Sony RX100 owners: still loving it?

Amin

Hall of Famer
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?

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.

:eek:

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-Island/25286025_PJqsMS#!i=2077262518&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:


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.
 
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.

:eek:

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
 
Still loving it and the RX100 is truly pocketable with better IQ and flexibility than the 12mp sensored Olympus/Panasonic bodies. I think @ f2.5 or so the Sony RX100 has better over IQ (detail more than color/corners excepted-maybe) than the 14mm with a 12mp sensor. Auto focus will be faster (though not by much) with an E-PM1/2/GF3/5 than the RX100.

Crap I forget the E-PM2 has the new Oly/Sony 16mp sensor. Yeah, it will beat up on the RX100 by a good bit based on my experience with the OM-D as my main body now.
 
I'm getting the sense that there may be some quality variation with RX100 units (some are made in Japan and others in China, though I have no idea if that's a factor). I've noticed people in different forums talking about IQ issues I just don't see on my MiJ RX100. Some people get glowing highlights in f1.8 closeups, some people find poor corner sharpness, some people complain about poor IQ overall. Perhaps this is just what happens with a completely new camera... people with problems are more likely to post on forums. But I haven't experienced any of these problems. Nothing but great detail, great colour, and great versatility in a camera that fits in my jeans pocket (nothing bigger would). I think the images are very workable, too, in post-processing, contrary to what was said here. Look at the portraits I posted in this forum and point me to another pocketable camera that can pull that off...
 
Perhaps this is just what happens with a completely new camera... people with problems are more likely to post on forums. But I haven't experienced any of these problems. Nothing but great detail, great colour, and great versatility in a camera that fits in my jeans pocket (nothing bigger would). I think the images are very workable, too, in post-processing, contrary to what was said here. Look at the portraits I posted in this forum and point me to another pocketable camera that can pull that off...

Do give people on this forum the benefit of doubt, that they actually might know what they're talking about. Most users on this forum are camera-holics for want of a better word, and first time adopters who have used a variety of equipment. Their perspective on the RX100 might be one arrived at after having tested and used many different compact cameras.

What might be acceptable as "great detail" might not be true for another user of the camera. I for one think that the RX100 does not put out files that have very good pixel level resolution. I think Sony would have done better to not cram 24mp into this sensor.

I also stand by the fact that the files do not hold up well in post. Minor adjustments have too large an impact on the image, which is not acceptable.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, possibly due to a preset algorithm (by Sony engineers) the camera smooths out and flattens skin tones, according to my tests, in ALL settings to different degrees. Which is great for a novice shooter but is an irritant to me, since I like control of my images.

If you're happy with the camera, that's great. And you're right of course, that at this level of pocket-ability it might be the best camera in the market. But it's not for me.

I'm attaching a 100% crop on an image taken at f11, 1/2000th of a second to highlight what is not acceptable in the camera for me, try shooting some landscapes and come to your own conclusions -

View attachment 59698
 
Now this is a complete irrational thing: the rx100 lacks soul in my humble opinion but it has no competition in my humble opinion. I personally love simple cams and simple setup, it is right up there in that respect but... All these modern cams distract me from the photographic soul, I cannot escape that right now and I'm working on it ;).

Take care.
 
Do give people on this forum the benefit of doubt, that they actually might know what they're talking about. Most users on this forum are camera-holics for want of a better word, and first time adopters who have used a variety of equipment. Their perspective on the RX100 might be one arrived at after having tested and used many different compact cameras.

What might be acceptable as "great detail" might not be true for another user of the camera. I for one think that the RX100 does not put out files that have very good pixel level resolution. I think Sony would have done better to not cram 24mp into this sensor.

I also stand by the fact that the files do not hold up well in post. Minor adjustments have too large an impact on the image, which is not acceptable.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, possibly due to a preset algorithm (by Sony engineers) the camera smooths out and flattens skin tones, according to my tests, in ALL settings to different degrees. Which is great for a novice shooter but is an irritant to me, since I like control of my images.

If you're happy with the camera, that's great. And you're right of course, that at this level of pocket-ability it might be the best camera in the market. But it's not for me.

I'm attaching a 100% crop on an image taken at f11, 1/2000th of a second to highlight what is not acceptable in the camera for me, try shooting some landscapes and come to your own conclusions -

View attachment 59701

Gee never had such bad shots, I wonder if your cam is defective? For the rest of your comments I agree though.
 
Now this is a complete irrational thing: the rx100 lacks soul in my humble opinion but it has no competition in my humble opinion. I personally love simple cams and simple setup, it is right up there in that respect but... All these modern cams distract me from the photographic soul, I cannot escape that right now and I'm working on it ;).

Take care.

I agree. Shooting with this camera is a very un-involved experience. It has all the right bits off a checklist, but somehow doesn't feel put together by a photographer. It's a problem with all Sony products. They have such marvelous engineering though, right at the cutting edge. But their products almost always fail to involve the user.
 
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.

:eek:

Sorry. Need more coffee.

LOL - ok I'm gonna drink a cup ...
 
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