Отзывы о Фотоаппарат Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

I had originally been waiting for NEX-5R's release but, after (too much) pondering, ended up buying the RX100 two days before the former's announcement. Did not regret the decision even the slightest. Aside from all those technical wonders mentioned by the 100 positive reviews before me, here is why the little camera did it for me:1. Easy auto modes - I'm not a photographer or even an enthusiast, but I like to see whatever photo I take come out good (in this camera's case, exceptional) with the least amount of fidgeting.2. Compact - Knowing myself, I would probably consider even the NEX too cumbersome to take around which would end up collecting dust. This camera fits in my pants pocket, though it does leave a pretty big bulge once in there.3. Sensitive - For a point and shoot, the low light performance is just crazy good. It's perfect to catch my active three-year-old even in nighttime events. No, really, I mean it. Crazy good (though within reason).4. Video - 1080P 60 FPS video is almost as good in low light as the camera is when taking pictures. I took videos of fireworks with smooth, clear results. Also, while recording your video, you can zoom in/out *and* take 17 mpix stills at the same time!5. Ease of manual focus - Auto focus, while fast, sometimes doesn't get the right spots. The ring at the front for manual focus does a phenomenal job with peaking. Though I sometimes wish the camera would read my mind on what I would like to focus on so I can always catch those spontaneous moments... One can dream, right? ;) *Update Sep 14 - DMF focus mode + Center focus area work almost 100% of the time for me now.6. Flash - I never had a habit of using the flash because I had always thought they felt more detrimental to the picture with than without. The flash on this camera can be tilted to shoot at the ceiling and give a more natural feel while used indoors. It makes the flash on this camera a pleasure to use.As for all those complaints about RAW conversion and stuff - it doesn't matter to me as I'm perfectly content with the JPEG pictures.That said, what I don't really like are:1. Probably my own problem since my hands sweat so much, but it's really easy to leave nasty fingerprint smudges on the metal chassis.2. That USB cover is really flimsy-feeling and I fear for its longevity.3. No flip screen makes self-photos hard, which I like to take.4. Processing time after taking each photo is a little too long for my liking. Has occasionally costed me the opportunity to take another shot right after the first one. This is from ONLY using auto and scene modes. I haven't tried more manual modes yet so that may be better as I learn more about the little thing. *Update Sep 14 - Learned that manual modes that don't require heavy image processing save pictures almost instantaneously. Check comments for details.I also purchased CaseLogic TBC-302 and JOBY GorillaPod Micro 250. With the latter placed in the former's front pocket, the camera fits the case well, although you do need to take care when zipping up the case. Some may fear the zipper may accidentally scratch the chassis, but in my few days of use it has not left a single noticeable mark.Anyway, I know a lot of people say "this is a camera for photographers to have as a second camera to their DSLR," but I would also strongly recommend this camera to those like me, who don't own a DSLR but like to easily take amazing photos anywhere, anytime (and don't mind the price tag).

I have been using the Sony RX100 since September 6 & am just now downloading photos into newly released Adobe LightRoom 4.2. I must say, although I have truly enjoyed using the Sony RX100 these past four weeks, I am blown away by the extraordinary quality that comes out of such a small package that I can carry around with me all of the time.IN USE.First up, you must sport the elegant Gariz half case for this camera. Looks really cool, and also makes it easier to handle the camera. Plus, it puts the tripod mount closer to the center of the lens.Properly armed with the Gariz case and the included wrist band, I then proceed to turn off all noise, and I mean ALL of it. My RX100 is absolutely and utterly silent thru picture taking. No focus beeps, no shutter noise, nothing. A small camera that fits in the palm of your hand and is completely silent.After silencing the beast within, I proceed to set up the function menus. I can tailor these buttons to my needs significantly better than I could on my old NEX 5n. About 98% of my picture taking is accessible within one push of one button. Great menu and setup.In picture taking, it's lightning fast. Seems like it handles whatever I want to do, and quite admirably. I can really only think of one detail I would like to see improved in a future model: Wider angle lens -- 22.5mm, 24mm, something like that. Otherwise, it's an extraordinary package for snapshots, adding fairly comprehensive handling of landscapes, architecture, and portraiture as well.IMAGE QUALITY.For the past hour, I have been looking over my first 393 photos imported into Adobe LightRoom 4.2 for conversion to DNG & post processing. I am overwhelmed by the detail! I live on a cliff overlooking a fairly large lake, so I've got nice stretches of open space, from distances of about ten feet, all the way out to several miles away -- the volcanoes across the lake. The depth of field is lovely! Captures these lake-scapes in stunning detail.What the camera does and does not do.This is my second camera; my first is a Panasonic G3 with a curious assortment of native and adapted lenses. The Sony RX100 does NOT replace my wonderful Panasonic, nor do I expect it to. Although I am perfectly equipped to take snapshots with my Panasonic, I certainly prefer the RX100 for this type of town and/or country, walk-around photography.If, however, I wanted to photograph landscapes, I would pack the Panasonic with ultra wide lens, though I might put the Sony in my pocket as well, just for backup. Similarly, if I wanted portraits or other types of pictures with a dreamy sort of out of focus background, I would grab my Panasonic with the appropriate manual focus, fast prime, legacy lens. For architecture, I think I could use either camera & be happy with the results -- would probably just put the Sony in my pocket and go!CONCLUSION.If this is your only camera, I think you are in great shape photographically. If your budget or interest allow you this much, you'll be more than satisfied with the results, more so than with any other compact camera, and perhaps even more than anything in the sub-$1000 range of changeable lens cameras.If this is your second camera, the Sony RX100 is a totally compelling reason to have an excellent camera with you at all times, particularly while your main camera is resting or off-duty.

For the past few years I've been shooting photos with my iPhone and my Nikon D40. Mostly with my iPhone. Not because it takes better photos than my DSLR, but because it was always with me. In my pocket, and ready to shoot anything.The bummer always comes when you realize that the iPhone isn't good enough to capture almost everything you encounter in life. A DSLR can cover a lot of the bases, but it's a bit impractical (speaking only for myself) to carry around all the time.While Nikon and Canon have been resting on their laurels, and Leica and Fujifilm have been focusing on how to make cameras more expensive - Sony decided to show up this year and drop the most magical camera I've ever had the pleasure of using.​I'm seriously blown away by the performance of this camera. The build quality is great too. The camera is hefty, yet perfectly weighted. It has a black all-aluminum body that feels really solid and you can tell that some folks at Sony really cared about the product they were making.When I was using it yesterday, I felt like I was cheating. Like the camera was too easy and wasn't challenging me at all. It's so incredibly effortless to capture beautiful photos with it. It's sharp as a god damn tack and it's color capturing is close to perfect.​​Sony was able to squeeze a 1" sensor into this thing, along with an amazing Zeiss lens, a great processor, and really excellent software. The large-diameter 1.8 lens allows for the really gorgeous defocusing in the background, but I'm still floored by how small this thing is. I really only thought that huge lenses and big cameras could produce results like that. It even has a control ring on the lens that perfectly emulates zooming with a DSLR. Even better - you can use the control ring for a variety of other manual things like ISO and stop adjustment.I'm no expert on photography, or even the types of specifications that make a camera wonderful. Which makes using the Sony RX100 for me such a magical experience. Using it feels intrinsic and it's something I feel like I can take with me everywhere. When I was pricing cameras in this range I initially wanted a CanonS100 which had been the choice if you wanted a great compact camera, but now that the Sony RX100 is in town, the S100 and even the new S110 have been rendered almost irrelevant by Sony's camera.​The $649 that this camera will set you back, seems absurd given that you could buy a DSLR for around the price, but this thing is small.This is the camera of my dreams - the one in which I'm never without a great camera when something wonderful needs capturing.​Sony really was firing on all cylinders when they were designing this camera. I wish it the best of successes on the market, and I think it would be perfect for folks who want a DSLR for the photo quality, but perhaps aren't really that crazy about photography - just great photos.​Plus it's so pocketable. It's really spectacular.The Sony RX100 is a true turning point for me when it comes to taking photos. The times I've been resistive of taking my camera somewhere because it's too big are a thing of the past.Highly recommended.​

If you are serious about photography, don't even consider buying this camera. There's a lot of marketing around, but the reality is it's just an advanced P&S. Don't expect it will be on par with DSLR or mirrorless cameras. I made a huge mistake when ordered RX100. This was a present for my wife. After reading the reviews and specs there was an impression that in good light conditions it's possible to get IQ similar to IQ of my old NEX5. Not even close! Too many things is wrong with this camera. Poor lens with huge barrel distortion, inaccurate autofocus (very fast though), mediocre AWB, terrible image artifacts even for small ISOs, poor JPEG quality (use RAW instead), too many megapixels for this sensor size, no grip. And you get all this for more than $500. I see only too objective pros: compactness and unusually large sensor for this type of camera. Are these big advantages? It's questionable. RX100 is not much smaller than, say, NEX 3N with a pancake lens. Big sensor should result in a good IQ. To my taste the IQ is not impressive at all. The sensor definitely has a potential, but IQ also depends on the quality of lens and on how you process the data and it seems like these two parts are screwed.I am very disappointed after all. I am returning the camera and ordering NEX 3N with the pancake zoom instead for $350. Yes, I know this is probably the worst e-mount lens, but honestly I don't see any other options taking into account the need for something really compact.

