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If you are looking for nostalgic "memory" photos and don't care too much about photo quality, then get a point and shoot.

If you're interested in getting good photos, then invest in a compact digital SLR (dSLR) with a versatile zoom lens.

I carry both a POS and dSLR. It's nice to be able to pull the POS out of my pocket and snap a pic very quickly without a lot of fuss. But it's also nice to be able to take quality photos with control over exposure parameters, or even with full manual exposure and lens control, with a dSLR.

If your primary concern is getting quality photos, then you will find a way to carry the dSLR.

I would concur with asmrz. The canon G15 or G16 can be treated as a full auto point and shoot, but can also be set to aperture priority/shutter priority or full manual, with control of white balance and ISO.

Shirt pocket cameras can be quite high quality at around 8 oz. For what you seem to describe, a longer zoom is a distinct plus.
I was about to buy the 12x Lumix some years ago but got persuaded by my local authority/dealer and got the comparable 10x Fuji.
They're longer in the lens now. I always carry mine in shirt pocket both zipped and velcro closed--belt and suspenders guy, I guess.

Sony RX100 (I,II, III, IV) are all pretty good. You can get the earlier models used.
Lumix are not too bad but probably not as good of image quality as the Sony.
Sony A6000 is good and now that the A6300 is out the A6000 is cheaper.
Look at Fujifilm X100/X100S/X100T, these are all good and can be bought used. Fixed lens at 35mm perspective on a crop sensor.

All cameras mentioned above are crop sensors. Of the above, the Fujifilm and the A6000 probably have the best image quality. If you want small, go with the RX100 type.