Camera advice

[Neilds]

Hi all, after some advice and hoping there would be some camera experts on here.

My wife and I are off to Northern India and Bhutan later int the year and, for various reasons, I don’t really want to use my phone as a camera. I have a budget of £3-400 and am after a small camera (easy to store in jacket pocket) that takes good photos. Not really bothered about video but a bit of manual control over the shots would be useful (nothing too complicated). A decent zoom and good picture quality is a must. No SLR or bridge cameras.

Most of the ones that seem to be recommended on the internet are over £1000 so way over my budget. Does anyone have any experience in this area and would be able to point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I have a Canon compact for travelling light. It is good, but the Panasonic Lumix are very good as well. Sony also make good ones.
I think a lot of the point and shoots have been dropped as so many people now use their phone.

 

[spongebob59]

The Fujifilm camera are very good. But I suspect you'll struggle to find something in your budget unless you go second hand.

There's this at £550 if you can push up your budget

Buy Fujifilm X half Compact Digital Camera in Black

The Fujifilm X half is a stylish digital camera in black featuring a 1-inch back-illuminated sensor, unique LCD monitor that is optimised for vertical compositions and movie recording at a 3:4 aspect ratio. Shop at jessops.com with free delivery. Trade-in and finance options.

www.jessops.com

 

[spongebob59]

From a friend who's is a very keen photographer, if you want to look second hand

Wex is always my first choice but there also MPB and the London Camera exchange.

 

[spongebob59]

From a friend who's is a very keen photographer, if you want to look second hand

Wex is always my first choice but there also MPB and the London Camera exchange.

There’s not much in that price bracket that I would recommend but I would suggest looking for something like a Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II. It fits the criteria and he should be able to find one at the top end of his budget

 

[spongebob59]

https://www.wexphotovideo.com/canon-powershot-g9-x-digital-camera-black-used-3296230/?irclickid=0hcWqmQi6xycUWu1nf3mlWhVUkpV94XRB27CTE0&sharedid=&irpid=1812968&irgwc=1&afsrc=1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=1812968&utm_campaign=Main%20Product%20Feed%20Ad&utm_content=2054744&utm_term=

 

[RichA]

I get that you don't want to use your phone, but a refurbished "like new" iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy S24 costs ~£400. The cameras are great and they are more pocketable than a compact camera.
You wouldn't need to activate a SIM card - you're just using it as a camera; not a phone. Just upload the photos to the cloud when you have wifi and sell the phone after your holiday.

 

[Neilds]

Looks like I need to have a think about it a bit more

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Panasonic Lumix

Park Cameras are my favourite port of call for most things photographic.
They are very reliable and do used as well as knew.
That is a link to a Pansonic Lumix they have.

Edit:
How about this as a cheap used option..
Canon Powershot D30

If you want something small but something you can play with a lot more. It is used, but will give you options of fully automatic as well as creativitiy
Panasonic Lumix

 

[KenL]

I get that you don't want to use your phone, but a refurbished "like new" iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy S24 costs ~£400. The cameras are great and they are more pocketable than a compact camera.
You wouldn't need to activate a SIM card - you're just using it as a camera; not a phone. Just upload the photos to the cloud when you have wifi and sell the phone after your holiday.

Phone cameras are not great compared to a proper camera, especially if you want to print out the images.

 

[RichA]

I'm not sure a <£400 compact will give the greatest results either, if a decent one can even be found.
Not many new ones these days and I wouldn't want to rely on a motorised optical zoom I didn't know the history of, if a used camera was the option.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I'm not sure a <£400 compact will give the greatest results either, if a decent one can even be found.
Not many new ones these days and I wouldn't want to rely on a motorised optical zoom I didn't know the history of, if a used camera was the option.

If it's just for this holiday, then I think it should be ok. But anything longer term, perhaps not

 

[Neilds]

Thanks for all the comments. The Panasonic seems to fit all my requirements, now just need to find a good deal.

 

[Neilds]

From a friend who's is a very keen photographer, if you want to look second hand

Wex is always my first choice but there also MPB and the London Camera exchange.

Just seen Wex have a branch in Bristol so I will pop in for a chat/look.

 

[spongebob59]

Just seen Wex have a branch in Bristol so I will pop in for a chat/look.

Good idea, you'll get an idea of size too.