Sony Sony RX-100 User Thread

mobelby

Rookie
Hi,

I'm starting this thread to post user experiences (and photos) from this camera.

Today I took the plunge to be an early adopter. I've done this a fair amount in my technology history and been burned a few times and been thrilled a few times.

Examples of being burned:

  • Oric personal computer at age 14 (back in the '80s)
  • Windows Phone v5

Examples of thrilled:

  • Home media center built around mac mini, plex & Harmony One
  • Cosina CT1 SLR

So why plunge today. The answer is I've read in depth reviews, manuals for the Alpha Series Sony SLRs (same menus as RX100) and done a careful analysis that it meets my needs of being sophisticated yet truly pocketable with great image quality. Also, the latest version of Raw Photo Processor now works on raw output from the RX100 as of 7 July.

So I've gone ahead and ordered from T-Dimension along with a nice little snug neoprene case from a local ebay seller in Australia.

Hopefully it will arrive this week so I'll update this thread with my thoughts.
Feel free to add your own
 
I handled a pre production model on Sat at work and it is tiny, much smaller than i though it would be. Lens is big though to match the large sensor. The lens ring on the front is very good too. Build quality is absolutely stunningly good!!! Image quality is also superb as we have seen but the camera did leave me a bit cold and i didn't get the urge to want one but that's just me....i love retro! I hope you get to love your RX100.
 
been playing with one every time i go into a camera shop for the last month....very nice. not sure if i am ready to jump back to compacts for this, tho.
 
Update

My RX-100 arrived this morning from Hong Kong.
It charged in under two hours on my desk and I'll start using it tonight after I've carefully installed an lcd screen protector.

I've also paid a donation to RPP (Raw Processing Power) so I can shoot in RAWs and convert them to TIFF for tweaking in Lightroom and Nik Software.

The thread linked below has some good graphic examples of the level of detail that can be captured from RAWs using RPP in conjunction with an X-Pro 1. I'm hoping it's equally as good with an RX-100:
raw photo processor (RPP) +Fuji X PRO 1 - Fuji X Forum
 
Already got one and love it! Just a few niggles

I got mine last week from HK and have had the opportunity to play with it quite a bit. Having had full blown DSLRs in the past (Canon 5D Mks I and II and then Sony NEX 5, 7) I have to say that it performs brilliantly. I have been "shrinking" my kit now for a long while, and finally admitted that what I really wanted was a DSLR in a compact camera package. The RX100 is the closest that anyone has come... so far I believe.

I too read all the reviews I could and took the plunge - and haven;t looked back (so far). Performance is great, menus are not consumer kludgy - they're better than the NEX ones by far - and the output quality is amazing considering there's 20+ MP on that 1" sensor. Typical Sont Exmoor. Very good. I may post a few examples of my recent test shots for noise and correction.

Honestly, my only niggle (and that's what it is because I know it will come in time) is the lack of support in Adobe Photoshop and more especially Lightroom for the RAW format. I know RPP does it and RAW Developer does it, but the problem is that IDC does colour very well indeed and screws everything else up, whereas RPP and RAW Developer do everything else well and screw up the colour - at least in my recent experience. Roll on Adobe CameraRaw updates for PS and LR. In the man time I'm duplicating RAW and JPG. The JPG is one of the best renditions I've seen by the way.

So far, Sony gets it dead on. Thrilled as you would put it.

Hi,

I'm starting this thread to post user experiences (and photos) from this camera.

Today I took the plunge to be an early adopter. I've done this a fair amount in my technology history and been burned a few times and been thrilled a few times.

Examples of being burned:

  • Oric personal computer at age 14 (back in the '80s)
  • Windows Phone v5

Examples of thrilled:

  • Home media center built around mac mini, plex & Harmony One
  • Cosina CT1 SLR

So why plunge today. The answer is I've read in depth reviews, manuals for the Alpha Series Sony SLRs (same menus as RX100) and done a careful analysis that it meets my needs of being sophisticated yet truly pocketable with great image quality. Also, the latest version of Raw Photo Processor now works on raw output from the RX100 as of 7 July.

So I've gone ahead and ordered from T-Dimension along with a nice little snug neoprene case from a local ebay seller in Australia.

Hopefully it will arrive this week so I'll update this thread with my thoughts.
Feel free to add your own
 
Mine arrives tomorrow/Wednesday. Can't wait.

