For shooting events I always pack 2 camera bodies along with my Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 and my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8. By the end of the day, however, I really do wish that I only have to pack one body and one lens. This being said the Sony RX10 features a fixed 24-200mm with a constant aperture of f/2.8. Zeiss optics have always been among my favorite, so it makes me very happy to see that they went with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* (14 elements in 11 groups, including 7 aspheric elements).
The RX10 features the same 1″ 20.2MP sensor as the RX100 II but includes a new BIONZ X image processor. This gives me hope of great image quality as well as low noise performance. It’s nice to see that Sony included 10 fps burst mode here, as well as a 3″ tilt-LCD display with 1,228,000 dots and built-in OLED EVF. Combine that with a magnesium-alloy body that is dust and moisture resistant and it makes me smile!
Sony RX10 Features
- 20.2MP 1″ Exmor R CMOS Sensor
- BIONZ X Image Processor
- Carl Zeiss 24-200mm f/2.8 Lens (35mm Eq)
- 3.0″ 1228K-Dot Tilting Xtra Fine LCD
- XGA OLED Electronic Viewfinder
- Full HD 1080p Video at 60 and 24 fps
- Built-In Wireless and NFC Connectivity
- Low-Light Sensitivity to ISO 12800
- Multi Interface Shoe and Control Ring
- Super Sonicwave Motor for Fast Autofocus
[Rewind: Sony a7 & a7R: The World’s First Full Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Auto-Focus Camera]
Strong on Video
Video shooters should rejoice and scream finally! This feels so great to see Sony giving the RX10 audio input jacks, headphone jacks, audio meters and a clean HDMI out. Additionally, Zebra and Peaking are also implemented.
One feature that you rarely find in a hybrid camera at this price range is the built-in ND filter. It really is an important tool left out on a lot of cameras because it allows the videographer to adjust exposure on the fly without having to change aperture, shutter speed, or ISO.
Unto the codec side, while it is nice to see Sony offer 60p and 24p frame rat, it is a bit of a disappointing that they also stayed with the AVCHD codec. The RX10 has a maximum bitrate of 28mbps at 1080p 60p. Nevertheless, the Sony RX10 does a full-readout of the 1″ sensor instead of the more traditional line skipping that many DSLRs use. This should lead to a very clean video quality without very little color artifacts and moire, if at all.
Crop wise, the 1″ sensor provides a 2.7x crop factor, which is slightly larger than Super 16mm.
Sony also gives you the option to purchase the Sony XLRK1M Audio Adapter which includes 2 XLR inputs for an XLR microphone as shown below.
Coming in around $1,299, many people might be thinking that this price is too high. The price may seem high at first, however Sony has managed to pack quite a bit of features into this camera, which I see a lot of people agreeing not only is it priced well, but for us photo and video shooters, it is definitely a step in the right direction.
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