We all like interchangeable lens mount cameras but if you need one solid camera that can do 99% of the things you will ever do than the Sony RX10 will be the right camera for you. Engadget says:
Ultimately, we love the Sony RX10. In fact, we struggled to populate the cons section down below with anything other than a high price tag. But your $1,300 goes a very long way here, and if you need to capture sharp images and full-HD video clips in pretty much any lighting condition, with a vast focal range, you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable shooter. This is the best fixed-lens camera we’ve ever used, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the RX10 Mark II, whenever that comes about, is the only comparable model worth considering.
Overall the Sony RX camera series is almost flawless. The RX1/R have a super lens fitted on a super small camera with super silent shutter. Te RX100 and RX100II are by far the best small compact camera to date and the RX10 is the only f/2.8 zoom camera with a decent sized sensor (unlike the competition which uses tiny sensors).
And on SAR you read many critics on Alpha A and E-mount cameras. But when it comes to talk about an RX cameras people never complains 🙂
RX10 store links:
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
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I was able to try the RX10 and was amazed it does so much right !
All dials and such are there and in the right place.
For film makers too the RX10 is awesome.
But the size was what made me wait for the NEX-7 successor.
The A6000 with Zeiss lens IMHO probably represents an even nicer trade-off size/functionality/IQ.
Size is the problem, but the camera is awesome. I got a chance to shoot with it and really enjoyed it. If this is what your looking for you can’t go wrong.
go for the RX100 then, the size is normal for what it does, you cant get any smaller.
RX100 good for P&S camera, but for any purpose photograph RX10 far better than RX100
I own this camera and love it, but it’s not for everyone. I’d say it was engineered with video in mind – that’s the area where its output bests the competition.
It would be my dream camera but it’s too big, too heavy and for that amount of size and weight–the 1″ sensor is just too small. Sad for me!
don’t know if you’re serious or are being sarcastic, but for a bridge camera, the RX10 has the right size, and has the largest sensor I have ever seen in this type of cameras… Maybe you’re looking for NEX-type camera.
I’ve been tempted to buy this, but AF is a bit slow for what I would use this for.
Yes it’s a bit big, but so are separate 24-70 & 70-200 f/2.8 lenses. In that context this camera is small.
Buy an A57 and 18-135mm and forget about this, use the change to get a few more lenses.
Idea is good, price is comical
It’s essentially a video camera, you see the f/2.8 lens and output with no line-skipping. If you mainly shoot (somewhat serious) video, this is still your best bet for a budget rig.
With that lens you’d lose up to about a stop at the longer end in low light in terms of noise performance and a lot more in video, both in terms of noise performance and detail.
Horses for courses.
2.8 vs 5.6 is a pretty big difference in aperture. I think for most people, it’s a little on the limiting side but I don’t think it’s overpriced. People that use it rave about the video features. If most of your shooting is between 24-200mm, everything is included in this camera including manual controls, peaking, zebras, 3 stop ND. If you don’t need a kit with 5 lenses AND the 1″ sensor provides adequate image quality, this is a great fully loaded camera. Given what this offers over a 750 RX100ii, I’d say the price is not bad. For some, this would be the ultimate travel/vacation camera.
Yeah but bear in mind that in terms of the max aperture look at 200mm FF eq field of view, this 73mm f2.8 on a 1″ sensor will look like a 135mm f5 on an APS-C sensor.
So Denis is not too far off the mark with his suggestion.
(And on a real full frame this looks like a 200mm f7.7. Its a long way from really being a 200mm f2.8, they just like to market it that way.)
As for the other video features you probably have a point.
Come on, seriously, stop this bullshit comparison and it’s a f/2.8 full stop. If DOF is your thing then ofcourse stick with FF.
don’t really understand your attitude here. no bullshit in my post, just arithmetic facts about DOF which are certainly relevant for a conversation about video. Just pointing it out that’s all.
Its not just DOF for a lens to be equivalent to one on another format it must have the same AOV , same DOF and critically capture the same total light. One out of three doesn’t cut it.
