As the title suggests I'm looking a getting a new digital compact camera (to replace my old IXUS 60). Been happy with the Canon so edging towards the SX260, however reviews suggest the Panasonic might just have the edge, although both appear to have there pro's and cons.

Very much a point and shoot photographer, with little understanding of the technical aspects, other than basics such as a low ISO for light and a high for dark. However I'm wanting something that will take photo's of moving targets, such as wildlife, aircraft, cars etc., good zoom / panoramic and bright / low light quality.

So anybody got thoughts on this one; which is the better of the two for my type of photo taking, or is it much of a muchness :wonder:

Thanks,

TP

What sort of price are you looking at spending? I decided I wanted to upgrade my point and shoot (not used a lot because I got into it properly and use an SLR) however I appreciate the portability of a small camera, but wanted more control over the camera.

I started looking at some manual compacts but I've ended up buying a Nikon 1 from Jessops because it was such a good price for a twin lens kit, full manual controls and good image quality in a small, mirrorless body. Obviously will work on auto mode too for point and shoot etc. depending how much you want to spend it might be worth considering a mirrorless SLR for both the IQ and the potential to progress your photography it's not hard to master aperture priority and it gives you much more control over the image. The Nikon also has phase detection and contrast detection focussing which is apparently incredibly fast. It uses phase detection where there is good light (contrast detection is what most cameras use and it uses this when the light is lower). This might be useful for your moving subjects.

Even a compact with manual controls gives you that opportunity, something like the coolpix P310 just as an example.

If you literally want point and shoot they have a little Nikon in Argos for £65!! Bargain

Edited 14 November, 201213 yr by Loz

Thanks for the reply

Had a 'proper' SLR 35mm camera with a seperate long lens as a youngster but did not realy get into the technical side of photography, plus I found the bulk of an SLR with seperate lenses offputting, particularly on holidays and out walking, therefore I've just had a series of happy snappers ever since.

Of late however I've been wanting to get better photo's, particularly of wildlife seen while out and about, therefore decided to look at these two, as there pocket cameras which I prefer but with a good zoom, along with automatic and manual operation; try and impove my techincal skills, oh and they appear pretty well rated.

After more research i think I'm going for the Canon which currently I can get £20 cheaper; a week ago it was a fiver more than the TZ :wonder: Plus best I can tell from the many reviews is the SX for still v the TZ for video and it's still thats the main priority.

Regards,

TP

Not even snapsort is useful here, normally lets you know which has better image quality, colour depth, dynamic range etc

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-SX260-vs-Panasonic-TZ30

Yeah that's why I've got the Nikon 1, it's not much bigger than a compact, only difference is the lens doesn't fully retract like a compact, but still not a lot in it. Just gives better image quality than a compact.

How did you narrow it to those two in particular?

I've got the TZ20 (I think older model) it takes some fantastic pictures highly recommended its simple to use pick the setting and it does it all for you I'm not great with pictures but this seems to work well for me. Not tried the canon so can't offer a comparison but after having this for a while I love it.

I'd get the Panasonic I have a tz 20 and it's absolutely fantastic for what it is. You also get £35 cashback with the Panasonic. As a point and shoot with a decent lens and a good zoom it's very easy to use and things like the touch screen are nice touches - you can use it to tell the camera what to focus on for instance shooting through railings (so it doesn't focus on the railings) it can also track a moving object such as a person walking so long as it stays in frame and doesn't move too fast.

I'm buying the other half a camera for Christmas most likely and the tz30 is the current winner so far

I'd recommend the Panasonic TZ. I've had them in the past and they are great.

I moved over to a Canon G12 when I dropped my TZ5 and cracked the screen , but my daughter still uses it on her photography degree, even with the cracked display, as it still takes great photos. The TZ's have a great lens and the quality is good.

I like the flexibility of the G12 as I can program it to the settings I want, which for my job can be very useful, like no flash or orange light on at the front, it means it is slower to focus, but I am not noticed at night!

Also I can ramp the ISO up to 3200, which means I had hand hold in the dark, and take acceptable photos for the insurance companies!

Thanks again for the input, more to think about

How did you narrow it to those two in particular?

Originally did a search on Amazon for compact digital cameras with a 20+ zoom. The Olympus SZ-14, caught my eye at just over £120 with a x24 zoom. However more research suggested it to be automatic function only and poor in low light, another feature I'm looking for. So followed this up with a general Google search for the best compact digital travel camera and the TZ30, SX240/260 plus the Sony HX20V kept coming up as top of the heap in reviews. All three currently have cash back offers from their manufacturers (if bought from a recognised retailer such as Amazon; not ebay sellers) but the Sony works out to be bar far the most expensive, therefore dismissed.

TP

I recently bought a Sony HX20V, having used my friends Panasonic TZ20 in the past, and he recently changed to a TZ30 I very nearly got one of those. However for me, I have always had Sony cameras, and they always worked well for me, I thought I would stick with what I know after reading the reviews, and was prepared to spend the bit extra. I paid £260 for mine.

One thing that stood out to me between the TZ30 and the HX20V was the video quality, the Sony being far superior from the few tests I did with my friend. It also seems to handle low light scenes without flash better too.

A few of examples (all editing/effects done on the camera)

Edited 15 November, 201213 yr by SimonK24

Great photos; obviously know what your doing with that camera sadly the Sony's price appears to keep going up not down, so ended up initially ordering the TZ30 but then Amazon briefly price dropped the SX260 to £175; about 47% off RRP so that got ordered too

Having now received them both and had the opportunity to briefly try them out at in an amateur point and shoot sort of way, it's the TZ that's going back. Both have good and not so good points but the SX260 pinched it by a nose.

Now the fun begins trying to get to grips with the fundamentals of better photography

TP

Enjoy.

Been out and about round the village this morning, cold but very bright sunny morning. Impressed with some of my amateur attempts with the new SX260; tried using some of the differing colour settings along with exposure correction in the semi-automatic P mode.

TP