First camera

[pboy]

fujifilm p&s been to about 15 countries with me, and made me tons of memories! 5 yrs or so old..
I think it was about R1k from the fujifilm shop.. j25 i believe..
one charge lasts the entire day with me shooting a afew hundred pics..

 

[Nanfeishen]

-it would be nice if I could buy an underwater case for it should I need to(not a major point but will be nice)

my budget is max R5000.

Waterproof and under R5000

Olympus Tg-1 iHS R4999,, shop around
Pentax Optio Wg-2 under R4000
Fujifilm FinePix xp100 , xp150 , xp170 under R3000

 

[The_Mowgs]

Ok most people I have spoken to suggests getting a canon camera and not to go for the samsung, although I like the wifi on the samsung because I have a galaxy tab 2 and the wife has a S3 but yeah...

Which canon is currently best on the market with good optical zoom and excellent picture quality? I don't think I will go for a bridge camera, seems a bit too big and bulky.

 

[GreyBush]

Ok most people I have spoken to suggests getting a canon camera and not to go for the samsung, although I like the wifi on the samsung because I have a galaxy tab 2 and the wife has a S3 but yeah...

Which canon is currently best on the market with good optical zoom and excellent picture quality? I don't think I will go for a bridge camera, seems a bit too big and bulky.

See post 3.

 

[The_Mowgs]

Are those cameras not a bit old by now? I was looking at the sx240hs as I would never use the gps that is in the 260hs.

The optical zoom on the s95 is also on the low side.

 

[Piesang]

Get the Canon sx50. You won't be disappointed. I've had a Panasonic Lumix and thought it was awesome till I got the Canon.

Paid R5200 with a class 10 32GB SD.

 

[Piesang]

Where are you from?

Are those cameras not a bit old by now? I was looking at the sx240hs as I would never use the gps that is in the 260hs.

The optical zoom on the s95 is also on the low side.

 

[GreyBush]

Are those cameras not a bit old by now? I was looking at the sx240hs as I would never use the gps that is in the 260hs.

The optical zoom on the s95 is also on the low side.

S95 might be a bit old but get the latest model... S100 or S105 which ever is available.

All I know is I was in the exact same boat as you and I found a few shootouts on legit sites where the S95 won.

 

[The_Mowgs]

Where are you from?

I'm from Cape Town

 

[Piesang]

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-PowerShot-SX50-HS-vs-Canon_PowerShot_S95

Get the sx50

 

[nanonyous]

Canon PowerShot G1 X

If you're willing to stretch your budget a bit, I'd suggest this.

-very good quality photos
Definitely

-future proof (atleast for a while)
It's the only compact out there right now with as large a sensor, which gives it better low-light high-ISO performance than most other compact cameras

-it would be nice if I could buy an underwater case for it should I need to(not a major point but will be nice)
Waterproof Case WP-DC44

-rechargeable battery that lasts
Ayup. Supplied Li-Ion.

-budget friendly(willing to pay more if its an excellent camera)
You'll grow with it rather than having to keep buying a new camera to grow with you. The ring around the lens can be used to adjust focus, it has RAW file support, it allows for in-camera HDR if you want that, it has an articulating screen, it has an optical viewfinder and has all the manual controls you could ever want - even more than consumer-grade DSLRs do. It also supports an external hotshoe flash.


You're basically just looking at a camera that's a bit fatter - it's not necessarily going to fit too nicely into your pocket, though you can get a belt-attachable pouch for it, or just a small shoulder camera bag like this one.