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My girl has a crappy phone, and I am grateful for that because I am not much of a phone techie either.

But she is asking for a camera for Christmas as her phone camera is pretty bad. A DSLR such as a rebel is a little pricey and I already have a pretty nice kit. I think something portable and in the $200-$300USD range would be about right.

Back in the day Target had a myriad of point and shoot cameras for around $200USD but since camera phones have gotten better and better there are alot less options. I did find a decent Nikon for around $280 on B&H.

So would a Nikon point and shoot be better then say a Samsung S5 camera, both being around the $300 range? I know there are alot of factors the main being having a camera at all times with your phone.

I had an S4 last and tried the S5, the camera is largely the same as the S4 and not especially good, but the S6 is reported to be markedly better. I went for the LG G4 which has been reviewed as the best phone for photography, though the LG V10 phone has overtaken it now, and IMO is so close to the better P&S cameras that you'd struggle to tell the difference. If you can get either for the money you're looking at spending I would go down that route

All of my photos were taken with a $100 point-and-shoot camera (14mp Samsung PL-210 with 10x optical zoom). Of course, some will say that's obvious, but I say don't underestimate the capability of a camera that can fit in a pocket.

As for the whole camera vs. phone thing, I carry a Nokia 6030b with no camera. If I want to take pictures, I use a camera because that's the job it does best. If I want to do computer stuff, I use a computer because that's the job it does best. If I want to talk on the phone, I use a phone, and that phone is better at being a phone than any smartphone (audio quality is better, battery lasts up to 10 days without a recharge, I've dropped it hundreds of times without breaking it).

In my experience, the cameras on phones these days are pretty good. I have an iPhone 5, SFette has the 6. Both take decent photos, but I would never think to replace a real camera with one.

Like Queso, I believe in the right tool for the job. If you want to actually take photos for art or document precious moments, get a real camera. That said, camera phones are great for those times that you forgot (or didn't think) to bring a camera along or just a quick snapshot - selfies for example. As a Security Officer, I've actually used my iPhone to photograph items for Incident Reports.



Amazon has a really good looking Sony P&S for $105:
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-W800-Digital ... rds=camera

Canon's point-and-shoots are pretty good. I still have my old 5 megapixel Canon A530, and I take some shots with it every now and then.

At work, we have a bunch of Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX300 cameras. Granted, I haven't used them for aviation shooting (or anything outside work), but they are quite good for taking the photos we need to take. I think they have Zeiss lenses, and the image quality is really good.

Cameras, even point-and-shoots, will in general give you more flexibility in terms of zoom and choosing settings. Though this is probably changing with newer phones.

For what its worth - the Droid Turbo has a 21-megapixel camera that shoots some pretty good photos....

Thank you all for the advice, I decided to go with a nice point and shoot, I think that phones are getting really good but aren't quite there yet. I have seen people take incredible photos on their camera phones though.

I found some Samsung S5's for around $320 on ebay and even then the reviews on the camera were just above average. Not worth it to me.

I narrowed it down to 3

the Samsung GC200
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... era_2.html

Nikon CoolPix S9900
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... amera.html

But I decided to go with the Canon Powershot SX710. The thing has incredible stats including 1920 video. The one thing I'm not sure about is it has no viewfinder.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... gital.html

Fumanchewd wrote:
But I decided to go with the Canon Powershot SX710. The thing has incredible stats including 1920 video. The one thing I'm not sure about is it has no viewfinder.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... gital.html

Excellent choice. My mom has the earlier-model SX600 and used it extensively throughout our Alaska trip. Very good photos and even better video with the image stabilization. Watching the trip vids on her 55" at 1920x1080 is just incredible and really puts us back...

I wouldn't worry about the lack of a viewfinder. Most people coming off a cameraphone are used to a "view screen" for shooting, so it would probably be an easy transition. One thing i would recommend is a small "handle" that screws into the tripod mount if she's going to be doing some extended shooting...It takes the "delicateness" out of the feel...and fear...of holding the camera itself and potentially dropping it. This is almost identical to what my mom used during the trip, and I can definitively say it improved the results, her total shooting time, and her comfort in knowing the camera wouldn't easily slip out of her hand...even with the wrist strap. Maybe it's something your girl may benefit from, too.

The Canon was originally $299 but saw it was on sale for $279 this morning, so called B&H and they gave me a refund of $20. I looove B&H. I've ordered a lot of big money items from them and they treat me right even on this small stuff. Plus no tax..

KFLLCFII wrote:

Fumanchewd wrote:
But I decided to go with the Canon Powershot SX710. The thing has incredible stats including 1920 video. The one thing I'm not sure about is it has no viewfinder.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... gital.html

Excellent choice. My mom has the earlier-model SX600 and used it extensively throughout our Alaska trip. Very good photos and even better video with the image stabilization. Watching the trip vids on her 55" at 1920x1080 is just incredible and really puts us back...

I wouldn't worry about the lack of a viewfinder. Most people coming off a cameraphone are used to a "view screen" for shooting, so it would probably be an easy transition. One thing i would recommend is a small "handle" that screws into the tripod mount if she's going to be doing some extended shooting...It takes the "delicateness" out of the feel...and fear...of holding the camera itself and potentially dropping it. This is almost identical to what my mom used during the trip, and I can definitively say it improved the results, her total shooting time, and her comfort in knowing the camera wouldn't easily slip out of her hand...even with the wrist strap. Maybe it's something your girl may benefit from, too.

Thanks I ordered a similar handle type of thing that yo recommended as well as a case. Today I ordered an extreme 64GB card which may be a little overkill for this camera, but she can take a lot of HD video with if she wants. I tend to go overboard on camera stuff...

Fumanchewd wrote: I looove B&H.

Me too. Most of my bought-new camera stuff is from B&H.

I have to say, my smartphones I've had over the years, leading up to the iPhone 6 I have now, have completely replaced the need for me to have a point and shoot.