amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

It sounds as if a "mirrorless" camera would be ideal for you. There are basically two types: those without any viewfinder that rely upon the rear LCD monitor to compose your images and those with some sort of viewfinder (most are electronic, a few are optical). Mirrorless cameras with a viewfinder tend to be a little larger (though not always).

FYI... Nikon is abandoning the Nikon 1 "mirrorless" camera line. They've admitted making a mistake using too small 1" sensors in it and say they'll be discontinuing and replacing it with cameras either using APS-C or possibly full frame size sensors. Either way, the lenses for Nikon 1 will also become unusable on the new line (if they're even mountable). Since no one else was producing cameras using this format, there's also not been much third party support for the Nikon 1 system. You will probably see some real deals on Nikon 1 models and accessories... blow out deals to get rid of existing stock. But they haven't introduced a new model in a couple years so they will be "old tech" in a rapidly developing industry and it will be a dead end with no new lenses or camera upgrades in the future. (1" sensors have a 2.7X lens factor, compared to so-called "full frame".)

Olympus and Panasonic lines of MILC (mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras) use a so-called "micro Four/Thirds" sensor with a 2X lens factor, compared to full frame. Thanks to multiple manufacturers being involved, this format has been developed with some good success and offers smaller cameras and lenses. In general you will see them limited to about 16 or 20MP. If size and weight are your primary concern, you should take a close look at what Oly and Panny offer. Kodak offers some low cost MILC models too, that are compatible with the micro 4/3 system (I don't know who actually makes these cameras, since Kodak doesn't actually make any themselves).

Like Nikon, Canon has been pretty slow to develop MILC, but has made significant strides in the last year or two. All theirs use APS-C size sensors (1.6X lens factor) and the most recent models are 24MP, using the same or very similar sensors found in many of the Canon DSLRs. Canon's implementation of a Dual Pixel Auto Focus system has been another game changer for them. All their latest MILC models use it and it's a huge improvement in speed and performance compared to the earlier models that relied upon contrast detection AF. Canon now offers models with and without viewfinders (as well as accessory viewfinders for some of the models without one). The M5 and recently announced M50 have electronic viewfinders, while the M6 and M100 do not. I think the main difference between the M5 and M50 is that the latter is able to shoot 4K video, while the M5 is limited to HD.

Canon's lens selection for their M-series is still pretty limited... around 8 "EF-M" lenses total, most of which are zooms and all using STM focus drive. However, there are a good and growing number of interesting third party lens offerings for the system, as well as a host of adapters that allow many different mounts to be used on the cameras, including adapters that support autofocus with EF/EF-S lenses that Canon DSLRs use. (Note: doing this with some of the heftier DSLR lenses sort of defeats the purpose of a MILC.... All together they end up weighing almost as much as a DSLR.) What I find appealing is the potential to use any of millions of manual focus rangefinder lenses that were produced for various film cameras from the 1950s onward (as produced by Leica, Voightlander, Minolta, Konica, Nikon, Canon, Olympus and many others).

Sony offers both APS-C (1.5X) and full frame (1.0X) MILC, as well as a number of lenses to use upon them. I'm not familiar enough with their systems to comment very much. But they have a lot of fans who will be happy to tell you all about them, I'm sure.

Leica also offers both APS-C and full frame MILC... using their traditional M-bayonet mount and backward compatible with film-era lenses. I think most current Leica are 24MP. Don't know a great deal about them, either... As with their film cameras, they're pretty expensive!

Fujifilm offers what might be the most advanced APS-C MILC, as well as a fairly extensive line of lenses to use upon them. They've also recently introduced a medium format MILC and a gradually expanding line of lenses to complement it.

Most of the recent APS-C models offer about 24MP. The full frame Sony offer as much as 42MP, if memory serves. And the Fuji medium format camera is a tad over 50MP.

BTW, MILC aren't the only possibility. There are also some relatively small and lightweight DSLRs and lenses to use upon them. Canon SL2, EF-S 10-18mm IS STM, "pancake" EF-S 24mm f.2.8 STM & EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, "kit" EF-S 18-55mm and some other lenses are actually fairly compact and easy to carry around.

Have fun shopping!

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

tpatz

I'd be adding my two cents for the Fuji X recommendations. Fantastic image quality and color second to none. Matter of fact, I left full frame Nikon for Fuji X and haven't looked back since. However, I agree with others that you need to put your hands on each brand. You'll find the one that feels like an extension of you. When you do, that's the one :)

Bayertake2 Loc: Alton, Illinois

A game changer... Sony a7 III
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89HZixKGc5E

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Try the Canon M50.
Runs circles around the Nikon 1 series and has a APSC sensor.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

Check out Olympus OMD cameras!

warrior Loc: Paso Robles CA

Take a look at the Fujifilm XT-2