Yelpers, I need some help!  

I'm looking for a great, compact camera for making quality travel photographs.  I've got a couple Sony point & shoot digital cameras that were very good when I bought them.  Lots of great features (I really like the panoramic feature in my most recent camera).  I also have an iPhone 5, which in a pinch can take some decent photos, but it isn't what I want to rely on.

Three problems with almost all Point & Shoot Cameras:  
1)  Due to small sensor size, the point & shoots wash out sky details.
2)  Also due to the sensor size and the fact it's almost impossible to open to clean, when dust gets in the camera & on the sensor, it REALLY stands out in photographs, especially in the sky detail & other highlights.
3)  Most point & shoot cameras (like mine) have slow lenses & ISO function, so poor lighting & sports photos are often blurry.

I've used nearly any type of camera that you can think of, including view cameras, medium format cameras & SLRs.  I actually used to be a photographer way back in the day.  So bottom line:  I really appreciate great photography, however I really need portability.  I've never owned a DSLR, but even the compact ones are probably too bulky.  The point & shoot cameras are not doing it for me with the issues I've already mentioned.  I'm thinking about the Sony NEX cameras or something similar.  

Any ideas or suggestions?

A little late to reply and a little pricy, but I have the Sony HX20V and I love it. Great Zoom (20x), Amazing picture quality and wifi sharing to your smart phone. T

The HX50v has replaced my model, but you get a 30x optical zoom now along with 1080p 60fps video in a fairly compact body.

store.sony.com/webapp/wc…