Sometimes a DSLR and a bunch of lenses is just too much to carry around, even reducing it down to one lens, a zoom with a good range is still too big.

The opposite end of the spectrum would be a cell phone with a camera, but then they all have their downfalls.

Right in the middle there is the venerable point and shoot, from a few dollars to a few thousand. Top of the heap might probably be the Leica Q2 at close to $5000

photos.smugmug.com

For P&S cameras I shop around in the used market for them, I don't find them as durable, and they usually last me a year or so, so paying full price for me is tough.

in the real world if I am somewhere remote and want to take a photo of someone close up and they respond with, "err..." then the P&S comes out of the bag and it's just not as intimidating and 99% of the time I get a yes.

A good example of this was in the Bartang Valley, Tajikistan when I met a man and two of his kids were playing up and being funny, (two baseball caps), I asked if i could take a photo of his kids? He told me, "just one moment" I thought the time had passed, he shouted something and all his kids came out to be in the photo.

photos.smugmug.com

So now I have a couple of P&S cameras in my gear set up for when I am in that situation. As they aren't my main camera I have not gone crazy.

I have a Lumix SZ200 for when I need some range (24-360) but of course keeping it pocket sized

photos.smugmug.com

...and if I'm walking around at night time, where I don't want to be showing off a big camera, and in the need of a wider aperture I'll take the Sony Rx100 II, I specifically bought the version 2, because its obviously cheaper, less than half price, than the new version 7, has more shots per battery by around 30% and a decent 24-100mm lens

photos.smugmug.com

Another option I looked at was the Fujifilm X100S, larger APS-C-sensor, obviously so much better at 3.2 times larger sensor but almost double the weight of the Leica or Sony I decided against it.

photos.smugmug.com

So, if you weren't carrying your big camera what would be your choice for a P&S and still be able to get that shot?

...cause we all know its not the camera, but the photographer!

I will be watching this conversation to see what folks recommend. It's been many years since I owned a compact P&S. I occasionally think it would be a good addition for me, but for now I've been using my phone when carrying camera + lenses doesn't fit my activity.

I haved a canon s100 as my small camera but, to be honest, haven't used it since I got an iPhone 8. The camera in the iphone is more capable than I am :)

I would consider a photo from a phone a snapshot and just for personal use, but from a P&S I have written and sold more than a few articles to magazines using shots from a little camera

For example my Leica is not really much bigger than my iPhone 7 but image quality is much better due to larger sensor size, and I think you could say that about a lot of P&S vs average phones

You're absolutely right.

My problem really has been that I strongly prefer my "big" camera for taking serious photos. I am currently shooting with a Fuji X-T2. Since it is mirrorless rather than a dSLR both the camera and the lenses are smaller and lighter than what I was using when I was shooting Canon.

I occasionally look at small but good quality P&S but I end up not buying. I think it's the thought of spending for a decent camera that I suspect won't be used often enough to justify the purchase. Still, I expect to take a look at cameras recommended in this conversation.

That Fuji is a great camera for sure and virtually anything in this list will pale in comparison unless you spent crazy money, both my P&S camera were around $200 each, so not a big investment.

I really wanted to share a documented report by a motorcyclist who ride around Afghanistan for a month on a 50 year old motorcycle only using the small Fuji X100S, his images were amazing and more than a few people asked if he was shooting for NG...sadly he appears to have closed his account on Smugmug

If you happen to find his photos I would love to see them!

I love my Sony RX100 V as a point and shoot camera. Bought it used for $500 a few months ago. After shooting a few thousand photos, I'm still impressed with it. I also recommend shooting RAW with it since there is so much detail to recover, while post-processing.

While I also shoot with the iPhone X, if I know that I'll be taking more than a dozen photos, the Sony becomes my primary camera.

Here is my Sony RX100 V

Things I like about RX100 V:

1. 24-70mm (equivalent) f1.8-2.8 lens. Version V (5) is the last one of the series to use this lens with f1.8 opening at the 24mm focal length. All versions after that one have more zoom 24-200mm.

2. The back screen flips up and out. I like shooting with the camera low, and the screen flipped up like shooting from the hip. I can't do that with a phone.

3. LCD viewfinder for shooting in bright light.

Things I don't like about RX100 V:

1. Soft images. I blame Sony's lens as I'm used to shooting with sharp prime lenses.

2. Need more customizable buttons.

3. Need a bigger battery. I get about 300-400 RAW shots out of a single battery. So I usually carry at least one spare.

Also, why do we need a flash?

