Compact/Semi-Compact Camera under $650USD for Backpacking and Travel?

The camera is $500 for the body or $600 for a bundle with a 15-45mm F3.5-5.6 lens.

Sounds like an expensive camera and a cheap lens. The problem with getting a camera for $500 is that eats up most of your budget. You should really try and find a cheaper body and leave some more budget for better lenses, or perhaps some additions that you can use for landscape/travel photography (polarising filter, ND filter, travel tripod, travel rucksack etc).

I always suggest the Olympus EM10 or EM5 for travel photography. They are great little cameras, with a good range of lenses (which are relatively cheap). They're also compact and lightweight. You could probably pick up an EM10 MkII with lens for under your budget, and if you don't mind looking at the used market then you could probably pick up some other lenses (they do a 40-150mm that would give you some extra reach for your travels).

/r/AskPhotography Thread