Gadgetory

despite the fact that people seem to be taking pictures more with their cell phones these days there's actually a boom of cool new cameras coming out right now and some of the most interesting ones fill the gap between full-on professional DSLR and the portability of a point-and-shoot so if you're ready to graduate from Instagram or maybe you've already got a DSLR and want something a little more agile these are the five cameras you're looking for compact cameras for advanced shooters hand selected by CNET senior camera editor Lori grunion starting off at number five the sony cybershot DSC RX one now it may be number five on this list but it's actually the number one camera here in terms of photo quality you get a full-frame professional grade sensor and a stunning carl zeiss 35 millimeter lens now there's no optical viewfinder but that's not why it's at the bottom of this list so what's the catch how about a $2,600 price tag you can spend the same amount on nice DSLR with a lot more shooting flexibility but if what you really want is something compact that doesn't sacrifice an inch on image quality then this is the camera for you number four comes down to earth a bit it's the fujifilm x100t n-- hundred dollars this retro-styled compact packs a great viewfinder and works well under manual control you're dealing with a slightly smaller aps-c sensor and the lens is a little quirky and the autofocus isn't the best but the overall image quality is beautiful plus it's a hip looking camera it's like a mustache and a beer cozy away from moving to Brooklyn at number three the canon powershot g 15 finally a camera that won't bankrupt me it's also the last camera on this list that you'll see with an optical viewfinder so that's a must-have feature and you don't have a gram to drop the G 15 is your best bet now the image quality isn't quite the same as the last two cameras but the lens is very fast and you can tease out some extra detail by shooting in RAW it's not the hippest looking thing but come on Who am I fooling I don't even have any tattoos tramp stamps don't count forget I said anything save even more cash with number two the canon powershot s110 at around $400 it's really just a glorified point-and-shoot but it's good enough to get an out of respect from serious photo nerds it's also two generations removed from my favorite pocket camera the canon s 95 which I managed to lose this year and still cry for everyday like the s 95 and the s 100 the s 110 offers a lot of manual control and will even shoot in RAW if you want to squeeze it for all it's got no viewfinder and the touchscreen is a little bit more trouble than it's worth but it's small enough to fit in any pocket and small enough to lose but if you had to choose just one camera they hit all the high notes on this list fast lens affordable price manual control raw image capture and a pocket-sized design you'd arrive right here at number one the sony cybershot DSC rx100 fast bright carl zeiss lens big old 20 megapixel sensor adjustment ring right on the lens not the cheapest at $650 but worth every penny this is the pocket point-and-shoot that puts all the rest to shame so there you have it five great cameras that will fill the void between your cell phone camera and a full-blown DSLR for a few other recommendations check out senior editor lori Gruden's full round up over at cnet.com i'm donald bell thanks for watching you