My goal coming from the Canon s95, was to find a higher quality camera that's still pocketable. I considered an m43 and the NEX line as they're obvious quality upgrades. But the size of those cams with lens takes them out of the pocketable category. In short, the RX100 is basically the same size as the s95, but leaps and bounds ahead in terms of both picture and video quality. While the s95 did great on sunny outdoor pics, it was questionable in low light indoor situations. The RX100 solves that problem. Low light, no flash, it eats that up. With flash it's simply amazing. It's a more powerful flash than the s95 also and both the power and flash direction can be adjusted. In auto mode, it's quick and pretty accurate. It also allows you to make quick adjustments even in auto mode. In manual mode, it seems like everything can be tweaked. I'm no pro, but I felt like one with this camera.Video is amazing. It's actually as good as my higher end consumer camcorder, especially when shooting outdoors. Still great indoors, but color is slightly saturated in auto mode. That can be fixed if you use manual mode or in post with software. That said, at 60fps full HD is silky smooth.One caveat I learned the hard way is it can over heat when video recording. 4 hrs outside in 99 degree sunny weather, I shot around 150 pics, mostly without flash and 12 mins of video clips. I saw the "temperature" icon appear. It still let me take pictures however, but not with flash. The icon disappeared after a minute or so and I could still take short videos. None of the clips were more than 2 mins in length. I've done 5 min clips before without problems so I have to assume it was the extreme weather that caused it to balk.Heat concerns aside, I'm glad I chose the RX100. The quality for both pics and video is as good as pro reviews say it is. Better than any P&S I've seen before, but yet still pocketable. It's not cheap, but it's worth the price once you see the results.

Elegant casing, decent lens, crazy proliferation of settings and gimmicks, any one of which can be triggered accidentally if your hand brushes against an exposed control. "Illustration" allows you to turn your photographs into crude sketches. I cannot imagine one person in a thousand wanting to do this, but I turned it on without realizing and three days worth of shots were wasted. I discovered the mistake only when I loaded the images into my computer. Another mis-touch caused the flash to pop up in bright sunlight. I wanted a portable alternative to my Canon EOS5 (which is the simplest device to use but bulky and heavy). I wanted a good-quality point and shoot and got a headache instead. Sony should redesign the camera so that you can lock in preferred settings and disable those you don't want to use.

I use this camera for research documentation as well as travel imagery, and it has quickly replaced all others as my go-to camera for both of these purposes.Since there are so many other reviews of this camera, I'll get very specific about the exact settings and features that mean the most to me...+fast lens + big sensor = the best compact yet for low ambient light shooting. Often my research subjects are in motion indoors in poor light, and the RX100 gets more successful shots under these conditions than any other camera I've used to date.+Program mode with spot/center focus set + facial recognition OFF = best way to get subject of interest in focus under range of conditions. Many times I need a shot of a person's facial expression one moment, and the next a shot of an object they are holding or working with. This combination of settings is best for these situations, so that the camera does not FORCE focus onto a face unless you really want it there.+Flexible, fast, continuous shooting. Sony has two speed options, and the continuous mode, while not as fast as a DSLR or higher end mirrorless camera, is still plenty fast enough to cover most fleeting facial expressions or object movements.+Fully pocketable in size means it with me when I want or need it much more often, and is much less obtrusive in research situations than an interchangeable lens camera.+Tough! Have already dropped it several times with no ill effects, thank goodness! This camera has to perform under tough field conditions, and so far, so good!I have owned MANY digital cameras for work and play, and this is my overall favorite! My Olympus OMD EM5 handles the needs for scenarios where lenses beyond the short zoom on the RX100 are needed (ultra wide angle, longer zooms, fast super sharp primes, unique depth of field requirements), and I really have fun with the OMD when time allows and I want to be a little more involved in the photographic process, but otherwise, the RX100 does all the work and most of the play!Highly recommended!

Why do I say that Sony is not....It use to be when you bought a camera you would get a complete printed manual. Well we've gotten use to the manual on a PDF on a CD. Sony decided you don't need a full printed manual, and don't need a CD. So you go to the web site, and you will find a manual which you can "view". But there is no PDF of a full manual which you can Download. They do include a 31 page mini manual. I don't find this very helpful or thoughtful to customers...especially since the RX100 is full of features, many of which are not intuitive.Some examples: "Clear Image Zoom" - this is apparently intuitive to the user! Turn it on, and you will have enabled digital zoom, even though you have digital zoom turned off. This has the effect of disabling certain functions such as metering mode, and the Autofocus seletion square.Auto Port. Framing...could use a better explanation;What is the difference between "Long Exposure NR" and "High ISO NR" --- I think I can guess on this one. But an explanation would be useful.Peaking Level ...even after reading the mini-manual one liner on what this is, I have no idea. But once you figure it out, then move on to "Peaking Color" and figure that out.I couldn't find a Macro setting, other than in the scene mode. But it didn't seem to give you any more Macro than if you just use Program Mode. So not sure what the purpose of Macro Scene Mode is.I have focused this review on the points in the camera where Sony has fallen short...which could all be cured by a readily available Full Manual. The camera itself is wonderful.* Excellent lens; lens is very fast, F/1.8, when shooting wide. As you zoom, it quickly moves to 2.8, 3.2 and when fully extended is at F4.9.* Very small, and pocketable form factor. Not quite as small as the Canon S100/S95, but still easily fits in your pocket;* Program mode is fantastic. You can turn the front ring and change the corresponding Aperture and Shutter speeds...and see the whole thing visually on the LCD screen as you do it...Very very nice.* Front lens cover is built in, and automatically opens and retracts.* Lots of automated in camera process controls...many people like this. I'm not a big fan as too many times it disables certain other controls that disappear unexpectedly. I recommend disabling (turning off all the automatic doo-dads like digital zoom, clear image zoom, Face Priority Tracking, picture effect)I recommend enabling the following: * Grid Line rule of 3rds * Steady Shot * Focus Mode to Single shot AF, Autofocus Area set at Center * Control Ring = Standard * Control Ring Display = On * Function 1= Metering Mode; Function 2= Creative Style or ISO; Function 3- Creative Style or ISO; Function 4 - DRO/Auto HDR; Function 5 = White Balance (this is all a matter of your personal preferences of course) * Func of Center Button = StandardYou'll enjoy the camera...Sony could have made it more enjoyable by giving you some way to download the complete manual.

with this camera, I'm getting a big head! I wanted a point-and-shoot and I got so much more than that. I really haven't used any other setting than intelligent auto and I love the photos I am taking. It's still a new purchase and I have to play a whole bunch more but even if I don't, I am extremely happy with this wonderful piece of technology. It is a bit pricey but so, so, so worth it. Plus, it does take RAW photos, which I wanted, too. Like I said, I am not a photographer (not even close!) but I do love to take pictures of stuff. With this camera, I am getting some very sweet results. (Still have to learn to use the RAW images, however!)

I love this camera, best camera I have ever owned. It takes great pictures. I use it on automatic mostly and I find, for me, it is easy to use. I bought this camera not too long before the newer version came out. For my needs, this one is perfect. I don't find that the newer features would really benefit me. I want a camera that takes super great pictures on automatic or be able to have many options available to use it in the manual mode, be lightweight and small enough to put in a pocket and this sure meets all of my needs. I did a lot of research and considered the mirrorless cameras and also the big dslr cameras. I knew that I would get tired of the bulkiness of both of those types. I like something that is easy to take with me. When I found this camera, I knew this one would be perfect for me and I have not been let down. I love it! Perfect camera!

If you intend to use this camera in tropical or sub-tropical conditions, which can easily occur in summer almost anywhere other than the poles, beware. Should you walk around outside in hot humid conditions, then step into an air-conditioned space like a restaurant or your hotel - or home - moisture is likely to condense inside the camera. Do this several times daily and before long the camera can fail and the failure will not be covered under warranty. My new RX-100 lasted two months in SE Asia and went completely dead. It was never dropped, exposed to rain or in any way "abused." An authorized Sony repair shop here in Thailand where I bought it has quoted $220 to repair the camera because it was "broken by water." And guess what? As soon as it is working, it will be vulnerable to the exact same failure again.Note that moving from time spent in the cold into a hot environment would tend to cause condensation on the outside surface of a hollow object that had reached thermal equilibrium at the lower temperature. There are temperature/humidity specifics that determine whether or not condensation will actually occur.Sony knows there is a potential problem with the camera because they briefly mention cold, heat and humidity in the user manual. (There are manufacturing techniques that would essentially eliminate this issue but would probably increase the camera price beyond a viable sale point.) They do NOT say how the user is supposed to know harmful condensation has occurred inside the camera body (not the lens), or how to avoid the problem recurring, nor do they provide anything really more than a vague warning. My lens did not fail, the electronics did. Clearly this should be a listed concern, but there is nothing of practical value Sony can say about it beyond worrying the new owner. And, obviously, they will not mention this topic in their marketing materials.So, depending upon where you intend to use the camera, be advised high humidity and warm operating conditions can lead to expensive, out-of-warranty failure. If these conditions are not a concern for you, then worry not and you will probably enjoy owning and using the RX-100.

