A slow motion test to have a laugh 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/danulis/
EosHD published a detailed look at slow motion on the Sony RX100 IV / RX10 II:
My favourite way to capture slow-mo on the Sony RX100 Mk IV and RX10 Mk II is the regular 1080/120fps mode. It is the first recording mode circa-100fps I have used that doesn’t resort to heavy pixel binning on the sensor like with Sony A7S, Samsung NX1 and Panasonic GH4. The image is flawless, detailed and sharp. You can work in stills mode for faster one-shot AF to establish focus on a quickly moving subject for instance.
Henry: “I recently purchases the sony rx100 iv and shot a video of my daughter and I thought you may be interested in posting the content on your blog to show people what the camera is capable of. Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://vimeo.com/134107105”
Kristoffer: “Went to a mini festival this weekend to try out the new Sony RX10 II. https://vimeo.com/133881621”
Ovidiu: “Here is a cool slow motion test with the new RX100 MK IV 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKWXJ3otEnQ“
A7rII and RX camera preorder list:
In USA:
A7rII at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, SonyStore US, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX10m2 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
RX100m4 at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FocusCamera, Uniquephoto.
In Europe at:
A7rII at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX100m4 at DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
RX10m2 at DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT. Wex UK.
In Asia at:
A7rII at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX10m2 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
RX100m4 at Digitalrev, CameraPro.
55 Responses
5 minutes 4k as stated when they introduced the camera…
A 20 minute video that finds “crazy overheating issues?” All it shows is that the author didn’t understand the specs of the product he was “reviewing.” We’ve known since it was introduced that there was a 5-minute limit to 4K clips. It may be lame, but it is hardly a revelation.
Did you actually watch this video? Your article has a really sensationalist title and its totally false and unfounded. The camera of that guy in the video is working as designed.
In the video he says it goes for 5 mins, then only 3 mins after that… Then 1 1/2 mins… because of over heating.
That is why it has a 5 min limit… It gets hot… just wait for it to cool down. Dont try to force it to record 10 minutes at a time, or more.
Sure but if you are recording interviews you can’t tell someone to wait 5 min after 5 min of shooting. That isn’t realistic. Or if you are recording anything on the fly that you don’t have control over. You can’t tell wild life to wait. This looks like a fun camera to play around with, but I will stick with my little 20x Sony zoom camera for a pocket cam.
And does that 20x pocket camera record in 3840×2160? If not, then what is the problem? Just use the rx100 IV in 1080p…
No the pocket cam does not. That’s a small part of the reason I preordered the A7Rii. I just don’t think they had to bring this comprised feature in when everyone seems to love the mark 3 version still. I’m sure in 6 months they could have come out with a fix for this. Since this is hardly something Sony can fix with a firm wear update they should have waited. Just my opinion.
The limit is normal for small cameras. And based on all the other upgrades from the mk3 the 4k is not the main selling point.
Compromised feature? It’s a bonus feature on a camera with many improvements over its predecessor such as 960fps, which on a consumer camera will be a fun feature for many consumers. This is not a professional video camera, anyone expecting it to be one for them has silly expectations.
If you are recording interviews with a camera that has a stated 4K recording limit of five minutes duration, then perhaps getting one without such a limitation is prudent. Of you want to record something longer than five minutes, why not record in 1080P? Last I heard, that is still pretty good quality and it does not seem to have a overheating limitation.
That definitely is something not most people would expect. Normally you would think it means you can continuously record 5-minute clips.
I am sorry, I never expected it to record 5 minute clips continuously. If they thought the camera could record a 5 minute clip and then record another five minute clip, they probably would not have specified a five minute clip length as a limitation. If you wanted to record 4k videos for longer durations, I’d get the RX10m2. Sometimes, bigger is better. At least it can dissipate the heat better. Heat dissipation in a camera this small is a real problem.
I think you are loosing up upon Sony. There were laws in EU restricting cameras to record more than 30 minutes in a single clip. So what most cameras could do is to allow users to continuously record 30 minutes clips with manual restart. They call that limitations as well. So I think Sony should explain this clearly to avoid confusion among buyers. This is a $948 USD camera. People could choose A7 gen 1st. I believe it worth a little time explaining. Otherwise this could just bring negative feedback and increasing amount of returns.
The EU mandated that cameras that can record for longer than 29 minutes and 59 seconds continuously (or something like that) be treated as video cameras. Video cameras are assessed a higher tariff than still cameras. You have sensational titles (such as the one Andrea deployed on this article) that give an impression that Sony is somehow misleading people. That both the RX100m4 and RX10m2 suffer from overheating issues. As I said, I never expected the RX100m4 to be able to record five minute 4k clips continuously.
Sony is not misleading but doesn’t tell everything either, thus caused confusion. If a few more words could avoid that, why not? I am 100% certain some people would be surprised to encounter this unexpectedly during some once-in-a-life events.
I never think it is wise to assume all customers are tech-savvy that know everything before purchasing.
