There has recently been an upsurge in sales of and discussion about compact cameras. It appears that predictions of their demise were a bit premature.
Canon re-started production of the GX7-3, Fujifilm is doing well with their X100-6 as is Ricoh with their GR line of ultra compacts.
Lumix has just released the new L10 which is partly a reprise of the previous LX100 line and partly, according to Panasonic, the first model of a new line of high quality compacts.
It appears that low cost, low spec models from Chinese makers bearing famous brands like Kodak and Ilford are also selling well.
I happen to have in my camera drawer three models each of which could be regarded as compact, depending on how one defines the term, so here is a short user comparison of the three. By the way, my “big” camera is a Canon EOS R7 usually with the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 or the Canon RF-S 18-150mm for greater reach.
At the tiny end of the spectrum we have the Sony RX100-7, which has been on the market since 2019 and continues unchanged. This packs more capability into a small package than any other camera in the history of photography. Image quality, autofocus and operating speed are all excellent. The 8.3x zoom range is remarkable for such a compact package and lens quality on my copy is very good to excellent.
The “one inch”, actually 15.9mm diagonal, sensor delivers very good image quality, which in my side by side comparison tests is in some cases just as good as the other two cameras which have larger sensors.
If we leave the camera in the automatic, point-and-shoot P mode, it is decently usable. But if we want to use aperture priority, shutter priority or manual mode, the process of doing so can be quite frustrating. For example, I was using my RX100-7 in sunlight a few days ago in aperture priority mode and found that I could not see the aperture read-out in the viewfinder. The numerals on the monitor panel are bright white but those in the EVF are light grey making them difficult to see in some conditions. The buttons are tiny and difficult to locate and operate by feel.
So the camera which on paper provides the highest levels of performance and options for user control is in practice the least responsive to user inputs. The user experience of holding, viewing and operating the RX100-7 is less satisfactory than the larger models in this trio.
Next up we have the Lumix G100D with 12-32mm zoom lens which provides a much better experience of holding, viewing and operating. This camera uses the larger micro four thirds sensor with a 21.6mm diagonal and the same 20 million pixel count. This is right now (May 2026) the smallest “DSLR” style camera on the market. It has a proper handle, good quality OLED EVF over the lens axis, and a mode dial plus twin dials control layout. This is a much nicer camera to use than the RX100-7. However it has a smaller zoom range, uses old-style DFD contrast detect AF and has a lower performance capability. It works well as a compact camera for single shot stills photography but not so well for more demanding use cases.
Our third model, the Canon EOS R10 with 18-45mm lens uses an APSC size sensor with a diagonal of 27mm, the same compact “DSLR” style shape as the G100D but the larger size enables designers to incorporate an improved control layout. The shutter button and front and rear dials are where my fingers want to find them, there is a nice joystick with optimal haptics and location, a much larger and more comfortable handle and the EVF eyecup is larger and more comfortable. The R10 also has a much better phase detect autofocus system and much better performance capability than the G100D.
Which of these three models works best as a compact camera ?
If small size is paramount the Sony is the obvious choice.
For the photographer happy to inhabit the Micro Four Thirds domain the G100D makes a very agreeable photographic companion especially for street and documentary still photography.
The Canon R10 is larger, but in the overall scheme of things still a compact model. Image quality is slightly ahead of the other two with a bit more dynamic range but the benefit of this is only seen in conditions where we need to pull up dark tones in processing. The greatest appeal of the R10 is its excellent holding, viewing and operating. If I am setting forth for a day of photography, this is the one I take. Everything about the user experience and ergonomics is better than the other two models in this comparison. If desired the R10 can also work well with long zoom lenses with its excellent autofocus and performance.
Some will say the R10 is too large to be regarded as a compact and that is a reasonable position to take. However either the new Lumix L10 or Fujifilm X100-6 with SmallRig accessory handle are the same size when height and width are considered, although the depth is less because the lens is integrated into the body.
If Sony could relinquish its relentless pursuit of smallness and offer the working parts of the RX100-7 in a larger, more ergonomically attractive model I think that could be a very attractive offering.
So, we pays our money and makes our choice. I prefer the R10 because it is easily the most user friendly of the trio of models compared in this little post. It is also very reliable. As long as my subject is not a bird in flight I never have to check focus or exposure because the R10 gets it right first time, every time, all the time. That is very re-assuring.
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