You cannot get a better point and shoot camera. this camera handles high iso's like no other point and shoot. Low light pictures look good blown up or printed. It has good range. It also has numerous creative settings that can keep you busy for a long while. It also has an amazing video stabilization that will shock you. I carry this camera around when I am not carrying my $7000 professional DSLR around. My 1st one got stolen out of my truck and I bought a 2nd one soon after. I couldn't function the same without it.

Over the past few years I've used a number of cameras including Canon S90 & S100, Olympus XZ-1 and Canon T2i (DSLR). I am also an avid user of Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera system. Sony RX100 is by far the most joy and fun to use camera I've tried. The image quality not only rivals some DSLRs it is in many instances BETTER unless you start adding high quality and very expensive lenses.Pros:- Easily pocketable (both shirt and front jeans pockets).- Superb image quality: very sharp and bright images in any light with pleasing, vibrant color. Skin tones are excellent even under indoor lighting- Very fast AF even in complete darkness- Reliable full Auto mode (iA), great family camera for everyone to use: just point & shoot in any conditions and 99% you'll get perfectly sharp and bright picture- Surprisingly good built-in flash which can be bounced for more natural result (make sure to bump up ISO)- ISO3200 looks very sharp and completely noise-free on 1080p HDTV (normal viewing size)- Fantastic LCD, clearly visible even in bright California sun especially with "Sunny mode" on- 10fps burst mode- Outstanding video quality (60P): smooth and fast AF during video, very effective stabilization, superb clarity even in very low light as seen on HDTV. IMO, Video quality is much better than most dedicated camcorders which typically feature small sensors and small apertures with poor dynamic range and poor low light performance not to mention mediocre color gradations and tonality.- A lot of very useful features many of which I use on a daily basis: Auto HDR, Multi-frame noise reduction (ISO6400 looks fantastic!), fun picture effects, etc.- Solid metal build quality, made in JapanCons (really just nit-picking):- no touchscreen- flash must be activated via menu (no physical switch)- 1/2000s max shutter speed- price, although fully justified, still seems a but high for a pocket camI've been using RX100 for almost a month now and it's become my main camera. Not only it's easy to carry in a pocket and fun to use, the resulting images for most uses (social and travel pics) are actually better than many DSLRs (always sufficient depth of field, precise focus, sufficient shutter speed, reliable stabilization plus versatility of high quality video). I especially recommend this cam for non-enthusiasts who just want P&S and not fiddle with the settings cause RX100 has such reliable full Auto mode coupled with large sensor and aperture virtually guaranteeing clean images in any light without adjusting setting or using flash all the time.

The concept is simple; a very small camera with a large sensor. Compact System Cameras like the PEN series from Olympus were the first big step in this direction. However, the Sony RX100 takes this to a level never seen before.This camera is really small; about the size of the Canon s90/s95/s100 series (and smaller than other premium compact cameras like the Panasonic LX5) with a sensor size never previously seen in a pocket-sized camera. In addition, the lens at wide angle (28mm equivalent) has a maximum aperture of f/1.8This camera takes excellent photographs under almost all lighting conditions. The automatic white balance does a better job than any other camera in this price range. Exposure and metering are also very good even outdoors under highly contrasted conditions. The AF is quick but does get it wrong once in a while under dim lighting conditions. The picture quality rivals good entry level DSLR cameras even at higher ISO settings. Photographs taken at ISO 1600 are noise free and cleaner than photographs taken with any other pocket camera at ISO 400. Close examination reveals some loss of detail at higher ISO settings presumably from some type of noise reduction being applied.Obviously the small size of the camera imposes physical constraints on the inclusion of dedicated buttons and the size of included controls when compared to a larger camera. Many of the buttons may be customized. However, the portability/photograph quality combination is unmatched by any other camera ever sold.THE LCD screen is very bright and sharp. The screen in default view displays al of the key settings (albeit rather small). An optical viewfinder would have been a welcome inclusion like the Canon G series (and the Nikon P7xxx series) as the LCD is difficult to see in sunlight.The flash is a little weak (and there is no hot shoe for an external flash). However, the flash is movable and can be positioned with your thumb to create a "bounce" effect like most external flash units for a much nicer flash effect. Again, the flash output is weak and the bounce weakens it even more so 'bouncing' the flash is really only practical at wide angle where the aperture is very wide.Why only 4 stars? The price is simply too high for a compact camera (and Sony is old school; they do not let resellers discount the list price) especially one with disappointing build quality and no instruction guide (not even on CD) or software for Raw conversion or even a battery charger (the battery can be charged while it is inside the camera). But if you want the best small camera money can buy, there is no competition.

This camera has an amazing sensor: the resolution and dynamic range are absolutely incredible for a camera of this size. Sony also managed to make a very convincing lens: the zoom range is very useful, the lens is also fast at the wide end. The lens is slow at the telephoto end but this allows to keep the size of the camera truly pocket-able - a very important feature. The lens maybe a tad soft in the corners at some settings, but it is not something that is very obvious, and the subjective quality of the photos is very good. Optical stabilization is good for photo and ok for video.The camera is capable of shooting 1080p video at 60fps. Full manual controls and various color/contrast settings are available in video mode. The video quality is great in terms of color and noise. The resolution is a bit low though. There is noticeable moire on regular structures and thin lines, but no color moire.My strongest complaint about this camera (perhaps, the only complaint) is the user interface. It may be logical for someone, but I find it very unintuitive and slow, it takes a lot of time for me to access important functions.I would say that this is a camera which is capable of delivering absolutely fantastic results in terms of image quality (not in the same league with the best DSLRs but way better than any other compact camera). The camera has a reliable auto mode. All the manual controls are available, but it may be a slow and frustrating process to use them. If you rely on auto mode when shooting, then the camera will feel great, but if you would like to have comfortable manual controls I would look elsewhere.

I've had this camera for a month now and shot around 800 pictures with it (mostly nature; beaches, docks, parks, the zoo, Miami Seaquarium) and I'm still very shocked at the outrageous image quality and video quality! At 47 years old I had my first camera at around 7 years old and always loved photography so I've had many many cameras. I sold my Canon 40D and lens after buying this camera because the image quality is considerably BETTER than the Canon 40D.I still have the dslr itch so I'll probably now get the Nikon d7100 which is supposed to have considerably better image quality than this RX100 (hard to imagine better image quality than this) Sony makes an EXCELLENT sensor! Nikons are said to have Sony sensors inside. From the moment I picked this camera up to shoot all buttons and settings were easy to use.I felt like I had shot with this RX100 for a long time and I felt motivated and it felt fun to use. The speed also beats other point and shoots and no noise at all while shooting. Very quick and responsive. I would recommend this to anyone and this camera will set a new very high standard for this size camera and probably for dslr's also since they now should exceed this quality to merit their size and higher price. You will definitely not regret this purchase even though high for what you THINK is a mere point and shoot camera. Wait till you see your first crystal clear image come out of this little black box! Wonderful bokeh, f/1.8, no distortions.Update: Forgot to say the Sony Software is a great conributor to these very high quality RX100 images. Upon opening the raw software it automatically has the auto settings to create a perfect image as it loads the image. It's quick also and links to whatever other photo editor you might have. To be honest, better and simpler to use than Canon's Digital Photo Professional (DPP.)

I've owned numerous point and shoot cameras throughout the years from various manufacturers (Sony, Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc.). Although I have been fairly satisfied with their results, I've been wanting to upgrade to a camera with better picture quality (larger sensor), but have resisted getting a heavy, bulky DSLR. For the past year, I've been considering the line of 4/3 format cameras such as the models from Olympus and Panasonic, as well as the Nikon 1, but still felt these cameras were not as compact as I would like. When the Sony DSC-RX100 was introduced, I was immediately impressed with it's specs (20MP 1" CMOS sensor, F1.8 Zeiss lens, 1080p HD video, etc). After reading all the rave reviews from professionals and consumers alike, I decided to order the camera. It arrived a day before my vacation trip to Cancun, so I didn't have a lot of time to become familiar with the camera's functions. What I found was that the camera was incredibly easy to operate despite the vast assortment of functions and shooting modes. It's bright, hi-res 3" screen is easily viewable in direct sunlight. The controls are well placed and easy to access. The camera's size and weight is well balanced - definitely pocketable! The fit and finish is very high quality. The RX100's most impressive attribute is its picture quality! The camera produces very crisp and detailed pictures! As I reviewed my photos during my trip on the camera's screen, I could tell the pictures were brighter and sharper than those I was accustomed to with my other point and shoots. However, when I returned home from my trip and downloaded the pictures on my PC, I was floored by the sharpness of the pictures. I was amazed that I was able to crop some pictures to a quarter of their original size and still maintain sharp detail. I also took some 1080p 60p video which looked amazing on my HDTV. My only complaint is that the camera's aluminum case makes it ease to slip out of your hands. It would have been nice if Sony had included a textured grip or surface on the front side. The easy fix is to use the included wrist strap.I'm so glad I held off for this incredible camera. I highly recommend it.

