The 7 Best WiFi Cameras to Buy in 2017

A feature that's beginning to appear more and more often in both point and shoot and high-end digital cameras is the ability to connect to a WiFi network. When you can send photos wirelessly through your home WiFi network, it can greatly simplify the process of creating backup copies of your images, as well as sharing photos with others.

Some cameras allow you to make direct connections to Facebook or other social networking sites, too, which can be a great feature. Many WiFi-enabled digital cameras also now give you the option of uploading your photos to the cloud, which usually is a storage site that's owned by your camera's manufacturer. Using the cloud to store your photos is a great idea, as you'll always have backup copies away from your home computer, where they'll be safe from a fire or other natural disasters.

The downside to WiFi-enabled cameras is that they can be a little difficult to set up and use on occasion. You will almost certainly need to understand a little bit about entering network passwords and knowing the name of your WiFi network before you can make the connection with your camera. If you've ever made a WiFi connection with your smartphone or with a laptop computer, you probably have the experience needed to make the WiFi connection with your camera. The wireless connection also can drain the battery more quickly than using a USB cable connection.

Still, once you have successfully put together a WiFi connection with your digital camera, you'll wonder how you've lived without it. (Remember, WiFi-enabled cameras use a different technology than NFC-enabled cameras.) Here are the best WiFi-enabled cameras currently on the market.

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Best Overall: Nikon COOLPIX B700

Point-and-shoot cameras tend to get a bad rap, if only because of the increasingly competitive cameras found in smartphones. The Nikon COOLPIX B700 is an attempt to assert the power, performance and versatility of the point-and-shoot space.

It features a 20.2 MP CMOS sensor ideal for low-light conditions, Full 4K video recording, target-finding autofocus (AF), and full manual exposure. Why would you want full manual exposure? Because you know enough about photography to take your game to the next level and begin setting the ISO, shutter and aperture settings yourself—something you can’t do on a smartphone. The B700 also has a stunning 60x zoom through the solid NIKKOR lens. It’s an all-around impressive shooter for the point-and-shoot space, one that offers a lot more than the thing in your pocket.

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Best Budget: Nikon COOLPIX B500

When you’re looking for a WiFi-enabled camera on a tight budget, there may be no better option than the Nikon COOLPIX B500. The camera measures 3.74 x 3.08 x 4.47 inches and weighs 1.19 pounds, which is pretty good for a budget pick.

The most impressive feature on the B500 is its 40x optical zoom and 80x dynamic fine zoom, so you can always get a good shot even if you’re far away. It also features a 16-megapixel low-light sensor, a three-inch LCD screen that can adjust to various angles, 1080p HD video recording at 30 frames per second, as well as the ability to move photos directly to smartphones and tablets via WiFi, NFC, and Bluetooth.

Many reviewers on Amazon have said they are pleased with the camera and surprised by all it can do at its relatively low price. They also recommend using it primarily for still photos and not video, as the video quality leaves room to be desired. But at this price, we’re not surprised that it’s not a top-tier video recorder.

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Best Compact: Canon PowerShot SX730 HS

If you like to have the newest gadgets, you’ll want to spring for the Canon PowerShot SX730. Released in June 2017, this pocket-friendly camera is built for travelers on the go. It packs a sizeable 20.3-megapixel CMOS sensor into its petite 4.3- x 1.6- x 2.5-inch body. Where it really impresses, though, is with its zoom: you get a 40x optical zoom lens, plus Canon’s 80x ZoomPlus digital zoom technology. It can also capture 1080p Full HD with a maximum 60p frame rate.

With an ISO range of 80 to 1600, it captures decent low-light images considering its small form factor. You’ve also got built-in image stabilization, built-in flash, built-in WiFi2 technology, face detection technology and a three-inch LCD screen that flips up. A touch screen would have been nice, but we won’t get too greedy now.

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Best Auto Sensor: Canon PowerShot SX620 HS

Some folks want the power and versatility of a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but are intimidated by all the controls. Crossover point-and-shoots—devices that offer a bit moe versatility than your average compact camera—are designed to meet this demand. Like our top pick, the COOLPIX B700, the Canon PowerShot SX620 is designed for people who want the best of both worlds. With the 20.2-megapixel high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, you’re likely to capture some stunning, high-resolution images that most smartphones simply can’t compete with. Add in the DIGIC 4+ Image Processor and you see why, when it comes to point-and-shoot sensors, the SX620 is one of the best around. The camera also features an 25x optical zoom, Full HD (1080p) video recording, intelligent image stabilization, and, of course, WiFi and NFC connectivity. You can also engage the remote shooting function to use your smartphone as a control.

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Best Zoom: Canon PowerShot SX720

OK, so the zoom on the Canon PowerShot SX720 isn’t quite on par with our top pick, the Nikon B700, but that’s why the B700 is our top pick. If you’re looking for something a little less intimidating, but you still want some serious zoom power, the SX720 is certainly worth looking into. It features a 40x optical zoom and an impressive 20.3-megapixel high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, Full HD (1080p) video recording, Intelligent Image Stabilization and a Zoom framing assist function. With WiFi, NFC and remote shooting, you can use your smartphone to remotely control the camera. The Mobile Device Connect Button allows you to share your images to your smartphone or tablet device for quick and easy social media sharing. And there’s a huge variety of shooting modes for novice shooters. It’s a well-rounded device with a lot of features, but not too many for any beginner to handle.

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Best Value: Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II

Sometimes value is a hard thing to measure, but in our book it simply means the most bang for your buck. The Canon Powershot G7 X Mark II fits that description with a lot of high-end features, tremendous versatility, and powerful hardware at a mid-range price.

What makes the Powershot G7 X Mark II stand out most is its one-inch 20.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, which ensures that both light and dark parts of an image are captured in high quality and you can get amazing low-light photos. Another standout feature is the camera’s multi-angle three-inch touch LCD screen that makes it easy to shoot at any angle you can dream. On top of this, the model has a 24–100mm optical zoom lens, intelligent image stabilization, in-camera RAW conversion, easy photo sharing via WiFI and NFC, the ability to capture 1080p HD video and high-speed continuous shooting up to eight frames per second.

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Best Design: Canon PowerShot ELPH 360

Design is always a subjective category, but we love the PowerShot ELPH 360 for its compact form factor that doesn’t disappoint when it comes to quality. It comes in blue, red and black and weighs just under five ounces, making it easy to slip into your pocket. It features a 20.2-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor, plus a DIGIC 4+ Image Processor, which together deliver top-notch image quality. It also captures HD video in 1080p HD and has a 12x optical zoom, as well as an optical image stabilizer.

It has a limited ISO setting limit of 3200, which means it lacks performance in low light settings, but its beautiful three-inch, 461,000-pixel LCD screen might distract you from this fact.