My wife has said that she would like a decent compact for her birthday in a couple of weeks. On the plus side this means I haven't got to try and think what she might want, but I'm not sure which camera to get. She currently has a D7100 with everything from a 10.5 fisheye to the Tamron 150-600 and plenty in between, so she is a knowledgeable photographer and expects good image quality. When I looked at this for myself earlier in the year I got the Fuji X100T as it's APSC, but also a fixed lens.
This one needs a zoom as my wife didn't like the fixed lens on the Fuji as it's restrictive in her view. Obviously this will mean going to a smaller sensor or it won't be a compact. So my question is, what compact would provide great image quality, at least a 24-70 equivalent lens, RAW format, viewfinder (EVF or optical) and manual controls. So far I have landed on the Lumix LX100 (4/3 sensor) and the RX100 III (1 Inch sensor). The RX100 pretty much fits the requirement but it's not cheap at around £570 in the UK. I would pay that if it is necessary but wonder if there is something else that gets very close for a few hundred ££ less.
I would consider smaller sensors if I was advised that I could still get reasonable ISO performance in lower light.
This one needs a zoom as my wife didn't like the fixed lens on the Fuji as it's restrictive in her view. Obviously this will mean going to a smaller sensor or it won't be a compact. So my question is, what compact would provide great image quality, at least a 24-70 equivalent lens, RAW format, viewfinder (EVF or optical) and manual controls. So far I have landed on the Lumix LX100 (4/3 sensor) and the RX100 III (1 Inch sensor). The RX100 pretty much fits the requirement but it's not cheap at around £570 in the UK. I would pay that if it is necessary but wonder if there is something else that gets very close for a few hundred ££ less.
I would consider smaller sensors if I was advised that I could still get reasonable ISO performance in lower light.