Camera technology is advancing at a staggering pace. We've reached a point where amateur users can pick up a compact point and shoot camera and take shots rivaling those of a fullsized SLR of just 5 years ago. The RX100 is that camera. I myself was lugging around a Sony Alpha A57, which is a current generation SLR. I found that as a casual user despite the features and detachable lens capability I just didn't want to carry a camera bag around with me everywhere. I even left it at home on a trip to europe, opting to take shots with an iphone instead, how sad!The RX100 is a close to perfect camera for someone who wants SLR quality photos without having to carry around a large camera an several lenses. In my opinion the best features are:Picture quality-20 MP and a 1" sensor makes for really nice pics.Lens-The zoom is impressive for a camera if this sizeShooting mode-The intelligent auto+ mode takes any guesswork out of most shooting situations, picking the best mode.Control-The camera will shoot in manual mode and raw format if you're not an entirely casual user.Video-1080p, the quality is very good.So, cons? There are a few:Price-Yes, you're paying a premium for a pocket point and shoot, the price of an entry level SLR camera in fact.Size-Yes it's a 'pocket' camera. If you're wearing baggy jeans. If you're a skinny jeans wearing hipster forget about it, or forget about putting anything else in your pocket. Goes fine in a jacket though.Flash-Not that the flash doesn't work, but it's a popup that's right where your left index finger will sit when taking shots. A little annoying.Charging-No external charger for the battery, really Sony? I have to plug in the camera to charge a battery? What if I want to leave one charging while I'm out and about?Other than that it's hard to find fault with this camera. It takes better pics than a camera this size has any business taking. I just wish I had this camera a few months earlier and saved myself the iphone shots around Prague.

I've been taking this everywhere I go since it fits so easily in my bag. I can even carry it in my coat jacket without feeling like I'm lugging anything around. Super light camera and pretty good 20MP sensor. I just wish it was full frame, but then you'd probably be stuck with interchangeable lenses.

Awesome camera.Let me start by saying that I am a chronic review reader and gear nut. I love my gear almost as much as my photographs. I am also not easy to please, given my other two kits are a 5D Mark II and an OM-D E-M5.This camera produces the best image files (by a country mile) of any camera remotely close to this size. ISO 125-400 is definitely the sweet spot for the little guy and with enough light, i.e. outdoor shots, the resolution rivals the 5D II. I know that sounds crazy but it is true. Sony hit a home run with the lens / sensor combo.Keep in mind, it cannot perform miracles in low light or for fast moving subjects. Also anything above 800 ISO starts to look a little rough, although I have not had a chance to play with the RAW files in LR4 (waiting for adobe to release an update). The f/1.8 is only available at the very widest focal length but it is still very helpful to have, and f/4.9 is not terrible for the long end. The focus is quick and accurate. Colors and Metering are also great.The only feasible addition that would have made the RX100 even better and warranted a 5-star rating would have been touchscreen focus and touch shutter release. Changing focus points is not hard, but that would have made the camera even more transparent. I cannot understand why Sony did not include this given the touch focus already exists on the NEX-5n. I guess they are saving some tricks for the next generation.Also, the size takes a little getting used two. It's TINY!!!! This is great for pocketing the camera but not as great for keeping it steady. I will also say the in-body stabilization on the OM-D is much better than the Steady-shot on the Sony RX-100. Still, it definitely helps.Overall, the RX100 makes a great, easily pocketable camera for sightseeing, landscapes and well lit conditions. Thinner DOF is much more attainable than any previous ultra compact. It performs admirably in lower light conditions, given what it is; a camera that is credit card sized and ways next to nothing. I humiliates the likes of the S100, LX5, etc. Just don't expect to get the performance in low light that you can get from a larger sensor (M43, APS-C, FF) and brighter, bigger glass.Thanks for reading, hope this is helpful.

I love this camera. I will never go on vacation without it. It takes excellent quality pictures, and still fits in my pocket!

I actually find myself taking BETTER photos with this then with some DSLRs. Fantastic quality. Great bokeh. Easy to use. Love the HDR. Great battery life. I really can't find a con about this camera really.

Overall, it's a pretty cool camera. There are a lot of options to choose from for a beginner photographer like myself. It's compact and takes good pictures (even better pictures if you know what you're doing). I highly recommend.

I've had many cameras over the years, from film to digital, including the Canon 20D, 40D (L lens 24-70), and, currently, Nikon D300 (2.8 24-70). I wanted a capable camera I could carry around anywhere, anytime. I got the Canon S100, and was happy with it -- even though I found the shutter lag to be frustrating. I lost that camera while on vacation, and replaced it with the Sony RX100. This Sony is my favorite camera ever.The RX100 menus, and customizable buttons and dials, seem to provide much better access to functions than does the S100. I use the movable spot focus a lot. Sony allows you to assign that function to a specific botton, for quick access. Maybe the S100 does as well, but I never found a way to do it. Instead, I had to go through several button clicks to get to the movable focus spot. While the S100 did allow you to link the movable focus spot and the spot meter, the RX100 does not seem to have a movable spot meter, linkable to the focus spot or not; it's fixed in the center. But it does allow easy AE lock, again by assigning that function to a specific botton. I'm sure I never learned the S100 as well as it can be learned, but I've had this Sony for less than a week, and I already feel more control over my picture taking than I did with the S100.The autofocus is great. Really, really sharp. Overall, I'm very happy with IQ, from focus, to exposure, to low light performance.On the downside, the camera is a bit slow to start up, and even slower to shut down. It is slow in writing images to the SD card. But for speed from click to capture, it's been great.UPDATE -- 8/15: Just returned from vacation. This camera did not disappoint. The controls allowed me to set the camera as I wished quickly and easily. I especially like using the center spot meter to lock the exposure as I wanted, then to use the movable focus point to focus on my intended subject. There was hardly a dud among the nearly 1000 photos I took. Image quality is great. I'm very, very happy with this camera.

I purchased this camera in hopes of two things. Image quality and pocket-ability. It fits both criteria very well.The lens is sharp, while having some major distortion at the edges compared to the LX5 I own. It is faster and with much better DOF control than is available on the LX5 though, so that helps. On the long end of the zoom, it's barely passable as it has so much in focus that you cannot tell its even got aperture control. Sony would do well to have a max aperture lens that is around F2.8 - F3.2 on the long end for the next round of this lens.The body is sturdy, albeit with plastic bits where there should be metal. The fit and finish is nicely done, although I found it a little slick to hold. Have applied gaffers tape where my fingers touch/hold it. As mentioned, the flash is pretty flimsy feeling, though it offers the ability to use a finger to tilt it back and bounce the flash. That part of the flash is very cool for a P&S. Well done Sony for innovation.The sensor and resulting image quality are quite frankly, astounding for a P&S. If like me, you want the IQ that comes from an APS-C sized sensor and lens combo, this is as close as you will get in any P&S, IMO. Since I wanted the best available images, this is very pleasing to me. There are a slew of fun to use image effects and they actually look pretty good in some cases. The painted image is one I like (see the portrait of the girl in the gallery, with a before and after).Lastly, it goes in my pants pocket and is only marginally larger than my iphone with a case on it.This is the camera the new LX7 will be struggling against IMO. However, with an F1.4 - F2.3 lens that covers about the same range as the RX100, I would guess that you can get better looking images from the long end of the LX7. ?? We shall see soon enough.Overall, the RX100 is a keeper and will likely serve me for some years to come as long as Sony built a lasting product...

Bought the RX100 as soon as it was available at Amazon. My copy was Made in Japan. Image Quality was stunning - rivaled the Olympus OMD EM5.Was constantly amazed that something this small could rival m4/3.Sony really knocked it out of the park.Sadly, after 4 months of ownership a very conspicuous dust spot appeared on the sensor - too big and too central to simply forever clone out - suggesting that either the seal of the lens was inadequate or debris was in-camera at time of manufacture.I kept the RX100 in a small Lowe Pro case with belt loop. I take care of my optical gear. I have owned dozens of compact cameras over the years and have never encountered a dust problem with a fixed lens camera.Was very disappointed - again, the camera is a marvel - especially at this price point.Despite the time frame Amazon graciously supported me (Amazon gets 5 Stars in this saga). I am gun shy to order a replacement RX100. Although similar complaints are few, they are out there. Reports of Sony support on this issue are varied.[...]

It's small, light, and portable. But the most important thing is that its picture quality is impressive even though it has a such compact size.

I am a lazy photographer. I don't want to think about camera settings to get a great shots. The Sony DSC-RX100 does exactly that. Put it on "Auto" and let it rip. Unlike most cameras on Auto, the Sony takes stellar pictures...consistently. I am delighted and my friends think I'm a really good photographer (I'm not). The camera is simply awesome especially in low light. It's pricey but it's also one of the very best pocket cameras available. This is an example of actually getting what you paid for. Highly recommended.

