Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Sony RX100 20.2 MP Premium Compact Digital Camera w/ 1-inch sensor, 28-100mm ZEISS zoom lens, 3” LCD

Clearly the Best Compact Camera Available at This Time

Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2013

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

With the RX-100, Sony has raised the bar for compact cameras. This small camera provides most of the flexibility of a much larger, heavier, and more expensive digital SLR (dSLR) or digital Semi-Transparent Lens (dSLT) camera, or even of a somewhat larger, heavier, and more expensive Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC) such as Sony's NEX line of cameras. The RX-100 allows the photographer to control the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, auto-focus area, etc., and creates RAW format images, in addition to the less useful JPEG images. Also, the RX-100 menu system is reasonably intuitive, and easier to manage than the menu system of Sony's NEX line of cameras, about which you can read numerous complaints. The RX-100's 1" sensor is roughly 3 times larger than the 1/2.3" sensor of the typical compact camera, and consequently provides much better image quality than any other compact camera, with the obvious exception of the Sony RX1 compact camera that has a full-frame sensor, and that is roughly 4 times more expensive. The RX-100 boasts a high-quality Zeiss 28-100mm lens, which at 28mm has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 that is very impressive for a compact camera. The RX-100 is a valuable addition to a serious photographer's toolkit, and is as well a viable entry point for the amateur photographer to learn and practice the basic principles of serious photography.

However, you get what you pay for, and although the RX-100 sensor is superior to the sensor of any compact camera of similar size and somewhat similar price, its sensor is no match for the sensor of a full-frame compact camera, a full-frame digital SLR, a half-frame digital SLR, or a half-frame MILC camera. For example, the dxomark website provides the following ratings of the sensors for various Sony (and other) cameras, based on measurements of the Color Depth, Dynamic Range, and Low-Light ISO characteristics of those sensors: RX1 full-frame compact (93), A99 full-frame dSLT (89), A77 half-frame dSLT (78), A57 half-frame dSLT (75), NEX-7 MILC (81), and RX-100 compact (66). Viewed from the perspective of these DxO ratings, the RX-100 sensor is in a class with Sony's first dSLR camera, the A100 that DxO gives a rating of 61. So, on one hand, the RX-100 provides equivalent image quality to the A100 dSLR, but on the other hand, the RX-100 image quality falls far short of the quality of the A99 dSLT or RX1 compact.

But even considering the superior image quality of a dSLT camera such as the A99, this large, heavy camera is of no use to you unless you are able to take it with you. And taking a large, heavy camera everywhere you go is impractical. So, finally, this issue shows the strength of the RX-100. It is small, light, and unobtrusive, so you can take it with you frequently, and you will have it available to take high-quality photographs, even if those photographs are not of the highest possible quality that you might obtain with a larger, heavier, and more expensive camera.

If you insist on the highest-possible image quality in a compact camera, and you are willing to pay for that quality, consider the RX1 instead of the RX100. The dimensions of the RX1, in terms of height, width and depth, are 113mm by 65mm by 70mm, whereas for the RX-100 those dimensions are 102mm by 59mm by 36mm. The weight of the RX1 is 482 grams, whereas the weight of the RX-100 is 240 grams. So, the RX1 has twice the depth and weight of the RX-100, a fact that makes the RX-100 a less obtrusive compact camera. The RX1 has a 35mm f/2 lens, whereas the RX-100 has a 28-100mm f/1.8 zoom lens, but the aperture of the RX-100 lens is f/1.8 only at 28mm, and decreases steadily to f/4.9 as the focal length increases from 28mm to 90mm: f/1.8 at 28mm, f/2.8 at 35mm, f/3.2 at 50mm, f/4 at 70mm, and f/4.9 at 90mm. The RX1 costs $2,800, whereas the RX-100 costs $650.

Sony provides a downloadable, 68-page English/Spanish "Digital Still Camera / Instruction Manual" in PDF format for the RX-100 that doesn't give enough detail to be fully useful However, if you perform a Google search, you will find a 227-page or a 261-page much more comprehensive "Cyber-shot User Guide / Sony RX-100 User Guide" in PDF format, that is similarly downloadable from a Sony web page, although Sony doesn't provide any apparent clue that this more comprehensive manual exists. And, if you need even better instructions on the use of the RX-100, you can perform a Google search for Friedman Archives and buy the 425-page "The Complete Guide to Sony's CyberShot RX-100", which, at a price of $21.45 in PDF format, would still be cheap at twice the price.

One caveat that you can find on page 203 of the 227-page version of the comprehensive "Cyber-shot User Guide / Sony RX-100 User Guide", or on page 235 of the 261-page version of that guide, is the fact that connecting the RX-100 to a computer via the USB cable can be idiosyncratic. In particular, you may need to connect the USB cable directly to the computer, instead of to a USB hub. Also, you may need to disconnect from the computer any USB devices other than the RX-100, the computer keyboard and the computer mouse. Additionally, you may need to configure the RX-100 "USB Connection" to "Mass Storage" using the RX-100 menu system. This idiosyncratic behavior is the first such behavior that I have noticed in any Nikon, Minolta or Sony digital camera that I have owned, and I have owned more than a few.

In conclusion, the RX-100 sets a new benchmark for compact cameras, and is well worth its price.

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Bears Fan Jim

BEST COMPACT for Size and Ability, but.....

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2013

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

Compared to these I have borrowed from friends or owned or had on trial for a week or more: XZ1, P310, LX5, S95, several superzooms, NEX5N....

A./ Best combo of size and features of any compact out there....slightly smaller than an LX5, slightly bigger than a S95, because of its lens casing. This camera reminds me of an LX5, on a S95 body.

B./ Will go in a pants pocket only if you are a man wearing "relaxed fit" jeans, or khaki casual maybe.

C./ Absolute best ISO on a compact, pretty usable 1600. Drops quite badly at 3200 if not in well lit conditions.

