As we’ve been spending more time with the Sony RX100 III, we’ve published some of our initial thoughts on the Operation and Controls of this highly intriguing camera and expanded our impressions of the pop-up electronic viewfinder. We also shot a short video showing what’s new so you can get a first-hand look at the 20MP compact with 1″-type sensor and faster, wider 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 lens. Learn more and see video
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Sony has announced the Cyber-shot DSC RX100 III, the most advanced model yet in its 1″-type sensor range of compacts. The RX100 III gains a pop-up electronic viewfinder, a faster lens and the latest Bionz X processor. The RX100 III’s zoom now extends across a 24-70mm equivalent range, with a maximum aperture of F1.8-2.8. It also includes Wi-Fi and can run Playmemories Camera Apps. Video has also been upgraded – including full-sensor readout 1080p stored at up to 50Mbps in the XAVC S format. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Few compact cameras have garnered as much attention as the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 and RX100 II. Sony had managed to squeeze a much bigger sensor into cameras only a little larger than the Canon S-series enthusiast compacts. The RX100 III continues the tradition by adding a wider, faster 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 lens and a built-in, pop-up EVF. Along with a 20MP 1″-type sensor, does the RX100 III remain the ultimate compact for enthusiasts? Learn more in our First Impressions Review
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Welcome to Mark II of the Sony Cyber-Shot RX100, a neat, surprising camera that could sit happily alongside an upper level snapper (like a DSLR) in the camera bag. Unsurprisingly, it is priced at the upper level of compact digicams.
It has a reasonably fast Carl Zeiss f1.8, 3.6x optical zoom, imaging to a 20.2 million pixel CMOS, enabling the capture of a maximum image size of 5472×3080, leading to a 46x26cm print.
Video can be captured in AVHCD or MPEG4, up to a Full HD 1920×1080 pixel resolution.
Yes, you can shoot still shots in the middle of a video recording but with a click or two on the audio.
The body is made from aluminium and has a tiltable (up/down) LCD screen that responds to touch commands as well as tilting up by 84 degrees and down by 45 degrees. There is a (pricey) turret viewfinder to allow clear viewing in bright light that fits into the camera’s hot shoe; this shoe also accepts a clip on LCD screen, external flash or a microphone adaptor.
The camera control layout follows the usual Sony pattern: at extreme left is the flash cell; centre of the top surface is the multi interface shoe (or ‘hot shoe’); to the right is the power button, zoom lever and shutter button; nearby is the mode dial with positions for intelligent and superior auto exposure (!), PASM, movie, memory recall, sweep panorama and scene selection (presets for portrait, sports, macro, fireworks etc).
Rear: the familiar movie record button is on the top right corner; beneath it is a really useful Function button that offers exposure correction, ISO setting, AWB, the D-RANGE Optimiser and access to a wide range of effects … such as posterisation, pop colour, partial colour, retro, toy camera effect (in colorisations such as cool, warm, green, magenta). You could spend days with this item!
The D-Range Optimiser shoots a bracket of three shots with different exposures; the camera then overlays the bright area s of the under exposed image and the dark areas of the over exposed image to create an image with improved gradation. A single image with the ideal range is saved.
Nearby is the menu button which displays a super wide range of options. Newbies should pay deep attention to this menu … it all happens here! If you find a specific function is not working properly, it’s most likely because a ‘box’ in the menu has not been ticked!
Lower is the control wheel. Here you can select options for flash, self timer, burst shooting and exposure compensation. If your camera happens to be set to auto or intelligent auto you can access a range of picture effects, change image brightness, colour etc.
The central button of the control wheel locks in tracking focus to the subject nearest centre frame.
Lower still is the replay button and one which doubles as the image trash action and gives access to a useful information bank. I guess the latter gives the game away with the RX100: it is really a high priced beginners’ camera! Oh well!
Sony, IMHO, has by far the best sweep panorama feature of all compact digicams: you can pan right, left, up or down and capture panos in enormous sizes. Like: 12,416×1856 pixels!
This is also Sony’s first NFC camera. Wassat?
Near Field Communication is designed to enable users to instantly share images with other NFC capable devices, such as Android smartphones, tablets, laptops or even TV.
The company’s strategy behind NFC is to simplify the connection of its RX100 II to smart devices. Once connected, users can remotely control the camera’s shutter release from the mobile device, quickly receive the captured image via WiFi and upload the transferred images straightaway to a social networking site.
But is NFC just Bluetooth or Wifi? Maybe.
Take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_field_communication for more info.
No problems at either end of the zoom. A well corrected lens.
In just a little over two seconds the camera came to life after the power was tapped. Then I was able to fire off a run of shots as fast as I could tap the button.
At ISO 1600 sharpness dropped off slightly but noise was low. By ISO 6400 these factors were a little worse. By ISO 12800 sharpness was down further and noise up — but not by a large factor.
Quality: just above average.
Why you would buy the Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Mark II: compact; fast Zeiss lens.
Why you wouldn’t buy the Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Mark II: limited zoom range for your needs; LCD screen tilts are limited.
A surprising package in such a tiny body.
I felt the manuals to be inadequate: aside from a 37 page PDF basic guide in English and a Web-based user guide with no search facility, that was all. For a camera at this price level you could at least expect at least a decent searchable PDF manual.
Otherwise, a very good performance.
Image Sensor: 20.2 million effective pixels.
Metering: Multi pattern, centre-weighted, spot.
Exposure Modes: Auto, Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Sensor Size: 13.2×8.8mm Exmor R CMOS.
