DSC-RX100

I've been using this camera for about 6 weeks now. Briefly, it blows me away. Before I get into details of the camera, my own background in perspective. I'm a total amateur, who has gone in and out love with photography as a hobby. I had a SLR back in the film days, but really a mid level camera with a couple different lenses. Around 2006, I purchased a dSLR -- The Sony Alpha A100. I chose that model, simply because it was compatible with the lenses I already owned. I built up my gear, around that camera. Added a tripod, added a (old used) fast prime lens. In 2011, I took my family to Disney World, and was constantly making use of the whole camera setup. That was the high point of my dSLR use. Then slowly, gradually, I felt like I was being weighted down by the camera. Too cumbersome to carry all the time. Even when it was strapped to my back, too much of a chore to change the lenses. So when planning another trip to Disney World in 2012, the Sony RX100 caught my attention. dSLR quality, in my pocket. Could it really be that good? I'm sure that the Sony RX100 will not measure up to a top-of-the-line 2012 model dSLR. But I am very confident that it will generally match up well against a current model entry level dSLR. And it gets significantly BETTER results than my old 2006 dSLR. So when looking at the pros and cons, how does it differ from my 2006 dSLR? Probably the 2 most important elements in any camera, are the lens and the sensor. dSLRs have significantly bigger sensors than point & shoot cameras. A bigger sensor can capture more light faster, and typically therefore can produce far better results. The Sony RX100 sensor is still smaller than dSLRs, but it is significantly larger than almost any other true compact camera on the market. While still smaller than my 6-year-old dSLR, I'm guessing advances in sensor technology over the 6 years, makes up for some of the size difference. Turning to the lens -- a dSLR camera can change lenses. the RX100 only has 1 lens, but WOW -- It is an amazing lens, made by a well respected brand in lenses. The lens stops down to a 1.8 aperture at the widest angle. For those who don't know aperture, it means that the lens opens very wide, allowing more light to reach the sensor, more quickly. On the "included" lens that comes with most dSLR cameras, then aperture is not nearly as wide. So combine the above-average-sized sensor for a point and shoot, with a top of the line lens -- And you get results consistently better than my 6-year-old dSLR, with mediocre lenses. This sensor/lens combination gives you a lot of advantages, comparable or even superior to some dSLR/lens combinations. It shoots VERY well in low light. Sensor "sensitivity" to light is measured in ISO. My old camera maxed out at 1600 ISO. So even with a very wide aperture, I wasn't able to take pictures on dark rides at Disney. The RX100 maxes out in manual mode at 6400. (there are some auto tricks that raise it even higher). With ISO 6400 and the wide aperture, I was capturing usable images of rides in the dark at Disney. Another great advantage of the wide aperture is bokeh -- The ability to take a picture with a blurred background. It's fairly easy to achieve with a dSLR AND an extra lens. The lens included with most entry level dSLRs, won't have a wide enough aperture to achieve this effect. The RX100 achieves it with fair success. My SLR, with an extra lens, can still do it a bit better. But the RX100 probably does it better than any other compact camera. Finally, the whole system focuses very quickly and accurately. Typically, SLRs focus much faster than compact cameras. The RX100 focuses MUCH faster than my 6-year-old dSLR. The focus speed feels comparable to most entry level DSLRs. For someone with a real or developing knowledge of photography, this camera has the advantage of very full manual control. You can take control over just about any of the settings, and can customize various menus and settings to your liking. While common in dSLRs, this is not found across compact cameras. The camera has the pro of it's 20 megapixel sensor combined with the ability to shoot in "RAW" mode. This allows you to capture huge amounts of data in every photograph, which opens a lot of possibilities in post processing. The camera has a whole array of special modes, that are becoming increasingly common across cameras. The best ones that are included: In camera HDR -- Automatically quickly snaps 3 images and combines them. In the past, I could only do HDR with post processing, and generally had to take the pictures with a tripod. Now I can do it, in camera, hand held. Panorama -- Works the same as the new iphone. Handheld low light and similar modes -- Much like HDR, it combines multiple images. In this case, it combines the image results to correct for low light, or correct for camera shake. There are multiple other modes. For example, I've had fun with the watercolor mode, which turns the photograph into a watercolor painting. Also selective color capture -- A black and white photograph, but with just 1 color showing through. These little things are a bit gimmicky and can be applied in post- processing. But if you want to avoid post-processing, then this can give you fun results right out of the camera. Whether used in automatic or manual modes, I am regularly blown away by the image quality of this camera. And that's what really matters. Now, the camera isn't perfect. There are some places where Sony made sensible compromises, and some other places where they just made mistakes. Sensible compromises: -The lens does not have a huge zoom. There are compact travel zoom cameras with 20X zoom. The RX100 is limited to about 4X optical zoom. (You can zoom further digitally). For most photographs, in most situations, this zoom is good enough. Further, with 20 megapixels to work with, you can easily crop to get a more zoomed-in result. But you're not going to be photographing a lady bug from 50 feet away. I listed this as a sensible compromise, because to build a lens with the quality of the RX100 AND with a massive zoom, the lens alone could cost $1,000+. The mega zoom lenses found on compact cameras typically have a mediocre quality. They don't have the aperture ability of build quality of the RX100. -No GPS or WiFi. These are becoming more common in cameras. I like GPS data built into the picture personally. But these things are easy to live without. They don't affect picture quality. And leaving these items out, helped keep the price from becoming ridiculous. - No touch screen. I don't even love touch screens. Probably left out, to help keep the price down. - No optical viewfinder. No hot shot, to allow addition of a viewfinder or external flash. I suspect this was primarily done to help keep the size of the camera down. A compromise I'm willing to accept, to keep this camera truly a "compact." Mistakes -- Not many. - No external charger. 3rd parties already are coming out with chargers, but 1 should have come with the camera. As sold, the battery can only be charged in the camera. - Flimsy door for charging/USB. Speaking of the in-camera charging, the door to the port feels flimsy and feels like it is going to fall off every time I open it. Some final thoughts. Comparing this camera to a true dSLR, the pros and cons are obvious. A dSLR, with a larger sensor and the ability to change lenses, gives you a much broader range of possibilities, with higher potential quality. But it's big, cumbersome. And to get all those lenses, you need to invest more and more money. In contrast, the RX100 fits in your pocket, and in MOST situations, can give you pictures quite comparable to a dSLR. In that context, the price of the RX100 is a bargain. It's about the same price as the entry level dSLR, but you don't need to invest more in lenses. Where you enter a grayer area, is the wide assortment of bridge cameras/mirrorless cameras. There are an increasing number of cameras that are smaller than dSLRs, but still slightly larger than a true compact. Some of these cameras have interchangeable lenses, some have fixed lenses. They may also have sensors somewhere between compacts and SLRs. Within this category, you may find cameras of similar quality to the RX100, at a similar price. They will be larger than the RX100, but not as large as a dSLR. So for many people, this whole group of cameras may be a consideration as well. Anyone who loves photography, will enjoy the RX100. It won't replace a dSLR for all people in all situations. But it can accomplish remarkable results for a tiny camera.

