Question After a slim compact camera that offers me quality and meets some specifications. Help?

suciosucio5

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Hello so i currently own a Panasonic XS-1 and it's a nice little camera but does lack in some areas, for example, poor zoom, not very good in low slight and a bit of a slow operations. DMC-XS1 LUMIX Compact Cameras - Panasonic

I am after an upgrade from this camera and want it to meet the following specs;

Essential:
- Have at least x5 optical zoom (hoping for x8 or more)
- CMOS Sensor
- Slim body (25mm depth/thickness or less)

Additional which would be nice but not essential;
- Tough body and rugged design
- Shockproof/Waterproof

Price budget isn't too much of an issue, let's say under £300.

I've been doing some research online and can't seem to find anything yet.

Can anyone help?

Cheers.
 
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20mm is very slim, no? Presumably this means you have ruled out the Panasonic TZs which otherwise fit the bill?
 
Yeah is pretty slim, but not as slim as the current Panasonic i have (17mm)

I've just edited the post, let's say 25mm or less :smashin:
 
My tz30 is 28mm deep
 
A super slim body and a long zoom are generally mutually exclusive as a larger zoom mechanism takes up more space and also squeezing these long zooms onto small bodies doesn't result in good image quality as the lens is not bright and the sensor is small which in particular doesn't make for good low light performance. If you're wanting to upgrade for better image quality I think you'll be disappointed with any of the cameras below and really any camera that meets your requirements.

Generally with cameras, it's a matter of compromise - to give a counter example, a Sony RX100 is a compact with outstanding image quality thanks to its comparatively huge sensor and bright lens but it's much deeper than your requirements and the zoom is smaller:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100: Digital Photography Review

It's an older model but the Sony TX30 comes to mind as it has a 5x zoom, waterproof/shockproof and it's just 15.4mm deep:

18.2 Mega Pixel T Series 5x Optical Zoom Cyber-shot (Black)

The Coolpix S6800 isn't shock or waterproof but it's 23mm deep and has a 12x zoom:

Nikon Coolpix S6800: Digital Photography Review

The Canon Ixus 265HS looks similar:

Canon PowerShot ELPH 340 HS (IXUS 265 HS): Digital Photography Review

Lumix SZ7:

Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7: Digital Photography Review

The DPR site allows you to filter cameras by certain parameters (although not depth) so it may be worth it to have a play to see if you can find anything.

John
 
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That's great "Johnmcl7" thanks for that information. However i forgot to mention that camera has to be from Currys/PCWorld as i have store credit for there. So if someone knows a model that im after that would be available through Currys that'd be great. [Link to the website below]

I've had a good look on their website but not found much so far..

Compact cameras - Cheap Compact cameras Deals | Currys
 
The Canon Ixus 160 is relatively cheap, is that because it's a budget line model? Not sure if it would be worth changing to that...

The Sony WX350 looks good but is quite chunky....How about the Sony WX220? That has the CMOS sensor and has a slim body compared to the WX350, sure the spec isn't as good but it's still better than what i currently have...
SONY Cyber-shot DSC-WX220B Compact Digital Camera - Black
 
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Looking at your wish list ie slim body and at least 10x optical zoom you're probably limited to your basic consumer compacts with a 1/2.3" sensor, and as such image quality is going to be pretty much the same across the board so I'd just recommend looking at a few that fit the bill and see which you get on best with in terms of controls and menus.
 
I understand what you are saying and FYI I'll be happy with at least 8x optical zoom. Might go for the Sony WX220...
 
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I am no longer restricted to buying the camera from Currys/PCWorld so i may look for a Sony TX30 second hand, the fact it's so slim really appeals to me. Any other suggestions based on my requirements would be great, thanks!
 
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Personally super slim is not a priority. For what it's worth I have two compacts, a TZ and RX100. My preference is the latter as it has better image quality. Both easily fit in a pocket. I would say no need to go smaller and the 4 times bigger sensor would clinch it over the tx30 for me.

Compare the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX30 vs the Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100

..the choice is up to you of course :)
 
PS you probably already have a super slim camera with a 1/2.3" sensor in your pocket already that can zoom etc....in the shape of your smartphone
 
PS you probably already have a super slim camera with a 1/2.3" sensor in your pocket already that can zoom etc....in the shape of your smartphone

Oh that did make me LOL - I suggest you check the common phone camera sensor sizes... ;)
 
I checked against current ones....
Which ones have 1/2.3" sensors, most (including iPhone) have 1/3" or 1/3.2" AFAIK?
 
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Samsung Galaxy was one listed with 1/2.3 as I recall, will check this evening
 
...about that model maybe ;) @snerkler was that just the current model or all Galaxy variants ?
 
Yeah but 1/x needs to be a smaller value for x than a typical compact camera at 1/2.3 to even be equivalent to a typical compact - and that's before we looking at lens quality or zoom range etc.
 

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