If there is enough interest, I can write up an in-depth review of the Sony RX100 V. Just let me know.

sadly only @chris could do that i think, his username was ironically 'the tourist' and his account seems to have been canceled/ deleted from Smugmug

I chose the V2 over later models because it has better battery life, a slightly better zoom to 100mm vs your V5 and the price was right. i do agree with you about the LCD screen though, mine doesn't have that and its a feature I've gotten used to from other cameras and I miss it

I had a post written and then I deleted because it was about smaller intechangeable lens bodies - think Canon 90D or several of the smaller m4/3 bodies. Not about P&S bodies.

As I look back through my LR catalog, I used to always carry a P&S in addition to a DSLR when I travelled, but that stopped about the time I aquired a better phone cam, 6 or 8 years ago.

So I am back where I started. If I am going to carry a non-interchangealbe lens camera it has to be a pretty good one or I'll just use my iPhone X. which is not even a quasi current phone cam, but does function in portrait mode and offer 1X and 2X shooting, and will make nice screen saver 5K images on my iMacPro

A smaller m4/3 like the Panasonic DC-GX9, or even the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera with a pancake lens ( Panasonic 20mm f1.7 II ASPH and costs only $297.00 ) fits in a pocket pretty easily and still offers the luxury of swapping lenses if desired. As I wander through my LR catalog I am always surprised how good many of my m4/3 images look at reasonable sizes. Easy to edit too.

For me a P&S has to fit in coat pocket size pocket, and the GX9 with a 20mm pancake lens does that easily.

Another body in that vein, is the Canon M6 II. Again, the size of a deck of cards, but with an adapter it will take all EF-S and EF lenses Canon makes, and it has the 32.5 Mpxl sensor of the 90D, it has dual pixel AF, and can fire 30 frames per second if that is of interest. The Canon M mount 22mm f2.0 STM lens is almost a pancake lens so the M6 with the 22mm lens is very similar in size to the Panasonic GX9 - deck of card sized body. And it shoots both lovely stills stills and very nice video. Its LCD screen does not pivot horizontally but extends up and down vertically for vlogging.

Might be worth a look.

What about this guy?

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On Vilen’s recommendation, I bought the Sony RX100 VII and took it to Morocco. IMO, it’s 85% of an SLR for most things and 200% of an iPhone.

I didn’t expect to use it so much but, for example, it crushes it as a webcam for streaming, which I do all the time. As a still camera, the 200mm zoom is awesome.

I agree with what you are saying here, I have a 20mm pancake for my Sony and if it's open to 5.6 the images are ridiculously sharp, I took just that set up traveling for a few weeks and was happy with the outcome.

...but the question and conversation was to talk about great point and shoot cameras, not small dslr's, micro 4/3 etc, that could be a whole other conversation

As @chris states in a later reply

On Vilen’s recommendation, I bought the Sony RX100 VII and took it to Morocco. IMO, it’s 85% of an SLR for most things and 200% of an iPhone.

Phones are good but they do not have the capabilities of 'real camera' just yet, they are getting better for sure.

It's interesting to look at what people buy on Amazon, here are their top 50 selling P&S cameras, looks like it's definitly predicated by price and not quality

verses B&H, as a great example of what they recommended as the best P&S shoot line up for 2019...not many crossing over

The Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras of 2019Read about the best point-and-shoot cameras of 2019 on B&H Explora.www.bhphotovideo.com

There is an exceptionally detailed article on DXOMARK on Cameras vs cellphones, if you have the time and interest it is worth the read

Smartphones vs Cameras: Closing the gap on image qualityAt DXOMARK we have watched over the years as smartphone cameras have gone from being a novelty to becoming the world's most popular way of capturing photographs. In a keynote session at Electronic Imaging 2020, our CEO and CTO, Frederic Guichard, began by providing a historical perspective on the rise of smartphone photography and how [...]www.dxomark.com

I read the DXO Mark article about camphones vs DSLRs, and I went over the B&H list of Best P&S of 2019. The one thing that still seperates phone images from quality DSLR images is the quality and control of premium optics - I love portrait mode on my iPhone, but it does not compare to what I can create with a 105mm f1.4 optic on FF body. But many times I prefer carrying the more limited weight of my iPhone just the same

In the B&H list of P&S they included a vast array of camera in price AND size. The Sony RX 10 MK IV is listed as an excellent point and shoot non interchangeable lens camera. I own two of them - well, one is my spouses - but I find I rarely love them - they are larger than a 90D and heavier than my EOS R body. The optics are very good, but don't match my long Canon primes, and the Sony RX 10 Mk IV will never fit in my coat pocket which I stated was one of my defining requirements in a P&S.