The review posted above is more misleading than Sony statements. I haven’t read the manual – maybe Sony actually says something about recording limitations there? You are right though – since many people want the facts straight up, they probably should state that the camera the camera, when shooting 4K videos, can overheat, thus a five minute limit on videos is imposed (and that some time may be required to be able to record another five minute clip). This is limited to 4K videos, as 1080P captures won’t have this limitation.
Still, the reviewer should have inferred that a five minute limit is there for a reason. And Andrea’s sensationalist title (which infers that the RX10m2 has some sort of issue as well) is really problematic.
This happens if something was not clearly explained in the first place. Some people have wrong expectations and felt bad after realizing it. Not everyone has equal knowledge on cameras.
The reviewer also stated that he was hoping the camera would produce 40 megabyte still files. From a 20 megapixel camera. I think his expectations, in general, are a little overblown.
That actually can happen a lot. As I said, not everyone are savvy. Companies are targeting at these users with such consumer products, thus they should explain things to avoid hassle. I don’t think people have to be a PhD in photography and camera hardware prior to buying and using cameras. Some people just want a camera, I don’t blame them for not knowing too much about it. They don’t need to.
In fact, as I said earlier, Sony is not telling everything. On their website they mentioned no word about overheating and that you can’t continuously record long clips. For any users who paid little attention to reviews and reports on Sony’s products, they might not realize this prior to purchasing.
Here is the blurb from the Sony site:
“The compact – pocket-size RX100 IV features Clip 4K: short video of up to 5 minute 4K movie recording directly to SD memory card* – ideal for everyday casual use.”
Many people would interpret this as being able to record 4K video for up to five minutes. Sony perhaps could further state that the camera may overheat when shooting 4K videos semi continuously (which is what the reviewer, Andrew Jones, wanted to do). If you look at the youtube post, he responded to a critique of his review by stating that the camera only recorded 4K video for a 1.2 minute duration, which his own review did not state. He is obviously disappointed that there is a limit. He also claims that electronics is a hobby, so he should be able to explain why there is a heat dissipation problem. I think the guy meant well, but the review is more of an opinion piece. He talks about thirty minute recording times on the RX100m3 (in 1080P mode). When he was asked to test recording times for 1080P in the m4, he responded that he no longer has the camera.
Hardly. Previously we talked about the EU limitation of video length. That limitation had existed for many years and it clearly means something different with that Sony means here.
Sony is stating that the camera can be used to record a five minute segment (in 4K). There is no further claim of continuously recording five minute clips, which is what Andrew Jones wanted to do. Sony can put a disclaimer, of course, to clarify the situation.
That’s what I tried to say.
In many countries other than US, people just walk into a shop if they want a new camera. These people might not know much about cameras. They play with display models briefly and perhaps listen to a sales person, who would just repeat what you can see on Sony website. So they are likely to get upset after purchasing.
In most of the developed countries people use the internet. And in those countries you would think people would be smart enough to research before buying a 1000$ camera?
If you are in a city where you can find thousands of shops selling these, you probably won’t think too much about going online but would just go ahead and try it out. It’s just a camera.
It’s a 1000$ compact camera. If someone bought it without knowing anything more, they would probably not be able to record anything, even if it had a 1 min limit…
There are many people who are not into cameras and photography but just want something better than mobile phones. To them specs are something they probably don’t bother to know.
By the way, I looked at the RX100m4 manual (posted online). You find this little blurb:
“On the overheat protection
Depending on the camera and battery temperature, you may be unable to record
movies or the power may turn off automatically to protect the camera.
A message will be displayed on the screen before the power turns off or you can no
longer record movies. In this case, leave the power off and wait until the camera and
battery temperature goes down. If you turn on the power without letting the camera
and battery cool down enough, the power may turn off again or you may be unable
to record movies.”
Maybe, just maybe, Andrew Jones should consult the manual.
I somehow suspect you would find similar statements in every manual. This is not problem specific.
Perhaps not, but as a general explanation of what is happening, it is fairly succinct in describing the phenomena and steps that can be taken to start recording again.
Sony has problem specific footnotes regarding recording time. If you look at their website it should be footnote 8-10 depending on which page you are looking at. They hinted that operating environment could have an impact on recording time but no further statement on you have to let the camera cool down.
This is a word play. It could be anything affecting recording length. Battery, RAM, etc. For users who never give a second thought about what P/S/A/M really does, I don’t think this is very informative. The uploader of that video is probably one of such users.
This blurb is from the online help guide for the RX100m4:
———————-
Notes on continuous movie recording
It requires a lot of power to perform high quality movie recording or continuous shooting using the image sensor. Therefore, if you continue to shoot, the temperature inside the camera will rise, especially that of the image sensor. In such cases, the camera turns off automatically since higher temperatures affect the quality of the images or affect the internal mechanism of the camera.
The duration of time available for movie recording is as follows when the camera starts recording after the power of the camera has been turned off for a while. (The following values indicate the continuous time from when the camera starts recording until the camera stops recording.)
Ambient temperature: 25°C (77°F)
Continuous recording time for movies: About 29 minutes (However, the recording time is about 5 minutes when recording in XAVC S 4K or XAVC S HD 120p/100p format.)
