Sony Sony RX100 - Views please , also do any professional photographers use it

adam

Regular
Location
Birmingham UK
Name
Adam
I am attracted to the RX100.

I recently sold my Fuji X100, as I require something smaller , with zoom and good video capability.

Can you please have your expert opinions on the Sony RX100.

(1) Does it have good image quality
(2) Does it have decent D/R
(3) Does it shoot good quality video

And finally :

(4) Do you know of any professional photographers which use it.

Thank you so much.
 
(1) Does it have good image quality
(2) Does it have decent D/R
(3) Does it shoot good quality video

And finally :

(4) Do you know of any professional photographers which use it.

I'm not qualified to give the "expert" opinion that you request, but as a user of the RX100 (and, as it happens, the x100), my answers are:-

(1) Yes... when one considers that it's a pocket camera with a small-ish sensor, it is very good. In the right conditions, not too far away from the x100.
(2) Yes, reasonably good.
(3) Video is not my thing, but from the little I've seen, it looks very good.
(4) No, I don't - but I'd be surprised if there weren't some who would use it as a sidekick to their more regular "Pro" kit.

Just MHO... :)
 
I can only add that for a pocket sized camera it can often "wow" me with it's image quality.
The complex menu structure , awkward Control Ring and slippery body can take away from the pleasure of handling in marked contrast to the attributes of your X100.
Sometimes the images look cold so I add a bit of amber to the WB but I guess the bottom line is that it's still the one of the best compacts out there.

No practical experience of video use although it looked good when tested.

(To my mind the best compact ever is the Canon G1X but it's not so compact and has issues but IQ to beat my X100 )
 
The RX100's party piece is to squeeze a 1-inch sensor and quality zoom lens into a surprisingly compact body. The IQ is good, but I think it can be over-stated sometimes (I've seen it said that the RX100 has DSLR-like stills performance, which is clearly an exaggeration).

I can't imagine a pro using the RX100 as a main camera, unless it's for a specialist application where minimal size and weight is an absolute priority.

The video quality is very good by all accounts, but I haven't tried it myself.

-R
 
No offense, but why should you care if Pros use it? What kind of pros? PJs? Sports shooters? Wedding photogs (many of whom are not actually "pros")? Portraiters (is that a word?). What do you want to use it for?

Any rate, I have one, and am decidedly an amateur. I used it as my only camera for a trip to the Cayman Islands, and was not at all disappointed. I liked it so much, it replaced all my m43 gear! (I had m43 for its size, and the RX100 is much more compact, and close enough to m43, and even better in some ways. I also have other cameras, though. Not sure I'd have the RX100 as my "only" camera if I could only have one).

Just understand what you get with it -- deep DOF, pocket sized camera, clean ISO. DR is not it's strength, but it's got the best DR (when shot in Raw) of any pocket camera with a zoom lens. In fact, I don't remember anyone moving away from the RX100 due to it's image quality. It's almost always been due to ergonomics or controls. The RX100 is a small camera with few direct controls. But then again, the sensor is so small that DOF is pretty much a non-issue, and the IS is great, that most of my exposure controls that I like to access are EV (which is 1-button access), AE lock (1-button access) or sometimes shutter speed, if I want to make sure I freeze motion.

The other controls I use regularly on the RX100 are sweep pano (on the mode dial), water color effect (behind the fn button) and auto HDR (also behind the fn button). The one complaint I have on the mk1 is that you have to put the camera into jpg mode to shoot auto HDR or water color. Other than that, I shoot mostly in P mode, and am rarely disappointed. As I mentioned above, though, jpg out of camera has about 2 stops lower DR, so Raw is important to use (this is for the mk1, not the mk2). One last comment -- it tends to be very conservative in metering to protect highlights. So, in situations where DR is pretty even, I tend to go as high as +1 EV, otherwise the scene looks a little dark. In very contrasty scenes, I'll use AEL to get the exposure I want, or switch to auto HDR.

This is my main camera for video. With deep DOF, I rarely have to worry about focus. But, there are no "pro" video options here. It's just the best point and shoot video out there.

So, to answer your questions directly

(1) Does it have good image quality -- yes, very good. And outstanding for it's size. It's high ISO is cleaner (though less detailed) than my APS-C sized EOS-M
(2) Does it have decent D/R - yes, when shot in RAW. JPG DR is weak (on the mk1)
(3) Does it shoot good quality video - yes, reasonably good, and the best point and shoot in my experience.
 
I'd say that the only problem I've had with it on two trips was that in strong sunlight it can be hard to see the LCD. For that, I'd prefer my G3 because of the EVF. I love that the size is so small in comparison.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
1 & 2 - yes, within limits. If you are comparing it to larger sensor camera, like your Fuji, in some situations it will lose out. If you are comparing it with a typical compact camera, both IQ and DR in some situations are much better.

3. I've never used video.

4. As above: why does it matter?

Overall I'm happy enough with the functionality of the camera. I do find myself absent-mindedly spinning the lens ring and ending up shooting at 6400 before I realise it. Also, I do sometimes find the 28mm (equiv.) wide end not quite wide enough having previously used an LX3 which gave me 24mm. And in an ideal world I would like it to be a little faster at the long end - I'd settle for f4.

Generally though, it's a very capable camera.
 
I think that I've had the ring set to about five different things since I got the camera. I eventually settled on ISO since shooting on A it means I can effectively adjust the shutter speed using ISO adjustment. I find that sometimes with ISO on Auto the SS defaults to something too slow.
 
I think that I've had the ring set to about five different things since I got the camera. I eventually settled on ISO since shooting on A it means I can effectively adjust the shutter speed using ISO adjustment. I find that sometimes with ISO on Auto the SS defaults to something too slow.

Genius! I'll have to try that, but I do so like the FL equivalent.
 
The RX100's party piece is to squeeze a 1-inch sensor and quality zoom lens into a surprisingly compact body. The IQ is good, but I think it can be over-stated sometimes (I've seen it said that the RX100 has DSLR-like stills performance, which is clearly an exaggeration).

I can't imagine a pro using the RX100 as a main camera, unless it's for a specialist application where minimal size and weight is an absolute priority.

The video quality is very good by all accounts, but I haven't tried it myself.

-R

Some very recent shots with my Rx100, and I believe it has DSLR-like IQ, in fact I prefer it over the various Canon Rebels I owned and have since ran out of my household..


1025-3.jpg



1025-7.jpg



1025-8.jpg



1025-11.jpg



1025-12.jpg
 
Some very recent shots with my Rx100, and I believe it has DSLR-like IQ, in fact I prefer it over the various Canon Rebels I owned and have since ran out of my household..

Great shots, as usual, Lucille.(y) I really rate my RX100 - however, I don't think that the superb quality of your car shots have got all that much to do with the camera...;):)
 
Back
Top