Lens: Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* f1.8-4.9/10.4-37.1mm (28-100mm as 35 SLR equivalent).
Shutter Speed: 30 to 1/2000 second.
Continuous Shooting: 2.5, 10 fps.
Memory: Memory Stick Duo, PRO Duo/PRO-HG Duo/SD/SDHC/SDXC and Micro SD/SDHC cards.
Image Sizes (pixels): 5472×3080 to 2592×1944.
Movies (pixels): 1920×1080, 1440×1080, 640×480.
LCD Screen: 7.6cm LCD (1,229,000 pixels).
Colour Space: sRGB, Adobe RGB.
File Formats: JPEG, RAW, JPEG+RAW, AVCHD, MPEG4.
ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 160 to 25600.
Interface: USB 2.0, micro HDMI, WiFi, DC, remote.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, DC input.
Dimensions: 102x58x38 WHDmm.
Weight: 281 g (with battery and card).
Price: get your hands on a Sony DSC-RX100M II Cyber-shot at Amazon here.
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Mark II Review
The post Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 Mark II Review by Barrie Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.
We’ve just posted an update to our samples gallery taken with the new 20MP Sony Cyber-shot RX100 M2. Now that we’ve had a little more time with the camera we’ve concentrated on getting a wider range of real-world shots, highlighting the potential of the camera’s fast wideangle lens setting, and its improved low-light performance. Click through to see our expanded gallery of real-world samples.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The other big announcement from Sony today is a ‘Mark II’ version of its popular Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 compact camera. The RX100 II features a new 1-inch, 20.2 megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor, which Sony claims is 40% more sensitive in low light than its predecessor. Other improvements including a tilting rear LCD, Multi Interface hotshoe, and Wi-Fi and NFC capability. Click through for more details.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
by Sarah Hipwell
It’s been about four years since my last visit to the zoo. Last week my two girls had a break from school so I decided to take them along with my Mum for a day out to visit the animals at Dublin Zoo. I brought my trusty new Sony RX100 and as a backup I brought my Nikon D300 DSLR. In the end the D300 camera didn’t come out of my bag!
I really wanted to test out the RX100 and see how well this compact camera performed in the wild!
Actually, I had been interested in purchasing a compact camera for a while now. My husband has taken some great shots with his Retina iPhone. But I don’t have an iPhone nor do I particularly like smartphones per se.
With any camera that you choose, there will always be trade-offs. I find the D300 to be a little cumbersome not to mention heavy. There are just times when a handy compact is all you want, but you still want quality shots. Enter the Sony RX100. It was launched last year and has received glowing reviews.
And rightfully so!
The price did seem a little steep but the more I read about this camera, the more I wanted it! So I decided to trade in my Nikkor 28mm lens against the purchase of the camera. I also have a 18-200mm lens so it wasn’t any hardship to lose the 20mm.
The moment we got to the zoo I put my RX100 on my sling strap. This was ideal. I haven’t enjoyed taking photos in this way for such a long time. It was pure point and shoot from the word go. I did decide to leave it on Manual mode for most of the time. I like to be able to adjust Aperture/Shutter speed/ISO quickly and the RX100 has a Function button which provides easy access to ISO settings when needed.
I had previously seen a wonderful photo of Asian lion, a recent addition to the Dublin Zoo. I was looking forward to taking a few shots of him but somehow I managed to miss my opportunity. However, I get a few nice shots of this magnificent Tiger shown below.
The seals were a treat to watch too. Their keeper explained a bit about these creatures and how they train them. I wanted to test the HD video quality and I was blown away by the quality, here is a screengrab that I took as a still.
The zoom feature on the RX100 was a real surprise. I wasn’t expecting much but it turned out to be quite impressive. Here’s a couple of shots that I took of the giraffes, standing from the same spot. See below.
Next were the Gorillas. Every time I see these primates, I’m in awe. I think it’s because we, as in humans, look so similar. I just love the expression on this gorilla’s face. See below.
My favorite feature so far on the RX100 is the macro ability, especially as it can open to f1.8
Here is an example of a close up of this snake in the reptile house at f2.5. See below.
The camera also packs a 1 inch large sensor with 20 million effective pixels.
I’m still getting use to this camera but it is my go to camera for the moment. All in all, the Sony RX100 is a very nice, light and powerful compact camera.
Get a price on the Sony RX100 at Amazon.
Learn more about this camera with our previous full review of the Sony RX100.
See more of Sarah Hipwell’s work at her website – SarahHipwell.com
Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.
Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.
The Sony RX100 at Dublin Zoo [USER REVIEW]
Time Magazine has included the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 in its list of the 50 ‘best inventions’ of 2012. Time called the RX100 a ‘huge leap’ in the trend towards smaller and more capable digital cameras, thanks to its ‘innovative design and 1-in sensor’. The list of 50 inventions is organized by cost, from ‘priceless’ up to ‘2.5 billion’ and also includes self-inflating tires, the Curiosity Mars rover, and LiquiGlide, a microscopic non-slip coating.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Time Magazine has included the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 in its list of the 50 ‘best inventions’ of 2012. Time called the RX100 a ‘huge leap’ in the trend towards smaller and more capable digital cameras, thanks to its ‘innovative design and 1-in sensor’. The list of 50 inventions is organized by cost, from ‘priceless’ up to ‘2.5 billion’ and also includes self-inflating tires, the Curiosity Mars rover, and LiquiGlide, a microscopic non-slip coating.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)