Enjoy Keven.

My recommendations at this stage are:

1. Familiarise yourself with the full manual at:
DSC-RX100 | Cyber-shot User Guide

2. Use Sony's own image converter program to convert RAWs to TIFF/JPG at this stage until Adobe has an update.

3. If you use Lightroom, you may need to tweak eg vibrance for this camera profile to ensure your colors match the image in the Sony image converter program

4. Get yourself some form of case that suits your needs so you don't end up with scratches. I got a $3 LCD protector from my vendor and a snug neoprene case from ebay. The Sony LCD protector looks good but I don't know if it's out yet. They are also releasing a universal battery charger in the Autumn. I like that idea (ie having a spare battery always charged) better than the idea of getting an external portable battery charger like the zaggsparq. You might also want to get a cheap micro HDMI cable. I picked one up for $10 - great for viewing images and videos on the big screen in your lounge
 
OK, here's a question for all of you early adopters...

In manual focus mode, is there a distance scale? If so, is there also a DOF scale? I know there's focus peaking for critical focus using MF, but I'm (as always) wondering about zone focus. Is there a step-zoom or is it just an open zoom without any discrete stops? And how quick is the shutter response in MF mode? I'm guessing its basically instantaneous (most of this type of camera are), but you never know for sure.

Thanks for any input...

And I did try to find the answers in the online manual referenced above, but couldn't find anything...

-Ray
 
Ray,

I'm no expert but I'll try and answer.

1. It's instantaneous
2. There are two stops to the zoom - 8.6x and 17.1
3. You can obviously move the spot focus around and use peaking to help. As soon as you move the focus ring it zooms in to 8.6 x and then you move the spot using the up, down, left and right parts of the control ring

Hope this helps
 
Ray,

I'm no expert but I'll try and answer.

1. It's instantaneous
2. There are two stops to the zoom - 8.6x and 17.1
3. You can obviously move the spot focus around and use peaking to help. As soon as you move the focus ring it zooms in to 8.6 x and then you move the spot using the up, down, left and right parts of the control ring

Hope this helps

Thanks - I think I get all of that. But when you're in manual focus, is there any sort of distance scale that shows you the distance you're focussed at? Most fixed lens cameras with manual focus seem to have some version of that, some with a depth of field indicator on it as well. Something so that I could just turn the manual focus control to set the focal distance at, say 2 feet, 5 feet, 10 feet, infinity, or something like that (maybe in meters rather than feet)???

-Ray
 
Thanks - I think I get all of that. But when you're in manual focus, is there any sort of distance scale that shows you the distance you're focussed at? Most fixed lens cameras with manual focus seem to have some version of that, some with a depth of field indicator on it as well. Something so that I could just turn the manual focus control to set the focal distance at, say 2 feet, 5 feet, 10 feet, infinity, or something like that (maybe in meters rather than feet)???

-Ray

Yes, there's some sort of focal distance indicator in the bottom left corner of the display but as yet I don't understand the scale.
For example, it has shown values for me between 0.4 inches and 2 inches so I don't know how that translates into real distance or what DOF scale it's using. This is at the 8.6x magnification of the spot focus I was referring to above
 
Yes, there's some sort of focal distance indicator in the bottom left corner of the display but as yet I don't understand the scale.
For example, it has shown values for me between 0.4 inches and 2 inches so I don't know how that translates into real distance or what DOF scale it's using. This is at the 8.6x magnification of the spot focus I was referring to above

Hmmm, not sure what values like that would be for? Sounds like its worth checking one out in person once they show up in the stores. Then again, the LX7 should be announced in the next couple of days and the rumors are flying on that one (f1.4 lens, but not clear on the sensor - some say 1" and some say no change from LX5), so it looks like there will be some new compacts well worth checking out in the stores relatively soon...

-Ray
 
Hmmm, not sure what values like that would be for? Sounds like its worth checking one out in person once they show up in the stores. Then again, the LX7 should be announced in the next couple of days and the rumors are flying on that one (f1.4 lens, but not clear on the sensor - some say 1" and some say no change from LX5), so it looks like there will be some new compacts well worth checking out in the stores relatively soon...

-Ray

The initial LX7 leaks are out - see below. The Sony met my needs and still does but now you have competition.
(FT5) And now full leak in Russia (with press release and LX7 pics!) | 43 Rumors
 
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