What is the best small camera with zoom lens you can buy in the year 2025? Our take on this lists the best camera lens combo that money can buy this year without compromises.
As 2025 progresses, the demand for portability is expected to rise in the camera niche. Check Reddit or any public forums; you will find that the photography/videography community wants their gear to be small and lightweight, as more and more people are now making content outside their homes.
This has also increased the demand not only for smaller and lightweight cameras but also for zoom lenses, as they are more versatile for outdoor shoots. This particular segment of camera and lens gear used to be quite tricky; the smaller you go, the less impressive the specs become, but if you don’t want to sacrifice the features, then prices used to go up significantly. But this is not the case in 2025 anymore.
Below, we have rated (1 to 5) one of the best small camera with zoom lens, which you can invest in in the year 2025 and deliver the most out of your investment.
1. Sony FX 30 and SIRUI AURORA Lens
Ranking first for the year 2025, the SIRUI AURORA 85mm F1.4 lens has something special in its competition, and its true potential is unlocked with a capable camera, like Sony’s FX30. This combo is one of the best options you can invest in this year, as it works best both for photographers and videographers seeking a high-quality, fast prime lens with superb autofocus on a compact camera body.
The FX30 has a time-tested APS-C-sized sensor that works great with the next-generation stepping motor of the Aurora lens. This combo delivers you absolutely minimal aberrations but with added cinematic feel, which is loved by the fan base of this combo and has been widely tested in the community and is shown to capture ultra-high-quality portraits, interviews, and cinematic shots.
And you get all of this in a small package: the lens weighs just about 540 g, with the camera body just a little above 600 grams, making it a great option for this year and surely one of the best small camera with zoom lenses you can buy this year. Other contenders in the top five combos are below:
2. The combo of the Sony ZV-E10 and Sony’s own 18-105 mm f/4 G OSS Zoom lens easily takes the second spot. This camera has made big headlines among the content creation community for the past few years. People loved its budget price tag and ultra-small size, while being an extremely capable camera body. When combined with the Sony’s E PZ 8–105mm f/4 G OSS Zoom lens, this combo becomes a beast on its own. Its APS-C 24.2MP, coupled with the 5.8x optical zoom, is loved by content creators thanks to its solid zoom range and streaming support for content creation.
The total carrying weight of the camera and lens with battery and everything is less than 700 grams, making it a great lightweight gear option for 2025, but the camera crops the field of view by 1.5x and collects significantly less light, which becomes obvious during low-light conditions. The lens itself is also f/4, which lets in less light again as compared to the first option of f/1.4. Even with its shortcomings, many love this combo due to its great optical quality and consistency.
3. The Canon R50 and the Canon’s RF-S 18-150mm lens are ranked third in our list of best small camera with zoom lenses. Weighing just shy of 600 grams, this combo is a great option for those looking for a small and capable travel or everyday camera lens combo.
The lens has a zoom range from wide to super-telephoto, making it great for travelers. Moreover, you get Canon’s Dual Pixel Autofocus and the ability to shoot 4K video with no crop whatsoever, which are all impressive specs, especially at this price.
Overall, quite ultralight and impressive in features, the setup falls short when comparing the aperture of f/6.3 at 150mm as compared to another lens we mentioned in this list. This means that it lets in very little light; say hello to noisy pictures in low light. Also, this lens is known to soften edges at longer focal lengths, which is not desirable among top-tier setups.
Wrapping Up:
The above three camera lens combos are some of the best gear you can invest in this year. Among these three, the SIRUI AURORA 85mm F1.4 lens easily comes out on top as an easy recommendation when taking into consideration weight, build quality, real-life performance, and relevancy to content creation.
