Need new camera for the wife. ZS50K vs G16 vs G9x?

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Azzkiker

Ars Scholae Palatinae
990
I could use a little help deciding on a new point and shoot for my wife. Not having a lot of experience in this area, I've turned to the web and read a crap load of reviews on dpreview and cameralabs. While the information online is great, I'll admit I'm a bit lost in the minutiae.

So far I've got my eye on the Panasonic Lumix ZS50K, the Canon G16 or the Canon G9x.

She mostly shoot pictures of our kids. A little bit of everything, from action and outdoors, to indoor photos with low light. She's just as much an amateur photographer as I, although we plan to do some learnin' :)

I see very little need for the 30x zoom on the Panasonic, but the price is very attractive. From what I've read we could benefit from the better sensors in the G16 and G9x, especially for the indoor/low light stuff, but is it worth the extra cost?

Any advice would be appreciated!
 

duffle

Ars Tribunus Militum
2,479
I'd pick the G9X from that group, but I would also look at a Sony RX100 variant, or the Canon G7X or Lumix LX100 (they're a bit more expensive however).

The low light performance of a the ZS50 won't be very impressive, and much as I like the G16, I'd prefer to get one of the others. I recently saw some shots from an RX100 (Mark III version) and the image quality destroys what you'd get from the normal point and shoot with a big zoom lens.
 
I just ordered the Canon G9 X in silver for my wife as she has a birthday coming up and specifically said "I want a camera with X features". I'm slightly concerned that 3x optical zoom might not be enough but the stylish look of the silver version has overridden that concern for the time being. :cool:

FYI, her list of X features was:
-takes better pictures than her phone (she has a Moto X 1st edition, mediocre camera, won't use an iPhone)
-WiFi for easy WiFi'ing
-small enough to operate one-handed
-good zoom (I gripe at her about using zoom on a cell phone camera, optical zoom++, digital zoom--)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167Q140U
 
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