The duration of time available for movie recording varies with the temperature, the recording format/setting, or condition of the camera before you start recording. If you frequently recompose or shoot images after the power is turned on, the temperature inside the camera will rise and the recording time available will be shorter.
When (overhear indicator) is indicated, stop recording the movie.
If the camera stops recording due to the temperature, leave it for several minutes with the power turned off. Start recording after the temperature inside the camera drops fully.
———————
Andrew probably didn’t read this either.
BTW, I would buy the RX10m2 for myself (if funds were available). I enjoy using my RX100m3, but since I want longer 4K recording times, Though the RX10 is larger, it will dissipate heat better.
Please refer to my other reply. People in different countries are going to behave very differently. In Japan many people don’t even know how to fluently use powerpoint when they graduate from college. Relying heavily on internet sources is very American thing.
The information is out there. The Sony advertising, as far as I have seen, is found on the internet. The manuals are on the internet. The help guide is on the internet. The reviews are on the internet. Andrew is one reviewer with an opinion (and a not too well researched one at that). Sony could put the blurb I posted as a disclaimer in the camera specs online. Of course, many people will miss it there as well. All I can say is that there is information available to help you make an informed decision. Don’t rely on a single information source. Do some research. It tends to lessen unpleasant surprises.
He was restarting it straight away without waiting for cooling. He gets it now.
This Brit-idiot hasn’t the faintest clue what he is talking about. A cursory look at the literature would have informed him that the 5 minute limit is by design and also that there IS now a setting so that pushing in the EVF doesn’t shut off the use. A lazy sensationalist “review”. He should go back to overselling his stupid wooden cheapo speakers.
5 minutes 4k video… What is the problem?
He expected more, obviously. I think he thought he could shoot his next hollywood blockbuster in 4K with this camera, so he can’t do that with a 5min limit.
Here is the full video. The one posted is cut off after 22 min.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=naUfxl-b2FA
This one talks about how the camera stopped recording at 5min. Then 4 min. The 1min 30 seconds from over heating.
And it is still stupid… as the camera has a 5 minute limit. Because of heat. Therefore you can’t expect it to start recording againt at once. (that would break the point of the limit.)
OK. This comment was only to give people a chance to watch the full video. And then I explained the part that was cut off.
Why is he expecting a 20 megapixel camera to produce 40 meg still files. And 960 feet per second frame rate? What is that? Not a bad review, but there are some gaffs that tell me to look at other reviews as well. I think his expectations was little bit off what the camera was designed to do.
Because of Sony’s lossy compression, 20mp = ~20mb, whereas in other cameras which record in lossless compression (like my former 5D2) the files are of variable sizes. For example, 5D2’s 21mp could be 28mb or could be 36mb depending on the amount of detail recorded.
It seems to me that he didn’t really do his homework before doing a review. Even uncompressed the raw files should not be 40 megabytes in size (Sony specs out a 14 bit raw file), so expecting the file size to be that big (since Sony already stated that the files are compressed). To expect something that is out of spec is a little bit too much.
Of course it overheats when recording longer than 5 minutes. That’s why the 5 minute limit exists.
I’d hope that no-one would buy this camera thinking ‘ha – I’ll just press the record button over and over and over again every 5 minutes. Loop-hole exploited! I’m so very clever!’
If you need to record for longer, there’s the larger-bodied RX10 M2 with its better heat dissipation.
camcorders are built huge for a reason
For historic reasons. People (especially the USA) accept change at a very slow pace, that’s why DSLRs are still around.
At least today’s DSLR have better AF performance than any mirrorless around. A7R2 is an exception but D850/D900 would catch up soon.
as sony releases yet another camera, with even higher AF performance.
Low light focusing ability is what you need to look into as well… Sony’s A7R2 is just on par with major high pixel dlsrs.
This video reminds me of the dunderheads who bought our truly excellent Nikon L35-AWAF that was generously rated as “10 feet water proof,” said dunderheads kept pushing the limits until it leaked! We hope Sony don’t do what we did and remove certain cameras/options because certain people (Anton) cannot comprehend single logic. Sony might just take its ball home, just as we did with the L-35 AWAF, it saves the heartache you know! And don’t get us started on 4K video, we aint going there, NPS is already the hardest working repair facility on the planet, we don’t need any of this malarkey thank you!
Andrea, I’d remove the little comment about overheating problems. Many people did not expect the RX100m4 to record 4k video for five minutes and then immediately record another five minute 4k clip. There are heat dissipation issues in a camera this small. If Sony thought the camera could record video in this manner, it would have extended the hard five minute limit to something longer.
The headline also implies that both the RX10m2 and RX100m4 suffer from overheating issues. I don’t know if that was your intent, but you certainly make it sound that both cameras have heat problems.
This camera does get me all hot and bothered. Now I know why.
The 5 min limit is for heating issues so I would have thought it obvious you just can’t stop for a few seconds and go again for another 5 min -you need to get the ice pack out or go and have a lie down or something!