Having the right camera can make all the difference in the digital age – after all, it was once said that a picture is simply a moment of frozen time.
A camera can allow us to document the highlights of a life, and can allow you to capture the world around you, which is why it’s so important that you have a good one.
It can be a little harder to come by good lower end cameras these days as smartphones with rather impressive cameras become more and more popular, but the professional and advanced point and shoot camera market is thriving more so now than ever.
It’s easy to get a good, compact camera that has a decently sized sensor with more connectivity options, more megapixels and more features these days.
With there being so many of these incredible cameras on the market, it can be hard to narrow down your selection for what to buy. Whether you’re just starting out on your photography journey or whether you’re a professional that wants to get a more compact camera option, we’ve got you covered.
Read on to find out about some of our best picks for point and shoot cameras.
In a hurry? This is our winner!
- Video Capture Resolution - FHD 1080p
Best Point and Shoot Camera – Comparison Table
Best Point and Shoot Camera – Reviews
This camera has it all. With a fantastic image quality, a large aperture lens and a full frame sensor, you can expect this to be a solid performer. If you’ve got a larger budget, this is definitely one to snatch up as soon as you can.
This camera has a stylish look , with a 3 inch touchscreen LCD screen that’s easy to navigate. It also has autofocus and WiFi built into it, and a brilliant 3.68 million dot electronic viewfinder.
It’s easy and efficient to capture images with this camera, more so than with a lot of other compact cameras.
The camera has a fixed focal length of around 28mm f/1.7 lens, which while it is good it may not be enough for those who need more of a zoom.
Otherwise the camera is a very strong contender on our list if you’ve got the budget for it.
- WiFi connectivity
- Strong viewfinder
- Easy to use
- LCD touchscreen
- A bit expensive
This camera is perhaps a little more than just a point and shoot camera, being a bridge camera-like device that’s directed towards intermediate level photographers.
It’s more of an all-in-one kind of camera that’s also super compact too, so you can slip it into your bag for any excursion.
The camera comes with a fantastic 83x optical zoom, and it also has dual optical vibration reduction that’s built right into the focal length. It’s got a decent f/2.8 aperture too, and it can even shoot a brilliant 4K video when you’re recording.
You can record RAW files with it too, so it’s ideal for those who want a decent lens but it also works well for anyone who just wants it for casual use.
The camera can be connected to WiFi and Bluetooth too, and features 16 effective megapixels with a maximum resolution of 4608 x 3456. It features a 3.2 inch LCD screen, and this is fully articulated.
As a whole it’s a solid option for those just starting out and are slightly further on in their photography journey, but it may be a little bit insufficient for professionals.
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
- 4K video
- 83x optical zoom
- f/2.8 aperture
- A bit lacking for professional use
This is a compact camera that’s ideal for travelling with, but despite this it packs a lot of punches as far as technology is concerned too. The camera has a 24-360mm zoom which is pretty impressive for a camera of this size.
In addition, the camera is ideal no matter what you choose to use it for, whether for reference or a full blown creative project. It’s got a good 1 inch sensor which is pretty large, and a brilliant zoom capability.
In addition, the camera features 4K video and 20.1 megapixels. Even better? It’s incredibly affordable, so even if you’re just starting out this is a great choice for you.
- Good zoom capability
- Large sensor
- Versatile uses
- 4K video
- The screen is fixed in place
This camera is one that’s well balanced, being a very portable camera that has great image quality and is very usable. The camera provides RAW file and JPEG print ready photos in just one click.
The camera comes with a good grip that helps to ensure that you don’t drop it very easily, and it also has a tilting LCD screen that’s touch sensitive for easy maneuverability. It’s got great focus too so you can expect some brilliant photographs to be produced using this camera.
It’s absolutely perfect for a camera enthusiast that just wants the best possible equipment to capture those tiny fragments in time.
The camera has Full HD video resolution for when you want to record, and it features 20.1 megapixels. It also has a decently sized 1 inch sensor too for those beautiful images.
In addition, it’s rather affordable too considering the amount of features that it offers.
- Affordable
- Decently sized touch screen screen
- Full HD video
- Decently sized sensor
- Doesn’t come with a viewfinder
If you’re likely to be taking photos when it’s wet outside, then the Olympus Tough TG-6 is a very good option. This compact camera is ideal for those who just want to capture every adventure that life throws at them.
The camera is waterproof right up to 15m, and it’s even shockproof up to 2.1m. We don’t need to keep going on about how durable it is – all you need to know is that no matter what you’re doing, this camera will withstand whatever comes its way.
This isn’t even the best part, though! The camera produces some fantastic images and even sports 4K video for when you want to record your adventures, live and in stereo.
The camera has a pretty decent level of zoom and while the sensor isn’t that large, it’s still pretty decent overall. It’s ideal for photographers that are just getting started on their journey. The camera consists of 12 megapixels, and it’s very portable so you can take it wherever you go.
It also has a decent burst speed of 20 frames per second. The camera also comes with built in WiFi, an OI. Share system, and as it is waterproof it’s worth mentioning that the camera even has some really neat underwater modes.
The camera also comes with a GPS, Compass and location functions so you can keep track of where your image was taken. It’s even quite decently priced!
- Built in WiFi
- Underwater modes and waterproof
- 4K video
- Very durable
- Small sensor
Best Point and Shoot Camera – Buyers Guide
So now that you’ve seen our picks for the best point and shoot cameras, what went into our decision, and what things do you need to consider when looking for a point and shoot camera? Here are some things to keep in mind.
