Camera Need Camera - simple to use/carry/maintain

vyral_143

Jarvis
Staff member
Super Mod
What's your budget?
upto ₹15,000

Camera type?
Point and Shoot or Bridge Camera

Body Style?
Any

How much zoom do you want/expect?
Noob on number of x zoom but prefer it has good optical zoom

Do you care for manual exposure controls?
again noob here so want to have one which is easy to use

What's the purpose?
1. Taking photographs when on vacation/holidays
2. Casual/general purpose

What will you be shooting with this camera?

outdoors, indoors (sometimes), stills

Do you have any particular model(s) in your mind?

None

Any brand preference? Like/dislike
None but after sales service is important

From where will you be buying?
Online, offline, from USA - anywhere as long as warranty is not a concern

Any specific features you need?
long battery life

Anything else you would like to tell us?
Looking for my first digital camera which can be used, carried and maintained easily. I do not want any marketing gimmick features. But open to spend up to 15 grands if product is worth for my money; would like to keep my budget minimum possible.
 
Last edited:
L340 will be painfully slow. Look for CMOS housed cameras.
I doubt cameras from US/HK will have India warranty.

Nikon S6800 and up, but below average battery performance.
Canon IXUS275/SX600, but slow lens.
Sony WX series cameras
 
L340 will be painfully slow. Look for CMOS housed cameras.
I doubt cameras from US/HK will have India warranty.

Nikon S6800 and up, but below average battery performance.
Canon IXUS275/SX600, but slow lens.
Sony WX series cameras

Slow lens mean it would take time to capture and save photos right ?

I mentioned about cameras from US/HK assuming some manufacturer would provide international warranty like Apple/Asus does in their some of offerings. :)
 
Slow lens mean it would take time to capture and save photos right ?

I mentioned about cameras from US/HK assuming some manufacturer would provide international warranty like Apple/Asus does in their some of offerings. :)
No, slow lens means "smaller aperture"
I generally, don't suggest SX600 or IXUS275. But given the budget and having grown with SX130, I would prefer it against L340.

Two years ago, I didn't find it this difficult to pick a camera in this budget. Weigh up the features/pros and cons, then pick one.
Before buying, just know the limitations of the camera. If you think you can live with it, go ahead and buy.
 
If Nikon S6800 and above can provide better performance, I could choose it at cost of battery. Rightly said in last line; Any camera selected should do basic job perfectly. There would be some con(s) with every model. It makes sense in settling with con which one can live with it.
 
If Nikon S6800 and above can provide better performance, I could choose it at cost of battery. Rightly said in last line; Any camera selected should do basic job perfectly. There would be some con(s) with every model. It makes sense in settling with con which one can live with it.
By better performance, you mean "image quality". More or less all the cameras in this range produce similar quality images. I don't see huge difference. But if there is many red flags wrt image quality from any reviews, leave that model out of the equation.
 
Yes by better performance I mean image quality, time taken to capture and save image, battery life, etc. I went through Nikon India website and found that in S6/7000 series S6900 and S7000 are available. Both are marked around ₹11-12k (MRP).
 
I haven't read anything bad about AF, speed and all. Less than a handful of reviews are available for these camera, do check sample images from sites like flickr.

Note: S6900 mostly rely on touch interface with very few buttons. If screen gets cracked, not a lot you can do with it. Yeah, it really looks fancy. :)
 
I am almost convinced for Nikon S7000 by reviews; gotta try this in some showrooms before pulling trigger.
 
This might be a curveball, but P&S cameras, especially in the budget category, are more or less dead. If you are looking for a camera for casual use, I would suggest you compare the quality of images with some good smartphone. You have shortlisted the Nikon S7000, so go to a showroom, and compare it's output with one taken from a good smartphone (Galaxy S6 or LG G4 or Note 4/5 or iPhone 6/6+ or OPO/2 or something similar). If you are convinced that the P&S gives better results, go ahead. Else, save the cash and upgrade your mobile.
The P&S market is slowly but surely being eaten into by the smartphones on the lower end, and the DSLRs or mirrorless cams on the upper end. I personally no longer suggest a basic P&S to anyone. Period.

Just give it a thought.
 
