Thread: RX100 owners: still loving it?

I sure don't need another camera but am looking to get one anyway. Currently leaning towards an Olympus E-PM2, but I'm intrigued by the RX100.

Are the RX100 users here very happy with the camera? Can anyone who has handled the smaller Pens with the Panasonic 14mm pancake comment on the size difference vs the Sony?

Never loved it, but still pretty amazed by its capabilities for such a tiny camera. Its going the way of all compact cameras in my setup - I never grab it to go out and shoot, but I often grab it when I'm NOT going out to shoot and it just doesn't let me down. Incredibly capable for just about anything other than street shooting the way I do it. So I don't do a lot of street stuff with it, but it comes through for that when needed and for just about anything else within its focal range, its pretty damn great. Get the Franiac grip for it if you get it though. Its a pretty slippery little beast all by itself, but with the grip it handles pretty reasonably...

The smaller pens with the Pany 14 are just bulkier than the RX100 by a fair amount. Easily coat-pocketable but not terribly pants pocketable. Whereas the RX100 will slip in anything but the tightest pants pocket (which I don't wear anymore - the tight ones...). With the new body cap 15mm, though, the EPM1 might not be too different - might be worth a comparison...

-Ray

I wonder if that camera comparison tool thingie has the new wee pens and the body cap lens in it yet?

Originally Posted by Luke

I wonder if that camera comparison tool thingie has the new wee pens and the body cap lens in it yet?

Ray has raised an interesting factor. What we really need is an online comparison tool that lets us calculate tight-pants pocket ability. I can see the headline: SC launches the eagerly awaited Tight Pants Camera App.



Sorry. Need more coffee.

I've had it for over a week now. If you're looking for detail, it's just not there. For me it's a huge step back from an X100, plus the files are iffy to pp. It's a good camera as a dash and grab, but won't give you anything spectacular (at least I haven't managed anything spectacular with it yet). Oh wait, it does do portraits (skin tones) rather well. Might have something to do with aggressive NR.

Hi Amin,

Here's my honest to goodness answer: it depends on where you are with what you want from your cameras.

At this point in my life, I am VERY tired of endless RAW processing and slaving over choosing gear and which lens to bring around. I sold my OMD (but not lenses yet) and am letting m43 sit for a bit. I've divided my shooting into 3 cameras: NEX w/two CV MF lenses (CV40 and 75) for when I want portable portraiture or fun with MF. 5D w/some cheap lenses (35/2, 85/1.8 and 70-210 USM) for around-the-house/yard shooting and kids portraits. RX100 for everything else.

The RX100 sits in an Olympus belt pouch (of all things) and goes with me most times I walk out the door and think I might want to take a picture along the way. This is the belt pouch I'm using. It's a perfect fit: Olympus Neoprene/Nylon Horizontal Camera Case (Black): Amazon.ca: Electronics from DPR thread: RX100 Case Thread III (or Spare Battery Thread I) [Page 2]: Sony Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

The NEX requries a shoulder bag or a couple of pockets and the 5D... well, you know. That one's mostly an at-home or maybe an event camera. Plus, with the belt pouch, the RX100 can supplement either one of these other cameras. Kids event? 5D plus 70-210 and the RX100 for movies. Travel? NEX CV40 + RX100.

The RX100:

• Has toys like sweep panorama, filter effects, and HDR. It's fun to shoot for pics that I can post on Facebook and other places for friends and family. I would NOT post most of that stuff on photog sites, as I'd get hammered.
• Covers a wide range of focal lengths
• Has a solid movie mode, without issues of DOF (i.e. good for kids events, if the FL is long enough)
• Provides a level of detail that is far superior to any small sensored compact, though less than the CSCs.
• Has cool stuff like in-camera charging, which I thought I'd hate, but I just plug it in every time I come back from shooting
• Does a pretty good B&W jpg. This gallery was all shot with the RX100: http://wt21.smugmug.com/Other/Sandy-...2518&k=kbjzvm8
• Has pretty reasonable controls for a tiny camera. The fn customization button is great
• Has a bounceable flash
• Has fantastic high ISO for a camera this small
• Allows you to assign the ring around the lens to FL, so you can easily set 28, 35, 50, 75 and 100. Very nice (not just 1.5X, 3X, etc.)

But, the RX100:

• Has weaker corners than the P14 (you can see some comparison shots at my smugmug gallery here: RX100 - WT21's Photos such as this one http://wt21.smugmug.com/Camera-Compa...9-06-at-XL.jpg and mine seems to be, as others have noticed, a little decentered
• Blows highlights like it's going out of fashion (I'm avoiding RAW right now, so it's jpg-away)
• Has the "wait for it to power on and extend the lens, wait for it to zoom" feel of a compact
• Shows some CA
• Does need an add-on grip. One little tiny rubber-footy thing (the stuff my wide applies to the bottom of metal or heavy objects that sit on wood furniture) and I'm good. I learned this technique with my EPM1. You can see a picture here: http://wt21.smugmug.com/Camera-Compa...DSC00587-L.jpg and here http://wt21.smugmug.com/Camera-Compa...DSC00588-L.jpg

I believe that I will be using this camera easily for the next year, or until soft corners and blown highlights drive me crazy :) But even then, it's a great camera for on-line posting for friends and family, so it really depends on what you are looking for.

The short answer to your question: yes I'm still loving it, because I'm trying to just have fun, shoot and post for family right now. I might feel otherwise if I were in a more "serious" phase of shooting

Had it for a few weeks and traded it in for some fast Zeiss glass for my X-Pro1. Worked flawlessly but it was not particularly inspiring or fun to shoot. I'm not sure why but I've traded away more Sony gear than anything else, NEX C3, NEX 5, NEX 7, all with adapted lenses and the RX-100 w/Franiec grip . They were all cutting edge technology at the time but ultimately left me "eh" I get more keepers and have more fun with this used Leica X1 I picked up for a song after the X2 came out. All the images that the Sony gear I've owned were technically good, but flat for lack of a better word. I didn't feel emotionally connected to images that I specifically shot for that connection.

Thanks, all! Bill, your post especially helped but also Rajiv, Bruce, Ray...

Sounds like it's not for me. I'm not interested in taking a camera around if I'm not out for photography, and I'm pretty sure I'd exclusively shoot it at the wide end where I'll enjoy the E-PM2 and P14 more. Plus my pants pockets are pretty baggy .

I would agree, based on your stated use case. If all you need is a pocketable good 28mm FOV, then slap the P14 on one of the new EPL5 or EPM2.

Originally Posted by Pelao

Ray has raised an interesting factor. What we really need is an online comparison tool that lets us calculate tight-pants pocket ability. I can see the headline: SC launches the eagerly awaited Tight Pants Camera App.



Sorry. Need more coffee.

Amin's verdict aside, I looked at the specs for the EPM2 and EPL5 and pulled out a ruler and my RX100. From what I can tell, the EPM2 BODY is about a half inch longer than the RX100, a couple of tenths of an inch taller, and roughly as thick. So if you stuck a body cap lens on the Olympus, its pretty competitively pocketable except for a big more length. But if you stick the Pany 14 on there, you have about another inch of thickness which is fairly significant in the pocketability department.

So, there you go...

-Ray