Originally Posted by
krazykanuck
Thanks all for the suggestions, and I got a little lost for a bit there, but it seems that the RX100 type of camera is for me. I'm mainly looking for a decent camera to take on upcoming trips to Europe and SE Asia. I didn't realize there were so many cameras in the PoS size range that took DSLR quality photos. In reality, I don't see myself building out a collection of lenses or shooting a huge variety of stuff, so the interchangeable lens seems a bit overkill.
Right now I'm leaning towards the RX100 or the S120, which are both $450-500, (or the cheaper S110 which is $250). Any thoughts between these three?
Thanks for pushing me into the deep end of cameras! haha
I don't think that the S110 or S120 is quite at the quality level you're seeking. The RX100 is. You probably should confine your search to the realm of cameras that have between a 1" or 4/3 size sensor. Within that class, there are two types of cameras that don't have interchangeable lenses. These include reasonably or very small cameras that have a narrow (say between 3:1 and 5:1 zoom lenses - of which the Sony RX100 - all versions - and Panasonic DMC-LX100 and Canon G1X and G7X are the leading examples, and larger, closer to DSLR sized cameras with bigger zoom lenses in the 8:1 or 15:1 range, of which the Sony RX10 and Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 are the two primary examples. Between those two groups, the tradeoff is obvious: A highly versatile lens that carries a significant size penalty, or a good quality but less-far-reaching lens, that thus enables a much smaller, lighter camera. Only the OP can make that particular tradeoff decision. For me personally, the latter group is less attractive than interchangeable lens cameras because of that size tradeoff, while the former group is very interesting - but for myself as a serious photographer - it would not be my ONLY camera, just my most compact travel camera.