25.5.2020

I own both comprehensive Canon & Nikon SLR outfits, but I've found carrying heavy gear over three days at the Goodwood Revival or taking an outfit on safari abroad getting harder as I get older! Hence rather than buy the recently available 500mm f4 lens from Nikon, or continue using my 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 Canon zoom, I decided to buy Sony's RX10 with 24-600mm f4 equivalent range, which appeared to offer everything in one compact package. I've now been using it for about a month, not for what I really bought it for because lock-down has put an end to that - but for photographing a few landscapes, birtds in the garden, flowers, etc. I don't feel I've yet got to grips with it, but the images are fine,I can barely tell the difference in quality from my EOS 7D MkII with 100-400mm zoom attached, which is great. Its the user friendliness which I feel needs addressing. For example, the menu's take a lot of getting to know. They're not awful, just not brilliant, for example, I've created my own custom Menu. Theoretically when I select Menu it should open on it, but it opens on another menu page and I then have to find My Menu. The Menu provides an option to turn off the rear screen. It's something I rarely ever use for composition, I by far prefer using a viewfinder, (an optical viewfinder being something I had to sacrifice in buying a mIrrorless camera). The camera allows for some of the control buttons to be customised, to be used for one of a number of specific purposes. I've selected one particular button to turn the rear screen on and off. Every time I turn the camera on, the rear screen is operative, and I have t turn it off. If I use the Menu, or look at an image, when I come out of the Menu or images, I find the rear screen is operative again, and I again have to turn it off! I just want it to REMAIN off. That shouldn't interfere with me looking at images or accessing the Menu! The other problem I've experienced, is the central focusing point seemingly moving of its own accord from time to time. I ONLY want the central focusing point. Touching the rear screen activates the focal points so I've inadvertedly moved it by touching the screen, I've then had to try and return it to the centre, which means turning the screen on again in order to do so. There doesn't seem to be any other way to move the focusing points around by way of the dials, that I can determine at any rate. On a positive note I've fund that if I use the green mode or P mode whilst the focus point is central, I now have a much wider field of focus points available, so there is at least a variation in the focusing even if all the other settings appear to remain the same as set in A Priority, (the aperture varies, but the frame rate set remains the same for example). So, those are some of the aspects of this camera which have made an impression on me. Criticisms aside, build quality is high, I find no great problem with the speed of the zoom, (would prefer manual, it's what I'm used to), image quality is very good, the zoom range is amazing, and the frame rate with high, medium & slow settings available, quite incredible. I like the dial for exposure compensation too. Will it replace my SLR's for motor-sport and wildlife safaris? Yes, I think so. I perhaps wont be selling them just yet for portraiture, landscapes and specialised macro subjects, although this camera can do all of those admirably, up to a point beyond which you perhaps need a more subject specific lens.

20.3.2018

Despite giving this 4 stars, my first comment is to note that it has become the camera that I take with me everywhere I go. It is not my favourite camera, and it does not take the best images of all of the cameras I own, but it is so versatile, and such a complete package, that it basically trumps all. I'll start with the negatives:Firstly, fit and feel. It's nice, but doesn't feel anything like as special as other equivalently priced cameras. The whole camera has decent heft, and doesn't rattle or squeak, and there's no play to any of the controls or the lens, when in extension, however, the materials are just somehow less tactile, the buttons less precise,and the shapes and curves slightly less well realised than I would hope for. It doesn't matter, of course, when it comes to taking photos.Secondly, the autofocus. It's really fast, and accurate, but (for me at last) incredibly complex to override. There are several modes, most of which seem totally arcane, and reliant on the processors in the camera finding the autofocus point. There is some latitude to override, but there is no instant manual focus point control (or at least, when in something approaching manual control, there's at best 2 button presses to access the function) and this seems to then deactivate back to computer override. The selection algorithm is decent, but takes a bit of hunting about, and has left me with some missed shots of moving or off-centre subjects.Thirdly, low light performance. It isn't bad, but isn't on a par with a micro four thirds sensor. There's either lots of noise in RAW mode, or lost of smoothing artefact if left to jpeg. It is still good enough that 10 years ago it would have been described as miraculous, but today, seems a bit compromised for a camera of this form and size.Some other, relatively minor, gripes: It would be nice to have 2 memory card slots, not one; the lens cap is a bit flimsy (mine has broken); the lens hood is low rent, and feels like it might break easily; it doesn't come with a plug in charger, but only direct USB charging (you can buy a battery pack and charger, however, and non proprietary versions are available, and work fine)The good bits then:Firstly, the lens. OK, it is less compact when active, and it would be nice if it went a bit wider, and 600mm is indulgent and could probably be achieved by digital cropping a more modest optic, but wow, this is piece of engineering. It feels great, takes fabulous crisp images that need no correction, there's no distortion in the corners, there's no fringing or blurring. It is, frankly epic.Secondly, the motor drive. Basically capable of shooting a video at 30 fps, at full 20 megapixel resolution, this makes it possible to capture every moment of motion. Given the focus and low light compromises, this still doesn't make for a perfect solution to fast moving subjects, but is pretty amazing nonetheless; check out the bottle rocket pic, if unconvinced of the merits. Be warned, with the high speed drive active, it is possible to fill a memory card in moments.I appreciate that's 2 good things, and several minor gripes, but perhaps should let the appended images speak for themselves to see why these 2 strengths really do outweigh the limitations. It is amazing to think that these all came from a single, hand held, fixed lens camera.

