Point and shoot camera with great zoom for wildlife??

I currently have an Olympus TG 1 for underwater photos because I love to snorkel. I also have my cellphone. The zoom on both of these is not very good! I am not real technically inclined and have never used a DSLR. I do love taking pictures, but am certainly a novice. It takes a lot of photos to get the really good ones. I would love recommendations for a good point and shoot capable of zooming in on wildlife for great photos. Hubby says just make memories, but I really do enjoy trying to be a photographer. any recommendations?? Thank you in advance!

In addition to my DSLR I have a Canon SX50HS. It has great optical zoom and takes pretty good pictures. We go to a lot of concerts and you can't take in a camera with a removable lens so I use this. What they don't realize is that I get a lot more zoom out of it than I do with my DSLR.

In addition to my DSLR I have a Canon SX50HS. It has great optical zoom and takes pretty good pictures. We go to a lot of concerts and you can't take in a camera with a removable lens so I use this. What they don't realize is that I get a lot more zoom out of it than I do with my DSLR.

I have the same model and use it for all types of photos. Highly recommend it . It has ben replaced with

Powershot SX540HS.

Take a look at the Panasonic Lumix FZ-300, it would be a great choice for wildlife photography and would be my first choice. If you want something more compact you might consider the Nikon Coolpix A900. Both cameras offer a lot of features.

What kind of budget do you have in mind?

Arguably the "best" right now, and also the most expensive, is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV Digital Camera. This is a 20 MP, large sensor, with a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/2.4-4 Zoom Lens at 24-600mm (35mm Equivalent). It's also just under $1700. There is also a Mark III version of the same camera for about $1300. You lose 4K video, and I believe the processor is a little older/presumably less capable.

Panasonic's closest comparison is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500. Also 20 MP, with a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit f/2.8-4.5 Lens at 24-480mm (35mm Equivalent), so a little shorter. I'm seeing it on special right now at B&H for $997.99.

Those two are probably the beasts of this business. Very long zooms, very good, and fast, sensor/processor combinations, and generally fast, high quality lenses. You're paying for those features with both of them.

The Panasonic FZ300 mentioned earlier, as well as the Canon, are in a slightly different class, but priced more affordably. They sacrifice sensor size (a decent but imperfect surrogate for low light performance), but the FZ300 has a very good lens with a 25-600mm (35mm Equivalent) zoom range. It's also available for under $500, at least for now, on B&H.

My budget is as low as I can get it! Definitely below $1000 and would prefer less than that. I will check these out! Thank you!

My budget is as low as I can get it! Definitely below $1000 and would prefer less than that. I will check these out! Thank you!

In that case I would suggest you invetigate/test these two oprions Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX80 or Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 both 24-720mm and about $300

We are a Nikon family, we have the Nikon D3300 DSLR with a telephoto lens, and the AW110 for underwater. We just bought the B500 for my brother-in-law for their upcoming Alaska cruise (http://amzn.to/2lN4nQ7) It's a bit bulky, but it's got an amazing 40x optical zoom. We were debating between the B500 and the more compact 35x optical zoom A900 (http://amzn.to/2lMLDjl)

Ultimately the B500 had slightly better reviews, a better zoom, image stabilization, and to top it all off was cheaper. We've never been disappointed with any of our Nikon products. (However, our first underwater camera, a Fujifilm Finepix, was just terrible)

I just bought yesterday a Nikon CoolPix A900 in silver. I liked the fact that it has 35X zoom -- that's my thing -- zoom for seeing the animals and zoom for seeing far away (sort of use as binoculars!). It also has an adjustable screen that you can position to get less glare in sunlight. I use my phone also but still wanted a point and shoot. This replaced Panasonic with Luminix lenses and 20x zoom. Great little camera but mine has gone on at least 12 very long trips and spent way too much time dangling from my neck and hanging out in the bottom of my purse/tote bag.Minor broken imput door and very scratched screen and camera very dirty after a very brief fall into the desert sand outside of Dubai. OOOPS. When hubby's Nikon DLSR froze in the delete photo phase we took out for the only real camera store in Maryland -- all others have closed. We have 4 days before a 50 day trip including a segment of the Oceania World Cruise from Bridgetown Barbados to Cape Town South Africa with Victoria Falls and Abu Dhabi added on. Seriously not the time for camera problems. DH replaced his base and kept his two nicest lenses. Added 32 memory card. I got the coolpix 9. I might not be a great photographer but I am enthusiastic! I take thousands and pick the good ones looking better than I am. with a little luck. Usually would have done much research but ---. Camera store says there are very few higher end point and shoots. Everybody normal just uses their phone. I HAVE A QUESTION: New cameras many ports and customs. Do I need to carry the receipt for the cameras with me or will they leave old grandmas alone?

I just bought yesterday a Nikon CoolPix A900 in silver. I liked the fact that it has 35X zoom -- that's my thing -- zoom for seeing the animals and zoom for seeing far away (sort of use as binoculars!). It also has an adjustable screen that you can position to get less glare in sunlight. I use my phone also but still wanted a point and shoot. This replaced Panasonic with Luminix lenses and 20x zoom. Great little camera but mine has gone on at least 12 very long trips and spent way too much time dangling from my neck and hanging out in the bottom of my purse/tote bag.Minor broken imput door and very scratched screen and camera very dirty after a very brief fall into the desert sand outside of Dubai. OOOPS. When hubby's Nikon DLSR froze in the delete photo phase we took out for the only real camera store in Maryland -- all others have closed. We have 4 days before a 50 day trip including a segment of the Oceania World Cruise from Bridgetown Barbados to Cape Town South Africa with Victoria Falls and Abu Dhabi added on. Seriously not the time for camera problems. DH replaced his base and kept his two nicest lenses. Added 32 memory card. I got the coolpix 9. I might not be a great photographer but I am enthusiastic! I take thousands and pick the good ones looking better than I am. with a little luck. Usually would have done much research but ---. Camera store says there are very few higher end point and shoots. Everybody normal just uses their phone. I HAVE A QUESTION: New cameras many ports and customs. Do I need to carry the receipt for the cameras with me or will they leave old grandmas alone?

We have been on 40 cruises with many many ports (most recent a world cruise with 90 ports). Just as many (or more) land trips going through customs ... have never been asked for receipts for my cameras ... new or old ... at one point, between my husband and I, we were carrying two DSLRs, point & shoot, phones, and two video cameras.

We have been on 40 cruises with many many ports (most recent a world cruise with 90 ports). Just as many (or more) land trips going through customs ... have never been asked for receipts for my cameras ... new or old ... at one point, between my husband and I, we were carrying two DSLRs, point & shoot, phones, and two video cameras.

That is more or less what I thought. Being old I remember when the latest Japanese cameras had to prove not sneaking it into country.

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