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Looking to upgrade from your phone’s camera before your next family trip, but don’t want to spend a fortune on a DSLR? Then this year’s line of point-and-shoot cameras should hit the sweet spot. They’re the perfect compromise between your smartphone’s native camera and a full-blown DSLR. You get the portability and features of smartphones and the near picture quality of a DSLR all at an affordable price.
With smartphone manufacturers rolling out better cameras every year, point-and-shoot cameras have to constantly innovate with new features and pack them all into a smaller body to stay relevant. Premium features such as recording in 4K, face-detection, and built-in WiFi used to be exclusive to higher-end cameras. Today, they’re found in most point-and-shoot cameras. Sorting through all the different brands, models, and features to find the right one for you can be a challenge.
Here are the six best point-and-shoot cameras you can buy for less than $500 this year.
Sony DSC-HX400 Digital Camera
The Sony DSC-HX400 is a high-end point-and-shoot camera that sports the look of a DSLR but made intuitive enough that anyone could take photos with it.
Its 20.4MP sensor takes incredibly detailed photos and can even record 1080p videos. And it’s advanced face-detection can recognize up to eight people in a single frame. The active stabilization works like a charm to make sure you get a clear shot up close or at 50x optical zoom. If you’re looking for a camera that’s well built, packed with features, and delivers crystal clear photos, then the Sony DSC-HX400 is for you.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
Olympus is a well-known name in the digital camera space. It’s products are prized for being versatile and well made enough to pass down from generation to generation. And the latest point-and-shoot, the OM-D E-M10 Mark III, delivers on the company’s promises.
The OM-D E-M10 Mark III sports a mirrorless sensor capable of capturing 16MP photos and record videos in 4K. The camera also has a built-in 5-axis image stabilization feature enabling you to take clear photos in addition to automatically adjusting itself to the take the best possible photo based on the lighting condition. It comes equipped with a Silent Mode, which can be useful for those delicate wildlife shots. And it can also cancel out wind and background noises during video recording sessions to give you higher quality audio.
Panasonic Lumix ZS80
Panasonic is known for making versatile and consumer-friendly point-and-shoot cameras. Among price, quality and features, most manufacturers can only afford to excel at two of the three. Panasonic breaks the norm and accomplishes to deliver a well-made camera with useful functions at an affordable price.
The ZS80 comes equipped with a powerful 20.3MP sensor and a 30x optical zoom lens by Leica. The camera performs well even under low lighting. And the traditional lens-mounted control ring offers a high level of precision and control not found in many other cameras at this price range. The ZS80 can also record videos in 4K/UHD making it an outstanding choice for bloggers and YouTubers.
Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III
The Sony Cyber-shot is one of the most premium point-and-shoot compact cameras available today. Since its original release, the Cyber-shot series set a new standard in terms of features and functionality for compact digital cameras. The RX100 III features a 1″ CMOS 20.1MP sensor, a snappy f/1.8-2.8 with a 3x optical zoom Zeiss lens, and an electronic viewfinder (EVF) all packed inside a compact body. It’s capable of delivering sharp and clear photos even under low light conditions.
One of its most captivating features is its pop-up electronic viewfinder, which gives you access to the EVF anytime without adding any additional bulk on the camera. The RX100 III also comes with built-in wifi/NFC, 3″ tilt display, and can record videos at 1080p at 60fps.
Fujifilm X-A5
The Fujifilm X-A5 is an affordable mirrorless camera that’s targeted at entry-level photographers, bloggers and YouTube creatives. The 24MP APS-C sensor is capable of taking clear images and recording videos up to 4K. But beware—it can only record videos at 15fps in 4K resolution. The camera features two to dials for adjustments and a boatload of features to take advantage of it’s 3″ vertical flip touchscreen. Despite lacking a viewfinder, it has enough features and stylish enough to keep enthusiasts happy, especially at this price point.
Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
The Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II is one of the most highly rated point-and-shoot cameras this year. It’s a stylish camera with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor that can take DSLR-like still photos. The DIGIC 7 image processor enables lightning fast operation and top-notch noise reduction to give you detail-rich photos even under poor lighting condition.
The built-in Wifi/NFC and Bluetooth connectivity let you focus on the shooting and less on importing/exporting photos. Anyone looking for a chic, functional, and feature-rich camera that also takes near DSLR-quality photos will be impressed with what the PowerShot G9 X Mark II has to offer.