D./ Unimpressed with RX100's macro. I love macro, and wanted better. The Lumix LX7 is a great macro camera on a semi-pro body and at a very nice price compared to the RX-100. Ditto for Canon S110 if a small body is the single most important requirement.

E,/ Reasonable WB in almost all scenes. The larger sensor may contribute: I dont know whether sensor physics or in-camera processing matters more for WB.

F./ Digital extended zoom not as well done as Lumix or Canon.

G../ Outdoor video great, but my FZ150 equal, and can do it with an amazing zoom. Indoor video very nice but, as with all compacts, not like outdoors. RX100 far exceeds XZ1, LX5, P310, S95 all of whom seem to put video in as an extra, which is fine , as long as you know that, and it is reflected in your purchase decision.

Stills thru ISO800: RX1 rates A
XZ1 B+/A-
S95 B+/A-
FZ150 B+
SX260 B/B+
LX5 B/B+ (WB issue)
P310 B (noise)
Zs15 B

Video RX1 A
FZ150 A-
ZS15 B+/A-
SX260 B+
LX5 B
S95 B (720p)
XZ1 B- (focusing)
P310 C- (focusing)

Conclusion:

As a vacation camera, get the FZ150....great on an HDTV thru iso 400 or even 800, video equal to the RX100, and a clear image zoom out to about 32x !!

For size, and for sharper ISO thru 1600, the RX100 if you have the bucks.

For families, a much better all-around performer at even less money would be a NEX F3 or 5N, with a 18-55mm zoom. Much better ISO 1600 thru 6400, and therefore ability to use S mode and higher shutter speed to stop moving kids and pets. Again, for families, don't blow your budget on added lenses fot the NEX - the kit zoom is fine. Does everything the RX100 does and better, just physically larger to carry, but certainly ok in a purse, pouch, or on a neckstrap.

For the pro who is constantly changing ISO/Aperture/Shutter/ev/WB....the RX100 is worth the money. It really is a tiny DSLR up to iso 1600... XZ1 could do in a pinch, as it is very controllable and just a step behind in ISO, very good 400 and better than most other compacts at 800...

I now own a Sony NEX-5N : fantastic, has usable ISO6400 even indoors, but cumbersome interface. I also own a Canon SX260, mainly for its great zoom, price, and it can go in almost any pocket w/o worrying that you are going to break a $600 investment.

After many, many trials, my opinion is: It is very difficult to beat the FZ-150 and SX260 superzooms: very good macro and great zoom at the same time, plus very acceptable Auto Mode, then throw in full manual adjustments and very good video.

Forgetting price, for overall quality of both stills and video, buy the NEX 5N. For size, speedy interface, plus clear indoor iso800 and maybe iso1600 ability, the RX100 is really all there is as a non-interchangeable lens camera right now. Two money-saving nearly as good choices are the Lumix LX7 (small, half the money) and the Nikon P7700 (large, but many easily accessed controls, great WB, amazing thru ISO800...and a great price.)

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peederj

RX100 Expert Settings

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

This review is for pro photo/videographers who are buying this as a pocket cam. You will be pleased I think. Using firmware 1.0 for this review.

My preferred settings lean toward cinematography where all-manual operation is used most often, and it's cool a pocket camera supports that way of working now. For photographers, there are cool features such as DMF focus (much like autofocus with full time manual override), AEL lock can be set to the center button, etc. They did not dumb down the computer inside this from the Alpha or NEX levels it seems.

You can get the Freniec grip when it comes out but I suggest instead a bottom handle for video such as BARSKA Accu Grip Handheld Tripod System (which is too small for larger hands, but is fine for such a light payload) if not one of the cowboy studio plastic shoulder rigs. This will work well on the flycam nano I think. It has optical image stabilization "steadyshot" in concert with digital IS and both crop the image a bit. There are separate SteadyShot settings for stills and video, "Active" is stronger crop factor than "Standard" which would be for more stable situations. It works well enough for me to handhold 1/20th OK for stills and doesn't look bad on video.

Tragically, there is no 24p, but there is 60p (or 50p in those countries, can't have both in one body, I figure they are trying to prevent gray market sales with that restriction). The 60p should be shot at 1/60th shutter speed or faster, you will have motion artifacting below that. The problem of course is 1/60th at 60fps looks too clear and smooth to be cinematic, it's video. But "nearest neighbor" rate conforming works OK, and retiming rate conform, to make 40% slo-mo, works fine too, although not a really impressive slo-mo like an FS700 can do. There is no timelapse support and no remote to workaround that with.

For creative style, I suggest Standard -3, -3, -3. You could do -2 saturation but you are trading off detail in the reds with rich redness. Dynamic range optimizer you might get away with, it doesn't seem to change much while shooting when not on Auto, and boosts the shadows for a flatter response curve. It does not affect the highlights like Canon's HTP. I like to shoot somewhat flat and push in post so maybe DRO 1 is a good thing. There is a handy meter offset next to the aperture readout that tells you what it thinks you should adjust in EVs, based on the metering mode you have selected.

There is a lot of coarse blue noise at ISO 3200. DRO boosts this noise a lot, so I would only use DRO at low ISO if ever. The worst thing for video regarding noise is you can't prevent digital zoom from being available...it is locked on in movie mode, and if you zoom past optical (there is a visual detente but not a practical one really) your noise profile will change (to coarser) and that may defeat your NR profiles you are applying, causing headaches. They should allow the disabling of digital zoom in movie mode, even though in daylight it's good.

Macro is available, to the 2 inch point, only at the widest end, which is fine. The minimum focus distance is 18 inches or so full tele. Video AF is usable, manual of course is better, but it's nice for run and gun and the manual control ring turns to Aperture control which is very cool for rapidly controlling exposure. Aperture changes this way are far smoother than on Canons. The plastic, but tough looking lens barrel retracts midway a bit but it always out when on.

