Point & Shoot Advice

[jimd]

As I don't know much about these cameras I'm looking for advice / recommendations for a P & S camera for my office. We are a firm of architects and the camera will be used for general record and survey purposes.

It will need to be robust, have a good range, a decent built in flash and be idiot proof ( as I have employed the occasional idiot in the past ). It doesn't need to be capable of producing high end architectural shots.



I don't want to spend any more than £250.

Thanks

[JR1]

As I don't know much about these cameras I'm looking for advice / recommendations for a P & S camera for my office. We are a firm of architects and the camera will be used for general record and survey purposes.

It will need to be robust, have a good range, a decent built in flash and be idiot proof ( as I have employed the occasional idiot in the past ). It doesn't need to be capable of producing high end architectural shots.



I don't want to spend any more than £250.

Thanks

You will get as many alternatives as replies, I won't advise on any particular camera, don't forget PRE owned from a reputable dealer who will post out

http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Used/Canon-G12_117510.html

Mine is go into a shop like Jessops (yuk, sorry) and try some, tell them what you want

MOD EDIT - I'm not sure it's altogether helpful to make the above sort of derogatory remark about a reputable retailer. It may be that you are not happy with the service that retailer provides, but if we are going to criticise, then I think we need to do it constructively.

[Geoff F]

Any thoughts on size? For example, something which slips into a shirt pocket or a little bigger for a jacket pocket/bag etc?

What sort of scenes will be photographed and distance from the camera? This needs to be considered in order to compare lens zoom size; and would there be any really close shots of documents etc.

There are many alternatives in this range so like Jeremy suggested a viewing of the actual equipment by those who will use the camera is recommended.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Jim,

You clearly won't need one with a mega-zoom range, but be sure to get one that 'starts' at 24mm FFE* or wider (lower number) - this to allow easier shooting of interiors

* FFE = Full Frame (i.e. 35mm) Equivalent.

Users will likely be shooting on Auto, so you may want one with easy to access/use Exposure Compensation, so they can review the LCD and adjust it accordingly if it comes out too light or dark.

If it had an automatic 'HDR' feature, that might be useful - I'm thinking for when shooting interiors with windows in shot and sunlit gardens visible through them
- but then I noticed you're in Wales, so it might not be an issue

(sorry, couldn't resist, no offence intended)

[AB26]

Nikon Coolpix AW130s.

[Manfred M]

Point & shoot cameras are quite generic and frankly, they are entry level cameras that are made to hit a certain price point. They are often made by a third party contract manufacturer, rather than the company that has it's logo on the camera. As a general rule, the flash on these cameras are underpowered and weak.

If you want to go a step beyond the really bottom of the line stuff, have a look at a website like DpReview. Here is a link to their recent review of some of the better higher end point & shoots.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/665...s-2014-roundup

[Geoff F]

I have given up on personally recommending specific cameras, other than reviewing what I actually use myself, because of the response from people asking for my opinions.

The last time a friend asked for advice, I spent quite a bit of time searching through various websites and comparing specifications of many cameras in the specified price range. Eventually I narrowed it down to a choice of 3 options and suggested they handle all 3 before purchase.

Then they purchased something completely different because they preferred the colour of that one; and it was on special offer!

In reality, it was an old out of date model which had been priced up so a substantial discount could then be given. Which meant they still paid over the average for lower specifications. But the salesman was very helpful.

[Shadowman]

I have given up on personally recommending specific cameras, other than reviewing what I actually use myself, because of the response from people asking for my opinions.

The last time a friend asked for advice, I spent quite a bit of time searching through various websites and comparing specifications of many cameras in the specified price range. Eventually I narrowed it down to a choice of 3 options and suggested they handle all 3 before purchase.

Then they purchased something completely different because they preferred the colour of that one; and it was on special offer!

In reality, it was an old out of date model which had been priced up so a substantial discount could then be given. Which meant they still paid over the average for lower specifications. But the salesman was very helpful.

I hear you, sometimes they go with the advice of their family members which obviously holds more weight than we can muster, and then again they are the ones who'll most likely use it most. Perhaps that is the new response that should be given to these inquiries, "is there someone closer to you that opinions outweigh all others"?

Actually, I feel more advice is taken if the inquirer asks about a camera that I actually own.

[xpatUSA]

As I don't know much about these cameras I'm looking for advice / recommendations for a P & S camera for my office. We are a firm of architects and the camera will be used for general record and survey purposes.

It will need to be robust, have a good range, a decent built in flash and be idiot proof ( as I have employed the occasional idiot in the past ). It doesn't need to be capable of producing high end architectural shots.



I don't want to spend any more than £250.

