Looking for a travel camera

[Cerulean]

I am trying to find a suitable camera for my October 2015 trip to Asia. A few things that I need from it:

• Small (unlike a DSLR)
• Full manual capability
• Exposure times up to 30 seconds
• HDR bracketing
• SDXC or even MicroSD support
• Video recording is NOT a necessity -- I have my Nokia Lumia 1020 for that
• I don't care if it supports RAW or not, JPEG is simple enough for me
• (Optional) Rugged/waterproof (not for sake of underwater photography but for protection from minor wetting from waves / quick drop and pickup in ocean water)
• (Optional) Viewfinder is a plus; I like saving energy and benefiting from longer runtimes

I don't know what my budget will look like in September, but I feel uneasy about the idea of spending even 500 USD. Maybe if I have to, 750 USD would do. I don't want a big camera because it garners unwanted attention, and if it is small people won't think much of the device I am using (not overwhelming to have a small thing pointed at you versus a huge professional-grade monster of a camera).

The kind of photographs I am looking to make are simple. A good scene + long exposure = an awesome photo. Some scenes may look good with HDR. I'm not crazy about panoramas, but that might be a possibility (and I have software to do that) and as long as it supports full manual I can accomplish that on my own and stitch later. Photos will be of natural landscape, beaches, and city.

Cameras that I am considering:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS40 (Amazon)

 

[MN Scout]

Maybe Canon Powershot S120 or the Panasonic Lumix LF1? The S120 has plenty of long exposure options and even an ND 3 stop filter built in. The LF1 has a viewfinder and a bit longer zoom, but not as wide. Both are getting a bit long in the tooth, came out in fall 2013. Both would still take great pictures, and are within your budget and I suspect would take significantly sharper pictures with more details than the travel zoom camera would.

 

[MN Scout]

This Olympus Tough TG-4 looks like a pretty awesome camera if you want to lean more towards the rugged/waterproof side of things. Should be selling pretty soon. Has a bunch of long exposure scene modes, but doesn't allow shutterspeeds longer than 1/2 second unless you go into the night scene mode.