I suggest a screen protector for the LCD as you want this in your pocket guilt-free, otherwise there is no point. The LCD is good, VGA but bright. You could glue on a cheap magnetic loupe to make it an EVF (and cheesycam is coming out with magnetic CP and ND filters for the lens) I suppose. There is a micro HDMI port on the bottom, immediately next to the tripod mount, which makes it hard to use without a clever 1/4-20 rig, which I found I could do. Worse is the battery and memory compartment cannot be accessed period without unmounting from tripod. Odd restriction.

Another odd restriction is all the JPEG-only things can't be done in RAW + JPEG. Why can't I have both an HDR photo and its RAW ingredients? My 5D3 allows this. So if stuff doesn't work it may be a mode restriction. HDR of 6EV range looks more like 3EV range, but it is nicely graded and not like one of those paintings (though that may be one of the picture styles built in).

I often prefer Kelvin white balances which this allows (Canon restricts that to pro bodies), though the color shift thing is a bit coarse for fine adjustment on the RX100. It's very easy to set up custom white balance compared to Canons, but for some reason they make you switch to a stills mode to do it. Expose the still properly and aim at a neutral spot. It will apply to movie mode when you switch, automatically.

The bokeh is bit wooly especially toward the corners but there is in-camera correction of CA and distortion and the centers are terrific, which is fine. This isn't the quality of an APS-C sensor camera like the Rebel, but it is better than any pocketable camera I know of. There is good and shallow DOF available at all focal lengths.

The manual control ring can indeed get stuck on a tripod plate (it protrudes past the bottom edge a touch) so you will have to use smaller plates or deftly avoid the conflict. Peaking cannot be assigned to a function button but I just leave it on when in manual focus. Bracketing is a drive mode and offers 0.3 or 0.7 stop options, but they seem broader range than described and work fine. There is WB bracketing if you are odd like that.

Controls are somewhat customizable, I have white balance to the left of the dial (instead of drive mode), ISO to the right (instead of flash), and AF/MF control toggle on the center. I put a bunch of what moved into the Fn button array. The movies are kept apart from the stills, even in the internal player, and are down in PRIVATE/AVCHD/Stream. MF assist is really nice I think, it temporarily zooms in automatically in stills mode, but tragically, not movie mode. Pressing the center button gives takes the zoom from 8.6x to 17x for micro-fine peepling. You can't get the histogram in movie mode, but can in stills. You can get the electronic level before and during recording in movie mode if you need it.

You can use ISO1600, 1/60th and f/1.8 and a bit of NR in post to get decent dark indoor film shots. Variable aperture means zooms wide open will change in brightness, but it's smart and if you set the aperture at all above max it holds it during zoom. In-camera NR settings didn't seem to affect video but I didn't test much. Movie mode is available in most mode dial settings but most likely you'll just want to use the movie mode. There are three memory positions, not terribly fast to access like the 5D3, and they don't save things like Peaking on/off. They do save Steadyshot on/off, and other things.

In image review you can toggle the zoom rocker to zoom in on the shot you just took without pressing play, and it brings you right in for a pixel peep to check sharpness which is nice. The big manual control ring has a long throw but no hard stops, and it can take some wrenching to go from macro to infinity. No setting available to tweak that. In playback you can use the zoom rocker too, and while zoomed, turning the value wheel skips you forward or back an image.

Self-portrait mode is clever for timer shots, it just waits until you are in the image, and seeing your face, it shoots every 3 sec until you leave the picture. Speed priority continuous shooting is very fast but the card I had (transcend class 10) only let it take a half dozen-odd shots before buffer stall. I tried a 95MB/sec UHS-1 Sandisk Extreme Pro card to see if that does run faster here, and no, it does not run faster than the Transcend class 10 in the RX100. No spare batteries, no DAM RAW support yet, no external battery charger, it's the bleeding edge here in July 2012, by fall those should all be sorted. I ordered a USB portable li-ion charger thing (Anker 10KmAh) which works (with Sony's USB cable, not Anker's) but only when powered off. Battery life is meh, but it's small OK. Note that the play button will turn the camera on just like the power button (is that a bug?), so you might lose battery (and uh-oh, even have the lens extend with two presses) if you don't protect the play button in your pocket.

Sound recording is fine enough internally, no control or i/o. Zoom happens slower and quieter when filming. Shutter noise is low in general, not much OIS noise. ? button doubles as trash icon...not sure why those labels weren't reversed, delete is much more common than the superficial help that screen provides.

You can record 29:50 continuously at 60p. The camera is warm to the touch after that time in a 70F room but not hot. You can fit five of those shots on a 32GB card (roughly 2.5hours of 60p). I am annoyed the USA version camera doesn't shoot 50p (which would conform better to 24p @1/50th) yet has the European 29 minute video restriction...you would think it would be one way or the other.

Anyway those are my random thoughts after 24 hours shooting with this cute thing. Everyone loves it, and the images are quite nice indeed. Share your preferred settings in the comments please.

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Sacha Potter

Raises The Bar For Compact Cameras - Great IQ, Features, and Portability

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

Expectations where very high when I purchased this little camera. Nearly every review hailed the RX100 as the best compact camera available today. I do photography as a hobby and like to carry a general purpose camera everywhere with me.

I have previously owned a Canon S100 but sold it due to underwhelming performance and an E18 lens error. I rarely use my DSLR anymore and figured a solid compact camera I could take anywhere would encourage me to take more photos. I've been using the RX100 for a couple of months and here are my impressions so far:

Pros:
-Image Quality: I've owned roughly a dozen compact cameras over the last six years including an S100, several Panasonic travels zooms, a Sony HX9V, Nikon P100, etc. They're all had their pluses but in terms of overall image quality (especially low light), the RX100 blows them all out of the water. Photos taken at 1600 ISO are perfectly usable; something I would never have thought with a compact. Overall, images look great!

-Build quality: The camera exudes quality. It feels solid and well built. Hopefully it will last for years and be reliable.

-Ergonomics: I have large hands and the camera feels comfortable to hold and use. I ordered a Richard Franiec grip because at times the camera felt a bit slippery. The buttons are small but that has never really been a problem.

