Sony RX100 owners: still loving it?

Couple of additional thought about the RX100.
For years I have always carried a P&S camera with me. Since the digital age, I upgraded in this order:
Panasonic LX1
Panasonic LX3
Canon S95 (gave to my daughter)
Canon S100
Now the Sony RX100
It is by a long way much better than any of the previous. As shown by examples in this thread, if your camera is working correctly the IQ is fantastic.
Jpg straight out of the camera are beautiful. High ISO images are quite usable.
My only compliant is that it is a bit slow to turn off and on. But if you have used any of the cameras listed above and like the way these little cameras feel and work, then you will love the RX100. Personally I love the smooth finish and do not think if needs a grip added. I do think the price is a bit high, but Sony had a promotion that included a free $85 case, and if you qualify an 10% educational discount when I bought mine last month.
FYI, mine says made in china. But so was my ipad, iphone, and Macbook Pro and these are all top quality products!
 
Do give people on this forum the benefit of doubt, that they actually might know what they're talking about. Most users on this forum are camera-holics for want of a better word, and first time adopters who have used a variety of equipment. Their perspective on the RX100 might be one arrived at after having tested and used many different compact cameras.

What might be acceptable as "great detail" might not be true for another user of the camera. I for one think that the RX100 does not put out files that have very good pixel level resolution. I think Sony would have done better to not cram 24mp into this sensor.

I also stand by the fact that the files do not hold up well in post. Minor adjustments have too large an impact on the image, which is not acceptable.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, possibly due to a preset algorithm (by Sony engineers) the camera smooths out and flattens skin tones, according to my tests, in ALL settings to different degrees. Which is great for a novice shooter but is an irritant to me, since I like control of my images.

If you're happy with the camera, that's great. And you're right of course, that at this level of pocket-ability it might be the best camera in the market. But it's not for me.

I'm attaching a 100% crop on an image taken at f11, 1/2000th of a second to highlight what is not acceptable in the camera for me, try shooting some landscapes and come to your own conclusions -

View attachment 59800

I need to learn to read the whole thread before responding.
 
Had it for two months now, and I love it. Still. I've stopped carrying my OM-D around unless I'm really going shooting on purpose.

Pocketability is the thing. I can even have it in my jeans pockets without trouble and in many situations shoot indoors without a flash. And fast.
I used to have a GF3 with 14mm, and yes, it was winter-jacket-pocketable, but during the summer, no way without a camera bag. That's a big difference for me.

(And when I show people the photos I've taken they can't believe "it was that small camera that you just kinda snapped the photos with". :)
 
My 'made in China' RX100 is a keeper...solid, technically capable, and need I say it again, fits in the pocket of my t-shirt...Some pics of our flying today...I'm in the third pic...

Mike Edge540.jpg
Mike Edge540 crop.jpg
Edge Maiden Refueling.JPG
 
Hi, I've actually come to the conclusion that there's something wrong with the IQ from my camera, and I'm in the process of returning it.

Here are a few more captures from the camera, your opinions would be appreciated. SOOC

Full image
View attachment 59833

Detail at 100%
View attachment 59834

EXIF
View attachment 59835

1st shot with the tree in the center looks fine, but the sky is seriously blown out (over-exposed). Nice stuff, and I love my RX100 also.
 
Still love it and never experienced the issues reported here. It´s simply the best compact pocketable camera I ever owned. Not a replacement for a good APS-C or full-frame camera but perfect to carry it everywhere. I had missed a lot of memorable shots without it, e.g. this one.

View attachment 59897
20120829-0001.jpg by wok64, on Flickr

Wolfgang

That's a fantastic shot, Wolfhgang. May I ask if you used any in-cam HDR or DRO with it, and if so, what settings? Did you use the 'standard' colour profile or another? Did you do any post processing? I very much like the tonal range and colours...
 
No specific camera settings were applied, just using aperture priority at f 5.6 and ISO 125. For post processing I used a grey graduated filter to lighten the lower part of the image, you can see the gradation in the roof of the left building and in the chimney on the right. In addition I slightly increased the luminance of the yellow and orange tones to enhance the building in the middle. All postprocessing was done in Lightroom. I usually add a tad of clarity and vibrance for increased colors and midtone contrast (setting of around 10 in LR 4) to my RX 100 images.

Obviously with all this postprocessing the image is not a proof what the camera can deliver, but it shows that its pictures are holding up well enough to form the basis for serious results.

