Sony DSC-RX100 III is a high-end pocket camera from Sony, arguably one of the best compact camera available in the market today. As the name suggest, this is the third generation of DSC-RX100 series, also commonly known as DSC-RX100 Mk3. As per today, the latest generation is Mk4. However, after a lot of research, I decided that the extra features and improvements in Mk4 are not worth the price difference between Mk3 and Mk4, which is quite significant. So, when I decided to get the best pocket camera available, my choice went to this third generation of the flagship RX100.
Let’s start with a little bit of history. The first generation of RX100 was announced in June 2012. Thanks to its great quality and 1″ CMOS sensor, it quickly became one of the most recommended pocket cameras with quality said to be near professional DLSR camera. RX100 II that came a year later added WiFi, tiltable screen and other improvements. RX100 III introduced electronic viewfinder, faster processor and many other additional functionalities. Finally, RX100 IV added 4K video and faster shooting in burst mode. Both are not features I absolutely need to have, hence I decided to save some money and got the Mk3.
RX100 Mk3 is a solid looking camera. It is heavier than I imagined (290 gr with battery and memory card). While I agree that the dimensions (101.6 x 58.1 x 41.0 mm) would still fit the range of “compact” camera, I seriously don’t think it’s “pocketable”. Unless, well, your pocket is a huge one. For most people, this is a compact camera that belongs in our everyday bags, at least.
Inside the box I found the camera, a charger with AU cable, NP-BX1 battery, micro USB cable, wrist strap, strap adapters and instruction manual. The flash is hidden inside the camera body and we need to press a switch to pop it up. Not a biggie, but an additional thing to remember. The electronic viewfinder is also hidden, with a switch to pop it up, plus we need to pull the back part after it’s being popped up. This is not super intuitive and many people will get confused, but once we get it figured out, it’s not that hard to do. I predict that I won’t use electronic viewfinder too often, so I find this no big deal.
The AC charger is another quirk I quickly found. So this camera comes with a charger that’s not only required separate figure 8 cable (bulky), it also requires separate micro-USB cable. I certainly won’t carry this extra bulk when traveling around. the very first reason for me to get a good compact camera is to travel lighter, not bulkier. Theoretically, the charger is useful when we need to shoot longer video so the battery power won’t run out mid-way. However, quick googling shows that this charger only supplies 0.5 A, not enough juice to power on the camera in video mode. A third party charger that can supply 1 A can do a better job. Lucky I already have another Sony camera with NP-BX1 battery and I had purchased this Sony BC-BDX travel charger too. So I doubt I will ever use this AC charger from RX100 III.
Moving on to technical specs, Sony DSC-RX100 III has 20.1MP (effective) 1.0-type Exmor R CMOS sensor, BIONZ X processor, ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm lens with F1.8-2.8 aperture, 0.39-type electronic viewfinder and 2.9x optical zoom. Maximum aperture is F1.8 (W) – 2.8 (T). Focal length is 8.8-25.7 mm. Focus range is 5 cm – Infinity (W), 0.3 m – Infinity (T). The screen is 3.0″ (4:3) with 1,228,800 dots Xtra Fine TFT LCD with 5 steps brightness (auto brightness available), tiltable to 180°, ideal for selfies. It can save JPG photos (with standard, fine or super fine setting) or RAW images using Sony ARW 2.3 format. For connectivity, it has built-in WiFi and NFC One-touch functionality. The built-in WiFi is very convenient to transfer the photos to our smartphones without having to use a computer, very handy for vacations or other occasions when we have no easy access to a computer.
The lack of touch screen might be seen as a minus by some people, but it’s actually a plus for me. I generally prefer physical buttons compared to touch screen interface when it comes to camera. I find physical buttons more intuitive, allow me to do things faster, and the tactile feedback allow me to pay less attention to the screen when adjusting some quick settings.
The true quality of a camera hardly can be concluded within the first few days of usage. So I’ll refrain from making a final conclusion here. Having said that, I’ve used this camera to take photos of several different objects in various environment and so far I am satisfied with the results. Taking good photos of actively moving toddler is not easy with bad camera. I can do so without much problem with the right settings in RX100 III. There are still many features I have yet to explore. Will write a separate post later, maybe after using this camera for a few months.
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