-Screen: the screen is sharp and reasonably bright although I found it slightly too dim in direct sunlight. There is a mode to boost the brightness however.

-Customization: I like the ability to customize some of the keys on the back. Also, you are able to customize the menu of the Fn button for frequently used settings making it easy to change things like metering mode and focus points on the fly.

-Video: the video quality is great. The camera records in stereo. Zoom and AF are available while shooting.

-Battery: battery life is good, not great. However, I do appreciate that a genuine Sony battery is around $30; very reasonable in my book. My old Panasonic took $50 genuine batteries. You can always go third party as well and I am sure there are plenty of fine choices.

-Autofocus: the AF is very fast and reasonably accurate. No complaints in this department.

-Flash: the flash itself is average and I never really use it. What is nice however, is the ability to bounce the flash. It really does work in some situations and is a nice compromise to a full flash.

-Display modes: Sony has a nice way of showing basic shot info in a black bar at the bottom of the screen during shooting; no overlaying icons on your image. You can see more info but this is a nice, uncluttered way of displaying shutter speed, aperture, EV, and ISO.

Cons:
-Control ring: the control ring is a great way to change functions and the RX100's ring has a nice weighty resistance but it just takes too long to go through settings. Say you're in aperture priority mode and you want to change from f/1.8 to f/8 you have to sit there turning the ring far too many times. It just isn't sensitive enough. I ended up disabling the ring and just using the control wheel on the back of the camera. I am sure this is something they could change with a firmware/software update in the future.

-Macro focusing: at times the camera struggles to focus up close at 28mm even past the minimal distance.

-Playback: videos and images are stored in separate folders. This seems like a really awkward way to organize files. Also, when you zoom during playback it defaults to 100% as opposed to starting incrementally from 0% zoom. Small, but these two things really annoy me.

-Charging: I buy the argument that in-camera charging is convenient but I would have preferred an external charger so I can charge extra batteries on a trip. This somehow seems like cost cutting on Sony's part and is an unfortunate trend among many cameras these days.

-No 24p: not sure why this isn't an option but it would have been nice to have. Again, something I hope they can add later with a firmware/software update.

Power saver: some RX100 owners are reporting that their batteries are draining even when the camera is not in use. One hypothesis is that the playback button (which powers on the LCD and not the camera) will get pressed in a pocket or bag and drain the battery. It was also discovered that if the camera detects any movement the power saver feature will not work. This has happened to me one when the camera was in my backpack and I found that the battery had drained overnight. Not the end of the world but potentially frustrating - carry an extra battery!

-Price: yes it's hard to criticize the price when no other camera combines this IQ in such a small package but I would have liked this to be priced under $600. I'm sure the price will creep down eventually though.

Neutral:
-Size: this camera produces amazing images considering the size. That being said, it is a tad too big to fit comfortably in a jeans pocket (at least the front pockets).

-I sometimes find myself wishing for a 24mm wide lens instead of 28mm. Maybe on the next version.

-Battery door: yes most compact cameras have a cheap battery door. This is particularly bad. It is not spring loaded so it does not pop up when slid open and seems to have a tendency to slide open on its own. As long as it does not break I don't really care but it seems incongruous with how the rest of the camera feels.

-Manual: some people like a printed manual. I rarely use them and find them to be a waste of paper. I think Sony should have reached a compromise whereby RX100 owners could simply order a free printed manual online and others could access a PDF as needed.

-? button: dedicating a button to a help menu seems silly. Sure, we all need a little help with a new camera at times but once you learn it, the button is pointless. Also, the camera is clearly aimed at enthusiasts who probably don't need to know how to "use a flash" and "adding effects".

People will always find something to criticize or complain about. The fact of the matter is that with a camera you simply need to choose the one that will serve your needs the best. In this case the RX100 does a better job more of the time than any other compact camera for my purposes.

Yes, it is expensive and yes, there are some annoying aspects. Overall though, it has elevated the bar for compact cameras. I am really looking forward to what the competition responds with.

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Call me KID

I really like it and hoping to like it more once I've learned it's functions better, right now I'm all auto for this review.

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2015

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

UPDATE: A month or so later, unfortunately I haven't gotten to use this camera as much as I would have liked, it's winter in MN and I don't know about taking it from a hot car to a cold outdoor environment, they warn in the instructions against certain weather conditions causing condensation inside the camera. I have used it though and played with it on and off and have been learning it. USE SCN SETTING BY SPINNING ROUND DIAL ON LENS IT'S AMAZING FOR STUFF MUCH BETTER THAN AUTO ESPECAILLY MACRO SETTING. So now that I've learned a bit more about it and how to kind of fine tune it a litte, still don't know ISO and the fancy settings but I am blown away at the detail this camera can get and the beauty it captures so I bumped it up to five stars. I am questionable though that I can have a pic that is clear as hell till I blow it up as a screen saver and then it's all crappy looking. Kind of thought this camera could pull it off. Other than that and how many fifteen inch pictures does one make. Like I said it's a very impressive camera once you get the jist of it.

