Contrary to popular belief, I don’t lug a lot of camera equipment around. Not that I don’t want to, but casual camera work does not always require a DSLR and a bag or two of “must carry” equipment, like lights, backdrops, extra lenses, etc. etc.
My first pocket camera was a Nikon, and it was small (a big plus) but lacked resolution and zoom features. It served me well until I gave it to my grandson, and he got a lot of use out of it.
Even though I have a great camera in my Google Pixel XL smartphone, I find the lenses and sensors on a small camera make for great pictures. especially if you want to blow them up, or make extensive editing/cropping.
After the Nikon, I got a Canon SX600. compact, fits in a shirt pocket, and decent battery life. It did have wifi, but no bluetooth. 18x zoom, 3″ LCD screen, and 16MP resolution. While it still is one of my favorites, I felt it was time for Bluetooth and more zoom. (I love more Zoom)!
So I got myself a new SX730HS, like this:
The Canon SX 730 HS (specifications), Available on Amazon and eBay
The 40x optical zoom is awesome, especially for a camera of it’s size. With image stabilization (tip: use a tripod or rest it on a railing for steadying it at maximum zoom) it gets in really close. With a 20.3 mega pixel image, Bluetooth, and wifi, you have a lot of bases covered. It also has a feature called “image assist”, to keep your subject in focus as you zoom. (Did I mention I like to zoom)?
The camera is a little bit larger than what I would have liked, it’s big for my pocket and I keep it in a LowePro Tahoe case from Amazon. I also use a carabiner to clip it to my belt loop. It fits nicely in a suit jacket pocket or a coat. I like to keep it handy, but don’t like it to be exposed to the elements or potential crooks. The LowePro case has a pocket for spare batteries and an SD card or two. This comes in real handy when your battery dies and you are taking some really promising shots.
I also strongly suggest you get a set of spare batteries and an extra charger so that you always have a fresh battery on hand, especially if you shoot movies.
SX730 batteries and chargers on Amazon
SX730 batteries and chargers on eBay
The Canon SX730 HS is a comfortable and efficient camera for all around snapshots, with the capability to wirelessly transmit your pictures to your smartphone, which will send them to the cloud.
I would feel very comfortable taking this camera on vacation, because of it’s size and features. You can shoot on full automatic or use the shutter/aperture, and scene settings to your best advantage. Not to mention movies.
Here is hoping you enjoy all the pictures you take!
