Point-and-shoot cameras with zoom are an excellent choice for beginners. You can find a great selection of powerful point-and-shoot cameras that have simple functionality but still benefit from a powerful zoom lens. This means you can easily create detailed photos of far-off subjects, without needing advanced photography skills.
Generally, point-and-shoot cameras feature fixed lenses rather than interchangeable ones. Also, they usually feature a combination of optical and digital zooms. The digital zoom is essentially an enhancement of the basic optical zoom and offers greater magnification.
In the below guide you can find five top point-and-shoot cameras with zoom. We have included some high-end options and budget choices for the beginner.
1. Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70K
One of the top Panasonic cameras in the point-and-shoot category is the Panasonic LUMIX DC-ZS70K. This powerful camera has a 30x Lecia DC VARIO lens that has an effective focal distance of 24-720mm! At this distance, you have super-telephoto capabilities that outperform many DSLR lenses.
The camera itself also offers decent quality with a 20.3MP CMOS sensor, and is capable of recording video in 4K at 3840×2160 resolution. The fantastic zoom lens can be controlled easily, and the zoom function is smooth and silent.
The LUMIX DC-ZS70K benefits from a simple and stylish design. It is relatively lightweight and has a high-quality LCD screen on the rear. The screen can be flipped up, which helps when recording video. It has a 166,000-dot EVF placed on the left-hand side.
Built into the camera, there is image stabilization which helps when using the camera handheld and at extreme zoom distances. It also has an okay autofocusing system. If you want a solid camera with ultra-zoom capabilities, the ZS70K is an excellent option.
2. Canon PowerShot SX740 HS
The Canon PowerShot SX740 HS remains a top contender in the best point-and-shoot cameras with zoom. It has a great 40x optical zoom, but also has a decent image sensor and processor and a solid set of features. It has a 20.3MP CMOS sensor and can record video in full 4K UHD.
To help using the zoom lens, there is a zoom framing assist feature which helps track moving subjects when the lens is fully extended. Also, the SX740 HS has dual-sensing image stabilization which helps keep your photos in focus and allows you to confidently use the camera handheld.
As with other PowerShot cameras, the SX740 HS has a sleek design. It has a textured hand grip and an LCD screen that can be flipped upwards to take selfies or record movies. Check out our full Canon PowerShot SX740 HS review for more details.
3. Nikon COOLPIX A1000
The Nikon COOLPIX A1000 is a solid point-and-shoot camera that offers a good combination of powerful optical zoom with solid photo and video features. Its lens has a 35x optical zoom and features vibration reduction to help stabilize your images when shooting at extreme focal distances.
It weighs just 330g and has a compact design. On the rear, there is a three-inch LCD screen that can be flipped downwards and pushed upwards. This gives greater flexibility when recording video or taking selfies. It also has an EVF on the left-hand side and a pop-up flash.
The COOLPIX A1000 is capable of recording video in 4K Ultra HD, and this also benefits from the hybrid vibration reduction. You can easily record smooth videos with professional transitions and zooms. The camera has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth that work with the Nikon Snapbridge app.
4. Sony RX100 VII
The Sony RX100 VII is the latest iteration of this powerful point-and-shoot camera. It is one of Sony’s best point-and-shoot cameras with zoom and features excellent build quality and features. The zoom is not the most powerful, but it uses ZEISS glass and offers superb quality, with a focal distance of 24-200mm.
The RX100 VII still gives telephoto capabilities and has an excellent aperture range of f/2.8-f/4.5 across the different zoom levels. To complement this, the RX100 VII has a good autofocus system with 357 focal plane phase detection and 425 AF points.
You can shoot at an incredible continuous shooting rate of up to 20 fps, which is brilliant for tracking moving objects and creating sharp, in-focus photos. This is benefited by the AI-enhanced real-time tracking for both photos and movies.
The design of this camera is also great, and it is relatively lightweight and compact. It has a pop-up EVF and an LCD screen that can be flipped upwards. See more in our Sony RX100 VII review.
5. Nikon COOLPIX B500 (Budget Winner)
Our second featured COOLPIX camera is the budget-friendly Nikon COOLPIX B500. This is a simple camera that has a solid 40x optical zoom and 80x dynamic zoom. This allows you to obtain fantastic detail for a relatively cheap price.
It has a lower resolution than other point-and-shoot cameras with zoom on this list, but 16MP is still respectable. Your images will be sharp and have great contrast. Also, it is capable of recording video at 1080p HD.
For connectivity, this camera has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. You can connect to the Snapbridge app by Nikon on your smartphone or tablet and directly access your photos. The connection is maintained too, so as soon as you take a photo, it can be transferred to your external device.
For functionality, the COOLPIX B500 also has a three-inch LCD screen that can be tilted and a resolution of 921,000 dots. It does not have an EVF, so you must compose images via the screen. To find out more about this affordable camera, you can read our full Nikon COOLPIX B500 review.
For Excellent Detail, Choose a Point-and-Shoot Camera with a Powerful Optical Zoom
You do not need an expensive DSLR or mirrorless camera to have telephoto capabilities. The point-and shoot cameras with zoom listed above all provide telephoto or super telephoto capabilities and solid image quality.