OLD REVIEW: I really want to love this camera and I guess I do to some degrees. I have a lot of, if this and that were there or betters. I will start with I've only had it for a few days and I own two and have owned many other point and shoots as well as one that cost more than this by sony and was nicer about fifteen years ago. Back then they called their low light sensor zero lux capable and that cameras capabilities to catch moving images without blur was better, not sure what they've done for almost fifteen years. But I'm not here to rip this one down, ok maybe a little. Lets move to it's a great little camera if I ever finish the instruction and if it did what I push the button to do all the time instead of sometimes working with my push and sometimes not giving me the option, talking about the tracking, supposed to push center ring and it goe's from motion tracking to not, but it picks when it will allow you to do this, even though I've changed no setting and am still in auto mode, which so far is the only mode I've figured out, like I said and that's after reading half the instruction book. Oh and the zoom really blows bad, I thought I would be able to really zoom in on a distance not a chance, once the pictures taken if it's a good one, you can really zoom in on it but still haven't figured out how to crop it once I've gotten the zoomed pic I want it just sends me back to full pic. This is a very small camera and it's hard to hold it the way the rubber grip wants you to (buy a tripod like amazon basic for 21.00 it will make a world of difference and has quick release plate which gives it something to hold onto while taking non tripod pics), I was surprised when I went to take a pic for the first time in my kitchen to test it and the left top side popped up with the flash and almost made me drop it, once flash is open there is like no place for your left hand to hold it and if you hold it the way I found your blocking off the lower bottom of the flash's capabilities. I immediately put on the wrist strap, which a thumb tac to pull it through will be necesary. It comes with a left and right loop to feed through so as to put on a neck strap, but comes with no neck strap, WTFuzz. The auto focus can be a fight, like it locks onto something you don't want and wont let it go, no matter how much you move the camera to reset it and that's really annoying because what you want clear isn't and what you don't care about is. The clear zoom is amazing and will take a fifty to a hundred foot shot and zoom in and take a truly clear zoom shot, just wish it worked over a longer distance. Night shot in almost complete dark is pretty cool, it will cast a red light on your pic and then with just one strand of christmas lights on one wall for room lighting, it gives an image pic taken of good quality, I'll call it a night vision pic, very impressive and even somehow sometimes comes out like a normal pic in normal light, none of my other cameras can do even close to this, I'm excited to see if this means it will take low light videos for my you tube channel, where my other cheap cameras just give me black screen. Like I said though my old fifteen year old sony did this as well, so this is not a new feature just one they have on what I call higher end camers, call it CMOS or Zero Lux Capable or whatever the tech term is but it's a nice feature. Moving on doesn't have 1080 p video shooting, if you want this spend a hundred more and get the rx100 ii model, I don't do my you tube videos in hd anyway they take way to long to load even a twelve minute clip and I don't know who else has this problem but you tube videos I watch just freeze up and stutter if their in HD on my comp that cost less than this camera. I just want to add the iso circle around the lens is very tight to move and granted I am still only half way through my instructions and in auto it seems to do nothing anyway, but a little looser would be nicer. Without flash on, you can take picture after picture quite quickly, but if you use the flash expect to do the waiting game and I mean wait for next picture to be able to be taken, but this is standard for all cameras I've ever used. Except an old SLR film camera with an expensive flash unit set up. I also recommend the square trade warranty with this camera it's like fifty bucks or so for four years and it's a good warranty, I've heard sony has a lousy warranty and fights you tooth and nail to get stuff done, and that's from reviews I've read on amazon not my own experience as I've not dealt with sony warranty and they may be great so please don't sue me sony, just relaying reviews of the past that I've read. In last notes it's a sleek bad ass camera, I love it, just dont know if I'm in love with it and am hoping to get many great years of use with it. It's not a dissapointing camera by any means, just zoom and holdability keep me from a five star rating, in the you tube vids it seemed to have a super zoom and this is because when you have zoom at zero so to say the picture is tiny but to the human eye we see it at like fifty percent of camera zoom, so once the camera zooms in fifty percent now were both even and then the camera can go another fifty percent clearly and that's a decent zoom for not far away items but if you want the airplane close up with this I don't think it's happening unless you take it out of clear zoom mode, no moon shots or space photo's with this one anyway. I'll enclose a few pics just to give an example of what out of the box playing with it looks like and the photo of the city is a cool one, the city is 25 miles away but appears close right down my block for some reason. This is a good camera and I don't feel ripped off buying it, I tell everyone SLR quality pics in a point and shoot camera. The pic of the night time flag is with no lights on in my place and just the lights you see outside. The full flag has screen door so not great pic. The hanging flag is with screen door open and just glass door closed. I'll enclose a peanut tripod pic just to include on tripod pic.

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Momojojo

Best compact camera ever, but...

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

I sold my NEX-5N 3 month ago after hearing rumors and seeing per-production photos of NEX6. I loved the NEX5N output but hated the menu system and lack of physical controls, the 6 appeared to be my holy grail. Anyhow, in the meantime I wanted a compact none interchangeable lens camera to fill my camera needs. I gave the RX100 a shot after all the rave reviews. After using it for 2 month here is my opinion:

1. Image quality is the best out of all compact cameras I've used in recent years. Recent compacts I've used: Panasonic LX5, Olympus XZ1, Canon S100, Sony HX9V.
2. Image quality is almost on par with micro43 + kit lens and very close to the NEX5N jpg output. Recent m43 I've used: OMD e-M5, EP3 and GX1.
3. Focus speed - almost no shutter lag or focus hunting unlike compact P&S. The overall speed is on par with mirrorless cameras.

So what didn't I like?

1. Image stabilization doesn't work well under indoor light which result in slightly blurred photos. The flash also takes roughly 3-4 seconds to recharge which is a bit frustration for me when taking bounced flash indoor photos of a people in slight motion. Without flash any slight moving of the model or your hands will cause blurry photo. I felt compact camera were a lot more responsive taking indoor flash photos than the RX100.

2. The size - it is really compact considering the image quality it packs, but it is a tad too big to fit in a jean pocket comfortably. It does fit, but extremely snug and will require some effort to dig out. I'm always afraid of accidentally hitting the power button causing the lens to extend and break in my pocket. So the camera is pocket-able but I wouldn't recommend putting it in your pants pocket (i put it in my pants because I don't carry any bags/man-purse when I go out). You can also put it in your jacket, but it's weight will make your jacket slant to one side. To safely carry this camera you will probably put it on a neck strap or put it in a bag of some sort, so technically portability is no longer in it favor when compared to other mirrorless solutions in this price range that provide better image quality that are only slight bigger in size/weight.

3. Form factor - the camera is built like a compact point and shoot, and I feel like I'm shooting with one. I don't know how to explain it but psychologically i put a lot more thoughts in composing my shots using a mirrorless IL form factor compared to point and shoot. I find the photo I took with RX100 to be more casual and less interesting than the ones I took with a mirrorless. I guess I was more careless and didn't enjoy shooting with RX100 as much as a mirrorless.

