[protrails]

Hey all - we are considering a switch from the Panasonic Lumix family. We're seeking a lightweight, fairly durable point and shoot with at least 30x Optical zoom and minimum 16MP. Any ideas? Currently on a Lumix ZS-40 and we've been using this family for years - in fact almost every pic on the ProTrails site was taken with a lumix. Examples of our shots with the lumix (wildlife of Olympic): http://www.protrails.com/gallery/569 Thanks! Dave

[NacMacFeegle]

My mother used a Panasonic camera for a long time before switching to a Sony, and has been mostly pleased with the images it has produced. Their latest and greatest super zoom is the DSC-HX400/B although they do sell much cheaper models. It has a 50X zoom and 20 megapixels (though you should never judge a camera by megapixels alone). Sony's also do great video, and have a number of useful unique and useful features (sweep panorama and handheld low light are the best). Canon and Nikon also make superzooms, but I'm not overly fond of either's current offerings (I've always found Nikons point and shoots to be of inferior quality). You might also consider getting an advanced point-and-shoot with a larger sensor. The image quality will be significantly better, and you will get better manual controls. However, such cameras are also much more expensive, do not have long zooms, and often have fewer megapixels (though again, the quality of the pixels is more important than the number).

[protrails]

Thanks for the heads up. Love the 50x zoom! I'll check out the sony. D

[Schroder]

Check out the reviews here at DPReview: Enthusiast compact camera roundup (2014)

[NacMacFeegle]

[iron]

we've gone through a couple P&S lumix's. seems like they get dust and/or chip easily. looking forward to everyone's recommendations.

[williswall]

For many reasons I just procured a Panasonic LX100 after using a GH2 these past 4 years or so. See link above. Love it so far.