I replaced my Cannon S90 after a few years of delight -- this is such a step up! The image quality is remarkable. I've barely begun to explore, but even on auto this thing takes fabulous images. I'm traveling in Asia, and have been enjoying going to the markets with this - getting up close to piles of spices or mountains of rice. You can easily set it so the background gets nice and soft -- really pretty. Shoot FAST and sharp. I used to do pretty serious photography, but now I'm more in the well-composed-point-and-shoot mode -- I just want to be able to have my camera in my pocket, but still get good images.There are a LOT of settings on this, and it's not entirely intuitive. I suddenly had the screen showing a different view, and it took me awhile to realize the multi-button wheel has a display change option. My other complaint is the flash - it seems a little flimsy when it pops up on it's unfolding ladder. The rest of this camera feels SO solid. It's a good bit heavier and a little larger than the S90, but it feels great in my hand. As the lens extends, there is a smoothness that reveals quality and substance.So - had it for about a month now and I would highly recommend to anyone who wants great images with ease.

I love it and the pictures are great. Not sure about the flash. It is flimsy and could break easily.

I bought a Sony RX-100 9 months ago and it took great pictures. The camera stopped working for no obvious reason. When I sent it into Sony I was told it had corrosion damage (even though it has never been exposed to water or high humidity). Saw some other reviews on amazon mentioning the same problem. Would not recommend buying this camera. Spent over 2 hours on the phone with Sony Customer Relations and they would not replace or repair the camera.

Pros:- Image quality superb, better than a lot of DSLR (and m4/3) and light years better than compacts available (I've already had the flawled Canon S100, Canon G10, Sony TX100V, Sony HX9V, Fuji 550, Sony DSC-N2, Panasonic ZS-10). Sony created a whole different category.- F1.8 Lens amazing at low light, tele end f4.9 not so much- Tiltable flash with 90ş makes amazing indoor pictures.- The video is unbelivable, I burn AVCHD DVDs to play on blu-ray and it is better than my store bought blu-rays.- Full manual controls.- Microphone's position perfect for low noise during windy days.- Pocket size with a 1" sensor is amazing, 20 MP picture simply perfect at 100% crop, even at low ISO.- Super quick and smart focusCons:- Pop-up flash have to be manually closed.- ZOOM WHILE VIDEO IS REEEEALLY SLOW!!- COLORS ON AUTO MODE ARE WEIRD LOOKING (COLD AND DARK), IF YOU ARE NOT A PROFESSIONAL, PICTURES COLORS MIGHT LOOK A LOT DIFFERENT FROM THE POINT-AND-SHOOT CAMERAS... On P mode I set the colors to Landscape, they got a lot better! I also recommend using the soft skin effect for a smooth skin pictures.- FLASH IS A LITTLE OVER EXPOSED ON AUTO MODE, I set to -1.0 on P mode.- Not the best camera for Macro pictures, the closest distance is 5cm. Other premium compacts allow you to get as close as 1cm.- Not as wide as some other premium compacts (28mm vs 24mm like Canon S100 and Panny LX7)Still the best compact camera ever made!

I don't mean this changes everything in the competitive camera landscape. I mean this changes everything for people. Especially if you have kids.I've had a Canon point and shoot which worked ok, but would always miss that critical shot. Right when my daughter is cracking the funniest smile, my compact P&S would take a second to autofocus (missing the moment), and then snap a photo either under/overexposed, blurry, or both.This Sony has really changed everything for me. For when you need to just capture those quick moments, you set to Intelligent Auto and just fire away. Shot after shot. This thing is QUICK. Most shots turn out clear, properly exposed, and properly saturated.For when you're searching for a really great photo, it has enough manual controls to let you frame things just the right way.The game changer is that you can have this camera with you far more often than your DSLR. I've had this for 1 day, and already I have more great photos of my kids than I got from a month with a compact P&S.Worth every penny.As for cons, I really wish it had GPS + tagging. Some of the UI is a bit counterintuitive and a bit finicky. The control ring could be a bit more responsive, but it's not bad. I hope some things will be improved with firmware updates.

This is an outstanding camera. I bought it as a travel/pocketable camera to avoid lugging or leaving a prosumer DSLR, and in that capacity, it gives me 90-95% of the functionality with 400% less hassle and weight. The intelligent modes work quite well. Macro is quite acceptable, low light is outstanding, and DoF is good. Having used it for travel, my only complaint is that I wish the lens went to 24mm or wider. In a couple situations, I found 28mm a little too long. Several times in indoor spaces, I found I couldn't get the full feel of a scene because I needed a little wider. Also, for some landscapes and some candid shooting, I love the Nikon 14-24mm on a DSLR. But that isn't a fair comparison in terms of cost, size or weight.In short, you have a triple constraint of cost, quality, and convenience levels with a given camera. This one gives you 95% quality and 95% convenience. Given that, I was happy to pay the cost. If you are even close to on the fence with this camera, I suggest you go ahead and get it from Amazon (risking only paying return shipping) and try it out in a real use scenario. I suspect you won't be returning it.

I am not a pro, just a grandma who travels and wants to take the best pictures of grandkids and low light European churches and museums with a camera that fits in my small purse. The Sony RX100 is that camera. I've used the Canon S90 for the last three years and have been very pleased, but the RX100 is even better! Others have reviewed that the screen can be easily scratched so I just put a BoxWave Clear Touch Crystal Screen Protector on my RX100. I ordered the screen protector for an Olympus Tough TG-810 which had almost the same dimensions as the RX100 screen. I had to trim just a little on one side for it to fit. I've used BoxWave screen protectors before and like the absence of bubbles and that they last a long time. After three years the one on my S90 is still good. Here is the BoxWave link: [...]

Doesn't the title say it all? It is, what it is. If you are looking for the best pocket size camera with near DSLR image quality, look no further.I was looking for a new, go anywhere, do anything camera. Started with the tried and true Canon, but the G1X was too expensive, too slow in performance, and above all, way too big. Also considered the Canon S100 and was almost sold on it, but after the recent Canon recall for the S100 due to the ongoing lens error, thought it was best to stay clear of it. Beyond that, no other manufacturer offered a pocket size camera with such a huge sensor.If you are looking for a new camera I definitely recommend this camera. Given the pocket size, you are more likely to use it and always have it with you...that is the purpose of a camera. Something to take with you, not having to lug around and distract from your event.But don't take my word for it, see what the expert reviewers have to say: (...)

1. Other Sony cameras had the battery life left indicated in minutes, not bars so one could know accurately when to change it.2. the camera is too hard to grip, making a wrist strap and 2 hands mandatory. Google 'camera grip for Sony RX100' for a solution.3. Lack of a manual (except on-line,) even on a CD, hides the versatility and depth of the camera's ability.4. For close-ups, the large sensor and longer lens that goes with it work against you, but they give you better cropping ability on normal scenes at higher image sizes (20mb.)Otherwise, a nice piece of hardware and software, my 1st choice to take with me (vs. my 2 other Sony's- an R-1 and an HX-9V.)

This is a great camera. It is suprisingly small with the lens retracted. It has many features that I haven't used yet but one of the picture enhancements is "Illustration." I took a picture of our vet's cat and Illiustration drew black lines around her whiskers, eyes, eyeballs, etc. It makes a very interesting picture. This camera has received top of the line reviews and I agree with them. It is truely a professional's point-and-shoot. It has a Zeiss lens which is extremely sharp throughout the zoom range. It has a metal body and is built like a tank.

One of the negatives of this awesome camera is that there is no complete manual excerpt on line.No longer true.Amazon will not let you post links but if you Google "Sony Rx-100 Manual" you will find it in the dpreview website as a pdf - as Sony should have done to start..

I have only had the RX100 for a few days, but I have already decided to sell my often used S95 and barely used LX-5 on ebay. The RX100 is NOT just marginally better than both, it is a quantum leap in image quality. My wishes for the next iteration: 24mm at the wide end and a paper manual... otherwise great job by Sony on this one!!Update: While the image quality of this camera was indeed excellent, I found that I did not like the day-to-day ergonomics of this camera. I have since sold it.