So, all in all, once you used this camera you will never be able to accept the photos quality and speed of a compact point and shoot again. It is a great step up from a P&S if you have the $ to spare. As a secondary camera to your mirrorless or DSLR this is a great compact choice. However, at this price range I would not recommend this as a primary camera as there are a lot of options that offer more flexibility and better image quality.

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FresnoDick

Great Camera, but Not for Me

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

This is being touted as one of the best ever pocket cameras, with a big sensor and high megapixel count. It has more features than I could use in a lifetime and will probably do anything most people would ever need or want to do.

However, it has no optical viewfinder, just the digital screen, and I cannot see it well enough to compose photos outdoors. I knew there was no OVF, but a respected reviewer for a major newspaper swore that it was easy to see in bright sun. Maybe for him; not for me.

After using the camera at an outdoor music festival over one weekend, I packed it up and sent it back.

The technical aspects of this item have been well-covered by other reviewers, so I'll just mention a few things I liked and didn't like.

GOOD:
I really liked the USB cable that plugs into a PC or an electrical plug - this seems to be standard with electronics now (my iPad and cell phone both have this feature). Some people have objected to having to charge the battery in the camera, but I did not find this to be a problem.

I also liked the ability to directly transfer photos to the PC. I have three card readers, none of which work 100%.

This is truly a pocket camera, very small, but very solid and heavier than you would expect from its size.

There are many other features that I would have used and no doubt liked if I had kept it.

Pictures were good, but not better than the DSLR I've been using. Due to my inability to compose, the subject was cut off on the side of some shots and virtually all shots were off level.

BAD:
No optical viewfinder.

Shutter is VERY sensitive. Pushing half-way down to focus was difficult, since "half-way" seemed to me about 1/16 of an inch. The shutter went off as soon as I touched it a number of times.

The camera has two "hooks" on either side for a wrist strap, which can also be connected to a neck strap. They are tiny, and I could not attach the strap, and of course, the instructions don't cover this since Sony probably assumes it's "obvious." This is not minor, since this camera begs to be dropped, and its shape, like a small, smooth brick, provides nothing to help with the grip.

The flash location is terrible - on the top left where I put my finger to try to hold the camera. You have to learn to move that finger to the back, which means touching the view screen.

You can't delete the pictures from the SD card from within the PC (there's a "delete all" option in the camera's seemingly endless menu). Not a big deal, but an extra step.

The mode dial, on the top right, seemed to turn too easily. A couple of times it got turned in the process of taking the camera out of my pocket.

Transferred photos were saved as read only files; I had to go into Properties to change this before I could save pictures modified in PhotoShop.

Bottom line: Test this camera in a store before buying.

UPDATES 9/24/12
I wanted to mention one more thing that I really liked about this camera - it produces very large .JPG files, around 5 Mb. This allows one to do extreme cropping and still have a great quality photo. I took a horizontal photo of a man on stage, showing the full, mostly empty stage. I cropped it to a vertical image of just the man; still looks great. This is about 1/4 of the total original image, reduced to 1000 pixels high: [...].

Clarification: There is no neck strap; there are two adapters that connect to an optional neck strap and also serve as a wrist strap. Could not attach these adapters.

What I bought instead: Nikon Coolpix P7100. Has lots of the same features, costs less, and the view monitor was easier to see outdoors. I'll review it under that product after using it a while.

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Thomas B. Cass

At last a P&S that is good enough to own.

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

My comments are from someone who owns 2 SONY SLT cameras, an A55 and 65, along with an assortment of lenses and accessories. I really dislike small sensor P&S cameras because of their IMO horrible IQ above base iso and slow focusing speed, especially in low light. My rating is based on comparisons to other P&S cameras of this size, not to the much larger cameras I'm used to.

I have not used any of the various tricks the camera can do except sweep panorama which works very well.

Some people say their camera came without a manual. Maybe earlier samples didn't but mine did. Since I am used to the Sony menu system I did not need to read it. After a quick look through it seems adequate to get you started.

There have been complaints about the ring around the lens lacking click points. That doesn't bother me in the least. I actually prefer it that way because if you are using it for precise manual focus the the click points make that more difficult.

In my opinion the jpgs from this camera are much better than any P&S even at base iso and the difference becomes more pronounced as iso goes up. The photos are good to iso 1600 but by iso3200 things get a bit iffy depending on conditions. If you are using iso3200 in decent light to keep the shutter speed up the results are pretty good but if you are using it indoors in poor light the results are not as good but acceptable for maybe an 8x10 print.

Auto Focus speed and accuracy. Generally P&S cameras focus poorly in anything but daylight. I am happy to report that the RX100 focuses like a DSLR indoors in poor light for stationary subjects. For tracking moving subjects in AF-C the camera doesn't do a good job. Another thing nobody seems to mention is the flash can be bounced off the ceiling to eliminate the harsh direct lighting you get from direct flash.

Auto iso is fully programmable for low and high. Default maximum is iso3200 which I changed to 1600. Maximum is allowable 6400. All or most of the buttons are programmable for different functions and you can memorize up to, I believe, 5 different combinations depending on need.

This camera is clearly aimed at someone who wants as close to DSLR functionality and IQ as possible in as small a package as possible. Lets be clear. It is not a camera that can replace a DSLR unless small size is more important but is comes close. If you are someone like myself who is unwilling to make the sacrifices in IQ and focus speed that small cameras have previously required but really like the idea of a small carry everywhere pocketable camera then this is the only game in town. No other camera of this size is even in the same ball park.

If you are looking for a do everything camera with a lens that goes from 1:1 macro to super zoom this is not the camera for you. Be aware that such cameras make significant sacrifices in IQ. If you want the best IQ that is currently possible in a small size this is it.

