£150 ish compact for the wife.

sk1n · 31 Oct 2014 at 08:43

I would like to buy a sub £150 compact for wife's birthday next month, I've had a good look on here and talk photo and see lots of recommendations for the Fuji xf1.
Although its a good couple of years old now is it still the compact of choice around that price?
Or has something newer taken the Fuji's place
Most of her pictures are of the kids both indoors and occasionally outside.

Thanks for looking.

wez130 · 31 Oct 2014 at 15:21

The Samsung WB350F looks pretty good value, 21x optical zoom, WIFI etc. I'll be able to confirm what it's like in a few days when my missus's arrives.

sk1n · 3 Nov 2014 at 13:01

WB350F looks decent for the money, nice toys with the wifi/nfc/gps.

Am i correct in saying that the larger the sensor the better when it comes to cameras.
I presume the larger sensor will help with collecting light for those indoor lower level light shots?

wez130 · 3 Nov 2014 at 14:46

The larger the sensor the less 'noise' you'll get is a general rule, also it makes a difference to focal length. I.E, 18mm on a Full Frame is obviously 18mm, whereas 18mm on a Canon EOS 60D for example is 1.6x FF, so 18mm will be ~ 28mm. On a 4/3rds camera, 18mm will be equivelent of 36mm on FF. I hope you understand my wording.

Yes, the WB350F does look good for the money, my missus likes taking pics but isn't 'into' photography and editing as such so it'll be plenty for her, especially with Wifi and NFC etc.

CGrieves · 3 Nov 2014 at 15:22

Having owned one, I'd pick the XF1 over the Samsung any day. Sensor double the size, decent aperture at wide angle. The zoom range on the Samsung will have come with quite a few compromises, and it doesn't shoot in RAW, which limits your options if you fancy doing some image post processing.

kration · 19 Nov 2014 at 18:45

I've got a similar dilemma, though the camera is for me. I need a cheapish compact to use when I'm out walking/biking, mainly for landscape and panorama photography.

Edit:

The Samsung WB350F doesn't have GPS - it only tags photos if uploaded through a phone via WiFi at the time. That's a killer for me, so time to start a new thread...