[rty] Sony RX100 V premium compact camera user review

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[User review] Sony RX-100 V

Sony RX100 V is the fifth generation of Sony RX100 series. It was launched recently in October 2016. I bought the first generation RX100 series in 2012 and, frankly, I didn’t pay much attention each time the RX100 successive model was launched. It is mainly because I was already quite contented with my old RX100 Mark 1. So when I got the chance to test this latest model, I was quite surprised to find out that there are so many improvements and fancy high-end features that have been incorporated since the first generation.

Among them are the electronic view-finder, tilt view screen, Wifi, ISO that can go up to 12800 (or 25600 if shoot in Multi-Frame Noise Reduction mode), shutter speed to 32000, and ... autofocus speed of 0.05 seconds, and continuous shooting up to 24fps. My first generation RX100 only has the fastest shutter speed of 1/2000, maximum ISO of 6400, no electronic view finder, no tilt view screen, no wifi, and certainly no such high auto focus speed and buffer size.

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A picture is worth a thousand words, so in this review, I will just let pictures do most of the talking and avoid using those eye-rolling technical jargons created for marketing purposes. Anyway, those who want to see details of the technical specifications can easily go to the Sony website anyway.

By the way, I don’t take videos so I won’t be commenting on its video capabilities. Just note that RX100 V can take 4K videos and it has a wind noise reduction feature as well.

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The reasons I love Sony RX100 series are that they are truly pocketable and they have high-end features.

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The first two generations of RX100 do not have built-in electronic view finder. The electronic view finder started from the generation three onward.

Personally I don’t really fancy the built-in pop-up electronic view-finder but I know some serious photographers cannot seem live without it.

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Like the pop-up electronic view finder, Sony also incorporated the wifi features starting from RX100 Mark 3.

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One of the features made possible with the wireless option is to display photos on TV. Here is the shot of RX100 V connecting to my Mi Box.

Looking at this feature, I can’t help but wonder how much the wifi options add to the cost of RX100 V though. Personally I don’t find it as essential and certainly wouldn’t mind NOT having any of these fancy features if their exclusion would allow Sony to knock a few hundred dollars off from the selling price.

 

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ISO range: 80 to 12800 (or 25600 if you shoot in Multi-Frame Noise Reduction mode). Some of the sample photos below are shot in high ISO settings.

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Here is the photo of my RX100 Mark 1 sitting side-by-side with the RX100 V. The V is slightly bigger but still pocketable.


Sample photos:

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ISO 80, 1/250, f/2.8

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ISO 80, 1/100, f/8

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ISO 125, 1/200, f/2.0

 

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Image 11
Sony users may be familiar with DRO/Auto HDR features. Basically these are settings to improve dynamic range. RX100 series do have these features.

The photo above consists of two shots. On the left was taken with Auto HDR off, while the one on the right was with Auto HDR on.
Ideally Auto HDR should be turned on only when using a tripod and when the subject is not moving too fast (unless you don’t mind seeing “ghosts” )

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ISO 160, 1/50, f/1.8

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ISO 160, 1/50, f/1.8

Like its predecessors, RX100 V also comes with Picture Effects settings such as Toy, Pop-color, Posterization, Retro, Soft high-key, Partial Color, Miniature, Watercolor, etc.
This photo is shot with the Pop-Color picture effect turned on. I notice the down sides of having the effect turned on are reduced dynamic range and increased noise in low light condition.

Image 14
ISO 320, 1/50, f/1.8

Expect a good “bokeh” from RX100 series? Don’t.

I guess the law of physics simply won’t allow a good natural “bokeh” to come from a camera having a short focal length and 1” sensor size.

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ISO 400, 1/2000, f/1.8

I guess the biggest selling points of Sony RX100 V are continuous shoot up to 24fps, autofocus speed of 0.05 seconds and the shutter speed of 1/32000 (which is more than enough to freeze the wings of hummingbirds).

 

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Image 16
ISO 400, 1/50, f/1.8

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ISO 1000 (auto), 1/30, f/2.5

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ISO 1600, 1/100, f/1.8

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ISO 12800, 1/125, f/4.5

At the current display size, can anyone see the difference between ISO 12800 and ISO 1600?

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100% crop of the dark area. Left is the one taken at ISO 1600 and right at 12800.

 

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Image 21
ISO 12800, 1/320, f/2.8

I like to take a leisure walk around HDB blocks in the evening to take photos of community cats. At times, the lighting at some HDB blocks where those felines hang around may be far from adequate. This palm size compact RX100 V with its low noise high ISO capability is just perfect for me.

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ISO 80, 1 sec, f/6.3

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ISO 80, 8/5 sec, f/1.8

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ISO 80, 8/5 sec, f/1.8

Can anyone spot planet Venus?

Conclusion:
So what kind of photography this RX100 V is good for? In my humble opinion, it is good for general landscape, travel, and street photography.
On the other hand, RX100 may not be suitable for nature and macro photography due to its limited focal length (24-70mm) and minimum focus distance (5cm is not close enough for macro)

Also, like most, if not all, compact cameras, RX100 V does not give you a good natural “bokeh” for portrait photography.

If you have already owned an older model of RX100, is it worthwhile to upgrade to RX100 V? I guess it depends. If you are like me who owns the first generation, this latest model, RX100 V, would certainly be a worthwhile upgrade if you don’t mind the high price tag of RX100 V and shorter battery life. I would say even if you own the second generation (Mark II), the V can still be considered a worthwhile upgrade. However, if you are the existing owner of Mark III or Mark IV, then the answer would be tricky. With RX100 V offered at the current price of almost SGD1500, I would suggest you take extra time to consider carefully whether you really need the faster speed that the V provides at the expense of battery life.

Pros:

Truly pocketable and have all the high end features
Fast auto focus (0.05 seconds)
Fast start up time
ISO 12800 (vs 6400 of RX100 Mark 1)
Tilt view screen

Cons:
Not so great battery life (the battery life of each successive model seems to be getting worse and worse than its predecessor).
Limited Zoom
Minimum focus distance is 5cm so it’s not good enough for macros
Expensive (now selling at approx SGD 1500)

 

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Reserved 5

 

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Reserved 6