Another camera listed in B&H's list was the Canon G3X - a nice little camera with a 1" sensor and a very long 24-600 equivalent zoom range. But it is BIGGER than my 32.5 MPxl Canon M6 Mk II - I just checked - so the Canon M6 II with 32.5 Mpxl and dual pixel AF is noticeably smaller than the G3X. Maybe that's why I find I rarely use my G3X. Instead, I grab my M6 II and run with that.

The Leica Q2 is interesting, and if I was willing to only use one focal length might be appealing but the price does put me off.

One camera that I didn't see mentioned by B&H that does intrique me, and I suspect might be great for riding around the world, is the Olympus Tough TG-6 water proof camera

Ultimately, what tool a craftsmen chooses to use depends, to a great deal, on exactly what the craftsman wants to create. The tool is dictated by the task. So many tools, so little time!

it's interesting that the Canon M6 MII which looks to be straight up competition to the a6xxx series from Sony boast a smaller sensor, fractionally, but show a larger mp result due to resolution numbers.

Fewer shots per charge, no environmental sealing, but does offer a touch screen. They are a good comparison for sure.

As this isn't about what I'd like, again, more about general conversation on P&S cameras, the TG-6 is a very poor camera with a tiny sensor and I'm sure your phone could produce better results and a lot of phones nowadays are waterproof and drop proof too, so that camera might not be long for this world.

! agree with you on the Leica Q2, amazing money for limited accessibility, but it would be interesting to see and compare shots at similar focal lengths if the price is justified

Can I cheat and say the Olympus E-M10/pancake prime or zoom?

I have a good reason for saying it because I bought one to replace my Canon G1X point and shoot and it's literally just a few mm off in size while providing a bit more flexibility by being able to put on a prime when I need a faster lens. And if I went for one of the PEN models it would be even smaller.

@JBeck We have similar inclinations, although I specified an Oly OM-D E M5 MK II or a Panny DC-GX9 with a Panny 20mm f1.7 pancake lens.

@rtwPaul is looking for non-interchangeable lens cameras I think... But some of them are bigger than smaller bodies that swap some pretty nice glass. like your Oly E-M10

For me, they just have to fit comfortalbly in a coat pocket. And be inexpensive.

The Leica twin, the Panasonic Lumix DC-LX 100 with its Leica D-Lux 7 derived DC_Vario-Summilux 24-75mm equiv f1.7-2.8 lens is interesting at less than $6 bills.

I have the Panasonic 14 F2.5 pancake myself though the Olympus 17 or 25 are also small enough to work. You still end up with a camera smaller in most dimensions than the Fuji X100's which I think of as a jacket /cargo pants pocket cameras.

I'd say for a attached lens the Sony RX100 series is basically it now in terms of portability/quality/versatility.

Personally if I was doing this from scratch I'd probably go towards an Olympus EP5 just because I could do 1 lens while just going out or when traveling bring a tiny kit with me and not feel the need to bring a DSLR.

you can 'cheat', the conversation is, per the title about Point and Shoot cameras, i see your inclination but as it's not about the topic...

The topic is 'Point and Shoot cameras', hence the line - What P&S Would You Grab? Also, not what I am looking for, but a general conversation about them, sorry that you misunderstood the title,

@rtwPaul is looking for non-interchangeable lens cameras I think...

I got that - Like I previously said 🙀

@rtwPaul is looking for non-interchangeable lens cameras I think... But some of them are significantly bigger than smaller bodies that swap some pretty nice glass. like your Oly

I think point and shoot cameras by definition have non-interchangeable lenses. The higher level category of compact cameras includes both point & shoot and interchangeable lens cameras. Perhaps even the price should be capped at $1,500 for the sake of this conversation.

A bad analogy could be like comparing sports cars, where Leica Q2 is a Ferrari, while Olympus Tough TG06 is a Miata and Sony RX100 is a Porsche. 😜