This is the first time (and last time) I relied solely upon reviews in Amazon to make a decision to buy a camera. I was in a hurry with a vacation coming up and saw all of the rave reviews, making claims such as how the camera took better photos than their Nikon D7000. I decided to buy it. My first comment is that I took it on a trip and kept it in my jeans pocket just like I have always done with pocket cameras. In the past pocket cameras have spent countless hours in my jeans pocket with no adverse consequence. Within 4 days with the RX100 I looked at the viewing screen on the camera and there was a scratch across the screen. My next complaint is the video. I have for comparison a much less expensive Nikon pocket camera that I bought about 3 years ago. From experience taking videos I know that you have to pan slowly if you want the audience to comfortably view a video. I found that with the RX100 if you panned, even at a slow pace, horizontal streaks would appear in the recorded video upon playback, which greatly detracted from the video. I also noticed that the camera was slow processing shots and would take much longer than my older Nikon pocket camera, causing me to miss shots. As far as the size of the camera, I think Sony overdid it making it too small. It felt uncomfortably small in my hands, and I just didn't like the feel of the camera. The camera has a feature which somehow transforms a shot that you intended to be in landscape mode into a portrait shot of one person in the photo. It would then produce for the final photo not the shot that you intended but instead a portrait shot of the one person. I even put it on Landscape mode to force the camera to take landscape photos and it still extracted portrait shots of the person in the photo, leaving out the rest of the shot. Another thing was that it was promoted how the screen had some special qualities which made it easy to view what you are photographing when out in sunlight. That proved not to be the case. I found it nearly impossible to see anything on the screen when I was outside in bright sunlight. Lastly, regarding the quality of the photos, it does not even approach the quality of a Nikon D7000, which I happen to own. From what I could see it was no better than the aforementioned Nikon pocket camera that cost half as much years ago. I tried to return the camera and first, since it was fulfilled through Amazon but used a third party seller, I was informed that there was a 15% restocking fee and that is payable even if the camera and all paperwork and packing materials are in perfect condition. Since my screen had a scratch I was told that there would be a 30% restocking fee. Then another person in customer service told me that it was damaged, all the way through to the LCD, and that they couldn't take it back. I looked this up and found that the seller was exaggerating the situation in that the actual LCD screen is protected by a plastic cover that can be replaced if you buy a new back for the camera. Also, some brief searching online revealed that the plastic cover for the screen for the RX100 is extremely easy to scratch, and that you should buy a protective film at the same time you buy the camera. At any rate, I ended up giving the camera to my daughter because I couldn't return it. It would be an understatement to say that I was very disappointed with this camera. To sum up, I received poor value for my money. Sony should cease production of this camera because it will hurt their reputation.

La cámara llegó en perfecto estado. En cuantoa la cámaraestoy muy satisfecho. Tiene pracyicamente todos los controles de una reflex en modo manual. En semiautomatico hace una exposición muy buena, para cuando uno necesita fotos rápidas o no quiere uno estar moviendo los controles. El flash es muy bueno y esta excelente que se pueda doblar para luz de rebote. La calidad de las fotos es excelente, el desenfoque que se logra gracias a su apertura 1.8 me fascinó para ina camara de este tipo. La uso con mi Samsung galaxy para transferirle las fotos via cable mini usb en el cel. y compartirlas en tiempo real (con o sin edicion). La verdad es que salen tan bien, que solo en ocasiones las mejoro, casi nunca para corregir exposición. Muy satisfecho por su tamaño portable. En definitiva una cámara muy potente y prácticapara llevar y hacer fotos y conpartirlas vía cel. Inmediatamente o para hacer trabajos mas serios de edición en la computadora.

A pesar de que los celulares tienen ya muy buena tecnología, esta belleza sigue sacando unas fotos de noche espectaculares.

Seems to be legit - best price I could find in Canada. I was debating going between this and the RX-100II but this model is a) cheaper b) less clunky (as the RX-100II has attachments and I don't plan on bringing anything else with me) c) Weighs less. You should note that the RX-100II DOES has a better sensor for low light conditions but this really is an amazing camera for it's size. The manual focus is pretty damn good and coming from a guy that loves his DSLR... This is now my new travel camera. If you're looking for a camera case that isn't 99.99 or wondering what will fit well the Case Logic DCB-302Black Compact Camera Case is a nice snug fit (plus you can store an SD card, wire and USB stick in there too).

En su oferta comercial, la fotografía corresponde a una cámara Sony con 4K, y la cámara que entregan no es de estas especificación. La versión recibida es un producto de calidad, pero sí deben tener cuidado en lo que están comprando.

takes great pics