My name isMarcin Lewandowskiand some of you might know me from series of product overviews I did with Adorama for their Youtube Channel,AdoramaTV.In this six part monthly blog, I will look at capabilities of theSony RX100 MK IVand present them to you from a photographer’s perspective. In part one, I will concentrate on first impression and overview its technical capabilities because whatever we say about it at the end of this series, RX100 is packed with cutting edge technology with many features never available on a camera of this size before — and sometimes not available at all.
My first impression when the box arrived was that it was quite heavy, clocking just over half a kilogram, which is more than a body of Nikon D5300 or Canon EOS 1200, this raised my expectations as it felt like a quality built camera even before I saw it. The camera is very small in size, but reassuringly sturdy with a hefty and yet unconcerning weight. The RX100 all metal body weighs just under 300 grams, which is roughly the same as Nikon’s 50mm 1.4G lens. On the front we can see proudly presented logos of Sony and Zeiss, and both companies already proved to be capable of creating an explosive mixture when they work as a team. For this camera, Zeiss supplies the same 24-70mm f1.8-2.8 lens as on RX100 MK III assuring great performance throughout the deceptively capable zoom range.
Main features of this little 20.1MP powerhouse include 1-inch type Exmor RS CMOS sensor, capable of calculating on the fly and recording 1000fps or 4K video (with fast enough SDXC, class U3 memory card on board), 1/32000s electronic shutter speed (and no, these three zeros are not a mistake) and up to 16fps continuous shooting without blackout. One of the headline features for me, apart from all the above mentioned, is presence of a viewfinder. This very clear XGA OLED, retractable EVF delivers high resolution image and its optics are treated with ZEISS T* coating to reduce unwanted reflections for clear visibility even in bright sunlight. Another feature geared towards more serious photographers is ring around the lens, providing a number of manual controls like shutter speed, aperture, focus and more. Writing about this it is also worth mentioning that camera is quite customizable. The controls allow the user to set buttons, as well as the function menu in a most desired way, which is very important, adding extra layers of flexibility on such a small body. As we are looking on the back of the camera I need to mention the high resolution 3-inch screen with tilt capability, which allows high/low shooting positions for greater versatility. The screen is very sharp and displays all the needed data ranging from just the picture to full display covered with all possible settings which some might find handy when shooting using EVF.
Many capabilities of the RX100 MK IV are simply mind boggling, some are just necessities, but some are simply great features geared towards more advanced photographers and videographers that other manufacturers overlooked or simply ignored. In the time when phone cameras are getting better and better (but at the same time, bigger and bigger) a pocketable camera with a plethora of professional features, built to a professional standard, is most welcome.
In upcoming episodes at AdoramaTV, I will look at the latest RX100 from a number of different angles with separate episodes concentrating on: its video capabilities; “rating” it as a point and shoot camera; test driving it as a companion to a DSLR setup on assignment; and see how it works as a portrait camera, and low light situation camera. We will also look in more detail at some of its more advanced features, as well as delve into its options and menus.
All accompanying photographs and video were taken by me using Sony RX100 MK IV and slightly seasoned to taste in Lightroom 5 … and as we are on software topic, in one of my upcoming episodes, we will also have a quick look at dedicated Capture One software for Sony.
If you would like to see more of my work, please have a look here:soundofphotography.comand if you want to check out some of the reviews, have a look around atAdorama TV channel on YouTube.