25.7.2018

An amazing camera! In fact I sold all my Nikon full frame SLR cameras and lenses to buy this - and I don't regret it! There's no doubt full frame sensors are better and Nikon lenses are pretty amazing. But my D750 spent 4 years in a cupboard due to its weight. The D750 + 24-120 F4 lens was around 1.7kg. The Sony with a 24-600 lens is 1.1KG. To match the 600 range with the Nikon I'd need something like a Sigma 150-600mm lens which alone weighs almost 3kg. So its Sony 1.1KG vs Nikon D750 plus lenses at 4.6Kg. I'm getting lazy and 1.1Kg is really my maximum weight for a camera. If I'm guaranteed an amazing photo - say an alien spaceship landing - then I'll happily lug almost 5Kg around.But most of the time I come back from a hike having taken no photos.I've only had this a few weeks but so far its blown my socks off - its just amazing!My biggest fear - and what's always put me off these "super zoom" cameras - is lens image quality.Back 9 or 10 years ago I had a Nikon D60 and bought a super zoom 28-200mm lens. Terrible image quality. Nice and sharp in the centre but outside the centre became more and more blurry. Ended up selling it on ebay.This camera had amazing reviews for its lens sharpness. I had my doubts. But the lens truly is sharp right from wide angle to 600mm telephoto!I've yet to take a photo with disappointing lens sharpness - even the corners are pretty good. I did some comparisons between this and my Fuji X-T20 with a 23mm ( 35mm equiv ) F2 lens. Should have been an easy win for the Fuji - after all its a prime lens and one of Fuji's better lenses. And yet when I compared the two and pixel peeped until my eyes watered, I could see no difference in sharpness or detail in the corners or centre. How is this possible?! I can only assume Sony does some computer magic that corrects any issues in camera. To be honest I was slightly gutted - the Fuji was supposed to be my super sharp, high resolution option. In fact there's little between them, despite the Sony being a superzoom.To give an idea of how sharp all over the frame the camera is I've uploaded some photos. I could have taken it at other apertures or zoomed out - I've yet to find a combination where image quality is poor.The main photo shows the whole photo. Then I've uploaded 100% crops of the left, middle and right parts of the frame. The photo was taken at 600mm F8 1/200 second ISO 100. F8 is not the best for sharpness - diffraction will cause some softness from F8 onwards - but still it looks pretty sharp.Just to warn Amazon image upload produces very poor quality images - they look A LOT better in the original. So don't be put off by the fact the images look terrible!Calling it feature packed is an understatement! In fact so many features its overwhelming. I bought the The Friedman Archives Guide to the Sony RX-10 IV book and Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC-RX10 IV: Getting the Most from Sony's Advanced Digital Camera. The second is like the manual Sony should include for free - it explains all the menus very well but not general use. The first book a better guide to getting the most out of the camera.Of course you don't need to use all the features but treat as a point and shoot.Anyway early days and a lot of learning to do - but so far very impressed!

