Then you've got your pocketable compact for everyday shooting and maybe a digital SLR or mirrorless camera for when you want to get serious. The former typically take lenses that are too short, while the latter crave a multi-pound slice of drinking glass to accomplish higher up 200mm. If you're willing to sacrifice image quality and depth-of-field command, you can buy a camera with a big lens that coverage focal ranges that are either impossible on interchangeable lens cameras, or very expensive.

The long zoom cameras in this buying guide fit into the 'enthusiast' category, meaning that they offer solid build quality, electronic viewfinders (on most models) and 4K video capture. All of these long zooms have 1"-type sensors.

Our Pick: Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Iv

Few cameras tick as many boxes equally the Sony'due south Cyber-shot RX10 IV. It inherits the 20MP Stacked CMOS sensor and fast 24-600mm equiv. lens from the RX10 Iii, and so made everything faster.

Its new hybrid AF system is incredibly quick and tracks subjects well, even at a whopping 24 fps. Thanks to a gigantic buffer, you can take over 100 Raws per outburst, though they take forever to be written to a memory carte du jour. Speaking of speed, y'all tin can capture Full Hard disk video at 120 fps, and up to 1000 fps if you drop the resolution.

In that location'southward a lot more that we like, too. The RX10 4 is weather condition-sealed, the tilting LCD is touch-enabled and its tin can be used to position your AF point. The OLED electronic viewfinder is large and vibrant. 4K video is oversampled and looks incredible, and there's a total set of capture tools and support for S-Log2/3. And, finally, the philharmonic of Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth make sharing photos super-piece of cake.

It's not cheap, but for those who want a photographic camera that does virtually everything correct, it might but exist worth information technology.

A meaty, cheaper alternative: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 (TZ100)

And then let'due south say you don't have $1700 to spend on a long zoom camera, or just desire something more portable. Enter the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100. Information technology too has a 20MP 1" sensor, just trades zoom ability for compactness. Its lens has an equivalent focal range of 25-250mm, but it's a bit slow at F2.viii-5.half-dozen, which makes it less competitive in terms of low low-cal operation and depth-of-field control. JPEG quality isn't class-leading due to besides much noise reduction and a somewhat soft lens.

The ZS100 has a responsive autofocus system, a 3" LCD with proficient touch functionality and six fps flare-up shooting with continuous AF. It also has a (pocket-size) electronic viewfinder. The camera captures 4K video that looks pretty expert, with a hybrid 5-axis stabilization characteristic bachelor at 1080p and below.

Overall, we like the ZS100 not because it'southward the best camera in its course, but because information technology strikes a great balance between size and focal range. And, since it's near the end of its lifespan, information technology'south a real deal.

We considered all of the cameras below when picking our winners, and even though we call back the Sony RX10 IV is the all-time all-rounder and the Panasonic ZS100 a adept runner-upwards, the cameras on our short listing are also worthy contenders.

If yous're not convinced by our picks, dive into the total buying guide for a closer await at the following cameras.

  • Our Selection: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV
  • A compact, cheaper alternative: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS100 (TZ100)

Also consider:

  • Nikon Coolpix P950
  • Nikon Coolpix P1000
  • Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 (TZ200)
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 2
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 (FZ2000)
  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 3
  • Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI