Sony RX100 owners: still loving it?

Took this picture of a tree in the courtyard of the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki. Some people were gathered on a walkway at the bottom left of the picture which was taken hand-held on the "P" setting. Here's the full-frame and the crop.

Impressive!
 
Okay, I've been waffling big time, and the delays on E-PM2 had more than a little to do with this...

I ended up buying the RX100 today. When it came down to it, it's enough smaller than the other options I was considering, and that was the rationalization.

I hope it's not too decentered. I can live with moderate decentering - most of my cameras and lenses have this - but dramatic decentering would make me go back to Best Buy for an exchange.
 
Some first impressions:

-AF is very fast and accurate

-Ergos are cramped - this camera is begging for Gariz stick-on soft release to make easier to trigger shutter release with inside of first knuckle

-My camera has no significant decentering, but edge performance at f/1.8 is pretty bad. Gets better with stopping down of course.

-Sensor is spectacular. Low ISO dynamic range is great, and high ISO detail/noise is equally great.

-Controls are adequate but I'd like a couple more dials.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. Makes a very easy camera to grab and go when a bag is not desirable.

One from the first "roll" (25mm f/4 ISO 1000):

8087838945_52b519d27a_b.jpg

DSC00020 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr
 
I also picked up a RX100 recently, and while it's not "love at first sight" it's certainly a very good camera that I think I'll gain more and more respect for as I use it.

Based on my initial testing it doesn't quite match up to my D5100 or Sigma DP2s in good light, but it's decently close.
In low light it matches my D5100 + kit lens very well because of the fast Zeiss optics (at the wide end), and of course it's so much more portable.

I can see this relegating my DSLR to situations where I know I'll need shallow DOF, need a fast 50mm lens, need fast AF-C or need to use flash.

It looks like a wonderful backup to my DP2s which is what I bought it for.
 
Nice first "roll" shot! I hope you will really like this camera. I have been having fun with mine. Most of the photos I have put into the Octoberfest have been taken with it.

Some first impressions:

-AF is very fast and accurate

-Ergos are cramped - this camera is begging for Gariz stick-on soft release to make easier to trigger shutter release with inside of first knuckle

-My camera has no significant decentering, but edge performance at f/1.8 is pretty bad. Gets better with stopping down of course.

-Sensor is spectacular. Low ISO dynamic range is great, and high ISO detail/noise is equally great.

-Controls are adequate but I'd like a couple more dials.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. Makes a very easy camera to grab and go when a bag is not desirable.

One from the first "roll" (25mm f/4 ISO 1000):

8087838945_52b519d27a_b.jpg

DSC00020 by Amin Sabet, on Flickr
 
I also picked up a RX100 recently, and while it's not "love at first sight" it's certainly a very good camera that I think I'll gain more and more respect for as I use it.

Based on my initial testing it doesn't quite match up to my D5100 or Sigma DP2s in good light, but it's decently close.
In low light it matches my D5100 + kit lens very well because of the fast Zeiss optics (at the wide end), and of course it's so much more portable.

I can see this relegating my DSLR to situations where I know I'll need shallow DOF, need a fast 50mm lens, need fast AF-C or need to use flash.

It looks like a wonderful backup to my DP2s which is what I bought it for.

I must say that after using it since the first day it came out, I am in the same situation as you, it gives me everything I was looking for from a small camera, up to the point where I am currently simplifying my other equipements and rather upgrading my DSLR kit. The gap isn't so far fetched, I can walk around with a single good 35/1.4 on a DSLR and an rx100 with a planned good macro lens for the DSLR that wits in my ruck sack that I always walk around with anyway, this also means that I don't need to get the rx1 either.

I've got used to the rx100 ergonomics and this camera acts as a street shooting device, a family and vacation snapshot camera. It has the zoom range that hits the sweet spot for me, so love no but terribly versatile, I've grown acquainted with the limitations. Looking forward to see what a company like ricoh can do with this sensor, no doubt they will, only when is the question.
 
Even though I've been an amateur photographer since the 1950s (even ran the darkroom for my middle school around 1954), I don't recall the term "decentering". So I printed the Zeiss star, intending to do a test, but don't need to, since Amin has already evaluated that. BTW, my frist serious compact was a Kodak Retina1A with a Zeiss 2.8 lens, and 1/500 Syncro-Compur shutter. I used to take pictures of the neighborhood gals and sold B&W personalized Christmas cards made with a mask and contact printer in my bathroom darkroom. My house stunk of Microdol, stop bath and fixer, but my dad was into photography, so everything was tolerated. Sorry to digress. Great picture of your family, Amin. IMHO, the pocketability and IQ of the RX100 make it a very wise investment for any serious amateur photographer.

zeissstar.jpg
 
Even though I've been an amateur photographer since the 1950s (even ran the darkroom for my middle school around 1954), I don't recall the term "decentering". So I printed the Zeiss star, intending to do a test, but don't need to, since Amin has already evaluated that.

