Sony DSC-RX10 III Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera

This is a superb camera the capabilities of which seem to be lost on people who would just judge it as a casual camera. Starting with video: The cameras shoots in UHD 4K video at 100 mbs. The files are sampled at 6K and down sampled to 4K making it very, very sharp. The files are not binned or line skipped; you get a full sensor read for every frame which means, again, sharpness and high image quality. The camera features cinematic profiles, including S-Log-2 and every one of the video profiles can be customized with a wide range of parameters which will be familiar to professional videographers (gamma, black level, knee, etc.). The camera also includes a microphone input and an audio circuit unhampered by AGC (automatic gain control) so you can actually set microphone levels to your taste or set a single point that's be calibrated in conjunction with an off camera mixer or digital audio recorder and then you can use physical control knobs on the mixer to even more effectively set levels. I have tested the video from the camera I bought (locally) and found it to be superb. I underexposed a little bit (my fault) and I could see some shadow noise start to creep in at ISO 800 but exposed correctly I would feel comfortable shooting up to 1600 for interviews and up to 3200 for images with lots of detail that might hide noise. Speaking of interviews, the camera also features a headphone jack which will help you get better sound by monitoring. Also included is professional caliber time code and the ability to "mark" your screens with "safe zones" center marks and other guides to composition. In my mind this is a full on, professional video camera and one I will use in conjunction with the previous model to do work with for paying clients. Now, add to this a full 29.99 minute record time with no over heating and you have the makings of a perfect hybrid camera. But there's more. The lens is amazing and it delivers everything Sony promises. I have samples on my blog site which show amazing sharpness, handheld, at the 600mm equivalent. Some less well educated reviewers have said that the camera does not really have an f4.0 or f2.4 (at wide) aperture but, of course, they are dead wrong. What they are trying to say is that one does not get the same depth of field flexibility with smaller sensor cameras. That part is true but, rest assured, you are not getting a "slower" lens. f4.0 is f4.0 because it always describes a geometric relationship. Moving on. The still portion of the camera is on par with the still capabilities of its immediate predecessor; which is to say, Pretty darn good. While it is not a low light monster like a Nikon D750 it does very well with shooting situations that go all the way down to ISO 3200. Is there noise? Of course! But it's not obnoxious unless you underexpose. There is always negativity about the small Sony battery but I've gotten an hour and ten minutes from a freshly charged battery while shooting video (worst case scenario) and that's just a little shy of what I was getting from a Nikon D810 battery when shooting video with that camera. Do not buy this camera if you are imagining that it is small and light. It is not. The physics of the lens preclude that. But it feels good in my hands and the extra space on the grip and the overall surface of the camera is welcome. The still images, especially raws processed in Adobe Camera Raw software are great. At ISOs like 80 and 100 they are amazing. Rich color and great sharpness. This is a camera that WILL require reading the manual but it will repay your time with great photo and video files. If you are looking for a tiny and simple snapshooting camera you have definitely landed on the wrong page. The camera is a solid value and something I wanted the minute I read the first press releases about it. If you want to read more about my early experiences with the camera please look for my author's page here on Amazon under my user name. There is a feed from my blog and the entries from May 4th and 5th are the ones cogent to this camera. The images above are handheld and shot from exactly the same location. The first wide shot is the widest focal length while the second image is a shot at the longest end. The image quality delivered at the long end reaffirms the Zeiss reputation. It's a great overall system.

This is an excellent point and shoot camera - probably the best you can get right now. It's got a relatively fast lens, as much zoom as you can expect for its somewhat larger sensor, frame rates for movies up to 960 fps, 4K video, a really sharp EVF and it will focus on an object less than 3 feet away with the lens zoomed out to an effective 600mm. Things that aren't perfect - the screen on the back of the camera only tilts; it doesn't swivel - you cannot do vertical panoramas in camera, only horizontal - there's no substitute for optical zoom even though this camera has a pretty decent "clear image zoom" that interpolates to a full-size image to double the zoom to 1200 mm. Update: If you plow deeply enough into the menus, the camera WILL do vertical panoramas. The reason why I like vertical panoramas (aside from occasionally doing a truly vertical one) is that you can turn the camera sideways and get broader and not-so-skinny conventional panoramas. Another thing I found out is that, yes, the camera will focus on objects just over 2 feet away at 600 mm of zoom for rather spectacular close-ups. But it will NOT focus on objects that distance using 200 mm or 300 mm effective focal length. So, the moral of the story is: zoom at least to 400 mm or more when you want those close shots.

I never thought I would buy a point-and-shoot camera, especially one in this price range. I've been a fan of SLR and DSLR cameras for almost fifty years and I love the flexibility of being able to get a lens that is ideal for every situation I might encounter, and even use it without a lens on microscopes and telescopes. What attracted me to this camera was its high frame rate- up to 1000 frames a second for slow motion videos. Somewhat to my surprise it is also a great general purpose camera, and I find myself using it in place of my DSLR a lot of the time. The astonishing range of the zoom lens surpasses my DSLR lenses and the picture quality is just as good. The image stabilization is also excellent- again better than my DSLR. I couldn't imagine being able to hand hold a camera at equivalent 600mm FL yet this camera does it with ease. This camera is also smarter than any camera I have owned, which is both good and bad. If you snatch it up to capture a fleeting event it usually does a good job, but when I want something specific it often seems to think it knows better- not always correctly. I had been warned that this camera has poor documentation and user interface, but I was still surprised at how bad it was. If you want to use the enormous range of capabilities that the camera provides be prepared to spend lots of time experimenting, searching and learning. I got the Kindle edition "Photographer's Guide to the Sony RX10 III: Getting the Most from Sony's Advanced Digital Camera" by Alexander White and it does a good job of getting you started. The camera is big and heavy, which makes it easy to hold and keep it steady. It also provides space for the numerous dials and controls- some of which can even be customized- when you have spent the requisite hours learning how to do so. This definitely isn't the ideal camera for everyone, but I am finding that I like it more and more.

A great all round camera . I have no problem with the weight that others mention , just try packing a 600mm zoom lens on an SLR and you'll know what heavy is . I havnt had the camera long and Im still figuring it out but the images it produces are very good . Over all Im quite pleased with it so far .

Pues se trata de una cámara todo terreno, ya depende de la creatividad de cada quien el jugo que puede sacarle, el menú tiene muchas funciones y es complicado. La recomiendo para fotos que necesites mucho zoom estabilizado o si te interesa grabar en 4k. Para fotos mas artísticas o más profesionales , busca otras opciones. Es un todo terreno de gama alta.

EXCELENTE EQUIPO, MUY BUENA CALIDAD OPTICA Y UN SUMAMENTE VERSATIL TANTO EN FOTORGAFIA COMO EN VIDEO, VOLVERIA A COMPRARLA. GRACIAS SONY.

This is a great camera. It is not a high end camera however, it does everything well. I truly enjoy. With the Manual Mode, I'm learning so much and slowly moving away from the Auto mode. I am capturing some great picture. Love it. Highly recommended!

I was looking for a good Bridge Camera with zoom. After research everyone talks about the Sony RX 10 being one of the best Bridge cameras. I used it for 1.5 years on a lot of travel and yes it is a great camera and it takes great pictures. BUT one of our hikes I took a picture and had suddenly a sensor blackout. After checking out on the internet I discovered that I'm not the only person having this problem and it happens mostly when the camera is 1-2 years old. the warranty is only for one year. I read that one person got it fixed for 1200 $. I was very disappointed that such an expensive camera only lasted for such a short time. Even it's a great camera - my replacement won't be the Sony RX 10 - I think it's too much money for such a short life span.