There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
In P&S cameras, there are 2 main categories, the travel camera and the super zoom. A travel camera is usually small and has a smaller zoom but faster (e.g., = better in low light) lens. Super zooms usually have a much larger zoom range but the lens isn't as fast because of this. Like anything else, its a trade off.
If you plan to take pictures in low light settings, then a faster lens will be better. So one thing to look for is a lens that is f2.0 or less (e.g., f1.8).
Another thing to look for is a zoom with a lower end that is 24mm or 25mm (e.g., the spec says zoom range 24mm-200mm). Some P&S cameras have a zoom with a lower end of 28mm, which I have found to be wholly inadequate.
Just like any other technology item, cameras tend to depreciate as new models with new features come out. This is good and bad. The bad is that if you buy new, it will depreciate significantly in a few years. If you buy new, buy something released in the last 6 months so you know you have the latest features. The good is that you can pick up something that was state of the art not long ago at steep discount to what it sold when it was new.
One thing worth looking at is refurbished cameras. Canon and Olympus sell these directly and they come with a warranty from the manufacturer.
Let me make one recommendation - the Olympus TG4. The lens is fairly fast at f2.0 and has a decent zoom range 25-100mm. Its part of their tough series so its ruggedized and is waterproof, dustproof, shockproof etc. If you are travelling, you can take it snorkeling etc.