Hi everyone. Sorry for a long post, but I'm looking for various input related to buying a camera, so feel free to just comment on any small bit of it if you feel like it. I don't expect answers to it all, but I'm just so exited to get back into photography after a long break.

The trigger for reviving my passion is that I'm planning a trip to Tokyo this fall 2026. I want to buy a really good camera for the trip to capture everything and finally get back into taking good photos.

I used to own a DSLR Nikon D5200 back in 2013, but over the years I completely stopped using it because it was just too big and bulky to carry so i sold it 2 years ago after not using it for 4 years before that.

Priorities

That's why i for this trip I want something that is much more compact and cameras have come a long way since 2013. My absolute top priority is size. If the camera isn't small and easy to carry, I know that I just simply won't use it enough. Ideally it should almost as easy to bring as my phone.

My next few priorities after size are as follows.

1. Interchangeable lenses
2. Excellent video capabilities
3. Good low light performance
4. 20-55 mm ish standard lens option to get started
5. Everything else just needs to be reasonably well balanced
6. An option for 35mm pancake lens for super compact mode. This is a nice to have addition and the price of it is on top of my budget mentioned below.
7. Full frame is nice, but i also have to be realistic if i want a super compact body.

What I mean about wanting a camera that is reasonable well balanced is that most cameras are in my opinion pretty good these days so I'll listen to your recommendations to maximize a balanced performance within my budget. I was happy with the performance of my D5200 so it's a good benchmark and should be easy to beat i think.

Where to buy and budget

I consider buying a camera when i first get to Tokyo since prices seems a bit lower there but i don't know for sure yet if that is a good idea so if you have experience there I'd love to hear.

My budget is around 200,000 yen (~1100€) including a decent starter lens. Maybe a bit more if needed or for an additional lens option.

Also if anyone knows of special deals, good Japan-only bundles, or used gear markets that i should consider then I'd love to hear, but it should be pretty easy to get on the first day in Tokyo if it's not the same price here in EU anyway.

Additional info:

For the trip we currently just have our phones which are an iPhone 16 Pro and a Google Pixel 5a 5G that both take pretty decent casual photos. The camera I'm looking for doesn’t need to replace that, but needs to offer significantly better image and video quality.

I really liked the interface on my Nikon and from what I've tried so far, I’m not a big fan of Canon’s interface. No idea about olympus, panasonic etc. never tried them.

Other questions

Does anyone know if there are any language limitations in the camera firmware when buying in Japan? (e.g., Japanese-only menus) ore are there any other region-locked features or restrictions compared to EU models?

I hope to get some input to find the right camera. There are so many options and i feel like it's easy to go waaay over budget for not that much more.

Hard to beat the m43 system if you're looking for compact. One of the more modern bodies with a f1.2 prime lens will even do pretty good in low light.

I just recently looked into the small camera market and ended up buying the new Fuji XT-30. Your budget is reasonable I think, although you may have to compromise on the video and/or low light capabilities.

The XT-30 is great and with the 27mm pancake would match most of your criteria and your budget. And it easily fits in most bigger pockets. You could also take a look at the new Fuji X-E5.

My absolute top priority is size

Olympus PEN F (or other PEN models), with the 14/42 pancake lens (not the other cheap 14/42 lens) fits into your shirt pocket

2.Excellent video capabilities

Panasonic (I don't know their model names) are even better for video than Olympus, and they are small, but not that small.

Yeah thats what came to mind. And since OP is going to Japan, home of Panasonic and Olympus (well...) they could try and find a kit there.

I haven't searched here but there is still an active subreddit for m43.

Unless OP wants to blow money on Fujifilm, of course.

thank you for this input. this camera cannot be found in my home country (Denmark) so it's definitely a nice candidate. it's tiny and quite cheap... you know of some reviews I can look through.

this is new to me. Thanks for pointing it out. I've been reading a littel bit about it, but not sure if I understand what it actually is other than just yet another sensor size and lens mount standard. I'll keep reading on.

Fuji X-E4 or 5.

My absolute top priority is size. If the camera isn’t small and easy to carry, I know that I just simply won’t use it enough. Ideally it should almost as easy to bring as my phone.

My own travel experience has led me to agree with this priority 100%.

I figured this out with a different approach, though. In 2022 (or so), when they were dirt cheap on Ebay, I bought a couple of the cameras in this roundup . Which means they're old. But clone batteries are still cheap and readily available. The Canon in that list will run CHDK alternative firmware, which opens up some new features. And they really are small enough to be "as easy to bring as my phone," but they have real optical zoom lenses, RAW files, and none of the computational HDR stuff.

The asking prices for these things have gone bonkers, but they could still be cheaper than the interchangable-lens systems you're contemplating. I've had a ton of fun with mine, way more than I ever anticipated. Having a 400mm zoom in my pants pocket still feels like impossible spy movie stuff to me. One way to see sample pictures from a camera model is to search Flickr for that model, for example: Flickr pictures taken with the Canon SX230HS.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

As Others Said, Look into Micro Four Thirds.

https://youtu.be/6YAhoVu1Jio
Maybe this
https://youtu.be/qWfAV7UnSdY
Plus one of These tiny lenses.

I switched from Nikon to Panasonic and the menu and handling felt intuitive.

As Others Said, Look into Micro Four Thirds.

will do. i think the one you linked to is a bit too large for my needs tho. she mentioned a few smaller olympus pen series that i'm currently checking out.

It is exactly a sensor size and lens mount standard. Panasonic and Olympus are the main manufacturers, but there have been a couple other niche bodies using it.

There used to be very small bodies like the Panasonic GM and Olympus Pen Lite series, but none of the current models are especially small with Olympus focusing on wildlife and Panasonic focusing on video. There's plenty to be found on the used market, but prices have risen on the small bodies recently.

The system lacks a good 35mm-equivalent pancake (the Olympus 17/2.8 is a bad one), but the 40mm-equivalent Panasonic 20/1.7 is excellent as long as you don't need fast autofocus.

It's the longest running mirrorless mount, and being a somewhat open standard has a very wide variety of available lenses.

The older bodies are really cheap and still really nice cameras. My main is an em5.2 that I paid $300 for, near new, last year. All my $$ is in lenses.