When the original RX100
hit the scene a few years ago, it blew the doors off of the
point-and-shoot category. With a big, 1-inch sensor, compact body, and
roughly $650 price tag, it hit the sweet spot between size and image
quality in a way no other camera had before. The RX1
further defined the lineup, adding a wickedly sharp lens and a massive
full-frame image sensor. Our enthusiasm for the RX1 was dampened,
however, by a jaw-dropping $2,800 price tag.
Logic dictated that there was room between the RX100 and RX1, perhaps
something with an APS-C sensor and a price around $1,000. Last year
Sony finally released such a middle-ground model with the Cyber-shot RX10
(MSRP $1,299.99), but it was a fixed-lens camera with an 8.3x zoom
built surprisingly around another 1-inch sensor. While the RX100's
1-inch sensor is large compared to most point-and-shoots in its price
bracket, the RX10 costs nearly twice as much, competing with loads of
cameras with bigger sensors. At $1,300 with a relatively small sensor,
it seems like the RX10 is set up to fail.
Design & Handling
With a fixed lens and a price tag just a few cents below $1,300, the
RX10 had better begin making its case as soon as it’s taken out of the
box. Thankfully, with its premium build quality and collection of
top-notch hardware, Sony's flagship bridge camera makes a pleasant first
impression.
Even though it’s smaller than most DSLRs, the RX10 manages to strike a
great balance between form and function. The minute your hand wraps
around its slightly toothy grip, it just feels great to hold. Its heft
is just enough to feel “serious,” yet it’s light enough to not be overly
fatiguing to carry all day long, even with the massive lens. And boy,
is the lens big.
The
lens itself cuts an imposing figure, dominating the camera's profile.
The housing is entirely metal, and it's cool to the touch as you pick it
up for the first time. The lens extends a couple of inches out from the
body, with a truly massive diameter that fills the camera from bottom
to top thanks to its f/2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range, with room
enough for large aperture and zoom rings.
The two options for controlling zoom are both a pleasure to use. The
traditionally located zoom toggle surrounding the shutter button is
nice, but we were surprised at the zoom control ring around the lens
itself. Unlike other cameras, this lens-mounted zoom toggle doesn't just
replicate the standard zoom lever. Instead, the front ring feels more
like a direct physical control. It's still zoom-by-wire, but control is
fine enough that you can easily adjust a millimeter or so at a time.
Just
behind the top plate's zoom toggle you'll find a mode dial, as well as
an exposure compensation control. Our one gripe here is that we wish the
printing on the EV comp dial were clearer, since it’s hard to read at
an angle. If you find your exposure a little out of whack, you’ll want
to double check on the rear screen what it is set to.
One bonus that gives the RX10 an unmistakable DSLR-like appeal is a
top-plate monochrome LCD. Even though it doesn’t display as much
information as the kind you'll find on a camera like the Nikon D800,
it’s handy to refer to in bright daylight. The screen has a red
backlight that, like on Sony's SLT cameras, always must be activated by a
separate button. It’s a cute nod to the RX10’s big brothers, but we
would have preferred the backlight to be automatic, activating whenever
you half-press the shutter in dim conditions.
But without a doubt, the most satisfying component of the RX10’s body
is the dedicated aperture ring. The ring is slightly more narrow than
the zoom ring, but has a raise profile on the sides that differentiates
it from the rest of the lens housing. Even better, there's a switch on
the bottom that lets you alternate the ring's movement from a silky
smooth action to one with hard notches for each setting. We prefer our
aperture rings to have detents, but no matter what kind of shooter you
are this ring just begs to be used. There’s absolutely no wobble in its
operation and, like most of the camera's dials, it feel responsive and
accurate. Though auto-only beginners can get by just fine here, if
you’re not at least shooting in aperture priority, you’re missing out on
the RX10's best feature.
Features
Fully loaded for quality HD video and stills
As a hybrid camera, the RX10 aims to be the best of both worlds,
satisfying both video and still shooters. While some might argue that
there are better options for nearly the same price, none of them are
fixed-lens models with a fast continuous aperture. Sony is aiming this
camera squarely at the amateur who wants a great camera without
investing tons into any one lens system. After all, most mass-market
DSLRs never have the kit lens taken off.
And if you're stuck with just one lens, the RX10's isn't a bad one to
have. While it might not seem like the most super of superzooms—with
many in the category stretching all the way past 40x, 50x, to 60x
optical zoom—the RX10 is happy to offer up a very useful 8.3x zoom that
easily covers most normal shooting situations. What you get in return
for a much more reasonable amount of reach is that relatively large
1-inch sensor, compared to those binocular-like superzooms, all of which
come with much smaller 1/2.3-inch sensors. Sony’s gotten very adept at
designing around these 1-inch sensors by now, and the one here is the
same 20-megapixel backside illuminated CMOS job we saw in the RX100 II.
And then there’s that constant f/2.8 aperture. Where most superzooms
have their apertures squeezed as you actually zoom in on your subject,
the RX10's continues to let plenty of light in. It solves one of the big
conundrums of superzoom cameras; people often buy them to get capture
action shots (sports, mostly) from far away, but by zooming that far,
the camera suddenly doesn't have enough light to capture action anymore.
The RX10 gives up quite a bit of reach, but there's no diminishing
returns as you actually use the lens.
This is a Zeiss-branded lens that lives up to the promise of its little blue badge.
On the video end, the RX10 provides just about everything a
budget-conscious video shooter could hope for. We’re talking the whole
enchilada—headphone/mic jacks (with an option for XLR via an external
hotshoe-mounted breakout box), and a full array of HD frame rates and
quality options. Full PASM shooting modes paired with the RX10’s solid
body and plentiful controls could make this a dream come true for a
documentarian or reporter. For close to the body-only price of the
bog-standard Canon EOS 70D, you could grab an RX10, which includes the
flexibility that its zoom lens affords (and you get a headphone jack, to
boot!).
Like a DSLR, the RX10 features a viewfinder. Even though it’s not an
optical viewfinder like you might find in the EOS 70D, the RX10’s
electronic viewfinder is a sharp little number which easily ranks up
there with other EVFs we’ve tested in the past year or so.
As you'd expect with such a premium price tag, the RX10 includes
basically everything but the kitchen sink. WiFi with NFC will aid in
social sharing of photos, and a tilting rear LCD is great for off-angle
shooting at events and when shooting video. Another feature du jour is
moisture/dust sealing. While we might hesitate to throw the RX10 in the
shower or under a faucet, it’s a perfect feature to underscore this RX’s
go-anywhere, do-anything image.
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