Canon PowerShot 310 HS upgrade

<p>Hi</p>

<p>My girlfriend is looking to replace her PowerShot 310 HS. She says she wants something with more zoom and that is sharper. <br /><br />To me, her photos look pretty detailed so I think she is looking for more accurate autofocus. Be that as it may; I am at a loss to suggest a replacement. <br>

G15 and P7700 are not long enough when it comes to zoom and I am wary when it comes to Panasonic (I owned a TZ20 - JUNK) and Sony so what else is there?<br /><br />suggestions very welcome - tnx</p>

<p>R</p>

 

<p>Russ, my suggestion is to go over to DPreview.com and search your needs. You will also be able to do side-by-side comparisons.</p>

<p>Since she's used to PowerShot HS cameras, take a look at the PowerShot SX280 HS as well as the preceding model, the SX260 HS. Both have a 25-500mm zoom, but the 280 HS allows you to use the digital zoom while still retaining a high level of detail. I use the SX260 HS as an everyday shooter (along with my iPhone) rather than lugging my 7D rig around all the time. I love the results from the camera. Read some reviews on any number of websites. Mirrorless cameras are always a good choice for compact bodies with superb results, but that amounts to buying into another system. The SX260 HS or SX280 HS are very compact and will easily fit into a pocket. The SX260 HS can be gotten for $220 and under since it's a year old, while the SX280 HS is selling for $315-$349, I think. If she doesn't mind something a little larger, take a look at the PowerShot SX50 HS and its ridiculous zoom range of 24-1200mm! That should be enough for anybody!</p>

<p>Thanks, guys. I think the PowerShot SX280 HS is a very good option. I recommended it to her. I also told her to consider mirrorless but she wants something more portable. Will see. A V1 with a 10mm lens sounds very appealing to me (cough).</p>

<p><em>She says she wants something ... that is sharper.</em></p>

<p>I wonder what she would think of pictures taken with her PowerShot 310 HS, at ISO 100 or whatever is the base, and a tripod. But beyond that, the suggestion of a SX280 HS is probably a good one; we've been quite happy with our two-generations-older version, the SX230 HS.</p>

<p>Yeah, I agree. But I dont think buying her a tripod at this stage is what she wants. I do like the Powershot model range you and others have suggested; I dont know why I never bought one for myself two months ago though I should say I am happy with my SX130 as a take anywhere travel cam. Slow AF and long shutter lag, but it's images are sharp enough. </p>

<p>Oh I'd bet my wife has never used a tripod in her life. It's just that I suspect the biggest causes of unsharpness in typical amateur compact digital shots, after of course not waiting for the auto-focus to actually finish focusing, are camera movement and subject movement.</p>

<p>As far as slow AF and long shutter lag (probably the same thing), surely some are better than others, but as long as cameras use contrast-detection auto-focus, there are probably going to be substantial issues. We're starting to see built-in phase detection on larger sensors (like in the NEX-6 and NEX-5R), so presumably it will trickle down to compact sensors over the next few years. That should provide a worthwhile boost.</p>