Best "mini-SLR"

M Sprague wrote: Aren't almost all pretty sketchy? First thing that happens if you look for a good price is they sell you grey market goods (may be ok as long as you understand what you are getting), then they call you the next day and try to upsell you, telling you something like the battery that comes with it only lasts 2 hours so you need to buy a nice over priced one etc. I had one then call me the next day (after already charging my card) to say that they would then need a copy of my drivers license or passport to send it.

Simple - order from reputable merchants and not strictly on price.
Amazon
Adorama
B&H Photo
Newegg

jaredj wrote:Perhaps less fully featured than you want, but the Sony DSC RX100 packs a lot of punch in a small package and is well under your price point.

I agree with this. The RX100 Mk I, II, or III is amazing, I couldnt be happier. Yes the a6000 is the better camera, but the RX100 is considerably smaller and half the weight. So if portability is a concern the RX100 is awesome.

I've been happy with the Canon G16, but I think the versatility of adding different lenses that the A6000 or A7 allows sounds pretty awesome.

The problem with single lens cameras is once dirt gets in on the sensor, you are screwed.
Some places (camera shops) won't clean them, as the sensor is so buried in deeply.

This happened to me with my expensive, single lens, raw shooting Canon.
I have now switched to the Sony NEX line. Start with one lens, and then get more when you
can afford to drop more coin. At least you will have a good start, and it will be cleanable.

I have a NEX-6 and like it a lot. Very easy to use with manual lens

Josh Kornish wrote:George, I'm going to make one myself and I'll post it up. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them. I'm going to design an 'alpine version' for a single lens. Probably something that can ride on a 'redundant chalk bag belt' or a shoulder sling attachment. I picked one up that came with the standard 11mm-50mm which looks great for my macro shots at home. What lenses are you guys using in the field? I wish a better smartphone was an option right now as they do have incredible cameras! I think Jimmy Chin shoots a lot of incredible photography on his Iphone

This sounds cool, love to see it!

I have most the lenses they make for it... what I use depends on the situation. If I am actually carrying it while climbing multi pitch rock, I will usually carry that 16-50 pancake lens... it takes decent photos and its small... I will often carry the Zeiss 16-70 into base camp, or perhaps the Sony wide angle one (10-18). Just depends on the situation.

I used to have the Sony DSCRX100II... Its an awesome camera in a tiny package. I would love to get another. It takes good photos on pure auto, and I find that when I carry my a6000 i might get slightly better shots, but I take far less b/c its much more work to pull it out, set it the way I want and then shoot.

Also, i highly recommend a warranty... I use Squaretrade. I had my camera set up on a tripod at the Creek, stepped away for 1 second and wind blew it off a 50 foot cliff.... camera and lens trashed. I got every dollar I paid for it back...