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Best point and shoot around $300?

Started Mar 2, 2017 | Discussions thread
NAwlins Contrarian Veteran Member • Posts: 7,963
Sony DSC-HX80 is the best point and shoot around $300

Assuming we're talking new cameras, I would take a good look at the Sony DSC-HX80, currently $338. It has a pop-up electronic viewfinder like the RX-100 Mks. III, IV, and V; a BSI-CMOS sensor; a 24-720mm-equivalent lens (albeit f/3.5-6.4, but branded Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar, 11 elements in 10 groups with 5 of them being aspherical), full PASM exposure control; and 1080p60 video. What it does not have is raw capture, a fast lens, a large sensor, or UHD video (wrongly called 4K).

That said, one could well argue that makes more sense to either increase the budget somewhat, or look at used cameras, or settle for a cheaper new camera. New 1-inch sensor compacts now start at $430 for the original Canon G9X and $448 for the original Sony RX100. Used there are of course many options at many prices.

FWIW, for compact point-and-shoot duties I still use an old Canon SX230 HS. Especially with the CHDK firmware hack to produce DNG raw files, it is fine except in very low light, and for not having a viewfinder, which sometimes I really miss.

 NAwlins Contrarian's gear list:NAwlins Contrarian's gear list
Nikon Coolpix S30 Canon PowerShot S120 Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 Tamron SP AF 90mm F/2.8 Di Macro Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di USD +5 more
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