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DROdio hasn't filled out their bio yet. CEO of Socialize. Entrepreneur & lifehacker in Silicon Valley. Hopeless travelaholic.
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Best point & shoot camera (if you really have to)

As you probably know, I'm on a mission to learn to take insanely great world-class pictures.  That requires a camera that's more capable than a typical point & shoot (for lots of reasons, but the biggest being the size of the sensor that actually captures the light).

Well, my buddy Tynan has been on a rant recently about a point & shoot camera that gets close to approximating the abilities of a DSLR, the Sony RX100.  In his gear guide, Tynan writes "I could really rave on about this thing forever. For the first time ever, we're talking about a camera that can take "archive quality" shots, and fits in your pocket."

It's not cheap -- it'll set you back about $650, and for the same price you can get the Lumix or a similar Micro 4/3 camera with an interchangeable lens.  But if size & portability are the absolute most important things to you, then the RX100 might be a good option.

I haven't tried it myself, but the reviews on Amazon are very positive.  If you've tried using it, I'd love to know what you think -- especially as compared to a Micro 4/3 or a DSLR.

If you have another point & shoot you love, that you feel lets you take above-average photos, I'd love to hear about it -- and see some sample pics if possible!

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I tested out the Canon S100 last month, both above ground and under water (with the Canon WP-DC43 underwater housing case), and the shots were pretty awesome. The daylight and night shots turned out better than the ones from the Nikon J1 I purchased for my 2 month trip to Southeast Asia. Although I'm pretty happy with the shots, I'm returning the Nikon (thanks to Costco's 90 day return policy), and have been researching a higher end point & shoot that is more portable.

All the reviews I've read put the Canon S100/S110 in the same class as the Sony RX100--but say hands down the Sony is better. Many of them, however, neglect to mention that the Sony is twice as expensive. I thought the Nikon would be my bridge from a cheap Canon (SD1200) to a DSLR, but found myself always reverting to auto because the menus were so cumbersome and I couldn't get the right manual settings. After playing with the Canon S100 for 2 days, I think that will suit me well. I've been happy with what I've seen it do so far, and don't think that an extra $350 is worth upgrading to the Sony. I could buy myself an underwater housing case good to 40m ($289), a fast, large capacity memory card, extra battery and some with that extra money. 

When my photography skills get better, I think the $600-$1,000+ range for a jump to DSLR would be more justified. I guess I'm in the "enthusiast" class, whereas you and Tynan are probably in the semi-pro/pro. 

DROdio hasn't filled out their bio yet. CEO of Socialize. Entrepreneur & lifehacker in Silicon Valley. Hopeless travelaholic.
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More like the "wanna be" semi-pro!

I'd love to see some pics taken with the S110.  I'll have to read up on it more.

Yeah at half the price, it sounds like a strong value player.

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*To clarify, I ordered the S110 for $300--slight upgrade from S100 with supposedly slightly annoying wi-fi feature that hooks up to smartphones vs internal GPS (but saves battery). I'll share some pictures from the S110 once I test it out!

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