UPTOURIST

First up is the Nikon Coolpix S3600. It’s sleek, small enough to fit in your shirt pocket, but still gives you twenty megapixels to work with. With all those pixels and the eighteen different scene modes this camera has you can guarantee that you’ll find the look you want and that each image will be sharp and crisp. The camera also includes many convenient auto-features that make it so easy to use. If simplicity is what you need, you really can’t go wrong with this guy.

Next up is another compact camera, the Sony W830. This camera is very similar to the Coolpix in both size and features but has an image stabilizer that accounts for shaky or highly caffeinated hands. It also has a 2-way active mode that can correct for both vertical and horizontal motion which is awesome if you want to try to capture a shot while you’re moving. The other cool feature is the sweep panorama mode which allows you to take a panoramic shot all the way up to a full 360 degree circle.

Although it may not have as many megapixels as the previous entries, the Canon Powershot 135 makes up for it with the superior zooming capability and the ultra fast DIGIC 4 image processor. The accelerated processing speed does a great job reducing noise and creating better detail than most compact point and shoot cameras in the same price range. It also has an ECO mode that helps to preserve battery life so you’re not having to charge or replace it as often.

If you’re a retro style enthusiast then the Fujifilm x30 is definitely your cup of tea. It is considered by many experts to be one of the best small sensor cameras on the market, the lens quality and aperture range on this guy provides a lot of versatility in terms of focal lengths and the ability to shoot in low light. It also has a customizable ring control along the lens that allows an easy way for you to quickly adjust settings on the fly. With a newly added viewfinder and a vastly improved battery life, it is a giant improvement upon its predecessor, the x20.

If you don’t care that the camera fits in your pocket, then definitely get one that has a large sensor to give you higher quality images while still not breaking the bank. The Samsung 1100F has a built in flash and a ton of SMART features like WiFi and the ability to connect to a smartphone which makes it super easy to share photos online or directly with family and friends while on the go. The speed, features, and lens quality of this camera gives you the ability to take professional looking photos without all the hassle that a DSLR camera brings.

Along the same lines as the Samsung is Nikon’s Coolpix L830. This camera not only takes professional looking photos but it also shoots full 1080 HD video. It also has an amazing 3 inch high resolution LCD screen that gives you an extremely accurate view of what you’re shooting. Its greatest strength though is that its controls are simple and the menu system is highly intuitive making it very easy to use. You really can’t find a better camera that takes such amazing photos and still have such a convenient and stress-free shooting experience.

If you want to own a camera that can really cover some distance then the Canon Powershot SX50 HS is for you. Ideal for travel photography, it carries a 24 – 1200mm equivalent lens that is hard to beat in terms of quality and versatility. It also has a rotating LCD screen that offers great outdoor and low-light visibility and a ton of creative filters that make it possible to find the exact look you’re going for. There really is no type of scene that you can’t capture with this bad boy.

The Sony RX100 is one of the best compact cameras on the market. It carries all the benefits of a larger sensor with the lean proportions of a conventional compact. The focus and the operation on this guy are lightning fast and its video mode and build quality are hard to beat for its price. All these factors plus the size, zoom capabilities, flexibility, and image quality are what put this towards the top of the list.

Whether you want to capture your kids soccer game, a family vacation, or your next Christmas card, you won’t regret investing in the Panasonic’s LUMIX FZ200. This camera straddles the line between a point and shoot and DSLR perfectly with its flexibility and high image quality while still keeping it simple to use. It has a remarkable super zoom that is on par with many DSLR zoom lenses and it has one of the fastest processors on the market both of which makes it highly versatile.

Coming in the top slot is the Sony RX100M III. The breadth of this large sensor compact’s capabilities is unmatched with its bright, flexible lens and incomparable image quality. It has awesome wi-fi functionality, huge flexibility when it comes to apertures and zoom range, and a built in ND filter that will help you greatly in bright light situations. Perhaps its coolest feature is the ability to flip the LCD screen 180 degrees above the camera to get that perfect selfie.