30.7.2018

I bought this as an upgrade from a Lumix FZ1000. The key features that appealed were the fast PD autofocus, much larger buffer and maximum continuous shooting rate, 600mm equivalent focal length (compared with 400mm on the FZ1000), and the fact that it claims to be at least somewhat weatherproofed. The FZ1000 manual focus is very poor, and I also wanted something that worked better there. And I thought separate rings for zoom, focus and aperture would be an improvement on the FZ1000, which has one ring for zoom OR focus, and a rather awkward rear wheel to adjust both shutter speed and aperture.In use, the optics do seem to be substantially better, even at 400mm equivalent,and I am getting shots of distant birds that seem to be equivalent to what others are getting with (true) 400mm lenses on cameras with APS/C sensors. The manual focus is much better, so I can focus on birds surrounded by vegetation, for example. So that has been very successful. Overall, clearly a better camera, great for travel, and a worthy competitor to a full DSLR/ILC Against that, I have yet to see the full benefits of the PD autofocus, and for most purposes it does not seem to be much faster than the FZ1000 in an equivalent mode, using DFD technology. Sometimes, even with the zoom range limited to greater than 3 metres, it takes seconds to focus on a distant object and seems to prefer minimum focal distance when it isn't sure, instead of infinity. I tend to use the EVF rather than the screen, and have found I need to turn off all the touchscreen features in order not to make some horrible change just as I am about to press the shutter.The RX10iv also lacks several usability features I really appreciate on the FZ1000.- Focus priority -- If selected on the FZ1000, the shutter won't release until focus is acquired.- Zoom resume: the FZ1000 returns to the current zoom setting on switch-on or after reviewing pictures. Handy if you are walking around at full zoom hoping something interesting will pop up in front of you.- Selective photo delete: FZ1000 lets you select multiple photos for deletion and then do them all in one go (although, it would be even better if you could delete a range rather than selecting up to 100 individually)- Selective photo export: FZ1000 lets you export one or up to 100 selected photos, either as just the JPG or JPG+RAW. The RX10 exports all or nothing. - Faster WiFi. The RX10 WiFI photo export is painfully slow compared to the FZ1000.- The FZ1000's dedicated "quick menu" button.- The FZ1000 still has a more structured and pictorial menu system. Why does "Setup 2" seem to be entitled "Movies" when most of it is again about Still photography? Ah, but that's only the title of *that* screen. - The fully-articulated screenAnd of course, the RX10 is quite a lot heavier, but that is presumably all down to the larger optics required still to get f/4 at 220mm (true) focal length, so it's hard to complain about the weight.I suppose the test is, Is there ever a time when I would now reach for the FZ1000 instead of the RX10?, and there isn't. But it seems like Sony have missed an opportunity with regards to the user experience.

18.3.2020

I have been using Nikon DSLR cameras and lenses for a number of years and are a big admirer of their products - the only downside being the weight of the body and decent lens if you are out and about and just want some quick snaps.I mainly shoot landscapes and wildlife and have been looking at a decent ‘all in one’ camera that I can take out with me on some quick shoots that is light enough to not put my shoulder out.After a number of months reading reviews and talking to fellow snappers, I decided on the Sony RX10 III that was a great price at the time on Amazon.The Mk4 was an option, but I didn’t think it was worth an additional £500!!ProsIt’s very light (1kg) and my shoulder is better!Zoom range (24-600)

27.5.2019

Hello, Granddad here. I am also enjoyed photography since I became a Dad. I have owned quit few 35mm SLR and now few digital cameras. I tried bridge cameras in the past and they suffer image quality and poor auto focus. Now thatI am 73 years old, I wanted and needed a lighter weight camera due to arthritis in my hands. I tried several other point and shoot but was not happy with them.Sony RX10 IV was my camera of choice after reading the specification and reviews and find it does every thing claim and more.My order from Jessop's was smooth, I have RX10 IV about one month, it is withoutquestion the one camera you want with you if it has to do every thing.Sony RX10 IV is so good,

9.11.2018

It's a bit premature to give a full review after only having the camera for a couple of weeks but first impressions are certainly good. So many reviews seem to concentrate on the gimmicks and range of facilities so I thought I'd concentrate on picture quality which, after all, is critical. Using only the JPEG file type, set to maximum quality, certainly gives crystal results. I've shown some photos to friends who, without prompting, have commented very favourably on the sharpness and clarity of the pictures. That, for me, is probably the most important compliment I can pay to the camera. So, being satisfied with that, there are some features that do jump out as worthy of praise: the lens is really very good,

27.2.2019

My main reason for buying a new camera in the first instance was that my older camera, a Lumix LX100, was lacking in both the pixel count and zoom range. This started to become an issue on my travels.After a lot of research, and with my initial thoughts focusing on a mirrorless, I decided to buy the Sony RX10iv. Thus far I am very happy with the results though I have yet to test every detail of the camera. The attached photos were all taken on this camera to highlight some of it's characteristics. Although with it's 1" sensor it does tend to struggle with low-light conditions, it is not impossible to get fairly decent results.It is not the perfect camera, but it is the closest I could find for my needs.

