a brilliant little gem of a camera
August 02, 2014
This is my fourth Sony camera and easily my 10th digital and roughly 20th camera (counting both film and digital). It's a beauty. I thought it would be hard to top the Sony RX1 as the perfect travel camera (please see my detailed review of the RX1 on Amazon), but I think on balance, this is a better travel camera than even that brilliant piece of full frame ingenuity. Not a better camera mind you, but a better travel camera, when space and size are at a great premium. Its lens and sensor are not quite as sharp as the RX-1's - but they are not that far off either. And the RX100-III does beat the RX-1 in one critical functional area, in terms of having a useful range of wide to mild telephoto focal lengths. No more zooming with just the feet . . .
Clearly this little camera does not beat the RX-1 or any other full frame camera in image quality, at least not in photo image quality, but it is clearly superior in relationship to video quality to the RX-1/A99/A77-65, where the improved Bionz X processor in the RX100III allows for a way better sampling heuristic (instead of the clumsy line skipping approach done in the RX 1, A 99, and all the other recent APS-C cameras). It's also astonishingly flexible in terms of shooting modes and operational styles, and additionally, Sony's improved image stabilization gives it a 2-3 stop advantage at least, narrowing the low light performance gap between this sensor and a full frame sensor (such as in the RX 1) to surprisingly little by allowing the RX100III to shoot at slower shutter speeds, and thus keeping ISO lower. I'm able to shoot wide open at a 24 mm equivalent in low light at 1/5 second shutter speed, without any image blurring, keeping my ISO relatively low and basically wiping out almost all of the low light advantage of the RX-1 FF sensor. It still of course doesn't quite create images that are as breathtaking as full frame equipment - that simply is not a hittable or realistic performance target, but it comes amazingly close, and it's frankly very close to APS-C in my informal noise testing. I cannot tell the difference between noise at any given ISO on this camera and the Sony A65 (although that was no low light phenom). It would be interesting to compare noise on this and the newer Sony APS-C sensor in the A77II (better sensor in terms of noise) once I can get a real sampling of the A77II's output. In any case, its low light performance is LEAGUES ahead of every other compact its size, and is reasonably competitive with much larger cameras (such as m4/3 and APS-C where its noise is roughly one stop poorer than the best of the m4/3-APS-c crowd, making it about two stops poorer than a typical FF pro-cam).
Pros:
1) Simply the best photo and video image quality for its size without any question, no contest, end of discussion. Not even debatable.
2) Very sharp video, rivaling Canon full frame 5DII and Panasonic GH2/3/4, and with new video codecs (XAVC-S) that will allow 50mb bit rate. Reduced moire and yet still very sharp.
3) Fast Zeiss lens (1.8-2.8) with a 3X zoom range, covering the essential wide-angle 24 mm to 70 mm equivalent. Some loss of zoom reach relative to prior editions of the RX 100, but in exchange, the lens is significantly faster and goes to 24mm (highly useful), and allows F2.8 shooting at a moderate telephoto 70mm. This extra lens speed/brightness is more important for most individuals than the extra telephoto reach (but some may find this restricting and a bad tradeoff - see cons).
4) Lens is sharp in the corners from F4.0 and up and is decently sharp in the corners even wide open.
5) Comprehensive and flexible menu/operating system structures with considerable customizability. Way better there than previous generation Cybershot models.
6) Fits in your shirt pocket.
7) Wifi and NFC (but see cons).
8) Excellent image stabilizing in both video and stills, with highly flexible IS in video (three levels with associated progressively larger crop factors). This also means that video can be shot at a ~ 100mm perspective (albeit with modest loss of resolution). Excellent photo IS that is transparent and highly effective.
9) Terrific little EVF with almost as much resolution and apparent view size as Sony's flagship A99 EVF, and with adjustable brightness and display features vis a vis the LCD. Very neat and highly useful.
10) Bright and accurate LCD panel for viewing results (and shooting, if you don't like composing with the EVF).
11) Many aids for the videographer, including adjustable zebra to see areas of overexposure, option to changing ISO and aperture on the fly with smooth front ring control while shooting, and HDMI output to an external recorder, but see last con (omission of 4K).
Cons:
1) Limited telephoto reach and of course no option to change lenses. Partially mitigated by modest digital zoom capacity (1.4-2.0) but with predictable loss of resolution. Obviously will not compete with compact superzooms in this area. Not the camera for bird watchers and wildlife buffs!
2) Cost - this might be one of the most expensive cameras on a dollar per pound basis on the market.
3) Modest battery life, esp if you use the neat little EVF much, and once again, Sony did not provide a second battery. I thought initially Sony finally provided an external charger but its clear now that I jumped to conclusions. Still no option for external charging - (but check out Wasabi power!)
4) Did I mention it's $800?
5) No option that I can find for scaling the zoom speed, which is a bit confining and unexpected in a premium compact camera
6) Audible motor noise in the video during zooming (but at fairly low level).
7) Slightly hesitant auto focus in low light with some annoying hunting.
8) It is so compact that those with large hands may find it hard to manipulate.
9) Flash seems a bit underpowered for those coming from larger equipment. Will not adequately illuminate objects 6-8 ft away at ISO 100. No option for outboard flash, as hot shoe sacrificed for EVF.
10) Real disappointment that 4K video not included, as on new Panasonic superzoom using this Sony chip. Firmware update probably can't provide this. Suspect Sony didn't want to take sales away from their new and pricy 4K camcorder.
Conclusions:
Most of the cons are minor, while most of the pros are big. Still not perfect, but this is clearly the most powerful photographic and videographic instrument of its size that anyone has ever made. Time will tell, but I think that this camera threatens the established order and the doctrine that all reasonably serious shooting requires DLSR and/or FF equipment more than anything Sony has ever done previously, even including the RX1/A7/A7r platforms. This may speed the market retraction of classic SLR cameras with mirrors as much as any other mirrorless camera. And please, all you FF Canikon folks, don't get all bent out of shape (too much fan boy and troll voting on camera reviews as it is) - I'm not remotely suggesting that this little camera will supplant or compete with your pro equipment in still photography. But it will mean that outside of the most critical and hi quality still shooting, this camera will provide a very credible alternative for those who want to travel (extra) light and still get very good stills - leaving a slim margin between this and large APS-C and even larger FF gear. That margin looks like it now has a punitive weight penalty, still obviously worth it for really critical shooting, but how many people want 20-30lbs of extra gear on vacation, and toting it all through security? And in terms of great video, this camera competes favorable with any FF system. Even those who love their big pro gear and would never dream of moving off of FF entirely are probably going to buy one for days when they just can't (or don't want to) lug the 30+lb bag of big gear and bigger lenses. Given its appeal to the serious as well as the recreational photo buff, and its great video, Sony may struggle to keep up with the demand. Overall, this little camera is a tour de force in digital technology and a landmark in digital cameras.... Read More
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