I requested advice from my Melbourne brother who is the most interested photographer in the family and he was a bit equivocal on this. But then he’s into the more expensive stuff. He uses a Sony RX100, but I really don’t need to go that fancy. This is what I asked:

>>I would like advice. I use a point and shoot Nikon Coolpix S3600 (2014). So it’s getting old. It’s got 8x optical zoom and 20MP. I’m doing a lot of plant and wildlife photos now and the photos are still quite adequate, but I’m thinking I will get another camera. I need it to be small (I carry it in my front pants pocket with my pack on my back in the bush) and not complicated. Point and shoot is all I need. I think there are a couple of possibilities.

Kodak PixPro FZ55 which has 5x optical zoom and 16MP. I think that would work for what I want and I should be able to get it from the local Harvey Norman.

But: I suspect a Ricoh WG-6 orange waterproof digital compact camera might be a better bet. A little more expensive, but not a problem. It’s 5x optical zoom and 20MP. It also has ring lights for close ups and some sort of microscope function? I’m leaning this way because it’s more rugged and I would prefer a bright colour because sometimes I put the camera down to arrange a plant and it’s easiest to see if it’s bright. My present camera is red. This one I can’t get locally, as we don’t have a Camera House (Horsham) or Ted’s (nowhere near here at all). I could do either of them online though, if you think that is OK.

All the point and shoots now seem to be only 5x optical zoom. But I can live with that. I don’t want anything fancy. <<

Any thoughts from you lot?

I have a Panasonic TG-6 which I use nearly every day.

I was looking for a new point and shoot a couple of years ago, as my dodgy shoulder wasn’t handling carrying the DSLR around. I wanted a camera that would be lighter and smaller and be able to handle all the fun of bushwalking and the dawn beach walks – mostly being knocked about on rocks and dropped and rained on. Fitting into my cargo pants pocket at a pinch was a bonus.

It came down to a choice between your Ricoh WG-6 and the Panasonic, and I was leaning towards the Ricoh as it was a bit cheaper. And then the Panasonic went on special so I got it. I think it went on special because Panasonic no longer makes them, they are now OM System. So the Ricoh may be a better bet. I do like the orange colour which would be easier to spot than the dull red of mine. Also the 6 LED around the lens would be better for your nature images than the straight flash on my camera perhaps.

I like being able to put my camera underwater to take shots and the macro works well though I rarely have a tripod on walks so images suffer from my shaky hands. It has a 4X zoom, not as good as my last point and shoot which was 8X. Your brother’s Sony definitely tempted me, but the sadness at damaging a more expensive camera in bushwalking accidents puts me off. I think your Ricoh is a winner.

ruby said:

I have a Panasonic TG-6 which I use nearly every day.

I was looking for a new point and shoot a couple of years ago, as my dodgy shoulder wasn’t handling carrying the DSLR around. I wanted a camera that would be lighter and smaller and be able to handle all the fun of bushwalking and the dawn beach walks – mostly being knocked about on rocks and dropped and rained on. Fitting into my cargo pants pocket at a pinch was a bonus.

It came down to a choice between your Ricoh WG-6 and the Panasonic, and I was leaning towards the Ricoh as it was a bit cheaper. And then the Panasonic went on special so I got it. I think it went on special because Panasonic no longer makes them, they are now OM System. So the Ricoh may be a better bet. I do like the orange colour which would be easier to spot than the dull red of mine. Also the 6 LED around the lens would be better for your nature images than the straight flash on my camera perhaps.

I like being able to put my camera underwater to take shots and the macro works well though I rarely have a tripod on walks so images suffer from my shaky hands. It has a 4X zoom, not as good as my last point and shoot which was 8X. Your brother’s Sony definitely tempted me, but the sadness at damaging a more expensive camera in bushwalking accidents puts me off. I think your Ricoh is a winner.

I use an Olympus TG-1. It is old and I’ve dropped it too many times which has broken parts of the case so I’d never trust it underwater anymore. The thing I do like about it most is that it still does very good macro shots and unlike most point and shoot cameras, the lens system is all inside the case and thus cannot get dirt into the lens zoom.

roughbarked said:

ruby said:

I have a Panasonic TG-6 which I use nearly every day.

I was looking for a new point and shoot a couple of years ago, as my dodgy shoulder wasn’t handling carrying the DSLR around. I wanted a camera that would be lighter and smaller and be able to handle all the fun of bushwalking and the dawn beach walks – mostly being knocked about on rocks and dropped and rained on. Fitting into my cargo pants pocket at a pinch was a bonus.

It came down to a choice between your Ricoh WG-6 and the Panasonic, and I was leaning towards the Ricoh as it was a bit cheaper. And then the Panasonic went on special so I got it. I think it went on special because Panasonic no longer makes them, they are now OM System. So the Ricoh may be a better bet. I do like the orange colour which would be easier to spot than the dull red of mine. Also the 6 LED around the lens would be better for your nature images than the straight flash on my camera perhaps.