The Sony DSC-RX100 has been extensively reviewed here and elsewhere by amateurs, enthusiasts, and professionals alike. I have discovered no un-reported features and tend to agree with the many, many positive comments that have been made while sharing little enthusiasm for the few criticisms that have been levied. Repeating what others have said would therefore seem as tedious as it would be pointless. Like most, I have found the Sony RX100 to be fast, small, easy to use, highly customizable (RAW + JPEG, manual modes, all the most modern shooting modes), well crafted, and capable of producing images of very high quality.What I will try to articulate is perhaps a fresh perspective on this wonderful camera, particularly for those who travel, who like to shoot without drawing a lot of attention to themselves, or who are recently returned to serious photography, which I define as shooting with an eye towards attaining high quality images. Once a long time ago I fancied myself an enthusiast. I owned a Nikon FM2 equipped with fast 28, 50, and 105 mm fixed length Nikor lenses, shooting a variety of conditions and subjects with low ISO, consumer-grade Kodak and Agfa print and slide film. But during grad school - what I now call the "lean years" - I needed money and sold the whole setup. I married soon thereafter, had a couple of kids and, being settled, needed to capture those precious moments. So my wife and I bought, kept, discarded, or replaced a whole series of point-and-shoots, first film, then digital, as well as an early 6.2 MP Canon DSLR with a 28-150 or so Canon zoom, which we still have. My wife did most of the picture taking and the cameras were mostly of her choosing.As time progressed my growing contempt for fuzzy, facebook-quality images, iPhone cameras, our collection of point and shoots, and my wife's Canon (nice, but I swear like 5 lbs) grew until I decided to purchase a camera of my own. But what to buy? Paramount would be the ability to acquire high quality images - rich, accurate colors, high resolution, RAW and JPEG formats, and nice dynamic range - using the smallest possible package. To me photography is a very conspicuous process where the degree of conspicuousness is driven by the perceived complexity and size of the rig used to shoot. Lug that DLSR with a massive zoom lens supported by its own monopole to the Little League game and you'll get first class images. But the other parents are thinking "picture guy" and if you turn it in their direction they'll duck and cringe. Take what is perceived as a point-and-shoot - sure, sure, not the equivalent but... - and people will assume you have point-and-shoot motivations and ignore you. And, while it is beyond dispute that no point-and-shoot (including the RX100) can rival the best images that that same DSLR can produce, it is also true that they are heavy and clumsy. Bulk and conspicuousness therefore have the paradoxical effect of rendering the equipment most capable of capturing fine images the very equipment I am least likely to haul out take some snaps or pack for a long trip to Europe.Now the RX100. Very inconspicuous - you can take it anywhere and everyone seems relaxed because who doesn't like a snapshot, right? People ignore you - you're the dunce with the clown camera. Better still, you can put it on a lanyard, hang it around your neck, and carry it around in the breast pocket of a shirt - it looks like you've got your work badge and a pack of smokes in there. Its quick startup, rapid zoom, and easy mode setting do make it a great point and shoot but it's extremely capable of more thoughtful composition, though no one is the wiser. I find myself taking it places I would never take our big Canon DSLR. How about that trip to Europe? Do I really want to drag a DSLR and three lenses around while floating down the canals of Venice? I lived in Europe for years and humped that Nikon SLR setup from one end of the then free world to the other. Once, while changing lenses at Checkpoint Charlie during 1985, when the East Germans were rebuilding it and it was being guarded by loads of Germans and Russians wandering about, I accidentally strayed onto THEIR side and was nearly apprehended at the point of an AK-47. The RX100 features a nice zoom (no need for that 28, 50, and 105 anymore - adios East German border guard dudes), good light gathering ability, and an extremely compact, balanced wrapper. Like other compact, fixed lens systems the advantages conferred by small size and simplicity simply overwhelm the DSLR when it comes to light travel and inconspicuousness.And image quality? I would say I'm at a loss for words but I've saved a few. Marvelous. Superior. Rich. Sharp. Surprisingly good. Side by side comparisons with my wife's Canon DSLR show better resolution and only a slight loss of dynamic range. I'm not thrilled with the macro, which seems to produce images that are kind of creamy and a bit too soft for my taste, but at normal focal lengt

With the RX-100, Sony has raised the bar for compact cameras. This small camera provides most of the flexibility of a much larger, heavier, and more expensive digital SLR (dSLR) or digital Semi-Transparent Lens (dSLT) camera, or even of a somewhat larger, heavier, and more expensive Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Camera (MILC) such as Sony's NEX line of cameras. The RX-100 allows the photographer to control the shutter speed, aperture, ISO, auto-focus area, etc., and creates RAW format images, in addition to the less useful JPEG images. Also, the RX-100 menu system is reasonably intuitive, and easier to manage than the menu system of Sony's NEX line of cameras, about which you can read numerous complaints. The RX-100's 1" sensor is roughly 3 times larger than the 1/2.3" sensor of the typical compact camera, and consequently provides much better image quality than any other compact camera, with the obvious exception of the Sony RX1 compact camera that has a full-frame sensor, and that is roughly 4 times more expensive. The RX-100 boasts a high-quality Zeiss 28-100mm lens, which at 28mm has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 that is very impressive for a compact camera. The RX-100 is a valuable addition to a serious photographer's toolkit, and is as well a viable entry point for the amateur photographer to learn and practice the basic principles of serious photography.However, you get what you pay for, and although the RX-100 sensor is superior to the sensor of any compact camera of similar size and somewhat similar price, its sensor is no match for the sensor of a full-frame compact camera, a full-frame digital SLR, a half-frame digital SLR, or a half-frame MILC camera. For example, the dxomark website provides the following ratings of the sensors for various Sony (and other) cameras, based on measurements of the Color Depth, Dynamic Range, and Low-Light ISO characteristics of those sensors: RX1 full-frame compact (93), A99 full-frame dSLT (89), A77 half-frame dSLT (78), A57 half-frame dSLT (75), NEX-7 MILC (81), and RX-100 compact (66). Viewed from the perspective of these DxO ratings, the RX-100 sensor is in a class with Sony's first dSLR camera, the A100 that DxO gives a rating of 61. So, on one hand, the RX-100 provides equivalent image quality to the A100 dSLR, but on the other hand, the RX-100 image quality falls far short of the quality of the A99 dSLT or RX1 compact.But even considering the superior image quality of a dSLT camera such as the A99, this large, heavy camera is of no use to you unless you are able to take it with you. And taking a large, heavy camera everywhere you go is impractical. So, finally, this issue shows the strength of the RX-100. It is small, light, and unobtrusive, so you can take it with you frequently, and you will have it available to take high-quality photographs, even if those photographs are not of the highest possible quality that you might obtain with a larger, heavier, and more expensive camera.If you insist on the highest-possible image quality in a compact camera, and you are willing to pay for that quality, consider the RX1 instead of the RX100. The dimensions of the RX1, in terms of height, width and depth, are 113mm by 65mm by 70mm, whereas for the RX-100 those dimensions are 102mm by 59mm by 36mm. The weight of the RX1 is 482 grams, whereas the weight of the RX-100 is 240 grams. So, the RX1 has twice the depth and weight of the RX-100, a fact that makes the RX-100 a less obtrusive compact camera. The RX1 has a 35mm f/2 lens, whereas the RX-100 has a 28-100mm f/1.8 zoom lens, but the aperture of the RX-100 lens is f/1.8 only at 28mm, and decreases steadily to f/4.9 as the focal length increases from 28mm to 90mm: f/1.8 at 28mm, f/2.8 at 35mm, f/3.2 at 50mm, f/4 at 70mm, and f/4.9 at 90mm. The RX1 costs $2,800, whereas the RX-100 costs $650.Sony provides a downloadable, 68-page English/Spanish "Digital Still Camera / Instruction Manual" in PDF format for the RX-100 that doesn't give enough detail to be fully useful However, if you perform a Google search, you will find a 227-page or a 261-page much more comprehensive "Cyber-shot User Guide / Sony RX-100 User Guide" in PDF format, that is similarly downloadable from a Sony web page, although Sony doesn't provide any apparent clue that this more comprehensive manual exists. And, if you need even better instructions on the use of the RX-100, you can perform a Google search for Friedman Archives and buy the 425-page "The Complete Guide to Sony's CyberShot RX-100", which, at a price of $21.45 in PDF format, would still be cheap at twice the price.One caveat that you can find on page 203 of the 227-page version of the comprehensive "Cyber-shot User Guide / Sony RX-100 User Guide", or on page 235 of the 261-page version of that guide, is the fact that connecting the RX-100 to a computer via the USB cable can be idiosyncratic. In particular, you may need to connect the USB cable directly to the computer, i