Thanks

DP Review is quite good for comparisons:

http://www.dpreview.com/camerareview...ws&sort=rating

I just bought a Panasonic DMC-LX7 for SWMBO after intense study of their reviews.

[Black Pearl]

I'm going to actually recommend a couple of cameras you might want to look at and I think could suit your needs.

Nikon Coolpix P340:

5x Zoom - not massive but all you need for the shots you're likely to need and keeping the range down improves edge to edge sharpness/detail.
Decent sized 12mp sensor - you don't need more and you limit low light shooting by packing loads in.
Bright wide f1.8 Lens - great in low light which means you have to rely on flash (which is ugly) less often.
RAW capability - if you need to tweak images and have fine control of the final shots this (might) be useful. Day to day you can have fine control over the white balance (Google it) which could be handy for interior shots. but you can shoot standard JPEG's too - win win.
Wi-Fi - might be handy as you can shoot and share without being back at the office.

Olympus Tough TG-3:

Water proof/crush proof/drop proof - You can beat the hell out of these things and the will still work.
Decent wide lens with f2 - wide enough for restricted spaces and bright so less need for flash.
Wi-Fi and GPS - as above for sharing plus it will Geotag your shots which might be handy.
Red - its bright and fun which makes people smile and helps break barriers when you have to go somewhere and take pictures.

There are countless other cameras out there but I hope theses two will help you sit down, think about what you need, discover technologies you may not have considered and think about features that might help and get you started.

[JR1]

Nikon Coolpix AW130s.

Actually I have one of those also, and a great little camera it is too

[mrinmoyvk]

What will you be shooting with that camera? Survey purpose means survey of land outdoors or indore shots?
Few points to be considered...

1. Don't go for high zoom but get shell out some money on wide aperture instead, better for low light shots
2. Get a high resolution screen and tilting will be a bonus
3. View finder not required as P & S have electronic VFs, most of the times they suck
4. If you get a larger sensor that would be awesome but its expensive
5. One with manual controls for shutter and aperture would be awesome but one needs to be creative and have basic knowledge of photography (long exposure shots would be great)
6. You may ignore point 5 if you have a "fireworks" mode in your camera which works good.


Have a look at SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-RX100 series (I, II & III)
Few more options available here (http://snapsort.com/recommend#!gener...t&type=digicam)

[jimd]

From some of the well meaning advice given, I'm sorry, but it appears I haven't made myself very clear.

The usage for the camera will be for taking a record, for example, of boundary conditions or the detail of an existing building component or a record of some works in progress. The photo's will only act as a useful reference back in the office and are not intended for any other purpose.

As it could, potentially, be used by 20 different members of staff, holding and trying isn't a practical option. Raw capability wouldn't be required. WiFi isn't required although GPS could possibly be useful. The flash capability would only be needed for something like recording, close up, the condition or detail of some structural timber within a loft.

Thanks Andre, Robin and Ted. I'll have a look at those.

And Dave. Of course it needs to be capable of taking good images of sheep in the rain.

[Black Pearl]

Look at one of the Tough type compacts - they really are amazingly well put together.

I have an older Pentax model that we've had as a family fun camera for years that has been dropped by the kids, its been in puddles, streams, rock pools, ponds, mud - you name it - and it still works perfectly. Its easy to use and the results for what we use it for are fine.
Look for a wider lens option which might be handy in restricted places or where you can't get back enough to get a large object in and if the lens is brighter (low aperture [f] number) it will help in low light. Wi-Fi might be useful as you won't need to take the card out and have a slot to put it in or have 20 people remember a cable so don't dismiss it entirely.....not a necessity but a +1 if its in the budget.

[James G]

My wife ... dyspraxic .... klutz..... she uses an Olympus tough.... She's dropped it, stood on it, and much more....

She still can't frame a scene (chops heads), but the camera is rugged and easy to use. (especially in auto )

[mrinmoyvk]

She still can't frame a scene (chops heads)

Might be it is her style of shooting
I prefer chopping the head many times in post processing but that is when I want viewers to stick to eyes of person in image

[James G]

Might be it is her style of shooting

Mrinmoy.... Janet thanks you for a kind thought.... which (she says), is more than she gets from me when it comes to photography!

[mrinmoyvk]

Mrinmoy.... Janet thanks you for a kind thought.... which (she says), is more than she gets from me when it comes to photography!

[Antonio Correia]

Why not just a smart phone ?

[Dave Humphries]

Why not just a smart phone ?

One reason is that in unskilled hands, they'd forget to check the flat plate lens cover didn't have a smudgy finger print or dust specks on - and the resulting flare looks awful. (Although I appreciate these aren't for client use, just record shots)

Don't ask how I know

So I'm thinking a camera that protects the lens when not in use would be preferable.