Best Travel Cameras for 2024

Travel offers the chance to witness unforgettable sights and experiences, and having a good camera is an ideal way to capture those moments. But the best camera in the world doesn’t always make the best travel camera. You want something relatively easy to use, compact, and feature-rich. Given these standards, most photographers and videographers (myself included) have no idea where to start when recommending a great travel camera. So I researched and found some of the best compact travel cameras for 2024 that offer exceptional image quality, without bogging you down with a bag of gear. So let’s look at the best travel cameras for 2024 in various categories.

Best Compact Camera – Ricoh GR III / Ricoh GR IIIx

The Ricoh GR III is the latest model in a line of compact cameras, featuring a large APS-C sensor and a 28mm equivalent lens, whereas the GR IIIx features a 40mm equivalent. While it lacks versatility in focal length, it’s incredibly portable and has garnered a loyal following among photographers who appreciate its ease of use and image quality.

Despite its small size, the GR III offers excellent handling with well-placed controls, a highly customizable interface, and a responsive touchscreen. The grip is perfectly designed for comfortable one-handed shooting. Autofocus is fast and accurate in good lighting, but it tends to slow down noticeably in low-light conditions. The camera also includes a Snap Focus mode, allowing users to preset a focus distance that the camera jumps to with a full press of the shutter button. However, the battery life is a weak point, offering only about 200 shots per charge.

The GR III stands out as a pocketable camera that delivers direct control and excellent image quality. Still, its short battery life and fixed focal length may limit its appeal to some, but it’s a strong option for street, travel, and casual photography. For those looking for a different focal length, the GR IIIx variant offers a 40mm equivalent lens, which, while a bit tighter for travel photography, is a popular choice for portraits and everyday shooting.

Best Impossible to Find Camera – Fujifilm X100VI

Like its predecessor, the Fujifilm X100V, the Fujifilm X100VI is a classically styled fixed-lens camera featuring a 35mm equivalent F2 lens. However, since its launch in early 2024, it has been tough to get your hands on, which is why we call it the ‘Best Impossible to Find Camera’.

The X100VI brings significant upgrades, including in-body image stabilization (rated up to 6EV) and a new 40MP BSI CMOS APS-C X-Trans sensor, marking a major leap from the previous model. These enhancements contribute to the X100VI‘s $200 price bump, bringing it to $1,600.

While it’s not the most compact or discreet camera, its fixed focal length encourages users to develop a deeper understanding of the type of shots it excels at, offering a more immersive and higher-quality experience compared to smartphone photography.

As expected from a sixth-generation model, the X100VI is highly refined. Fujifilm has maintained the core appeal of the X100 series while modernizing it with advanced features. It’s no surprise that this is the best X100 yet, but good luck finding one.

Best Pro Compact – Sony a7CR

The Sony a7CR is a compact full-frame camera featuring a 61MP image-stabilized CMOS sensor. While it lacks an AF joystick and has a basic, small viewfinder to maintain its size, few cameras offer this level of image quality in such a portable form.

To keep the camera light and portable, you’ll need to choose your lenses carefully, as the size and weight could become overwhelming with a larger lens. However, the a7CR’s fast autofocus ensures quick responsiveness to almost any situation you might face while traveling.

For a full-frame camera, the a7CR is remarkably small, and the inclusion of a front control dial greatly improves handling. One downside is that the viewfinder is both small and has a low resolution for a camera in this price range. But autofocus performance is excellent, aided by a dedicated processor that handles advanced machine learning-based algorithms. Subject recognition is swift, and the AF system reliably tracks subjects across the frame in both photos and video. It offers 8 fps burst shooting with continuous AF, resulting in a consistently high hit rate.

The a7CR can record 4K video at up to 60 fps, and its Auto Framing mode uses AI to simulate a camera operator’s movements, keeping subjects framed and in focus.

With its 61MP sensor, the a7CR captures incredible detail at a very high resolution, outpacing most full-frame competitors. JPEG colors are vibrant, and excellent sharpening maximizes the sensor’s potential, while RAW files provide flexibility for shadow recovery at base ISO.

Overall, the Sony a7CR offers exceptional results for its size. It delivers nearly the same image quality and many of the same features as Sony’s a7R V but in a more compact design. While some compromises are made, such as the lack of an AF joystick, the a7CR is an excellent choice for those seeking high resolution in a travel-sized body, and are without a budget.

Best Ultra Compact Action Camera – Insta360 GO 3

When you start looking at the specs, bringing an action camera onto your travels makes a lot of sense – even if you’re not doing something exciting like white water rafting or parasailing. While the image quality of these cameras likely won’t compete with your smartphone, the video quality on them is pretty stunning. Pairing that with their incredibly small size, it’s an easy camera to carry in your pocket and capture brilliant POV perspective videos of your adventures.

And when it comes to action cameras, it’s hard not to argue a case for the Insta360 GO 3. Not only does it have built-in memory for recording your adventures, but it also syncs really well with your phone thanks to the Insta360 app. Additionally, the Insta360 Go 3 is small – like, really really small. People have been able to creatively attach it to baseball caps, cups, and just about anything else you can imagine with its small size and magnetic body.

Best 360 Camera – Insta360 X4

Continuing to get weird with the recommendations, my final recommendation is another Insta360 camera, but one where they flex what they do best, which is 360-degree video with the Insta360 X4. If you’re looking for an immersive experience, it’s hard to suggest anything other than 360-degree video. I’ve discussed my love for this technology before in blog articles, and the Insta360 X4 is the latest and greatest from Insta360.

Waterproof up to 33ft, capable of shooting 8K 260-degree video, and 135 minutes of recording time on a battery, the Insta360 X4 gives you a small camera that is capable of recording the world around you in new ways. And with its “selfie stick removal” functionality, you’re able to record videos that look like a drone is following you around, recording everything around you to frame up later in post. And if video editing isn’t your thing (though Insta360 does make it easy, trust me), the latest addition to their free software suite also supports full AI editing, where the system will go through and highlight the best moments of all videos.

Do you think we missed any cameras? Feel free to give your suggestions for the best travel camera using the comments section below. And of course, all of these camera systems are available for rental on the rental side of our site. Thanks for reading!

Author: Lensrentals

Articles written by the entire editorial and technical staff at LensRentals.com. These articles are for when there is more than one author for the entire post, and are written as a community effort.