suggestion.
First, what is your budget?
Second, does she want pocketable or is larger OK?
Third, what does she expect to shoot? For wildlife a much longer tele end is required.

I believe some sort of viewfinder is a necessity outdoors in bright sunlight which disqualifies many of the Canon selections.

I used to suggest the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200, but it is no longer made and I don't know a good replacement. (f/2.8 over the whole 35 mm Equivalent 25 to 600mm range)

The Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ80 is similar to the Canon SX70 HS at a much lower price.
For a pocketable, I went for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 for the much larger 1" sensor but lesser zoom range (35 mm Equivalent 25-250mm)
There is also the Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200, (1", 35mm Equivalent 24-360mm)
Better, but much more expensive are the Sony RX10VII (pocketable, 1") or RX10IV (similar to SX70 but 1", less zoom)

le boecere

I very much agree with your opening statement on this post. "a simple point & shoot camera" only has meaning to the person who uses that vague phrase ~ meaningless to other readers or hearers.

JDG3

I just traded a Panasonic Lumix ZS50 in for a Sony RX100M3. Both are great cameras and once set up properly for a given situation, are great cameras, and can be purchased at reasonable prices. There are many good point and shoot cameras out there that will rival many dslr's.

However, whatever you choose have your wife look over the menus. Most of the better point and shoot cameras have quite extensive (read complicated) set up and operating menus. In my opinion, to get the most out of the point and shoot cameras, one needs to really know how to use the menus efficiently.

They can be operated in the full auto mode most of the time with excellent results but special situations my require some changes and adjustments in the menus.

One other suggestion is to find one with a viewfinder. Both the above cameras have one, not all do. The viewfinder is handy on bright days when it becomes difficult to use the rear Live View LCD to shoot with. With the viewfinder it is just like shooting with your dslr, everything is bright and clear and most have all the info (exposure info, histogram etc) displayed in the viewfinder.

And speaking of the rear LDC view screen, a fold out LCD is great when you need to hold the camera over your head to shoot over people or obstructions. You can frame the shoot while looking at the Live View on the screen. This may or may not be important to many people, but many of the point and shoot cameras have these flip out LCD screen now.

Good Luck!

JDG3

I agree with this option. There are many good cell phone cameras out now. My wife has become an excellent iphone photographer and often comes home from our travels with better shots than me. I sometimes think that the simplicity of the cell phone camera releases her from all the worries about settings and exposure and she does a better job of composition. While I am fiddling with settings she is framing her shot, takes it and moves on in seconds rather than minutes for me.

She has also used A Samsung Note 3 which took great shots. There is a Nokia phone being released soon that has a 48 megapixel camera and the Google Pixel has a great camera.

Point and shoot cameras are great. I have a Sony RX100M3 (as noted in another post) but for overall simplicity, availability and photographic capability a good cell phone camera is hard to beat for many situations.

Leo_B Loc: Houston suburb

ZS100

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

The Sony HX99 is a great travel camera. It has a pop up viewfinder that acts like a DSLR, a 24-750 mm Zeiss lens that delivers great image quality, a built in flash that does auto fill for outdoor flash, and a 6 stop HDR that I use on a regular basis. I also have a belt pouch for it, it takes up no room and is always ready to shoot. This is my only travel camera, it does almost everything my D5 can do except sports. And I don't shoot sports when I am traveling.

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

If she wants to move up or try something other than her phone camera. I would take her to a store let her handle and review the devices first hand.
bruce.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Links! The good news is that whatever you buy will be capable of taking good pictures.

Compacts -
https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2401971,00.asp
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/2017-roundup-compact-enthusiast-zoom-cameras
https://www.techradar.com/news/best-compact-camera

$300 -
https://www.consumerreports.org/point-shoot-digital-cameras/best-digital-cameras-under-300-dollars/
https://photophique.com/best-cameras-under-300/
https://www.photoworkout.com/best-compact-cameras-under-300-dollars/
https://www.adorama.com/alc/the-best-point-and-shoot-cameras-under-300

$500 -
http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-point-and-shoot-under-500/
http://www.bestproducts.com/tech/gadgets/g706/point-and-shoot-digital-cameras/

regularguy55

Canon G7X MK II is a great P&S that I am particularly happy to have when traveling. Fast lens for low-light, 1” sensor provides excellent IQ, and color saturation is excellent. You will probably appreciate the intuitive Canon menus. The Lumix ZS100 is also very good and has a couple extras she may like better: Electronic viewfinder, longer zoom, 4K, but has a fixed screen as opposed to Canon’s tilting screen. Both are 20MP and have built in wireless capability.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

I’m wondering why no one has mentioned the Canon G5X Mk ii with 1” sensor, EVF, 24-120mm equip with max apertures of f1.8-f2.8 at max zoom, high burst rate, WiFi, and pocketable for $900. For someone who likes the Canon system, it really makes sense. The G7x Mk iii would be another good choice but has a different (not as fast) lens and no EVF, bit at $150 less. BYW, I still use my Canon S100 when my choice is a true pocketable. Definitely not the fastest but shoots raw and very capable for a small sensor p&s. The Sxxx series can occasionally be found at a very reasonable price via this and other forum classified sections or eBay. The S100 has gps, which was replaced with WiFi for the S110 and final S120. Definitely older technology, but still decent little workhorse.

FL Streetrodder

If you can still find a manufacturer that includes a viewfinder on their point n' shoot models, I would seriously consider that as a desirable feature. I have a little Canon PowerShot A1200, 12.1 mp. camera that has served me well for quite a few years. It easily slips into a pocket and uses two AA batteries for power and has a relatively large LCD screen for its size in addition to its viewfinder. A relatively inexpensive camera that produces excellent images.

FL Streetrodder

If you can still find a manufacturer that includes a viewfinder on their point n' shoot models, I would seriously consider that as a desirable feature. I have a little Canon PowerShot A1200, 12.1 mp. camera that has served me well for quite a few years. It easily slips into a pocket and uses two AA batteries for power and has a relatively large LCD screen for its size in addition to its viewfinder. A relatively inexpensive camera that produces excellent images.