I bought this camera as a companion to my A55 and A65. I have been carrying my A55 with 18-200 and A65 with Tamron 70-300 USD which is a bit cumbersome. The RX100 replaces the A55 and it's small size makes carrying 2 cameras far easier and more convenient. It allows me to always have a camera with me who's IQ satisfies me which no small sensor P&S or Smart phone can do. I have never seen a P&S previously with IQ good enough and cell phones are even worse. Thank you Sony for producing the RX100. At $650 it is worth every penny.

Reliability update; I've been using this camera for 5 1/2 years and have never had a problem.

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Adam Brown

Point and shoot to the next level

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

I've been using this camera for about 6 weeks now. Briefly, it blows me away.

Before I get into details of the camera, my own background in perspective. I'm a total amateur, who has gone in and out love with photography as a hobby. I had a SLR back in the film days, but really a mid level camera with a couple different lenses. Around 2006, I purchased a dSLR -- The Sony Alpha A100. I chose that model, simply because it was compatible with the lenses I already owned. I built up my gear, around that camera. Added a tripod, added a (old used) fast prime lens. In 2011, I took my family to Disney World, and was constantly making use of the whole camera setup. That was the high point of my dSLR use. Then slowly, gradually, I felt like I was being weighted down by the camera. Too cumbersome to carry all the time. Even when it was strapped to my back, too much of a chore to change the lenses. So when planning another trip to Disney World in 2012, the Sony RX100 caught my attention. dSLR quality, in my pocket. Could it really be that good?

I'm sure that the Sony RX100 will not measure up to a top-of-the-line 2012 model dSLR. But I am very confident that it will generally match up well against a current model entry level dSLR. And it gets significantly BETTER results than my old 2006 dSLR.

So when looking at the pros and cons, how does it differ from my 2006 dSLR?

Probably the 2 most important elements in any camera, are the lens and the sensor. dSLRs have significantly bigger sensors than point & shoot cameras. A bigger sensor can capture more light faster, and typically therefore can produce far better results. The Sony RX100 sensor is still smaller than dSLRs, but it is significantly larger than almost any other true compact camera on the market. While still smaller than my 6-year-old dSLR, I'm guessing advances in sensor technology over the 6 years, makes up for some of the size difference. Turning to the lens -- a dSLR camera can change lenses. the RX100 only has 1 lens, but WOW -- It is an amazing lens, made by a well respected brand in lenses. The lens stops down to a 1.8 aperture at the widest angle. For those who don't know aperture, it means that the lens opens very wide, allowing more light to reach the sensor, more quickly. On the "included" lens that comes with most dSLR cameras, then aperture is not nearly as wide.
So combine the above-average-sized sensor for a point and shoot, with a top of the line lens -- And you get results consistently better than my 6-year-old dSLR, with mediocre lenses.

This sensor/lens combination gives you a lot of advantages, comparable or even superior to some dSLR/lens combinations. It shoots VERY well in low light. Sensor "sensitivity" to light is measured in ISO. My old camera maxed out at 1600 ISO. So even with a very wide aperture, I wasn't able to take pictures on dark rides at Disney. The RX100 maxes out in manual mode at 6400. (there are some auto tricks that raise it even higher). With ISO 6400 and the wide aperture, I was capturing usable images of rides in the dark at Disney.
Another great advantage of the wide aperture is bokeh -- The ability to take a picture with a blurred background. It's fairly easy to achieve with a dSLR AND an extra lens. The lens included with most entry level dSLRs, won't have a wide enough aperture to achieve this effect. The RX100 achieves it with fair success. My SLR, with an extra lens, can still do it a bit better. But the RX100 probably does it better than any other compact camera.
Finally, the whole system focuses very quickly and accurately. Typically, SLRs focus much faster than compact cameras. The RX100 focuses MUCH faster than my 6-year-old dSLR. The focus speed feels comparable to most entry level DSLRs.

For someone with a real or developing knowledge of photography, this camera has the advantage of very full manual control. You can take control over just about any of the settings, and can customize various menus and settings to your liking. While common in dSLRs, this is not found across compact cameras.

The camera has the pro of it's 20 megapixel sensor combined with the ability to shoot in "RAW" mode. This allows you to capture huge amounts of data in every photograph, which opens a lot of possibilities in post processing.

The camera has a whole array of special modes, that are becoming increasingly common across cameras.
The best ones that are included:
In camera HDR -- Automatically quickly snaps 3 images and combines them. In the past, I could only do HDR with post processing, and generally had to take the pictures with a tripod. Now I can do it, in camera, hand held.
Panorama -- Works the same as the new iphone.
Handheld low light and similar modes -- Much like HDR, it combines multiple images. In this case, it combines the image results to correct for low light, or correct for camera shake.

There are multiple other modes. For example, I've had fun with the watercolor mode, which turns the photograph into a watercolor painting. Also selective color capture -- A black and white photograph, but with just 1 color showing through. These little things are a bit gimmicky and can be applied in post- processing. But if you want to avoid post-processing, then this can give you fun results right out of the camera.

Whether used in automatic or manual modes, I am regularly blown away by the image quality of this camera. And that's what really matters.

Now, the camera isn't perfect. There are some places where Sony made sensible compromises, and some other places where they just made mistakes.

Sensible compromises:
-The lens does not have a huge zoom. There are compact travel zoom cameras with 20X zoom. The RX100 is limited to about 4X optical zoom. (You can zoom further digitally). For most photographs, in most situations, this zoom is good enough. Further, with 20 megapixels to work with, you can easily crop to get a more zoomed-in result. But you're not going to be photographing a lady bug from 50 feet away. I listed this as a sensible compromise, because to build a lens with the quality of the RX100 AND with a massive zoom, the lens alone could cost $1,000+. The mega zoom lenses found on compact cameras typically have a mediocre quality. They don't have the aperture ability of build quality of the RX100.
-No GPS or WiFi. These are becoming more common in cameras. I like GPS data built into the picture personally. But these things are easy to live without. They don't affect picture quality. And leaving these items out, helped keep the price from becoming ridiculous.
- No touch screen. I don't even love touch screens. Probably left out, to help keep the price down.
- No optical viewfinder. No hot shot, to allow addition of a viewfinder or external flash. I suspect this was primarily done to help keep the size of the camera down. A compromise I'm willing to accept, to keep this camera truly a "compact."

