Sony RX100 Review – Is This High-End Camera Worth the Hefty Price Tag?

If you keep an eye on camera ads every year, you’ll find that Sony’s wide range of digital cameras lacks a first-class compact camera. The manufacturer fills this gap in its range of the new Cyber-shot RX100. Thanks to this compact case, Sony directly competes with the Canon PowerShot S100, Panasonic Lumix LX5, Olympus X-1, Nikon P310 and other high-quality fixed-lens cameras and others.

Unusual image sensor

The Sony RX100 differs from its competitors with its image sensor. Sony used the one-th-ed CMOS matrix Exmor-R, which is large enough for this type of digital camera. It does not use lighting technology (BSI), but Sony says it does not offer a significant benefit to a sensor of this size. As if that wasn’t enough, the RX100 also has a very high resolution with 20 million pixels. To process images, the RX100 uses a BNN processor derived directly from the processor used in the Hybrid Series (NEX) and SLR (Alpha) used by Sony.

Compact and elegant design

Another advantage of this Sony camera of the highest class is the lens. It expands to 3.6-fold optical zoom (equivalent 28-100 mm for 35 mm) with a f/1.8-4.9 diaphragm – a promising indicator for wide-angle image, but disappointing for telephoto. Despite the fact that we were able to cram such powerful characteristics into a device of this size, it is impossible not to be impressed by the handling of the camera. At 10.16 x 5.81 x 3.59 mm, the Sony RX100 is very compact, without losing much grip. At the back it has a small emphasis for the thumb, so photographers with big hands can cope with it.

Ring control for more convenient use

By definition, the RX100 is a premium compact camera and has all the expected shooting modes such as automatic, semi-automatic and manual, as well as P, S, M, A and Stage. To make it attractive to professional photographers, Sony gives the RX100 a reliable control ring. As with the Canon S90, S95 and S100, the adjustment ring is placed on the lens frame. The function depends on the mode chosen and can be adjusted (by speed, aperture, etc.). But this ergonomics does not end there. The Functional Key (Fn) also provides access to commonly used features. The RX100 can also store up to three global settings and quickly switch between them.

Characteristics

All the characteristics of the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 are likely to meet the requirements of professional photographers. The 3-inch Xtra Fine LCD screen uses White Magic technology with a resolution of 1229,000 points. It adds a classic white dot to three main colors: red, green and blue. Sensitivity ranges from 80 to 25,600 ISO units, using special technologies up to 12,800 and 25,600 ISO units. SteadyShot stabilisation is also included to minimize blur. Users can also choose to shoot in JPEG or RAW format. The stated serial shooting speed is 10 frames per second with an exposure priority and 2.5 frames per second with continuous autofocus. For video it is Full HD AVCHD (1920 x 1080 pixels, 60p) with the ability to take still images while recording.