I've had 35mm, 8mm film, video tape, digital tape and SD/HC cameras for over 50 years now, and while I've never been a professional (had my own darkroom for a time) I've enjoyed capturing Nature and Industry, Art and Architexture and my kid's (and now my grandkid's) life events. I've been through lots of formats and equipment keeping up with technonogy and I can't say for sure, but this might just be where my need for more and better ends. A couple of years back I bought a highly rated super-zoom camera (won't mention the brand as the best of them have the same flaws) that had 12 mp and videoed in AVCHD. Anything better would have required stepping up to a DSLR and multiple lenses and more nonsense than I was already used to. It didn't take long to realize the fatal flaws of the super zooms, lousey optics, poor low light images and videos, still larger than a point and shoot. Fine for family night but no photo images to be any more proud of (and maybe less so)than my 48 yr old 35mm SLR. With an upcoming two week Lifetime trip to China it was time to step up to the cash register once more (er-ah hit the add to cart button). I picked up my Sony DCS RX 100 at the UPS shipping facility in Redmond WA. at 9AM the same day we left on our trip at 2:30PM. Bearly enough time to charge the Batteries and fly through the instructions to learn how to turn it on (actually it's incredibly intuitive if you have any recent vintage point and shoot. Included instructons are almost non-existent but cover the basics.) Knowing I would not have time on tours etc. to do much else, I had already decided to stick primarily to the IA position and point, and shoot. I did, and I have been amazed at how easy it was to get great looking photos under a variety of lighting conditions. Pictures, tons of pictures. Rapid fire shots. night shots of buildings at night. Pictures from the busses (OK there's no way to get great pics through the window of a bus but some weren't that bad). And video. Under all lighting conditions. With a dedicated video button there's no need to dial up the video position. And press the shoot button during a video and you can take a photo with no interruption. I brought my 10.5" tablet along and was amazed when I saw the enlarged pics. The lens isn't a super zoom, 3.5x maxing out at 100mm, but with a HUGE (for a point and shoot) 1" CMOS sensor, a 1.8 Carl Zeiss lense system and 20.2 megapixles you can blow up anything taken at less than 1/100 sec. with little loss of detail. One comment. I really did stick to IA for all shooting. I discovered the dedicated panorama position at about day 3 and it's amazing too. Only after returning home did I check out the IA+ position on the dial and realize I should probably have done all my shooting in this position (I tried a couple of test shots under low light condition and saw little difference but who knows). I took all video in the MP4 codec (plays on my tablet natively and most other places on the web) but it will also record .264, 720 or 1080. Day or night, light or dark, the results, again, amazing. I have to mention the LCD, which is the brightest I've ever seen in bright sunlight. Usually I can't see a thing on the screen in bright sunlight so I tend toward viewfinders and this Sony only has an LCD. But I could always see what I was shooting or filming, even with the sun behind me. China is truely an amazing country to visit. Most worthwhile 2 weeks of any trip I've ever taken, and I can hold beautiful memories of it all in my pocket. Thanks, Sony, for making what will probably be my last photo/video product. A final point here about the 3.5x zoom lense. Anything greater with today's technology and there's a loss of quality, period. And whether for pics or video, unless you're using great quality tripod equipment and take a lot of time, counterproductive. Past 100mm it's pretty much impossible to hand hold a still or video (especially video) camera and produce an image worth viewing. On our China trip I did not once find a desire to xoom in any closer than the camera allowed. And if there were, you can enable digital zooming for still shooting and no-loss Hd electronic zooming for video. That's the advantage of the huge CMOS sensor and the 20 megapixles that are available.

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 th

I recently lost my beloved canon S95 and needed a replacement compact camera. I hesitated for a while between the much cheaper and ill-reviewed little brother of the S95 (S100) and this expensive new sony RX100 which everybody has been praising.When I opened the box I was surprised by the weight of the camera. This thing is small but heavy like a brick. With so much mass, I don't think that the camera would survive a 3 feet fall! Props to the engineers, it's amazing that the entire Carl Zeiss lens can retract into the body of such a small camera. Other than that, the sony RX100 looks really slick and reminds me of a Leica (not that I ever had one). A German camera it is not yet. I was in fact hugely disappointed by the finish of the camera. The trap doors for the micro-USB connector and the HDMI micro jack are so flimsy that I think Sony just asked some interns to design them. It's also likely that Sony is looking forward to people sending their camera for repairs, or just hoping that they buy the RX200 next year. I guess if you have a lot of money to throw around on cameras then it shouldn't be an issue. For me the joke doesn't end here. The worst piece of design on this is the flash. When it popped out I just started laughing. It's a $650 point & shoot and yet it has the lousiest flash I have ever seen on any camera. It's just ridiculous. I went in the menu and disabled the flash. I also assigned the flash button to an ISO button. This way I won't accidently pop it open and break this little piece of cr@p. Funny thing is, the manual advises people not to carry the camera by the flash unit. I guess everyone will have figured that by now.I read in many reviews that the RX100 was "made in Japan". Mine says "Made in China" and further investigation revealed that it's the case for every single RX100 that is on the market now. Thus, don't buy the sony RX100 because you think it's made in Japan. It seems to be something that sony did for the first batch of cameras knowing that the first reviewers would appreciate this detail.I then started to take some pictures out of my window and compared them to shots taken in parallel on my 6 years old entry-level Pentax 6M pixel DSLR equipped with a 18-55 lens from Sigma. I was less than impressed by the dynamic range and the colors on the Sony RX100. I heard people saying that the RX100 was as good as some recent DSLR. At first I seriously doubted it based on the test landscape shots I took. The colors were rather bland and the clouds overexposed although it was still early morning. Sure you can zoom in or crop the pictures taken on the Sony like crazy and get a better resolution than you would on a 6M pixel camera but this sony doesn't replace a DSLR when it comes to dynamic range.A few days later, I must admit that my opinion has changed a bit. You just need to figure out what this camera is good for. I started taking a variety of pictures and am now quite impressed. The sensor is very sensitive and the noise more than acceptable. I have shot many evening pictures in B&W and in color without flash at ISO3200 and am very satisfied with the results. The sony RX100 is indeed much better at this than my canon S95 or my Pentax ist DL2 DSLR. To be honest, it actually kills both cameras in this respect. Not sure how someone experienced with more recent DSLRs would feel about the ISO performance but I find it great. The shooting speed is also a big plus. I enjoy the movie mode as well. You can change the aperture and (slightly) throw the background out of focus which makes a huge difference with the canon S95 and almost every other point and shoot. I would not recommend zooming in and out while you shoot since the results aren't very smooth but overall the RX100 is quite good for shooting movies.One thing that I don't like is that several of the functions and modes are not compatible. For example shooting HDR and setting a timer while I have the camera on a tripod is not an option. This seems totally illogical to me and I don't understand why I can't do both to make sure that there's no camera shake. I do enjoy being able to set the camera to B&W and shoot a movie. This wasn't possible on the S95 for example. Still, I wish you could combine more modes and effects. Sony might release a software update but I wouldn't bet on it. They are probably too busy whipping their interns for the lousy trap door and flash design.That's about it for now. I have been shooting for about a week and am still having fun with the RX100. The camera is amazing for a point and shoot. Considering that I paid $400 for the S95 a year ago, I would say that the steep price of the RX100 is totally justified considering the difference in performance. Paradoxically, I can't help feeling that the RX100 is a bit overrated. It's not as good as a DSLR like some would like to pretend. I also really can't look past the fact that Sony decided to cut corners on the final design. I am really scared that I am going to b

This camera takes amazing pictures. I've been waiting for years for a small pocket-sized camera that could take SLR quality pictures. This is it.The low light pictures are phenomenal. I think it sees better than I do. I have yet to take a flash picture, because the results using a high ISO are so good. On top of that, the 1080 HD video is superb. This is the perfect travel camera.Well, not quite perfect. It has some minor irritations:The first is the documentation. Many features are barely explained. For example, want to know how close the Macro can focus? You won't find it in the manual (about 2 inches). Want to know why the zoom vibrates about 3 times a second when it is in continuous focus mode? No explanation. Because there was no explanation, I thought it might be defective, so I got on Sony's chat on-line with a Rep who said that it is supposed to behave that way because continuously varying the zoom is used to determine the proper focus. I still find it hard to believe. Sony could have explained quite a bit more with their in-camera documentation. The context sensitive help often has obvious un-helpful explanations (kinda reminds me of Microsoft) like the explanation for Manual Focus: "Focuses manually". Duh!The second is the confusing layout for all the options. The menus are overwhelming. All the features that can go in the function button are also in the menus. Four of them are pre-assigned to navigation wheel (display, exposure adjustment, flash and drive mode), and 7 can go in the function list. Those Eleven settings can be remapped by the user. With all this variation, I found that I could could not get the one function I wanted under a button -- setting a custom white balance. I can map all the white balance settings to a button, but I still have to navigate a menu to get to the custom white balance adjustment. If you put the white balance on the function list, you cannot set the custom white balance from that location! Oh well.Second is the control ring. It could have been better. It is hard to use it to zoom because it takes too much of a turn to go from wide angle to full telephoto. If you go to slow it gets jerky. When it transitions (in video) into digital zoom the zoom speed changes. It really should feel like a mechanical zoom, but it doesn't. Same too with focus. There is no feedback that lets you know where the focus is when you are starting. Nothing that helps you figure out which way to turn the ring when everything is out of focus. Is it focusing on infinity or 5 inches? No way to know if everything is blurry. Fortunately, there is DMF (no explanation in the documentation for what the "D" means) that focuses automatically, and then you can adjust the focus with the ring. That, along with the "peaking color" which shows you what in the picture is in focus, makes the manual focus usable. I'd prefer a focus indicator that doesn't distort the picture you are trying to compose. The focus ring changes function in different modes, and you can alter some of them. What it changes to, and in which mode, and which modes can be altered can be confusing and awkward. If you set it to zoom, you might be frustrated when it no longer adjusts the f-stop in manual mode.Third is the playback button. Pushed once when the camera is off and it will turn on. A second push will activate the camera lens, and this seems like it could be dangerous to the mechanism if it gets jostled in a camera bag. I will probably remove the battery if I think it might get bumped to much.Fourth is the lack of accessories. You'd think for this price that you'd get an HDMI cable (it has a micro jack) or make a power supply that also charges a spare battery. Heck, for the price you'd think they could put in a spare battery! Adding the possibility for Audio-in would be nice for video recording.Fifth is the price. It is pricey. But it really has no competition even with its quirks. It is an amazing achievement, and I expect to see competition from all the other major camera makers in the next year or so, which should bring down the price.A suggestion if you purchase this camera. I found little difference in performance with a SanDisk extreme or a Transcend Class 10 SD card. The San Disk is 3 times faster, but the camera's top writing speed seems to be close to the speed of the Transcend card -- about 15 MB/sec. In burst mode (JPGs), the San Disk was slightly faster. I clocked it at 2.3 pictures per second, compared to the Transcend which went at 2.0 pictures per second. The video works with a class 4 card according to Sony, so the only difference is burst mode.----------------Update 1/15/2013--------------For those of you interested in burst shooting in Raw Mode, the speed of your card WILL make a difference, and I'd recommend the SanDisk extreme. I find that the automatic settings that SONY uses to make a JPEG are as good or better than what I can do manually using their

