Sony RX10 Mk IV Review
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Sony RX10 Mk IV
24-600mm eq. lens, Silent 24 FPS 20 MP
World’s Best Super Zoom Camera
Stereo 4K video (2017-)
Sample Image Files Intro
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Sony RX10 Mk IV (72mm filters, 38.4 oz./1,090g with battery and card, about $1,698) bigger. I’d get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H, or at Crutchfield.
This all-content, junk-free website’s biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you’ll have no way of knowing if you’re missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used camera. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.
April 2018 Sony Zeiss Nikon Canon Fuji LEICA All Reviews
Sony RX10 Mk IV User’s Guide.
All Sony Cameras Compared.
Sony RX10 Mk IV at 24mm setting. bigger. Yes, the shutter button is threaded to take a real cable release!
Sony RX10 Mk IV. bigger.
Sample Images
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All the shots throughout this review are from Normal JPGs, not raw files and not Fine JPGs:
Hot air balloon, from two miles away! 05 April 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 220mm (600mm eq.) at f/4 at 1/640 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file or camera-original © file.
Bamboo. What looks like softness and noise in the bamboo is an accurate rendering of the texture on the wall, not an artifact of the RX10 IV. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 26.4mm (72mm eq.) at f/3.5 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 1,000, square crop mode, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file.
Yosemite Falls. Sony RX10 Mk III at 125mm equiv. (44.9mm actual), f/4 at 1/50 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
Anole. Sony RX10 Mk III at 600mm equiv. (220mm actual), f/4 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 320. bigger or full-resolution © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution properly).
Sunset. Sony RX10 Mk III at 600mm equiv. (220mm actual), f/5.6 at 1/1,000 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
Hawaiian Torch at Sunset over Lahaina. Sony RX10 Mk III at 24mm equiv. (8.8mm actual), f/11 at 3 seconds hand-held at Auto ISO 500. bigger.
Introduction
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Same New Good Missing
The Sony RX-10 Mk IV is so good, so competent and so much fun to use that it’s addicting. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t stop shooting with it for months; there isn’t anything it doesn’t seem to do well, all without ever having to change a lens.
It’s good at everything and proced accordinlgy. It is loaded with decades of Sony’s expertise in image sensors and has a superb ultrasharp Zeiss lens. Quality doesn’t come cheap.
It’s an excellent camera with an extraordinary 24~600mm equivalent zoom lens. It’s sharp and focuses super-fast at all focal lengths. I never run out of range; its zoom goes and goes and goes and never seems to stop. It’s about a stop faster than other long telephoto zooms, with a fast f/4 at the long end.
The RX10 IV has a fantastic viewfinder, built-in stabilization and great high-ISO performance so it’s easy to shoot hand-held under any light.
It’s superb for sports; it really does lock-on to faces and track them as they run down the field, and its non-rolling electronic shutter lets it run silently at 24 real frames per second as it tracks everything.
It’s fantastic in that not only can I get head shots out on the field at 600mm, and that I don’t have to change lenses to cover the close-in shots before and after the game. Want a camera for shooting surfing from shore? Here you go!
Its fantastic long lens makes it ideal for bird and nature shooters, paparazzi, surveillance, law enforcement, code compliance, girl watchers, homeowners’ associations and nosy neighbors giving great, tight shots in any light silently from any distance, all without looking like a big scary camera to frighten your game. I can fill the frame with a person down at the pool from the tenth floor of a resort. I can look 3 miles down the coastline and see which tables are occupied at a restaurant three miles away!
The RX10 Mk IV’s silent shutter lets newsmen, corporate and industrial photographers cover anything without intruding. Concert, medical and drama photographers and private investigators will love it, too. It really does do everything well: ultra-wide, ultra tele, macro, low light, sports, action and you name it.
Sony’s cameras have come a long, long way in the past few years, and the RX10 IV is astonishing in how much it does so well. For most things for most casual photographers, this RX10 Mk IV will make more and better photos faster than a DSLR. This Sony will save you the trouble of having to change lenses and settings all the time; once set, it just goes faster than most people can juggle a DSLR system to do the same thing — and it has a much better shutter and flash system than any DSLR.
Its built-in flash works great for daylight fill-flash even at long distances because its ultrafast leaf-shutter allows for blazing 1/2,000 flash sync. This is better than any DSLR, whose very different focal-plane shutters won’t synchronize with flash above about 1/200 of a second — making the RX10 Mk IV’s flash about ten times more effective! Because of this, even the RX10 IV’s built-in flash has enough power for daylight fill.
The RX 10 IV shoots at up to 24 FPS with full tracking autofocus, handles very well and makes-great looking photos. My RX10 IV’s pictures are always sharp, clear and well-exposed, better than I get from many other cameras that require more fiddling from shot to shot. This camera just gets out of the way by setting itself instantly and delivering fantastic pictures.
