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Many photographers – whether amateur or professional – still opt for pocket-sized point-and-shoot cameras over their smartphones. Sure, smartphone cameras are now very advanced, but they still can’t match the image quality, control and feel of the real thing.
Point-and-shoots are the most straight-forward type of camera, making them especially attractive for novices. Chronicling vacations, capturing family memories and photo-journaling daily life becomes much easier thanks to the compact size, higher resolution images and zoom capabilities of a point-and-shoot. This convenience has also earned point-and-shoots a spot in the camera bags of many professional photographers.
If you’re looking to dip a toe into photography or upgrade your camera arsenal with a point-and-shoot, read on. We’ve rounded up some of the best point-and-shoot cameras on Amazon, as well as a few key specs to check before purchasing.
What to Know Before Buying a Point and Shoot Camera
Confusing specification sheets and endless photography jargon can make buying a new camera intimidating. However, even total newbies can make an educated purchase by cross-checking a few important features.
Image Quality: Digital cameras measure their image quality by the number of megapixels (MP) a sensor can capture. The higher the resolution, the better the image quality. This means you can crop and blow-up images without blurriness.
Zoom: One of the primary benefits of real cameras over a smartphone is zoom ability. While smartphone cameras employ digital zoom (which is essentially just cropping), point-and-shoot cameras use optical zoom. High-quality point-and-shoot lenses can zoom anywhere from 3x to 40x. But longer optical zoom requires a longer lens that’s less-suited for easy transportation in a pocket.
Auto Focus: As the name suggests, point-and-shoot cameras are typically used for quick snaps instead of meticulous manual photography. This means the auto-focus capability of a point-and-shoot camera is paramount.
Low-Light Ability: If you want to capture any night-time activities from dinners to bar crawls, you’ll need a camera with good low-light performance. This is where ISO comes in. The higher the ISO range of a camera, the more sensitive the sensor can become, therefore making it better in low-light.
Continuous Shooting: If you want to capture fast-moving action (I.e. sporting events or wildlife), continuous shooting speed is important. This indicates how fast the camera can capture pictures in rapid succession.
Video Quality: It’s always handy to have decent video capability at-the-ready. Although video isn’t the main concern of most point-and-shoot buyers, it’s still a good idea to check.
Design: Chances are you’re buying a point-and-shoot for easy transportation while going about your day or traveling. A good point-and-shoot should be easy to carry in a large pocket or small bag without weighing you down. Plus, a large screen is usually handy as well.
