Been a while since I have thought of buying a camera. We are traveling to Europe in a few months and was thinking of getting a camera that is easy to travel with and carry on short hikes, has really good zoom quality, and is significantly better than just using my phone. I have a decent older camera but it is a bit bulky and not sure I want to get stuck lugging it around for long periods of time. Does such a camera exist?

Price, size, etc are you looking for? The nerdery is probably a better place for this. I like my Sony A6700 with a small zoom lens for backpacking. For everything else I currently have a Nikon Z6iii....but that will probably be more camera than you want to tote around. Any camera is only as good as its user.

And while it is a bit long in the tooth the RX100 VIII was a favorite of long distance hikers who wanted a pocket sized camera better than a phone. It's pricey but has a stellar reputation. I've never used one

aquaboss98 said:

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Been a while since I have thought of buying a camera. We are traveling to Europe in a few months and was thinking of getting a camera that is easy to travel with and carry on short hikes, has really good zoom quality, and is significantly better than just using my phone. I have a decent older camera but it is a bit bulky and not sure I want to get stuck lugging it around for long periods of time. Does such a camera exist?

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Depending on what exactly your old system is, a good 1/2 frame mirrorless body such as a Sony A6700 with a zoom of your choice may well be easier to lug around than your old system, and will still give you full and easy control over your photos. A micro 4/3 from Olympus (now OM Systems) would do the same. But a really good point-n-shoot w/zoom will be much more easy to travel with a carry on short hikes. Since no one knows what you mean by "really good zoom quality", I can only suggest looking at the Sony RX100 VII and the Panasonic Lumix ZS99. Both of these are extremely easy to carry as they will comfortably fit into a jacket or cargo pants pocket. You shoot fully automatic or maintain full exposure control, but of course some settings will have to be reached via menu as there will not be enough room on the body for a full array of exposure controls.

C

We have a Sony RX100 VII and I would highly recommend it. We mostly use ours in an underwater housing for dive photos, but it is very easy to carry in a pocket and has really impressive zoom and autofocus capabilities.

My experience with the m 4/3 from OM Systems (Olympus) has been positive. It's lightweight, compact and easy to pack around all day. The camera bodies and lenses are inexpensive compared to a full frame camera. The compact size makes it not stand out and draw attention as much. It's easy to conceal under an unbuttoned shirt.

They make a 12-100 f.4 that looks like a good option if you need one lens to carry for the day. The 4/3 cropped sensor provided double the lens magnification of a camera with a full frame sensor.

The biggest drawback for me is that the camera struggles in low light. Walking around town taking typical vacation photos isn't a problem, though.