Sony Awesome RX100 review by Ming Thein

Good stuff here on the lens. This is a great read.

"Given the incredibly small pixel pitch, best working apertures are at below f5.6, and ideally around f4; this however is a bit of a problem as the lens only reaches f4.9 on the long end. Still, I don’t see much evidence of diffraction softening. For the most part, this is a reasonably good lens despite its ambitious specifications – the only place where it’s let down is close focusing distance (say under 20cm or so) and maximum aperture at the wide end. You’re going to have to be at f2.8 or preferably f4 to get critically sharp images when shooting close; before that point, there’s a lot of flare and coma going on that robs sharpness. At normal distances, it’s an decent performer. Mine’s does better in the corners at telephoto than wide; in fact, the corners are pretty soft at f1.8, which leads me to suspect a degree of field curvature. The top edge is also softer than the bottom edge of the frame – it’s difficult to build a retractable lens with consistently high resolving power cross-frame due to the required tolerances; not that this is any excuse. The lens also remembers your last used focal length when the camera was turned off – there doesn’t seem to be any way of disabling this though. There is a bit of bokeh available, though not much – but what you do see is relatively smooth an inoffensive (though I haven’t had any extremely harsh lighting conditions under which to shoot the camera yet)."
 
Great review!

I have a couple of lenses on ebay right now. I think the RX100 will be my next camera, unless Canon can answer with a 1" S100 successor at Photokina, with the same blisteringly fast performance. (Sort of doubt it.)
 
All I really want is the RX100 and a compact, mirrorless FF.

I can get one now, and only dream about the other :(
 
I couldnt help myself... yesterday, instead of taking photographs, I spent an hour or more at the only dedicated camera shop that exists in our city, looking at the RX100, and the XPro1 (and others... damn that Sony A77 is nice... pity is so heavy!). Very impressed with both, but will not be buying either. If they would do tradeins I would now have an XPro... but both cameras will have to significantly reduce in price before I can have either of them... ergo, what I currently have, is enough, :flypig:
 
OK. I amazon primed an RX100 over to me. Looking at it now. Will have to test it out a couple of days. I accidentally had one a few weeks ago, but sent it back immediately. This time, I'm ready to play with it, but not sure I'll keep it.

Will it make me take pictures like Ming Thein?
 
If I thought there was a reasonable possibility of a better version of this basic camera from another manufacturer in the near future, I'd have probably sent it back and waited. But the LX7 has been announced, the new Samsung has been announced, and the Ricoh and Fuji updates to their cameras in this segment are a year or so away. Which leaves only Olympus and I'm just not holding my breath that the XZ2 is going to have this sensor, assuming its announced soon. So I figure I'll have this camera at least a year, maybe two, until someone releases a better version of this basic camera for my preferences. In digital cameras today, that's a near lifetime and the RX100 definitely opens up possibilities again that I haven't had open since I sold all of my compacts other than the GRD3, which is a fundamentally different animal. If I'm wrong and someone comes out with a better version of this next month, I'll kick myself, lose a little money selling this, and move forward, but I don't think that's gonna happen... And for now, its an amazing little camera...

-Ray
 
But no option for a viewfinder of any kind? After more than a week in glaring sun, I know that I'll never again be able to use a camera outdoors without some form of OVF or EVF. Probably just my aging eyes. So for now, the remarkable IQ of the RX-100 will be enjoyed by others.... :-(
 
Very objective, well thought out review. His comments on the Ricoh as being likely the best handling compact around are reflect the biggest reason I would give up my GRD for even this superb Sony!
 
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