I only evaluated it on my camera - some RX100s are supposedly affected while others aren't. In my experience, this is true for basically all cameras/lenses. I only did a very quick and dirty test for it because I can live with mild decentering. One way to see what I mean is to look at lens reviews at SLRGear.com. More often than not, you'll see that the blur plots show asymmetric lens performance. Look at the Canon 50mm f/1.2L for example, with the review copy showing better wide open sharpness to the bottom left than to the top right: Canon Lens: Primes - Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM (Tested) - SLRgear.com!. Almost all the lenses they test have this kind of minor decentering. Every copy of the Pana Leica 25/1.4 for Micro 4/3 which I have tested shows decentering wide open (interestingly always in the same pattern). I've been testing small sensor compacts over the last 5 years, and basically every zoom lens I have tested (eg, various Canon G series, Panasonic LX series, etc) has shown some decentering. I only return a camera if the degree of decentering is obvious in regular use.
 
Some first impressions:

-AF is very fast and accurate

-Ergos are cramped - this camera is begging for Gariz stick-on soft release to make easier to trigger shutter release with inside of first knuckle

-My camera has no significant decentering, but edge performance at f/1.8 is pretty bad. Gets better with stopping down of course.

-Sensor is spectacular. Low ISO dynamic range is great, and high ISO detail/noise is equally great.

-Controls are adequate but I'd like a couple more dials.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase. Makes a very easy camera to grab and go when a bag is not desirable


Amin- If you want to have some fun, drop a horizontal plane shot @ 28mm eq. into an uncorrected raw viewer i.e. raw therapee. Lots and lots of curvature.
 
Amin- If you want to have some fun, drop a horizontal plane shot @ 28mm eq. into an uncorrected raw viewer i.e. raw therapee. Lots and lots of curvature.

I knew about that the minute I saw the announcement for this camera. When it comes to compacts, barrel distortion is proportional to speed x sensor size x (1/lens size). This has got to basically be a fisheye :).
 
I need to go play with my RX-100 more... on our last trip my wife took control of the RX-100 for the whole trip... and she loves to shoot moving objects, while walking, one handedly.... in iAuto... that drastically lowered my view of the RX-100 :D
 
an interesting thread of posts! Vive la difference! The RX100 isnt going to appeal to everyone, but as a few of the 'posters' have pointed out, the camera's form, functionality and IQ suits them perfectly for what they use it for.

Ihaving downsized, and only having the fuji X100, i wanted a small, but versatile camera. something that was discrete, but also had excellent IQ. i could have waited for the likes of the LX7, or any other up and coming compact camera. but if i did that I'd never buy one.

The focal range suits me down to the ground, and the live view is great. lightning quick focus and next to no shutter lag. image quality is great. i dont regret taking the plunge. i'm even gonna get a 52mm screw-in ND grad filter for those times i want to get more cloud detail (though i have my X100 for landscapes)

I just wish it had the dynamic range of a camera with a 1 sq.metre sensor. but of course it doesnt. One cant have it all.
 
My lifelong desire to own a serious compact (specifically, a Rollie 35 series) has finally been realized! I'll go to my grave with a big smile on my face!). LOL
 
Yes...with the RX100, I no longer yearn for the Rollei35 or the Leica iiig - both of which I have handled brand-new, but couldn't afford at the time.
 
I just sold my m43 gear. I think the RX100 has thrown my little camera world in to a spin.

I was trying to build a complete m43 system because I needed a carry-around option. So, I was trying different lenses and bodies, etc. P14, PL25, kit lenses, thinking about the 12-35/2.8, etc.

But I knew I was trading off a few things (for me, at least, they were trade-offs). Since I got the RX100, my travel/on-the-go camera need is solved with "close enough" IQ, which has let me think beyond "smallest possible" system camera. When I travel, I'm currently carrying the RX100 in a belt pouch and one fast lens on the NEX (a CV40/1.4). I'm not 100% happy with the NEX for a couple of reasons, so I might replace it with -- not sure what yet. But, having the RX100 has allowed me to repurchase a FF DSLR (LOVE FF!). Not my fav choice in terms of size, but I no longer need this as my travel cam, so size is less important and in effect, the 5D has become my secondary camera for my edge needs for portraiture and telephoto work.

I'm still loving the RX100, though it caused (or allowed) me to completely reconfigure my kit, which I'm still in the process of doing.
 
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