Preferred camera??

[Jah Bless]

iPhone, you never know when that photo op will occur.

[Sophie2012]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will be taking some time to research, I want the best bang for my buck! Can't wait to be there and need quality pictures to look back on. Who knows when I will get there again.
Again, thanks for alll the responses

[SimonB1964]

Sweetsue - It takes great video. The TS3 shots Full HD: 1920 x 1080 pixels. My TS2 shots 1280 x 720. The following video was shot with the TS2 at 1280 x 720 (Ignore my fat finger in the way for part of it)

Thats the camera I brought last June for our trip to Playa del Carmen. It turned out pretty good on the whole. The underwater pictures taken at Xel-Ha were amazing!!
But the night time pictures left a lot to be desired, which seems to happen to me a lot on vacations!! I did post here a while ago for night time tips.
Anyway, good solid camera with good battery life so far..... can't wait to use it in Negril real soon!!

Simon.

[RockRobster]

I have been reading everyone’s trip reports for a while now and absolutely LOVE all the pictures you guys post. My question is, to capture the sunsets and clear water and all the beauty Negril has to offer, what kind of camera are you using? I'm heading to Negril in June, and need a decent camera. I am just looking for a point and shoot. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. Even better, if you could post a picture of something you used the camera for. Not looking to spend an arm and a leg, just need something decent.

Thanks in advance everyone

If you don't care about anything other than daylight shooting, go with a point/shoot with a high quality lens like a Zeiss. Optical zoom is all important, digital zoom is worthless for great shots. The faster the lens, i.e the lower the f-stop potential, the better the quality, in general.

My new toy rocks. Olympus T-810. But it is a bit specialized........I mean...do I really need a GPS in my 10m waterproof camera?

[Finny]

I mean...do I really need a GPS in my 10m waterproof camera?

You just touched on my favorite feature of my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5; the GPS. I love being able to look back at exactly where my pics were taken. It's only 10.2 MP, but that's enough for me...

[Rambo]

Here is a shot from a Canon Power Shot......check out the clarity of the optical zoom......I was about 20 ft away...

Good lens"s are very important in the Zoom quality....

[Craig123]

Canon and Panosonic pretty much dominate the compact camera market. Either of their top models would be excellant choices.

[RockRobster]

Canon and Panosonic pretty much dominate the compact camera market. Either of their top models would be excellant choices.

I'm not sure how to respond to this except to disagree. Sony, Olympus, and Fuji are major players in top-end point/shoots. You forgot the big dog on the block...NIKON. How could you think that Canon and Panasonic dominate and not consider NIKON?

Either of Canon or Panasonic's TOP models are going to set you back MAJOR bucks, but at least Panasonic has better lenses on their top shelf gear. I've had very bad luck with the bulky, temperamental, battery-sucking Canon point/shoots. YMMV. My last Canon POS p/s fell victim to some 00buckshot...on purpose.

Remember, it is almost all in the lens. There is something to be said for a great processing engine...but it can only do so much. Look for quality lens for quality shots. Here are some reasonably priced, great lensed cameras:

1. http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Sens...607055-4126413

note the Leica lens...

2. http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Cyber-Sho...2952853&sr=1-4

Note the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens

These are just a couple of choices. Remember...look for the fastest lens you can afford, i.e. the lowest f-stop potential. Minimum acceptable optical zoom is 5x. Digital zoom is not only meaningless, it is deceptive. Olympus cameras less than $300 are real junk. Above that, real beauty. I don't understand that marketing strategy....

Oh, Nikon makes pretty good lenses....I just feel you are paying a big premium for the name.

There are no cheap point/shoots with decent lenses. That's because fast lenses cost $$$$.

[Craig123]

Panasonic & Canon are quite prominant according to these "experts" (which I am not). What can I say?

http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/

[RockRobster]

Panasonic & Canon are quite prominant according to these "experts" (which I am not). What can I say?

http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/

I must be misreading that link. I didn't see anything where Panasonic and Canon are "dominant" or "prominent". And those picks are only the ones he reviewed. Take that with a BIG grain of salt.

I'd choose Panasonic over Canon everyday.

And, I forgot to mention this: You don't need 16mp. You aren't going to blow up anything to eight feet by ten feet. Your eye probably cannot discern the difference between 10mp and 16mp. Therefore, you can get downright steals now on older cameras that are still NOS. 2011 models are fine, as are 2010 models and they are less than 1/2 of the 2012 models. The warranty doesn't start until date of purchase.

Happy Hunting!