Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II: The best enthusiast compact to date

When Sony swapped the 1-inch standard CMOS of the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 for a BSI (backside-illuminated) sensor in the DSC-RX100 II, I expressed some skepticism. My experience with BSI sensors has always been that what they gain in low-light latitude they lose in bright light. But the RX100 II delivers better photo quality than the RX100 across the entire ISO sensitivity range, and better quality than the rest of its similarly priced competition. Add in the new features like a hot shoe -- for accessories like an electronic viewfinder or microphone, as well as a flash -- plus Wi-Fi and a tilting LCD, and despite slightly slower performance the RX100 II is the best sub-$1,000 camera I've seen to date. (For a discussion of the importance of sensor sizes, see the RX100 review.)

A large sensor size is the key to producing good image quality, and here Sony has chosen a 20.2MP 1-inch Exmor CMOS sensor, which in terms of size is the same as that found in the Nikon 1 J1, and is only beaten in the compact arena by the Fujifilm X100 and Canon G1X.

There are a number of other premium elements to be found on the diminutive RX100 body, including full manual control, the ability to shoot in raw format and a lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 at the wide end (28mm equivalent) and f/4.9 at the telephoto end (100mm equivalent). Sony uses the same size camera body to store a full-frame sensor in on the Sony RX1.

One of the key areas Sony will be shouting about in its marketing material is the RX100's low light capability. Coupled with the f/1.8 lens, it also has a sensitivity range from ISO 125 - 6400 and is equipped with the latest generation Bionz processor.

The lens is also likely to be highlighted, offering the widest aperture of any compact camera currently on the market, though this matched by the Olympus XZ-1 which has a 28-112mm f/1.8-2.5 lens and the Samsung EX-1 which has a 24-72mm f/1.8-2.4 optic. Although designed by Sony, it has been produced in partnership with Carl Zeiss, boasts T* coating to reduce ghosting and flare, and has a seven aperture blades for producing attractive circular bokeh.

Autofocusing is claimed to be as quick as 0.13 seconds in bright conditions, slowing down to 0.23 seconds in dark scenes.

Full HD video recording in 50p is also available, along with a number of other features that can be found in Sony Alpha DSLT cameras. These include Auto Portrait Framing, Clear Zoom technology, Sweep Panorama and photo creativity guides.

Build Quality and Handling

With the RX100, Sony has gone for a very sleek and smooth design, with a total body size that is fantastic for the amount of power contained within.

Although it is small, it is weighty enough and feels solid enough to give it a feel of real quality. The metal chassis also feels tough enough to withstand the odd knock and scrape. To back this up is the automatic drop detection that sees the camera retract its lens to protect itself should it detect a sudden fall.

The RX100 is equipped with a 3.6x optical zoom lens. The physical size of the zoom is packed away in the camera's tiny body and feels very study when fully extended. The zoom is operated via a switch at the top of the camera. This feels solid and well made, and zooming itself is smooth and fluid

Again, although it is diminutive, Sony has made good use of space on the RX100 with a sensible button layout. The buttons themselves are well made, and give a satisfying click when pushed. Each of the buttons on the back of the camera is customisable, depending on how you prefer to shoot - or the settings you want to use most often.

Somewhat similarly styled to the Canon S100 premium compact, the RX100 also features a ring around the lens which can be used to set a number of different functions, such as aperture, depending on the shooting mode. It can also be customised to a different setting should you prefer it.

The ring is a great bonus, and is another element which adds an air of quality, as well as retro chic, to the RX100. Turning it smooth and fluid, while the clicks it makes as you rotate the dial can be switched off if you are shooting in video or just prefer a more discreet option.

One of the most useful features of the camera is the ability to add up to seven different functions to the Fn button. These can be changed to suit your needs, and you can also elect to only save a couple here to prevent lots of scrolling.

A button that does appear to be missing, is a dedicated delete button. However, the question mark button acts as a delete button when entering playback mode.

The menu system will be incredibly familiar to anyone using any of Sony's DSLT range, being almost identical. Most features are easy to find, and you can set the Menu to either start from the first page, or the previous page you were looking at - a handy feature if you're changing the same setting often.

Start-up time for the RX100 could be quicker, taking a couple of seconds to go from power off to focusing on a subject. It's possible that very quick action could be missed due to this, but it should be fine for the majority of shots.

With its fairly large size (3 inch) and high resolution (1.229k dot), the screen is one of the RX100's best features, offering a clear and bright view from a number of different viewing angles. Images appear sharp, bright and colours look fantastic from the device. Working well in outdoor conditions, it only starts to struggle to provide a clear view in the very brightest of sunlight.

Sony has equipped the screen with TruBlack technology and a RGBW (red, green, blue, white) structure, which it says is favourable for higher contrast. Using the screen in practice is very good, whether composing images or playing back those already shot.

One complaint however, is that the device is not a touchscreen. That would have been extremely handy for functions such as changing the autofocus point, but Sony has said that it doesn't feel that the target user of this camera necessarily desires a touchscreen option. We're not sure we agree with this, but we can see that the company is trying to appeal to a more "traditional" kind of user.

Although other cameras in this segment (notably the Canon G12) have an articulating screen, this camera is all about keeping it sleek and simple and a flexible device would obviously add bulk. Some may feel it's a shame that there's no hotshoe, or accessory port, to add an optional electronic viewfinder, but again this would have meant sacrificing sleekness.

One of the most appealing aspects of the RX100 is its ability to shoot in raw format. However, this option is not available for all shooting modes, such as Picture Effects, Clear Zoom and Auto Portrait Framing.