I like being able to put my camera underwater to take shots and the macro works well though I rarely have a tripod on walks so images suffer from my shaky hands. It has a 4X zoom, not as good as my last point and shoot which was 8X. Your brother’s Sony definitely tempted me, but the sadness at damaging a more expensive camera in bushwalking accidents puts me off. I think your Ricoh is a winner.

I use an Olympus TG-1. It is old and I’ve dropped it too many times which has broken parts of the case so I’d never trust it underwater anymore. The thing I do like about it most is that it still does very good macro shots and unlike most point and shoot cameras, the lens system is all inside the case and thus cannot get dirt into the lens zoom.

Ruby: is that a TS6 (rather than TG6)?

Transition’s birding camera is a top-end Nikon point-and-shoot camera.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

ruby said:

I have a Panasonic TG-6 which I use nearly every day.

I was looking for a new point and shoot a couple of years ago, as my dodgy shoulder wasn’t handling carrying the DSLR around. I wanted a camera that would be lighter and smaller and be able to handle all the fun of bushwalking and the dawn beach walks – mostly being knocked about on rocks and dropped and rained on. Fitting into my cargo pants pocket at a pinch was a bonus.

It came down to a choice between your Ricoh WG-6 and the Panasonic, and I was leaning towards the Ricoh as it was a bit cheaper. And then the Panasonic went on special so I got it. I think it went on special because Panasonic no longer makes them, they are now OM System. So the Ricoh may be a better bet. I do like the orange colour which would be easier to spot than the dull red of mine. Also the 6 LED around the lens would be better for your nature images than the straight flash on my camera perhaps.

I like being able to put my camera underwater to take shots and the macro works well though I rarely have a tripod on walks so images suffer from my shaky hands. It has a 4X zoom, not as good as my last point and shoot which was 8X. Your brother’s Sony definitely tempted me, but the sadness at damaging a more expensive camera in bushwalking accidents puts me off. I think your Ricoh is a winner.

I use an Olympus TG-1. It is old and I’ve dropped it too many times which has broken parts of the case so I’d never trust it underwater anymore. The thing I do like about it most is that it still does very good macro shots and unlike most point and shoot cameras, the lens system is all inside the case and thus cannot get dirt into the lens zoom.

Ruby: is that a TS6 (rather than TG6)?

Transition’s birding camera is a top-end Nikon point-and-shoot camera.

Definitely a TG6. I may have had it longer than a couple of years. The booklet for it was 2019.
Having a light and tough camera means I take it more places. If I ever get more financial (unlikely at this point in life) I will get Buffy’s Ricoh and pass the Panasonic to one of the grandkids.

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

ruby said:

I have a Panasonic TG-6 which I use nearly every day.

I was looking for a new point and shoot a couple of years ago, as my dodgy shoulder wasn’t handling carrying the DSLR around. I wanted a camera that would be lighter and smaller and be able to handle all the fun of bushwalking and the dawn beach walks – mostly being knocked about on rocks and dropped and rained on. Fitting into my cargo pants pocket at a pinch was a bonus.

It came down to a choice between your Ricoh WG-6 and the Panasonic, and I was leaning towards the Ricoh as it was a bit cheaper. And then the Panasonic went on special so I got it. I think it went on special because Panasonic no longer makes them, they are now OM System. So the Ricoh may be a better bet. I do like the orange colour which would be easier to spot than the dull red of mine. Also the 6 LED around the lens would be better for your nature images than the straight flash on my camera perhaps.

I like being able to put my camera underwater to take shots and the macro works well though I rarely have a tripod on walks so images suffer from my shaky hands. It has a 4X zoom, not as good as my last point and shoot which was 8X. Your brother’s Sony definitely tempted me, but the sadness at damaging a more expensive camera in bushwalking accidents puts me off. I think your Ricoh is a winner.

I use an Olympus TG-1. It is old and I’ve dropped it too many times which has broken parts of the case so I’d never trust it underwater anymore. The thing I do like about it most is that it still does very good macro shots and unlike most point and shoot cameras, the lens system is all inside the case and thus cannot get dirt into the lens zoom.

Ruby: is that a TS6 (rather than TG6)?

Transition’s birding camera is a top-end Nikon point-and-shoot camera.

His is called a bridge camera.

roughbarked said:

Michael V said:

roughbarked said:

I use an Olympus TG-1. It is old and I’ve dropped it too many times which has broken parts of the case so I’d never trust it underwater anymore. The thing I do like about it most is that it still does very good macro shots and unlike most point and shoot cameras, the lens system is all inside the case and thus cannot get dirt into the lens zoom.

Ruby: is that a TS6 (rather than TG6)?

Transition’s birding camera is a top-end Nikon point-and-shoot camera.

His is called a bridge camera.

I have been using a Lumix Panasonic DMC- F3 12 megapixel for a few years. Not a top of the range but it fits into my shirt pocket and takes good quality images.

Thanks everyone. I think I’ll go the Ricoh. Now…next question. Any preference for Camera House or Ted’s for an online buy?

My old 4mp Olympus still serves me well enough for reasonably close photos like my food snaps.

My more modern and more expensive 20mp Canon is a disappointment. Takes much bigger but grainier photos.

The camera in my Oppo phone is pretty good for wide view snaps. The camera in my Vivo phone is crap.