I got into photography in the early 1990s and digital photography in the early half of the 2000s. When I was in class for my photography certifications, there was an awkward, empty space between the digital point and shoot cameras and the digital SLRs.

Recently, my brother and his wife asked me what camera they should get. Their new son is already a month old and they've pretty much only had their phone cameras. What camera should they get? I can't justify recommending any point and shoot camera because due to shutterlag, you can't capture the moment as you wanted. They're always at least a few milliseconds off. DSLRs today are great and have significantly improved since the days of using the Nikon D100 in the studio as part of Mr. Hudson's photography class.

However, there is the size tradeoff: DSLRs are huge in comparison. Do you really want to lug around a big, expensive camera in addition to everything else that comes with parenting? I wanted to recommend a camera in the in-between space but didn't know enough about the cameras that fit the bill.

Ken Rockwell advises that the Fuji X100 is the best of this class of camera.

It's the smallest and lightest serious camera available (half the weight of a LEICA and a fraction of the size and weight of a pro DSLR), and also gives the best results for people pictures under every sort of crazy light you'll find people being people. It's low-light, auto fill-flash, auto ISO, auto WB and color rendition under difficult conditions is far better than any of my Canons, Nikons or LEICAs. Yes, I can get the same results as the light changes after fiddling with my Nikon or Canon or LEICA, but the Fuji X100 always nails the first shot in difficult light all by itself without me having to fiddle, when means the Fuji gets the shot while I'd still be fiddling with one of the other cameras.

Bobby Solomon writes that "the Pentax K-01 is the best and coolest camera" he's ever used.

The quality is so high and the photos always come out looking great. It has a bit of a learning curve because of the lens, but it didn’t take long to learn how to shoot with it. All you need is a good eye for photography and the K-01 really does the rest. Our previous camera, the Canon G12, was around $500, while the Pentax K-01 runs for $900. If you’re thinking about buying a new camera I’d definitely urge you to save up a little more and get the K-01. It’s like the difference between buying a BMW and a Volkswagen. Both do the job, but the K-01 does it way better (and you look cooler).

And that's the clear point with these cameras. For $900 you can get a decent DSLR kits (the T2i and D5100 come to mind), but the point is to get a very high quality camera that succeeds where point and shoot cameras fail, yet not have the bulk and hassle of a DSLR.