Which of these do you think would make a good all rounder.

Panasonic TZ60EB

Sony HX60

Any others I should consider?

FWIW, I bought one of those Panasonics a few months back and I’ve been very impressed with it. It gives my SLR a run for it’s money in a lot of shooting situations and it’s zoom does open up a lot of possibilities (the stabilisation on the zoom is also impressive)

There’s plenty of effects on it, should you wish to use them. It shoots RAW and JPEG for a bit more flexibility. It’s done exactly what I wanted it to, namely be good enough and light enough to carry around all the time – the best camera in the world is useless if you can’t be bothered to carry it around with you!

The only criticism I have is the software that goes on to the PC is very clunky. I bought myself the ACDSee suite of software, as it will cope with the Panny and the Canon SLR images.

The iphone/ipad app could be useful as well for remote shooting etc.

I have the TZ40 which is an older but similar version of that Panasonic. I’ve been very pleased with the pictures it takes but – since it looks very similar to the TZ60 – here are the negative points:

1. The video REC button is too close to and too similar in size to the on/off button. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve turned the camera off instead of recording footage. Infuriating.

2. It’s very easy with these super zooms to turn off the camera with drops of water remaining on the lens body. Even in the lightest of rain showers it can dissuade you from taking pictures.

3. Battery life is a little inadequate. If you’re a keen snapper and plan on taking it out for a weekend do not forget the charger.

Fujifilm X20
It’s a cracking little camera.

Sony RX-100

Mine is ace.

http://www.panasonic.com/uk/consumer/cameras-camcorders/lumix-digital-cameras—point-and-shoot/bridge-cameras/dmc-fz62eb.html

Thanks for the replies and reviews. Really appreciate all your help. Forgot to say, image quality is important but so is size (must be able to fit in a pocket) and a reasonable optical zoom (I see lots of wildlife on my doggy walks and they are often too far away for me to photograph)

in true stw style i will recommend my own 😉 canon g15 (i went through months of researching compact system/compact/slr cameras and ended up with a top end compact for ease of use and ability to take great shots whilst on the bike) easy to use and has a plethora of features and settings (pretty much everything an slr has) battery life is excellent, it just did a week in Cornwall and got used every day and still had juice left (took the charger just in case) also has a removable ring for an adapter so filters/shades/extra zoom lens can be used. here’s an example
[/url]IMG_1749 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]
[/url]IMG_2046 by daftvader77, on Flickr[/img]

There are probably very few bad cameras out there these days so picture quality will probably be great on any of the big brand options. There are some useful reviews out there which will compare several cameras that will allow you to pick the one with the most appropriate mix of features and practicality.

Interestingly I chose the TZ40 because it had GPS, a touchscreen and Wi-Fi: I hardly use any of these features!

My current camera is a Fuji X100. Lovely for most things but the fixed lens means no zoom. Like the look of the X20 but 4x optical zoom might not be enough.

I like and have had several Canon G series. But I REALLY like the Fuji X20 I now have. A proper camera, with a real viewfinder that gives exposure information. Fast to turn on, manual zoom (I prefer fixed anyway). Just a nice camera for anyone who knows how to use one. The Gxx and X20 are both very “pocketable” if out riding.

The X100 was my first choice but was i) too large and ii) over budget. Eventually large sensor fixed prime cameras will come down in price, but they probably won’t get much smaller.

TiRed – is the X20 a good camera to learn how to use it?

It will teach you all you need to know – up to depth of field preview, so I’d say yes it is. Not as easy to learn on as a fully manual SLR. but easy access to aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and manual focus, plus simple exposure compensation.

It feels like a proper camera that happens to be digital. And that is the best compliment.

thread resurrection:

Anyone got a Fuji XE1?