The best compact cameras

best compact cameras
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The best compact cameras can fit in a coat pocket but still offer the controls, features and even the image quality you'd expect from a DSLR or a mirrorless camera. Sounds impossible? Not at all – and here are the cameras to prove it.

A DSLR camera or a mirrorless camera has a big sensor for the best image quality, interchangeable lenses for flexibility and enough manual control for all kinds of creative photography. Unfortunately, they're just too big to carry around without a separate camera bag or holster.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Rod Lawton
Contributor

Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com