The 18-135 is crap in terms of image quality. Its okay for A5X but its a complete waste for everything higher like A77
Are you pixel peeping at 20 MP or just at full HD with that comment ? I have no idea if that lens is OK for video but its important to make the distinction.
The 18-135mm is a sharp lens and holds up well on 24mp
The point is u can buy a budget dslr for peanuts, rx10 sensor is decent but it has similar dof to the 18-135mm. Soon as you start changing lenses you are ffar better served with APS c
I wonder is some of the body styling cues will find their way into the new A mount bodies? Slightly more edgy shape…
Denis, I agree, except for 1 important issue … 16 vs 18 mm wide is quite a difference.
Ah but you can change lenses.
Suddenly the SLT becomes far more versatile for most users. Arm an A57 with a 35mm f1.8 and you start to become a low light champ that cannot be matched with this camera, and better DOF control
I don’t mind the idea of the RX10, but when the dust settles it’s still a 1″ sensor. That’s fine for £500-£600 at most, but is silly price close to £1000
People are asking if APS-C can command £1000 prices with FF coming down. I see no reason to ask that price for a small 1″ sensor
Most users don’t or hardly ever switch lenses. Most users only have a single kitlens.
Most users won’t pay this much.
True if you want 35mm but not so cheap to beat at 200mm equivalent. An old 135mm f/2.8, would do it but the new 135s from Sony are too expensive to beat out the RX10
All you need is a 135 f5.
See my comment above.
Denis wrote: “People are asking if APS-C can command £1000 prices with FF coming down. I see no reason to ask that price for a small 1″ sensor”.
The sensor is excellent ( of course it’s small, but still the best in its range ) and you’re not paying just for it, but for a system, mainly the unbelievable lens! If you seldom make large prints and frame them, the RX10 is a hard to beat camera, almost perfect for travel.
I think the camera is almost the perfect package for traveling and outdoors. It is weather sealed and has a good focal length range. If the tracking AF would be better I would probably buy it and maybe keep the NEX 6 with the 35 mm for low light. It is really amazing what the RX group has done. Sony at it‘s best!
It’s Engadget…
I would seriously consider it if the lens was faster. My only problem is with a 2.8 on a 1 inch sensor your depth of field isn’t ever going to be as shallow as I would want it… I do give it credit compared to the RX100 it at least holds the f-stop throughout the zoom… but it needed at least a 2.0 or 1.8 to be perfect and for the price I couldn’t justify it with a 2.8
RX10 is a killer cam and I would love to buy it, but since I already have a camcorder and am f-ing broke I’ll wait for the 4K update in the future. With 4K this beast will be a no-brainer for a lot of people for a long time.
Get the new Pana G4 that will come out, it’s the top performer in the matter of 4k video and in goes up to 96 ips.
So, the Alpha Team could get some ideas from the Cybershot Team, right?
Looking at the A7 I think they already have.
Too bad Sony is trying hard to avoid cannibalizing their camcorder sales. Otherwise, they would slap XAVC-S into this thing and enable 4K output ala the AX100.
Actually, it goes both ways since they also remove RAW image capture on the AX100. Merge both products and you would dominate both markets while reducing costs.
Best review:
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Sony_Cyber-shot_RX10/
I keep waiting for Sony’s new A mount announcements, but keep getting distracted by the RX10 reviews. This camera is enticing for someone like me who cannot afford to spend thousands on a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, but I worry about the 1″ sensor. For anyone who currently owns one of Sony’s 1″ sensor cameras, is the image quality noticeably worse than an APS-C camera all around?
I think you get similar caveats on all the 1-inch cameras versus APS-C. In good light the images are going to be close, the APS-C will beat it by a smidgen with a similar quality lens. As the light lowers, with a typical kit lens the RX100 will do better at the long end. At a simple level the APS-C gains you 1.6 EV in light gathering area but with a kit lens loses 2EV in f-stops (f/5.6 vs f/2.8) so the RX100 is 0.4EV better. At the wide end the kit lens would be slightly better. With the APS-C interchangeable of course you could buy a f/2.8 lens and be much better, but a 70-200 f/2.8 is not cheap nor light.
