Items11The creator’s order
  1. 1Ricoh GR (large sensor compact camera)Ricoh GR (large sensor compact camera)Ricoh GR IV, 2025 The GR IV answers the question of how much camera fits in a jacket pocket: an APS-C sensor, the size used in many interchangeable-lens cameras, behind a sharp 28mm-equivalent lens, with five-axis stabilization rated up to six stops. That combination gives the depth, detail and…0
  2. 2Fujifilm X100Fujifilm X100Fujifilm X100VI The X100VI is the camera most likely to make photography feel like a hobby again. Its hybrid viewfinder switches between an optical window and an electronic display, so you can watch a scene directly instead of through a screen, and Fujifilm's film simulations give finished JPEGs a…0
  3. 3Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 seriesSony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 seriesSony RX100 VII, 2019 What a phone cannot match here is reach. The RX100 VII packs a 24-200mm-equivalent f/2.8-4.5 optical zoom into a pocketable body, with a pop-up electronic viewfinder for bright days, so a face across a square or a detail on a cathedral front stays sharp instead of being…0
  4. 4Canon PowerShot G7 XCanon PowerShot G7 XCanon PowerShot G7 X Mark III, 2019 The G7 X Mark III does the jobs people use a phone for, with a bigger sensor and a bright optical zoom. It pairs a 20-megapixel stacked 1-inch sensor with a 24-100mm-equivalent f/1.8-2.8 lens, so indoor and evening shots keep a wide aperture right through the…0
  5. 5Panasonic Lumix L10Panasonic Lumix L10The L10 is the zoom compact for people who miss turning a ring to set the picture. Its 20.4-megapixel Four Thirds sensor sits behind a bright Leica 24-75mm-equivalent f/1.7-2.8 zoom with a manual aperture ring and a metal barrel, and you compose through a 2.36-million-dot OLED viewfinder or a fully…0
  6. 6Panasonic Lumix ZS300Panasonic Lumix ZS300This is the travel zoom for the moment a phone runs out of reach. Sold as the TZ300 in Europe, it puts a 15x Leica 24-360mm-equivalent lens in front of a 20.1-megapixel back-illuminated 1-inch sensor, an upgrade on the front-illuminated chip in the model it replaces, and the whole camera weighs…0
  7. 7Canon PowerShot V1Canon PowerShot V1The V1 is sold to video creators, but its 1.4-type sensor, larger than the 1-inch chips in the Sony RX100 and Canon G7 X, makes it a serious stills camera too. Its zoom starts at 16mm equivalent, wider than any other zoom here, which helps in tight rooms, narrow streets and arm's-length selfies,…0
  8. 8Fujifilm X halfFujifilm X halfBuy the X half for the way it changes your habits, not for sharper pictures. Its 1-inch sensor is mounted vertically, so frames come out in 3:4 portrait shape, and Film Camera mode commits you to a pretend roll of 36, 54 or 72 shots with no reviewing until it is finished. A frame advance lever…0
  9. 9Panasonic Lumix ZS99Panasonic Lumix ZS99If a phone already covers your everyday shots and zoom is the only thing missing, this is the least expensive way to get a lot of it: a 30x lens running from 24mm to 720mm equivalent, in a body of about 322g. Sold as the TZ99 in Europe, it comes with an honest catch. The sensor is a small…0
  10. 10Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1Sony RX1R III, 2025 The RX1R III puts a 61-megapixel full-frame sensor behind a fixed Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens, the most resolution on this list in a body that still counts as compact. Files like these hold detail for big prints and heavy cropping that no phone sensor can supply. The compromises are…0