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HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2013: Editor's Choice - Part 1

By Team HardwareZone - 11 Mar 2013

Best Point & Shoot Digital Camera

Best Point & Shoot Digital Camera

Because the point & shoot is the most basic type of compact digital cameras, there's an overwhelming number of choices available in the market. Even for the most seasoned of photographers, picking the best one from literally hundreds of models is no easy task. Design, handling, operation speed, software, and many more all play a part in determining if a point & shoot is worth your money. But most importantly, it still boils down to image quality. As the popular adage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This year, we focused on travel-oriented super-zoom compact cameras that offer high zoom ratios (18x or higher) and good image stabilization as our nomination criteria within the sea of digital compacts.

Nominees: 

 

  • Canon PowerShot SX260 HS
  • Fujifilm FinePix F800EXR
  • Nikon Coolpix S9300
  • Olympus SZ-14
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30
  • Samsung WB150
  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V

 

And the Winner Is...

Canon PowerShot SX260 HS

The 12.1MP Canon PowerShot SX260 HS shoots images that are of good quality and have vivid colors. It also possesses the most contemporary design of the lot, managing to squeeze an impressive 20x optical zoom into a compact body. The image stabilization also works pretty well, as we were able to get clear shots even at the len's longest end. If you like taking landscapes or group shots, you'll also appreciate that the wide-angle end starts at 25mm.

With a 10.3fps burst rate, the SX260 HS is also a decent digicam for capturing moving subjects. And if you were to use it as a compact travel zoom camera, the built-in GPS will come in handy for tagging your photos with time and locations. All in all, the SX260 HS’s ease of use, powerful zoom lens, good image quality, and generally great overall package prompted us to award it our Editor's Choice ward for Best Point & Shoot Digital Camera. The only caveat is that the battery is rated to last about 230 shots, which is about 90 shots fewer than what's rated for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V.

Scoring Breakdown
Criteria/Model Canon SX260 HS Fujifilm F800EXR
Nikon S9300
Olympus SZ-14
Panasonic TZ30
Samsung WB150
Sony HX20V
Physique 8.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
Features 8.5 8.0 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5
User-Friendliness 8.5 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.0
Performance  8.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.5 8.0 8.0
Value 8.5 7.5 7.0 7.5 8.5 8.0 8.0
Overall 8.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 8.0 8.0 8.0
Price S$549 S$499 S$549 S$398 S$549 S$399 S$599

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

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