Originally Posted by
DanK
The main issue for me would be control. A phone allows you very little control. A good pocketable camera does.
It has been years since I went through the process of picking a small, carry-me-everywhere camera, so my knowledge is dated. However, I can point out a few things to consider:
-- if I'm right, the lumix lx-10 lacks a build int eye-level viewfinder. That's a deal-breaker for me.
-- sony keeps its old models on the market, so there are a bunch of RX 100 models to choose from. The newest are well beyond your budget.
--when I was looking, what deterred me from buying an RX 100 is that it has few controls. You have to burrow through menus to do much of anything. On the positive side, that's one way they keep it small. On the negative side, this makes it cumbersome to make changes.
For these reasons, i ended up with something that wouldn't serve your purposes: an LX-100. It has a bigger sensor and excellent controls. however, while I can fit it into a jacket pocket or a fanny pack, it's far too big for a shirt pocket.