Need high zoom P+S recomendation

[Nick Larsen]

Well, my last camera disapeared a while ago(Canon SX100IS).

What I didn't like of old camera:

Noisy:
I liked that camera, but it did have an issue with noise. I had to manually keep it at 80 ISO if I didn't want a lot of noise. This made indoor shots difficult.

Muted colors:
Also, colors were a bit muted, so I would always keep it in "program" mode so I could use the "vivid" color adjustment.

What I need in the new camera:

10x or more optical zoom:
One thing I do like is a good amount of zoom. I use it a lot to "crop" landscape shots, or to get nice wildlife pics without having to get within 3ft of a mountain lion.
Also comes in handy at sporting events. I've taken some nice pics with the 10x zoom on the Cannon.

Video:
New baby, wife wants video. That is one thing the Cannon did well.

Light weight:
is a plus as it will be my dedicated backpacking camera.

Vivid color:
But not unaturally vivid. The canon was unaturally dull. And I've seen cameras that were so vivid, it looked like the people were photoshoped into the scene. I just want the colors I see with my eye.

Low noise:
Nothing worse than blury or noisy indoor pics.

Macro:
Another thing I used a lot with the Cannon. I love flower and insect macro shots.

Currently we are just using our iPhone 5 cameras, which are actually great outdoors. But not as great indoors. And no zoom.

It seems the Sony RX100 is THE P+S, but with only 3.5 zoom, it's missing one of the most important features.

So any votes for the best 10x+ zoom point and shoot? I do like to print and hang some of our best pictures, so I'm willing to spend on a quality camera.

[Bill Law]

I've owned 2 Panasonic Lumix Z-series cameras and have been very happy with each. Not so great in low light (slow to focus). But reasonably compact, plenty of features, decent performance.

Good deals on these used to be available at Costco. That's where I got my current edition (ZS-6).

I also have a Sony NEX and am impressed with Sony cameras in general. Their Alpha, NEX, RX-100, and RX-1 seem to all be breaking new ground. I'm not sure what their offering is in a super-zoom compact, though.

[Bob Gross]

You might consider the Canon Powershot SX30IS. It has some features that you are familiar with, but it has better performance and much longer zoom. It is not a large camera, so that might make it popular among some backpackers.

Strengths: It has a lot of smart features that can be helpful to the photographer, but they will get in your way if you don't know how to turn them off.

Weaknesses: It can't shoot any image files except JPEG. IMHO, that is a killer fault. To some people, they don't care.

–B.G.–

[Backpack Jack]

# 1 on the Panasonic DMC-ZS6, I use to have a cannon and was never really happy with the quality of the pictures, since I've changed to the ZS6 I've been very happy with my pictures and the functions of the camera, and at Costco you can't beat the price.

Jack

[Galen Benson]

I have the DMC-ZS19 a bit heavy but great zoom and pictures. Here's a picture using full digital zoom of a bluejay 70 feet up a tree from 50 yards away. It's grainy but ok considering its over 80x.

[Nick Larsen]

Thanks for the suggestions so far! Using your suggestions for key words to enhance my Google fu, I narrowed it down to the Panasonic zs19/20 and the Sony hx30.

From the bit of reviews I've found, it seems the Sony just edges out Panasonic.
From what I can gather, the image quality is better, but when viewed at 100% it has a bit of a green screen/water color effect.

It seems there are several recomendations for Panasonic, one for the zs19 in particular.

Does anyone have any experience with the Sony hx30 or wx300?

[Richard Gless]

I bought at Panasonic DMC-ZS15 last Sept and am extremely satified. It has 385 mm zoom and takes superb pics of distance objects. It also has an incredible macro capability. Easy to use and does great HD movies. You might check it out or check our the latest versions.

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