Since I bought it in early August, I've taken >1000 photos, more than I took in the last 2-3 years! It's that fun.Before going into real review, I'd like to first alert you that the "Most Helpful Critical Review" for this camera that claimed the RAW format is NOT supported is completely wrong on this point.Sony's RAW file, ARW format, is a long standing proprietary format that's likely very well supported: After I took a RAW image with RX100, I did a quick Googling and then tried the first two well-reviewed free software that claimed to do RAW conversion - and both supported ARW! Both can open and then save to other formats. One is Photoscape, which has basically no feature support when doing the RAW conversion other than autoWB (Edit: I was wrong here, one could actually use 'Edit' feature after choosing the ARW file to make many adjustments in Photoscape too). The other is Raw Therapee, which has all sorts of controls available, and this is the one I'm going to use. Googling also finds a 2007 post on dpreview that said Adobe Photoshop Elements (watered down PS) does fast RAW conversion of ARW files. Another 02/2012 post claim Adobe Camera Raw 6.0 or 6.5 (free for PS CS5) supported ARW. And that critical review's dated 7/31/2012! It's just completely wrong. (Edit: there are others confirming that Adobe's support is just out, so that review might be about Adobe only, but its title and content both claimed no 3rd party (not just Adobe) support, which is definitely wrong).Now the real review:Instead of recounting all the pros and cons others have said so many times, I just want to write down my impressions on the camera from the angle of a complete photography newbie:1. Great image quality. Great colors, beautiful Bokeh effect. My unprocessed shots on flowers, portraits, match real photographers'. Low light performance is impressive.2. Great night shots. If you set camera on Superior Auto mode, and take a night shot by hand, it looks as good as anyone's. RX100 takes multiple shots and somehow combine them to improve lighting without blurring the image.3. In-camera panorama mode is convenient, but not that great. The adjacent images are frequently shifted (particularly obvious if there's human face in photo), the moving speed of the camera needs to be slow and the last part of the image sometimes were grayed out.4. In-camera HDR is really nice, and you can adjust the bracketing to some extent. Good on static objects. Combines only 3 shots though.5. Love the watercolor, had great fun with it.6. The Superior Auto mode is so great that I almost always keep it on. It does occasionally go into the wrong mode (ie, landscape instead of macro).7. Video qualities are very good, but I feel my Panasonic TM900 is still better except for color fidelity. A pity that RX100 doesn't take external mics but the audio is surprisingly good (maybe my expectation was low for onboard mic for such a tiny camera that's mostly for photos).8. Image stabilization is great. My hands are not steady, but even when Superior Auto mode takes several photos in quick succession, there's rarely a photo that comes out blurry.9. Many preset modes, and they work well.10. BIGGEST advantage: So small that I do put it in my pants or shorts pocket and take it anywhere - that's why I took so many photos so quickly!11. Another BIG advantage: No need to bring a lens kit with you! For newbies, no time/money wasted investing which lens to buy. Some might feel that you can't change lens with this, but I think Canon's EOS-M is a dumb idea. Why would I want to bring a big lens with a pocket camera? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of POCKET camera? If I want to use multiple lenses, I'd buy T4i instead.12. 3.6x Zoom is small. It needs to be bigger.13. Price is high, similar to low end DSLRs, but it's worth it because it takes DSLR-like photos but has the added advantage of being pocketable. You won't miss any precious shots again because you couldn't haul your big camera over.14. The flash is very bright. Auto-focus focuses well in near completely black, and the flash flashes an impressive distance.15. Reviewing the photo was easy. Navigating menus is also easy.16. My BIGGEST complaint: The distortion near edge starts early and very noticeable. If you take photo of people, I feel that even for people standing 8 feet away, only the middle half the area (not half the length, thankfully) do not have distortion. I wonder if it's just my camera.17. A tip: Say you enter Scenes mode and chose macro, and then you want to switch to landscape, it's fairly hard to find out how to quickly switch. I used to switch to auto mode, then back to Scenes and choose landscape. But later I accidentally found out that you just have to use the focus ring to change this setting! I know those that read manual probably discovered this already, but I never read any manuals for electronics, so this one took me some time. But I had no trouble with other things I want to do.18. Continuous shoo

Opted for the RX100 over the Panasonic LX7 because the image quality was disappointing to me, and wanted very high resolution anyway. The zoom is about the same, but the Panasonic has better f-stop. Still, 1.8 is better than your average camera, many of which are (commonly) 2.8 or 3.5.Image quality. Yes, an NEX has less noise at higher ISO because of its sensor 10mm larger (13mm on RX100 versus 23mm on NEX; APS-C). The sensor on the RX100 is 1", compared to the Panasonic at 1/1.7; 7-8mm. That said, the RX100's sensor is twice the size of the LX7 with twice the resolution (20MP versus 10MP). For example, the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX30V has the small 1/2.3" sensor (a few mm), but amazingly, at 18MP, the pictures at a higher ISO look hardly worse than at base ISO. Colors (indoors) are about the same on the HX30V, RX100, and NEX (I have all of these, the NEX-5N is the one I tested with the other two in my kitchen). Details are smudged a little on the HX30V, but that is due to the aggressive noise reduction. Amazingly, the highest ISO of 12800 on the HX30V is very good if you remain still enough. I got a very clean photo of my kitchen at night with extremely dim light from nearby yardlights. This seemed comparable to ISO 6400 on the RX100, but highlight clipping and noise were more of a problem. I am thinking that the noise reduction algorithm on the HX30V is superior to the other cameras mentioned. *** Yes, disregard what I said about the sensor. The sensor specs can confuse you. I will get to this matter in a short bit. ***Movie quality. They are all very clean in good and low light. The sound quality suffers equally; 48KHz sounds lossy (mathematical phenomenon, perhaps), where a camera such as Canon T3i (again, I have that one) records at 44.1KHz (CD-quality), the quality you would expect from a music CD.Hardware. The NEX doesn't focus as well or as quickly as the RX100, but the HX30V is the fastest, putting the RX100 in the middle. I haven't done very thorough testing yet, but what I am referring to is taking pictures out a car window (down) going about 35-40 mph. An NEX won't give you a clear shot, due to its slow lens with severe motion blur. The RX100 does a little better; closer objects with stronger motion blur than distant ones (zooming in, the results may be worse). The HX30V is so fast that most of the time, the images are clear, although the grass on the side of the road has some motion blurring. I am wondering if the smaller sensor on the HX30V makes a difference. In any case, an NEX series camera gives the best image quality, but the lenses (and no in-body stabilization) makes them good for still shooting. In addition, some focus hunting (contrast detection versus the much faster and more costly phase detection autofocus) occurs to an extent on any of these cameras. Whatever the reason, using progressive AVCHD seems to improve the quality, but that is most likely because the other formats are interlaced. What makes this partially NEX hardware, or a bit closer 'in the middle' is that the sensor is larger. I happened to question someone at work about the sensor at work, and what I was told is that the sensor size is the end result of a mathematical formula, not the actual size of the sensor. Therefore, using basic geometry to measure with a ruler isn't going to result in one inch. Do some research to find out if interested. Performance isn't quite up to the HX30V, but better than the NEX series. As said, this camera falls in the middle, so it is a better value than the NEX for roughly the same price range, but the NEX has the larger sensor for cleaner high-ISO images. Movies are the same, except for the following under software...Software. First, the user interface is that of the CyberShot (the RX100 is CyberShot, which makes sense). However, its features are very close to that found on the NEX series, hence, some limitations. This mostly applies to the Movie Mode, where the NEX-5N, for instance, can record Art Effects as does for photos, but on the HX30V, those art filters aren't available for Movie Mode, and so you're basic with shooting in color. The HX5V didn't even have B&W and Sepia for photos, so this is a welcome feature that should have been available as on many other cameras, such as Canon and Panasonic. On the RX100, I like the interface in the middle; like the NEX the least, and the HX series the best. The biggest gripe that I have, and it doesn't seem to make sense, is that the RX100 and NEX series don't support 720 (1280 x 720); just the standard VGA (MP4 640 x 480) and HD (MP4 1440 x 1080; AVCHD [MTS] 1920 x 1080)). The NEX series supports 24fps in progressive format for HD, but the RX100 cannot, and so the only progressive format is the 60fps that cannot allow dual recording (taking stills while recording), and the picture quality suffers on the RX100 as does the HX series during movie mode. NEX series cannot take photos during movie mode. I like it that the NEX and RX100 can display MP