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Another point and shoot question


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I will be going on my first cruise ever in less than two months. An eight day cruise to Alaska on the Carnival Legend. I have an old Canon point and shoot and and iphone 8+. My 20 year old son has an older point and shoot and a Galaxy 9. He took a couple of photography classes in high school and since he is tech inclined would probably have little issue figuring out a new camera. I love my electronic toys, but truth be told I would really like to be able to zoom in and push a button.

 

I think (having serious commitment issues over this) I have it narrowed down to a Nikon Coolpix B500, as this looks pretty simple with enough playability to keep 20 year old happy for a bit or the Lumix FZ80 which offers more options but may still be easy enough for me to be able to use.

 

We will be taking other trips in the next couple of years and I work in a school and take a lot of pics of students that are shared on a private school page for parents, so the camera will get both travel and every day use.

 

Thoughts on which of these may be the best bet or a better suggestion? I'd like to order one so we can play with it before we get on board.

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Thoughts on which of these may be the best bet or a better suggestion?

The biggest difference that I can see (which would likely matter to you):

The Nikon Coolpix B500 has a tilting viewscreen, but it's not a touchscreen.

The Panasonic Lumix FZ80 has a touchscreen, but it doesn't tilt.

 

I would pick the FZ80, because it shoots in RAW. But unless that capability actually matters to you, it's not a reason to choose one over the other. Others might choose the FZ80 because it has a viewfinder, in addition to a viewscreen. But given your other cameras, that doesn't seem like a priority to you.

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Adding on.

 

At this point, RAW is irrelevant. Go with the viewfinder.

 

You might also look at the Sony HX-90V. It is is a bit more expensive but is considerably smaller, pocketable even.

 

Dave

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I would also cast a vote for the FZ-80. It has a viewfinder, better video capability & an accessory shoe for adding an external flash [perhaps not useful for Alaska landscapes, but may be useful later].

 

The camera has both 'Intelligent Automatic' and 'scene' modes [and manual override 'PASM' modes as well]. I would recommend leaving the camera in the IA mode 99% of the time.

 

About the only accessories I would recommend would be a spare battery and additional memory cards.

 

For folks with a bigger budget, I would recommend either the FZ1000 [large sensor, fancier Panasonic] or the Nikon P900 [ludicrously long zoom range] - but they each currently are about double the price of the FZ-80.

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I did take a look at the Canon sx540 but the reviews for it were a bit less stellar than the Lumix or Nikon. It seems that the Lumix may be the better choice as it will allow my son more options when he is using it. Forgive my lack of knowledge but is there a huge difference between the 40x and 60x zoom? And/or the difference in the shutter speed (1/4000s vs 1/2000s)? In regards to the quality of the pictures we may take?

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I did take a look at the Canon sx540 but the reviews for it were a bit less stellar than the Lumix or Nikon. It seems that the Lumix may be the better choice as it will allow my son more options when he is using it. Forgive my lack of knowledge but is there a huge difference between the 40x and 60x zoom? And/or the difference in the shutter speed (1/4000s vs 1/2000s)? In regards to the quality of the pictures we may take?

 

Not terribly much difference - if any

 

The zoom range is more about marketing than results when the numbers get that big. And the shutter speed difference is actually trivial - under ideal conditions either will 'stop' motion in the picture.

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Thank you everyone for the feedback. After having son review camera choices I think we are going with the Lumix Fz80. Now just counting down days till we sail! :)

 

As advice, I had a prior Lumix and it was acting erratically occasionally, so I got the FZ80 before our Rhine river cruise. I wish I had spent more time learning the new camera before the trip, but the results were pretty much ok. Both cameras used the same battery, so I took the old battery and charger along with me and was glad that I did. Several days I would need to get out the extra, fully charged battery before the day was over. So look in to getting an extra batter on Amazon if you don't want to miss out on any shots. Take extra cards, too, as they are expensive to purchase on the ship.

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You’re going to have an amazing time in Alaska! We just got back a few weeks ago and it was breathtaking.

 

That being said I would go with the biggest zoom possible above ALL ELSE.

 

 

In my opinion the beauty of Alaska is in the landscape and the wildlife.

 

 

I got some great bald eagle and bear photos that would never have been possible without a 600mm telephoto zoom lens. Even on an excursion boat the bears and eagles are quite far away onshore and will get spooked and disappear if the boat approaches. I know others around me were struggling to capture the animals with shorter lenses. The whales and seals are closer but the zoom range is still a MUST because you never know when or if they pop up.

 

 

So if I had a choice among cameras I would sacrifice other features for maximum zoom.

 

 

On other non-Alaskan cruises I’d probably say just the opposite!

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