It would have been nice to be able to shoot in raw format for Picture Effects, so that you could remove them later in post-production, while Clear Zoom could have given you the option to shoot at the farthest optical reach of the lens and allowing you to crop in later. Not only this, but it's also frustrating having to dive back into the main menu to switch off raw shooting then go back to the mode you were trying to use. Perhaps Sony could implement a pop-up box which says "Would you like to turn off raw shooting?" to solve this.

Speaking of the Picture Effects, which are basically digital filters, an impressive number can be found on the RX100. However, with so many to scroll through (an option that can be accessed via the Fn button), it would be nice to be able to quickly switch off any deployed art filter, rather than having to scroll through lots of others to reach the "off" setting.

Some of the filters don't display a preview on the screen, such as Illustration, meaning it can be easy to forget you have this setting activated and accidentally leave it on when shooting something else. Since you can't shoot in raw format with this activated, you could be stuck with a less than desirable image in some cases.

A digital level can be activated by hitting the Display button a couple of times. This is extremely useful when shooting landscapes, and it's handy that it stays on screen even when half-pressing the shutter to focus.

Performance

Sony clearly has high hopes for the RX100, describing it as a "game-changing" camera. We're pleased to report that the images from it are very impressive.

Colours are bright and punchy, without being overly vibrant. Colours are also represented well in the majority of cases, with skies appearing natural and skin tones looking particularly good.

With its larger sensor and wide aperture lens, the RX100 is capable of producing some very creative images with blurred backgrounds.

Sony is keen to emphasise the quality of the lens attached to the RX100, which is produced by Carl Zeiss and features T* coating. It performs very well, with very little ghosting or flare to be found, even when shooting in direct sunlight.

The wide aperture is also fantastic when shooting in lower light conditions, meaning you can still retain a lower sensitivity value with fast enough shutter speeds to get blur-free images in reasonably dark conditions.

Those images that are shot at higher sensitivities, such as ISO 800 and 1600 retain a good level of detail while also managing to keep image noise down. Sony admits that noise levels are higher than on one of its biggest likely rival cameras, the Canon S100, but also says that detail is retained better. Our time with the camera indicates this to be true, providing a good balanced image.

When shooting at apertures such as f/8, we can evaluate the sharpness of the lens. The RX100 is capable of delivering good quality images with lots of detail retained up to the edges of the frame.

Sony's D-Range Optimiser function is another feature on the RX100 which has been brought over from its DSLT range. It works by analysing a scene for areas of dark and light and adjusting the exposure accordingly. On the RX100 this works very well to produce natural looking images that contain lots of detail in the shadows without burning out the highlights. You have the option to let the camera automatically decide this for you, or you can choose between levels one to five. You can also of course switch it off altogether.

Digital filters are something which more and more camera manufacturers are packing onto their devices in a bid to rival popular smartphone apps such as Instagram. On the Sony RX100 this is no different, with an impressive 33 (although some of these are variations on the same theme).

While some of course will be used more often than others, down to personal preference, several of the Effects are great fun to experiment with. One such example is the Illustration Effect, which makes images appear as if a drawing. Other interesting ones are Toy Camera (which has several variations) and Miniature, which mimics the effect of a tilt-shift lens.

Miniature has a few variations, allowing you to choose exactly where to place the area of focus (while the rest of the image becomes blurred), or have the camera automatically choose for you. This works well, especially when shooting from a high vantage point and can provide some impressive results.

It seems a little odd that Picture Effects aren't available in fully automatic mode, and as previously mentioned it's a shame they aren't available in in raw shooting mode.

Another shooting mode which can be accessed via the mode dial is Sweep Panorama. This works by shooting a number of images as the camera is swept across a scene. These images are then combined in camera to produce the resulting panorama.

A mainstay of Sony cameras for a couple of years now, the mode is a fun extra and will surely be appreciated by holiday makers. When examining these images at 100% it's clear that the image quality isn't the finest it could be, but at normal web sizes where these would likely be displayed, quality is more than adequate.

Although aimed pretty squarely at the advanced photographer looking for a second camera as back-up, the camera also comes with Intelligent Auto and Superior Intelligent Auto. Both work well to identify a scene and apply the most appropriate scenes. Even the most experienced photographer may appreciate the ability to concentrate on composition and capturing quick snaps with this mode.

It's also a great camera for learning on, offering Shooting Tips which can be activated via the question mark button on the back of the camera when in shooting mode. Having fully manual and semi automatic capabilities is also helpful for those that outgrow the automatic modes and want to get a bit more creative with their photography.

Clear Zoom is one of the key features which Sony is keen to promote. Also found in its Alpha DSLT range, it works in the same way as a traditional zoom, but uses By Pixel Resolution Technology to keep resolution and quality high.

When examining the images shot at full Clear Zoom at 100%, it is noticeably worse than examining images shot at the full optical telephoto end of the lens. However, when viewing images at normal printing or web viewing sizes, the quality is very good. The Zoom function effectively boosts the 100mm (equivalent) optic to a 200mm lens - a very useful function for travel and holiday photographers, and one we can see being appreciated by many. It's a big shame however that you can't activate Clear Zoom when shooting in raw format.

Sony claims that focusing on the camera is very quick, as speedy as 0.13 seconds in bright conditions, falling to 0.23 in darker conditions. In use, the RX100 is very quick and accurate to focus in the majority of cases. It's capable of macro focusing from 5cm (at the widest angle) and this works well to produce close-up images. It's nice to have this functionality with a larger sensor camera, as others, notably the Canon G1X struggle with close focusing distances.

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