Originally posted by Papa_Joe I would suggest one of the Sony RX100 models. 1 inch sensor and you can pick the model that suits your needs best. The RX 100 II seems to meet your requirements quite well.
A smartphone is no alternative for me. My 20 year old Fuji F20 has way better ergonomics and a 35-70 mm. In my opinion you also can not compare the price of a smartphone and of a compact camera. Usually you can use a compact for about 10 years. A smartphone will normally last 5 years until the battery is done or the OS ist so out of date that you need a new phone.
EDIT: Women have a complete different view on the subject. My wife has no room to carry around an additonal compact and she has a smartphone anyway. The pictures she takes look great on her phone (to be true they look very good on a screen as well and that was a just a Galaxy S6). Only thing she was missing was a telephoto lens, but she made a big leap forward with her new phone, which provides one (50 mm equivalent).
Looking at the Sony site, I'm not finding the balance between ISO/sensor (10,000 or better, but can go slightly lower) and zoom (20x or better, firm) in a hand-sized camera. Is it impossible? The Cyber-shot you recommended doesn't seem to have the zoom.
---------- Post added 03-02-21 at 10:06 PM ----------
Looking at the Ricoh GRiii
GR III - Ricoh and yes, it's out of price range. I can't figure out what its zoom is--Pentax help!! It has a separate battery, meaning I can shoot all day but that it will eventually go obsolete like the Optio when the batteries get hard to get.
Does anyone know this camera?
---------- Post added 03-02-21 at 10:11 PM ----------
Originally posted by Gopersuel The Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II and is a very good candidate, it is not very big and has a very good image quality and is cheaper than its successor the MKIII. Good luck in your search.
Beautiful ISO, right price range, not enough zoom.
Originally posted by roberrl We have had a series of Panasonic P'n'S cameras and have been very pleased with them.
The latest, a DC-TZ90, is remarkably capable and has a viewfinder for those times when the sun is bright on the back screen.
Among the many features I haven't tried yet is automated in-camera focus stacking.
Of course all these consumer items have a life and we have just got this camera to replace an earlier one which became unreliable.
Gorgeous zoom, but is 1/2.3 enough sensor for walking around at night?
Originally posted by jumbleview Did you try modern smartphones? Like google pixel 4a?
In addition to worrying about battery power, I work abroad. Any time I change countries I have to change phones, meaning money put in any one phone is wasted. Effectively it becomes just a camera after I get on the plane.