2.12.2019

As the happy owner of an HX400V, I was becoming more aware of the limitations of a small sensor and contemplating an upgrade. Then the optical stabilisation failed, a fault that appears to be widespread, and generally happening about 2-3 years after purchase. Frankly, I was very cross about this as the repair was going to cost rather more than half the cost of a replacement. This brought forward the quest for another camera, and I was initially disinclined to get another Sony. I spent weeks researching all of the alternatives, but wanted to stay with a bridge camera for the great convenience of having most, iif not all, of the DSLR facilities without having to carry large and expensive lenses about with me.

8.4.2018

When I got back into photography a few years ago I treated myself to a Nikon D7000 and built up a collection of lenses. However, I didn’t make great use of most of the lenses and whilst I didn’t want to get rid of them, they were never with me when I needed them! Also, the combination of the D7000 and a ‘Bigma’ didn’t make for a portable combo. Then last year I bought a RX100 V as a pocketable, always with me, camera and I was blown away by the quality of the images. If only it had a longer reach! About a month after I bought it, Sony released the RX10 IV. Boy did I curse! The Mark III had received great reviews for its lens and now it was combined with the sensor and processor with which I was now familiar.

17.9.2018

We are probably going to spend the rest of our lives trying to get to grips with all the things that this camera can do - there is a multitude of menus and options and I have to say that we haven't tried most of them yet despite having had this camera for some time. What we have used, however, has been brilliant and well above what we expected.This isn't an SLR camera. That means that it doesn't have detachable lenses so you are limited to the one provided. Truthfully, unless you are wanting to undertake specialist photography I think this lens will do very nicely for most occasions. We've used it for landscape and portrait photography mainly and the quality is great with a wide range of options,

30.12.2019

I have only just bought this because it looks like a great replacement for my Nex 5. It has both a screen and a viewfinder. The Nex 5 often could not be used in bright conditions. The view finder comes on automatically when it senses your eye near it. It is a bridge camera and does not need me to change lenses. Most of my photographs call for a telephoto lens. This is always available. The Nex 5 needs a flash attachment to be fitted. I always leave it on but it cannot be used properly when the telephoto lens is fitted. The RX10 iv has a pop up flash ready whenever I want to use it. The RX19 iv will focus through the glass on my back door while the Nex 5 would only focus on specks of dirt on the glass.Focusing is quicker than the Nex 5 and usually detects what I am looking at.

28.2.2018

I bought this as a replacement for the mk3 version and it is a great camera. It comes packed with some great features, the ability to take still images from video I find is great when filming wildlife,and birds in flight, and when the weather gets better I plan on doing video macro with bees and dragonfly's etc and taking still images from them.The optical zoom on the camera is great when used with the image size reduction feature takes you from 24mm to 1200mm and still have enough resolution to print an image. And you still have clear image zoom which is good quality and takes you to 2400mm. I only use Digital zoom as a telescope for checking out long distance subjects.I take images of

10.12.2019

After much research, I bought this RX10 iv bridge camera instead of a longer zoom for my DSLR. It’s amazing, I’m absolutely thrilled with it! Within the first week, I have got the most stunning image quality photo’s, that appear wonderfully sharp, with great dynamic range and with the most beautiful colours. I am relieved to find that it definitely rivals my Canon DSLR (if it hadn’t I would’ve been very disappointed)! Within the camera, you can tweak the creative style settings to complement the type of photography that you do. Because I do a lot of seascapes (where the land and sky can have big differences from dark to light),

31.7.2019

I've been very sceptical about the quality of bridge cameras and bought a secondhand Sony RX10M3 to test them, it's results within a week turned me to a new RM10M4. This camera is a real gap filler in my collection of photographic equipment. No longer do I need to take a number of items to do a job because of it being light, compact and oustanding high lens quality. Normally as a professional I'm using a DSLR with short zooms and 300mm & 500mm prime telephoto lenses for aviation. At major events it's a lot to carry over many hours. Getting in close at fence lines to static aircaft the lens is superb ... at long range (flying shots) I'm still getting used to it and have yet to find it's totally reliable focusing on moving objects,

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 Mark IV - Reviews

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