Categories of Point and Shoot Cameras
Enthusiasts
As smartphone cameras are on the rise and are constantly getting better and better in quality, the majority of camera manufacturers are redirecting their energies onto making cameras for professionals or enthusiasts.
The majority of these cameras tend to have quite large 1 inch image sensors, they have very fast lenses and they usually come with a lot of different useful features such as tilting LCD screens and 4K video.
Mid Range
Usually mid range point and shoot cameras have a lot of great features but they tend to have a slightly less impressive image sensor size, most of them being about ⅔ inch.
If you don’t intend to make your images bigger or if you want to have features like a large zoom without spending thousands on a professional camera, a mid range option is a good balance between a good performance and an affordable price.
Entry Level
There are a lot less of these cameras on the market lately, which is crazy considering how many people would have them on their holiday abroad years ago! It’s not really practical these days to have both a smartphone and a portable camera as they do fairly similar things.
Most cameras on smartphones are very good these days, especially in portrait mode. It’s probably best to go with a mid range or enthusiast model in this case, unless you don’t have a smartphone or you don’t want to take your smartphone skiing or backpacking, for example.
Zoom
Point and shoot cameras tend to have a lens attached rather than lenses that are interchangeable such as you would find on mirrorless cameras or DSLRs. They usually have a decent level of versatility as far as zoom is concerned.
Recently, there’s been a trend for superzoom cameras which has a long zoom range all the way up to 1000mm or maybe even more. Smartphones aren’t that great with zoom, and so a camera can be far more beneficial in this regard.
The main issue with superzoom cameras is that they’re usually a little bulkier and heavier than your average point and shoot camera and they usually have smaller image sensors. With that being said, they’re perfect for things like sporting events, school plays, travel and wildlife cameras and they’re pretty fun to use!
Before you make a decision on what camera you want to buy, you should try to consider first of all the kinds of photos that you tend to take with it. Different types of photography will require different amounts of zoom, so you should only get a superzoom camera if you plan on zooming in very far on a fairly regular basis.
Sensor
While most marketing would have you believe that it’s the megapixels that determine the quality of your image, honestly it’s more down to the sensor size. The bigger your sensor, the better the image will be.
For the most part, an entry level and the odd mid range point and shoot camera will have a ½.3 inch CMOS image sensor. The more you spend on the camera then the more likely you are to get a larger sensor. For the most part high end point and shoot cameras tend to have either 1 inch or 1/1.7 inch CMOS sensor. On occasion you may find a camera with an APS-C image sensor but this isn’t common.
Megapixels
Photographs usually have dozens of megapixels, so for example if you see that your camera has 20 megapixels what it means is that the photograph will consist of 20 million tiny little dots that make up the image. As we’ve previously mentioned, these numbers can lead you astray. Just because a camera has more megapixels it doesn’t mean that camera will give you better images necessarily.
If your camera has a better sensor, more ISO sensitivity and it has a much better lens then you may expect a better photo from this camera than you would with a camera that simply has more megapixels.
With that being said, you shouldn’t ignore megapixels either. You should first look at the size of the sensors, and then follow that with assessing the megapixels. From there you can assess how the numbers align with the competition. As a rule if you pay more for a camera you’re going to get a larger sensor and more megapixels.
Performance in Low Light
One of the big differences between a cheaper point and shoot and a more high end one is the performance you get in the low light from the lens and the camera. When you’re looking for a lens, you need to look at the number of maximum apertures.
This is shown in f stops, and this can go from f/1.4 to f/22 and sometimes even higher than this. If the number is lower then it will let more light into it as the lens is wider. The majority of mid range and budget cameras will have a rating of roughly f/2 to f/3.5.
When you’re looking at the performance of the camera as a whole in low light then you’re looking for its ISO sensitivity, which is mostly referred to just as ISO.The higher the ISO number is on the camera then the more sensitivity your camera has to light, and you’re also less likely to get any graininess on the image as you would get on a smartphone or cheap camera.
Video
Video is pretty popular when it comes to priorities for camera hunters. Today, you’re pretty likely to see Full HD 1080P cameras (1910 x 1080 pixels) and this is true even of point and shoot cameras. You may find the occasional budget version that will only shoot 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) but they’re not all that common. With more professional cameras you can even find 4K video (4096 x 3072 pixels).
As far as the overall quality of the video is concerned, there’s a lot more that goes into it than simply the resolution. For example, you should be looking at the autofocus quality, the ISO sensitivity, image sensor size and any additional features such as image stabilization.
All of these things impact the quality of your video. If you are looking at getting into creating video, it’s worth considering playing around with a lot of different movie speeds, and you can only really find this with some of the more expensive point and shoot cameras.
Another feature you may see that’s talked about a lot is the ‘dedicated movie button.’ Essentially this is designed to make your life easier, so you don’t have to spend ages searching through the camera menu with either the buttons of the touchscreen to find the movie maker, instead you can just press one button on the outside of the camera and you can instantly record your video.
This is just one way that camera manufacturers compete with smartphones that simplify the video recording process.
WiFi
Manually plugging in your camera to your desktop takes a long time, and for the most part is an unnecessary waste of time. Built in WiFi can help to make life a lot easier by being able to easily upload and transfer photos onto your device or onto social media in an instant.
LCD Screens
The vast majority of LCD screens tend to measure at around 3 inches in size, and usually the level of resolution you get is determined by the price that you pay. On some of the more expensive models you may find a tilting screen and sometimes even touch screen compatibility.
This feature may be a matter of personal preference, but it is good to have a brighter and higher resolution screen when you’re in rougher conditions for your shoot.