Had a Sony compact camera for a few years and that was great as much smaller than SLR but took great images which was good enough for me as I am no expert, just casual point and shoot snaps while out and about and holidays.
But the best camera is the one which is with you all the time, so good ultra compact or decent camera phone, although they are obviously on another level in terms of quality.

Get a Sony mirrorless - depending on your budget of course. Outstanding kit. Also Fuji X are well worth a look.

I bought a Canon fully digital SLR a few years ago - it was used but had had minimal usage and was in fantastic condition. Without checking, pretty sure it's an EOS 450d.

I don't use it so much anymore, the curse of the ease and portability of smartphones but my son was using it the other day for a project and I forgot how amazing the pictures it takes are.

Before the SLR I had a handful of compact Digital cameras, a canon Ixus, an Olympus mju400 (I think) and a Panasonic. None of them lasted that long and all succumbed to hardware failures of some description but they were all relatively cheap, probably tops of £150 each.

The Canon is light years ahead in terms of functions and quality - i may have to start using it again

Not a good subject for me Zippy

If you want a dslr (capable) which doesn’t have the faff of lenses - you might want to think about a sony rx1 or equiv.

I own far too many cameras all capable of performing under different conditions - for a simple majestic solution the rx1 , even though it now quite old , can still blow most cameras and all phones away.

Cost ~500 2nd hand if you’re lucky…. Take your time and you’ll find something decent on the bay.

If you don’t want the size of the rx1 - opt for the sony rx100 - i have a mkIV and it’s a good solution for most work… and if you need a zoom check out a sony HX90 - can see things literally miles away..

..good luck and yeah a decent camera equals decent price - and accurate colour rendition - most phones - have no idea about rendition. (Software based solution rather than a decent bit of glass w/ sensor)

..