@Bill, thanks for the insight!
RX10c with APS-C sensor size and 16-50mm F2.8 lens.
I am still waiting.
Would be an interesting camera, probably could be done for similar money.
Keep the 24-200mm lens with an APS-C sensor and then you’re talking, but that would cut into other APS-C size camera sales, so I doubt they will go that route.
A 24-200 equivalent (16-135) would have to be a slower lens or the cost and weight would be pretty high.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sonycameraclub/discuss/72157639281042114/
Now available on Amazon at the incredible discount of $1.99. Snap it up quick! A deal this grand can’t hold for long! 🙂
Price is the problem. This is a quality camera but at $1300, or really anything over $1k, the value proposition just doesn’t compute.
Focus speed ain’t great and that’s the achilles heal of a lot of cameras coming out. DSLR’s don’t have this problem and can be bought for a fraction of this camera, including some of Sony’s own alpha camera.
I love the way this camera looks.
Would love a mirrorless native A-Mount the same style, slightly larger pro body with all the trimmings.
Back to the P&S Sony!
Good on you!
It has 4 main values one can attribute to it.
1st, it is the best ever made bridge camera ever made.
2d, it is too large in size compared to a NEX mirrorless.
3d, it still can not compete with any APSC camera that uses a good lens.
4th, it is far too expensive for a bridge, despite of all qualities it has.
Less than 400$ for a NEX3, 750$ for a NEX6, and here you pay 1300$ ?????. Who will step down from APSC to that, or, who will use a bigger camera as a second addition to a mirroless. Or does anyone wants to take a NEX as an addition to this one?
It makes absolutely breathtaking shots by respect for the sensor it has, but that’s all. At same price you get a NEX and the 18-200 first edition lens from Sony, and then it loses the match while you have a camera set that is versatile and still less large and heavy.
Here’s my hands-on review of the rx10 as a still photo camera:
The camera does give a nice stubby look… sort of like when you put a 85mm f/1.2 lens on an aps-c dslr. The rear LCD and EVF are very good and I didn’t feel they were any worse in quality compared to what I have in my A7r. There is slight hint of subject isolation when doing head and shoulder portraits even at “24mm” at f/2.8. At around ~”70″-“100” there’s enough isolation for portraits except maybe in tricky situations where the background is too close.
Unfortunately that’s all the good I can say. If anyone’s considering this as a dslr/csc alternative here are some things to be aware of:
1. The electronic zoom in this camera isn’t very responsive when you’re walking about and you need to quickly zoom in to something interesting. If there’s a setting in the manual, this issue can be reduced but still precision zooming will be affected then.
2. The focus is decent in the S mode. In the C/continuous AF it doesn’t even focus even if you hold it indefinitely at times. When it does track something that becomes stationary, it keeps hunting in an annoyingly slow manner.
3. Close focus “macro” is really sub par. Don’t expect the “Zeiss” quality that people imagine when they hear the name. You see very distinct green and red longitudinal CA. This is not an issue for anyone looking for a camera that will do landscapes and general photography of relatively distant subjects. If you want this to double as a macro camera, you will be disappointed.
4. The build quality if the lens is not good. The extended barrel shakes a bit. Haven’t experienced it on fixed lens mega/ultra zooms before.
5. On a minor note, the zoom ring is shared by the manual focus ring. So when in manual focus, you need to use a typical zoom lever to operate the zoom, making precision adjustments not as easy.
To summarise… there is a market for this camera the same way there is a market for the Fuji bridge cameras. But if you are used to dslrs and cscs you’ll not find the same ease of use, quality and usability potential in the rx10. I’d much rather get a aps-c E mount with a stabilised high quality zoom.
Excellent genotypewriter. Thanks for that.