Ming Thein, prolific writer and photographer (with cameras that are like, way too nice, I guess):

…there are increasingly times when I do things and go places that are not 100% dedicated to the creation of images; at these times there may be some opportunities for photography and you’d like to not compromise too much…

…so where are the proper enthusiast compacts? In other words: either the non-photographer’s “serious camera”, or the photographer’s “un-camera”.

He ends up picking the Panasonic GX85 (after nearly 2,000 words), but I find the Fuji x100T perfect for this use case. Beginners can make really great photos when running in a fully-automatic mode and those with more experience have all the control they need.