With a big 1-inch, 20.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and a bright f/1.8 lens, the pocket-sized Sony RX100 is the hottest point-and-shoot camera on the market right now. Correction – it’s one of the hottest cameras, period. I borrowed one from my friend Adam Lisonbee, a.k.a., Grizzly Adam, so I could shoot some studio tests and get a feel for it. All I’ve done so far is shoot the studio sample photos below, so I don’t have much to say other than I love the specs, the size and the lens. And as expected, the 1-inch sensor delivers the goods. The image quality is excellent – the best I’ve seen from any compact camera, except the Canon G1 X, which has an even bigger 14-megapixe 1.5-inch sensor. But the G1 X doesn’t fit in your pocket – not even close. And the RX100’s increased resolution might make the image quality difference a wash, anyway.
The Sony RX100 studio samples below were shot RAW in aperture priority at f/8 with white balance set on the tungsten preset. The RAW files were converted to 16-bit TIFFs with the Lightroom 4.2 release candidate software. The text, logo and graybar were added in Photoshop and the images were then resaved as maximum quality JPEGs. No sharpening, noise reduction or any other kind of adjustment has been applied. Please download, compare, print or anything else you need to do to fully evaluate the image quality. And stay tuned for a first impressions article after I get a chance to actually take some pictures with the RX100.
For more information on the Sony Cybershot RX100, please read our announcement article linked below. And if you own the RX100, please write a user review!
Sony Cybershot RX100 Studio Tests
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 80 Sample |
 |
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 100 Sample |
|
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 200 Sample |
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 400 Sample |
|
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 800 Sample |
|
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 1600 Sample |
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 3200 Sample |
|
 Sony Cybershot RX100 ISO 6400 Sample |
|
Sony Cybershot RX100 Intro >>
All Digital Camera Sample Photos >>
Related Content:
Sony Digital Camera User Reviews
Sony Cybershot RX100 Photo Gallery
Sony Cameras Forum
Digital Cameras Forum
Sony News, Reviews & Articles
Sony Cybershot P&S Cameras Web Site
All Digital Camera Pro Reviews
All Digital Camera Studio Sample Photos
I’m very pleased with this p/s. F1.8 depth of field is dangerous so I usually set it to 2.0-2.8. ISO >=400 reveals too much grain. In normal lighting condition it works great but I wouldn’t push it beyond these limits.
Thanks for the comment, Jack. Please write a full RX100 user review for us, too! Here’s a link to the Sony RX100 user review page:
Sony RX100 User Reviews >>