Mistakes -- Not many.
- No external charger. 3rd parties already are coming out with chargers, but 1 should have come with the camera. As sold, the battery can only be charged in the camera.
- Flimsy door for charging/USB. Speaking of the in-camera charging, the door to the port feels flimsy and feels like it is going to fall off every time I open it.

Some final thoughts.
Comparing this camera to a true dSLR, the pros and cons are obvious. A dSLR, with a larger sensor and the ability to change lenses, gives you a much broader range of possibilities, with higher potential quality. But it's big, cumbersome. And to get all those lenses, you need to invest more and more money. In contrast, the RX100 fits in your pocket, and in MOST situations, can give you pictures quite comparable to a dSLR. In that context, the price of the RX100 is a bargain. It's about the same price as the entry level dSLR, but you don't need to invest more in lenses.

Where you enter a grayer area, is the wide assortment of bridge cameras/mirrorless cameras. There are an increasing number of cameras that are smaller than dSLRs, but still slightly larger than a true compact. Some of these cameras have interchangeable lenses, some have fixed lenses. They may also have sensors somewhere between compacts and SLRs. Within this category, you may find cameras of similar quality to the RX100, at a similar price. They will be larger than the RX100, but not as large as a dSLR. So for many people, this whole group of cameras may be a consideration as well.

Anyone who loves photography, will enjoy the RX100. It won't replace a dSLR for all people in all situations. But it can accomplish remarkable results for a tiny camera.

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DaveH_SF

Amazing little camera w/ some minor quirks & flimsy documentation

Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2012

Style: BaseColor: BlackVerified Purchase

This camera takes amazing pictures. I've been waiting for years for a small pocket-sized camera that could take SLR quality pictures. This is it.

The low light pictures are phenomenal. I think it sees better than I do. I have yet to take a flash picture, because the results using a high ISO are so good. On top of that, the 1080 HD video is superb. This is the perfect travel camera.

Well, not quite perfect. It has some minor irritations:

The first is the documentation. Many features are barely explained. For example, want to know how close the Macro can focus? You won't find it in the manual (about 2 inches). Want to know why the zoom vibrates about 3 times a second when it is in continuous focus mode? No explanation. Because there was no explanation, I thought it might be defective, so I got on Sony's chat on-line with a Rep who said that it is supposed to behave that way because continuously varying the zoom is used to determine the proper focus. I still find it hard to believe. Sony could have explained quite a bit more with their in-camera documentation. The context sensitive help often has obvious un-helpful explanations (kinda reminds me of Microsoft) like the explanation for Manual Focus: "Focuses manually". Duh!

The second is the confusing layout for all the options. The menus are overwhelming. All the features that can go in the function button are also in the menus. Four of them are pre-assigned to navigation wheel (display, exposure adjustment, flash and drive mode), and 7 can go in the function list. Those Eleven settings can be remapped by the user. With all this variation, I found that I could could not get the one function I wanted under a button -- setting a custom white balance. I can map all the white balance settings to a button, but I still have to navigate a menu to get to the custom white balance adjustment. If you put the white balance on the function list, you cannot set the custom white balance from that location! Oh well.

Second is the control ring. It could have been better. It is hard to use it to zoom because it takes too much of a turn to go from wide angle to full telephoto. If you go to slow it gets jerky. When it transitions (in video) into digital zoom the zoom speed changes. It really should feel like a mechanical zoom, but it doesn't. Same too with focus. There is no feedback that lets you know where the focus is when you are starting. Nothing that helps you figure out which way to turn the ring when everything is out of focus. Is it focusing on infinity or 5 inches? No way to know if everything is blurry. Fortunately, there is DMF (no explanation in the documentation for what the "D" means) that focuses automatically, and then you can adjust the focus with the ring. That, along with the "peaking color" which shows you what in the picture is in focus, makes the manual focus usable. I'd prefer a focus indicator that doesn't distort the picture you are trying to compose. The focus ring changes function in different modes, and you can alter some of them. What it changes to, and in which mode, and which modes can be altered can be confusing and awkward. If you set it to zoom, you might be frustrated when it no longer adjusts the f-stop in manual mode.

Third is the playback button. Pushed once when the camera is off and it will turn on. A second push will activate the camera lens, and this seems like it could be dangerous to the mechanism if it gets jostled in a camera bag. I will probably remove the battery if I think it might get bumped to much.

Fourth is the lack of accessories. You'd think for this price that you'd get an HDMI cable (it has a micro jack) or make a power supply that also charges a spare battery. Heck, for the price you'd think they could put in a spare battery! Adding the possibility for Audio-in would be nice for video recording.

Fifth is the price. It is pricey. But it really has no competition even with its quirks. It is an amazing achievement, and I expect to see competition from all the other major camera makers in the next year or so, which should bring down the price.

A suggestion if you purchase this camera. I found little difference in performance with a SanDisk extreme or a Transcend Class 10 SD card. The San Disk is 3 times faster, but the camera's top writing speed seems to be close to the speed of the Transcend card -- about 15 MB/sec. In burst mode (JPGs), the San Disk was slightly faster. I clocked it at 2.3 pictures per second, compared to the Transcend which went at 2.0 pictures per second. The video works with a class 4 card according to Sony, so the only difference is burst mode.

----------------Update 1/15/2013--------------
For those of you interested in burst shooting in Raw Mode, the speed of your card WILL make a difference, and I'd recommend the SanDisk extreme. I find that the automatic settings that SONY uses to make a JPEG are as good or better than what I can do manually using their software. I don't have much experience with RAW, but the JPEGs are so good, I don't see much point to learn. However, if burst shooting of RAW photos is important to you, get a very fast card.

Also, the speed of the camera will slow down significantly as your memory card fills up. An empty Class 6 transcend card will be faster than my nearly full SanDisk extreem.

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