Wolfgang
 
Yes still loving it.
It's not perfect and I'm sure we all have a list of software enhancements we would like to see. However it is a genuine pocket compact, capable of very good to excellent results. It has amazing high ISO noise performance for a compact. In fact it could give a few DSLR's a run for their money.
I bought it so I don't have to carry my DSLR around everywhere and I'm not disappointed.
The image quality is very good. It has reasonable control over depth of field ( and excellent control in close)
I'm still getting to grips with customising the settings, mainly because I keep experimenting and almost everything is customiseable. I have to confess I'm finding it hard to adjust to not having an optical viewfinder and my 50 year old eyes can't always judge the focus on that screen but that's not the camera's fault. (Peaking helps but is distracting for me.)
Gripes:
Bulb mode with no cable release facility or IR remote or even menu driven time setting seems counter productive.
USB charging. It works but I worry how long that plastic cover will last. ( have bought a charger and spare batteries)
No filter thread ( bought Lensmate adapter - which is excellent)
No ballistic sensitivity on the (lens) control ring. (So focus pulling often takes too long and you can overshoot ISO, aperture and effect settings.)
Price. That's entry level DSLR territory. Although I have to admit i think on the whole you get what you paid for.
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Luv the IQ...

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.

Tree at Hale Koa Hotel.jpg
Tree at Hale Koa Hotel crop.jpg
 
To say it with Tina Turner: "Simply the best, better than all the rest......". So how can one not love it? It changed the rules of the game for shirt pocket size premium compacts. Leaving everything else in the dust.
 
To say it with Tina Turner: "Simply the best, better than all the rest......". So how can one not love it? It changed the rules of the game for shirt pocket size premium compacts. Leaving everything else in the dust.

Well, there's a difference between love and respect. I have total respect for the RX100 - it has changed the rules, raised the bar, etc for the whole compact class - not just for the shirt pocketable class which isn't important to me. But I find nothing even remotely lovable about it. I really don't enjoy the process of shooting with it, as much as I like the results i get from it. In terms of interface, its one of my least favorite cameras ever. Its so immensely capable in terms of IQ that I'll keep it for at least a year or two until competitors start coming out with equally capable cameras with interfaces more to my liking, at which point I'll drop it like a piece of hot lava...

So, respect and admiration, yeah, in heaps. But love? Not even close in my case...

-Ray
 
Well, there's a difference between love and respect. I have total respect for the RX100 - it has changed the rules, raised the bar, etc for the whole compact class - not just for the shirt pocketable class which isn't important to me. But I find nothing even remotely lovable about it. I really don't enjoy the process of shooting with it, as much as I like the results i get from it. In terms of interface, its one of my least favorite cameras ever. Its so immensely capable in terms of IQ that I'll keep it for at least a year or two until competitors start coming out with equally capable cameras with interfaces more to my liking, at which point I'll drop it like a piece of hot lava...

So, respect and admiration, yeah, in heaps. But love? Not even close in my case...

-Ray

Hi Ray. I'm not taking issue with what you're saying, but can you help me understand it a little better. What is it that you don't like about the interface? What other pocketable cameras have an interface that you've liked. I've owned the Canon s95 and s100, and don't recall the user experience being better or worse than the RX100.
 
Hi Ray. I'm not taking issue with what you're saying, but can you help me understand it a little better. What is it that you don't like about the interface? What other pocketable cameras have an interface that you've liked. I've owned the Canon s95 and s100, and don't recall the user experience being better or worse than the RX100.

I'd agree - I had an S90 also and didn't like it either. I think it may just be the inevitable tradeoff associated with making a camera THAT small. And if you really want a camera that fits in a small pocket, it may be a price you inevitably have to pay. But if you're willing to go a little bigger, like a loose pants pocket, a coat pocket, or a small belt pack, there are several others that handle a LOT better for my money. Compacts that I've liked the user interface on MUCH MUCH more are the Panasonic LX5, LX7 (maybe the best set of controls on a small camera I've used), Fuji X10, and Ricoh GRD3. All of these both felt better in the hand and made it quicker and easier and more intuitive to change various settings. They were each a joy to shoot with. I've heard equally good things about the Olympus XZ-1 but have never used one personally.

I'm also really picky about having a useable way of zone focussing and here the RX100 is in a class of its own in terms of making it difficult, almost impossible in anything other than great light. The S90 was bad but usable, the X10 pretty good, the LX5/7 very good, and the GRD3 incredible. But this is my own personal quirk and wouldn't be a big deal to most people. I spent a couple of days shooting back to back with the RX100 and LX7 a month or so back and it was a revelation. The LX7 was a pure blast to shoot with, the RX100 was a total pain in the butt in comparison. The image quality of the RX100 is SOOOO much better, particularly in low light, that I ended up keeping the RX100 despite the handling handicap. But it was a very difficult decision.

-Ray
 
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