This might be a curveball, but P&S cameras, especially in the budget category, are more or less dead. If you are looking for a camera for casual use, I would suggest you compare the quality of images with some good smartphone. You have shortlisted the Nikon S7000, so go to a showroom, and compare it's output with one taken from a good smartphone (Galaxy S6 or LG G4 or Note 4/5 or iPhone 6/6+ or OPO/2 or something similar). If you are convinced that the P&S gives better results, go ahead. Else, save the cash and upgrade your mobile.
The P&S market is slowly but surely being eaten into by the smartphones on the lower end, and the DSLRs or mirrorless cams on the upper end. I personally no longer suggest a basic P&S to anyone. Period.

Just give it a thought.
Dear even i am a Noob when comes to Camera,always wished to have one...
Have a budget around 20 to 25k
At present using a iphone 6,so for casual pics while on small trips with family and frnds on weekend i use the phone and i am pretty much satisfied..
But now the keeda lol inside me is back..
Can u suggest a Good Model in the Above Price
Thanks in advance
 
This might be a curveball, but P&S cameras, especially in the budget category, are more or less dead. If you are looking for a camera for casual use, I would suggest you compare the quality of images with some good smartphone. You have shortlisted the Nikon S7000, so go to a showroom, and compare it's output with one taken from a good smartphone (Galaxy S6 or LG G4 or Note 4/5 or iPhone 6/6+ or OPO/2 or something similar). If you are convinced that the P&S gives better results, go ahead. Else, save the cash and upgrade your mobile.
The P&S market is slowly but surely being eaten into by the smartphones on the lower end, and the DSLRs or mirrorless cams on the upper end. I personally no longer suggest a basic P&S to anyone. Period.

Just give it a thought.

This does make sense for me. However upgrading phone is quite difficult for me at this point considering money involved. I would normally stick to iOS; an iPhone 6 Plus would set me back by at-least $550 ~₹36k.
 
This does make sense for me. However upgrading phone is quite difficult for me at this point considering money involved. I would normally stick to iOS; an iPhone 6 Plus would set me back by at-least $550 ~₹36k.
I have a lumix fz and recently carried it to coorg with me.
My p&s completely blew away the likes of the s5, iphone 6 and one plus one. Nothing came close to it.
The pics out of the phone were good too but once transferred onto the pc and watching them on a bigger screen, the difference in quality was quiet evident.

Now a friend recently bought a Nikon S9xxx for around 16k and i didnt like it much compared to my lumix. At the price range of under 10K, just buy a canon. Its pretty good if you can sacrifice on the zoom. Also canon takes the best night shots IMHO.
 
I have elevated my budget to 15,000. I checked Nikon S7000 and I liked its zoom. However when I checked photos taken with it on web, they did not impressed me much.

With my other requirements remaining same I have bumped budget to almost double form lower level of earlier.

I have updated my main post.
 
You would get more features in this budget, but not significantly better IQ for sure.
P530 should fit perfect, it was selling for ~12k around before diwali.
 
You would get more features in this budget, but not significantly better IQ for sure.
P530 should fit perfect, it was selling for ~12k around before diwali.

I have raised bar specifically for IQ. What do you think is minimum model I should be looking at ?

I was also thinking of what @logistopath mentioned earlier. With given budget of 15k I might be able upgrade to iPhone 6 (after selling my 5S). This seems so confusing :(
 
If you emphasis more on IQ you should be looking at bigger sensor models. But that costs more, for about 20k you can pick up a DSLR. Again, you want a PnS style camera, sure you can put DSLR in auto mode and use it like a PnS.

Mobile camera may be suffice for someone who have better camera or for someone who find it's good enough for his use.

Would I settle for mobile camera? NO
Should you settle for mobile camera? You're better judge of that.

You want a camera for casual use. Ask yourself questions like these,
For casual use, not many give so much weight-age to IQ. Are you thinking of picking up photography?
Why you want a compact camera when you have 5s?
What do you miss in 5s?
What are you expecting with a dedicated camera which 5s couldn't offer?
Is it worth spending 15k for that extra features (which 5s couldn't offer)?
and more things which comes to your mind...

At one point you will either convince yourself to stick with 5s or find it worth buying a dedicated camera. If budget is the one thing stops you from buying a bigger sensor camera, you may pick up a used one.

I have never bothered to check samples of mobile camera. But looking at samples of 5s and 6, I don't see 6 is significantly better than 5s. Do you think so?
 
Back
Top