Throwing the Sony RX10 Mk II into the mix, and also the update to Mk IV, here are some of the options I am thinking about:
- The 4/3" format Panasonic LX-100 II with 12-38/1.7-2.8 lens
- The Sony RX100 Mk IV in 1" format, equivalent to 12-35/2.4-3.7 in 4/3" (true f-stop values f/1.8-2.8)
(Added Alan Klein's current camera!)
- The Sony RX100 Mk VII in 1" format, equivalent to 12-100/3.7-6 in 4/3" (true f-stop values f/2.8-4.5)
- The Sony RX10 Mk II in 1" format, equivalent to 12-100/3.7 in 4/3" (true f-stop value f/2.8)
- The Sony RX10 Mk IV in 1" format, equivalent to 12-300/3.2-5.3 in 4/3" (true f-stop values f/2.4-4)
- The Canon G5 X Mk II in 1" format, equivalent to 12-60mm/2.4-3.7 in 4/3" (true f-stop values f/1.8-2.8)
- The Canon G1 X Mk III in its "1.6x" APS-C format, with lens equivalent to 12-36/2.3-4.5 in 4/3" (16-38/2.8-5.6 true values?) CORRECTION: 16-38 was a type for 16-48, and anyway I have been corrected below: it is 15-45mm; I divided by 1.5 instead of 1.6
Vs MFT bodies with lens options like:
- 14-42/3.5-5.6
- 12-40/2.8 (added later)
- 12-50/3.5-6.3
- 12-60/3.5-5.6
- 12-60/2.8-4
- 14-140/3.5-5.6
- 12-100/4
- 14-150/4-5.6
Also, I think a good question to ask is "under what circumstances (of both the scene photographed and the way the result is displayed) does one option produce visually better results than another, and by how much?" There is a wide range of cases where all above options can production an effectively "perfect" image because the subject brightness range of the scene is moderate and so there are neither blown highlights nor perceptible shadow noise, the desired print size is not too big (maybe not beyond A3 or 11"x14"), and so on.
I like to think of the "gamut" of a camera: the image-making situations (scene and display intent) where its results are not perceptibly inferior to what any other gear can give because the DR, resolution, usable shutter speed, color accuracy etc. are enough. And in fact, I suggest that there is a significant "gamut" of situations where good phone cameras produce effectively "perfect" results. More importantly, a great proportion of people rarely or never want to do photography outside that gamut, so the best choice for them is indeed a phone. And in fact also for me on outings where I am happy to stay within my phone's gamut.