Video is superb, and even has Slo-Mo options that allow you to wait to trigger your recording until after your action (think bubble popping) happens! See Usage.
This RX10 Mk IV is essentially the excellent RX100 Mk V with a much bigger and longer lens. If a 24-70mm equivalent lens is what you need, then get the jewel-like RX100 Mk V, but if you need essentially unlimited zoom range and don’t mind the size and weight, get this RX10 Mk 4. The only real difference is in how long the lens zooms, and that the RX100 Mk V is mostly metal and tiny, and this RX10 Mk IV mostly plastic and much bigger.
It’s made in China and charges via USB.
Auto ISO works great; it’s easy to set the minimum and maximum ISOs as well as the minimum shutter speeds. Better, it’s just as easy to program the slowest speed to vary with focal length, and we have several options to shift it (all automatically) from there. Auto ISO also saves and recalls with the Memory Recall modes.
If its 600mm equivalent lens isn’t enough, digital zoom works great when you shoot at the lower resolution settings I use since it simply crops accordingly without having to resample, keeping the images just as sharp as optical zoom!
The
electronic viewfinder (EVF) is always at the perfect brightness from night to direct sunlight. It’s always sharp, colorful, and seems as if it’s live with no apparent delay. EVFs have come a long way in the past few years, and Sony’s are the best.
When set to Continuous shutter mode, it shoots completely silently. No one even knows I took any pictures.
My RX10 Mk IV shoots instantly, fast enough even for drive-by-shooting, and my pictures look fantastic as-shot with no tweaking needed. This is what a camera is supposed to be; I can’t help but love this Sony to death!
That’s 99% of my review; the Sony DSC-RX10 Mark IV is a superb camera. It’s easy to poke fun of super-zoom cameras because earlier ones were so fuzzy, slow and had to be held at arm’s length, but once you shoot with the RX10 Mk IV, you’ll find it hard not to love. It’s quite an advance in the state-of-the-art in ultrazoom cameras.
The Same
This new RX10 Mk IV has the same lens, resolution, ISO range, shutter systems, flash, electronic finder and image quality of the RX10 Mk III. As you’ll see below the main differences are a greatly improved autofocus system and the addition of bluetooth.
Since I’ve taken my RX10 Mk III extensively to Hawaii and Yosemite, you’ll see many image samples from the Mk III where they are relevant in this review.
New
Compared to the RX10 Mk III:
● 24 FPS with full AF tracking, up from 5½ FPS with full tracking (the RX10 Mk III’s 14 FPS rate only worked with locked focus).
● 250 JPG buffer, up from 50 JPGs.
● Phase-Detection autofocus. Mk III only had contrast detection, which the Mk IV also retains.
● Claimed three times faster autofocus.
● 290 Phase-Detection focus points, up from only 25 contrast-detection areas.
● New AF-A mode automatically switches between AF-S and AF-C depending on what your subject is doing.
● Improved Focus Peaking.
● Two-speed electronic zooming (Mk III only had one zoom speed).
● Most rear buttons are now more raised than in the Mk III, making them much easier to locate by feel.
● Bluetooth.
● App used with Bluetooth lets you add GPS data from your phone to your in-camera files as you shoot.
● About double the clip length in the super slo-mo (high frame-rate) modes.
● Adds S-Log 3 gamma curve option for video (both Mk III and Mk IV have S-Log 2).
● Relatively useless touch screen (only for selecting focus area) versus no touch screen at all.
● New My Menu menu page, and options to save “Custom holds,” which save and recalls sets of exposure and drive settings. Both still have the same MR (memory recall) position on the mode dial to recall complete camera states.
● Slightly more rear LCD screen dots (no visible difference), which leads to 5% less battery life if using the rear LCD. The Mk IV uses the same battery as the Mk III and has the same battery life if using the electronic finder.
● Much higher price.
Good
● Fantastic lens with huge zoom range works well without reservations; images as good as from a DSLR.
● Outstanding flash performance. Blazing 1/2,000 sync speed allows the built-in flash to outperform an external flash on most DSLR and interchangeable-lens mirrorless cameras for exceptional daylight fill-flash!
● Fantastic macro ability.
● No distortion, fast focus, perfect exposure and pretty good color rendition.
● Quiet leaf shutter and/or completely silent electronic shutter.
● 24 FPS with full tracking autofocus and exposure.
● Superb live finder looks perfect in any light.
● WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC.
Missing
● No second card slot.
● No full touch screen (only selects AF point); won’t work for menus, playback or text entry.
● No GPS (use the app and it gets that data from your phone).
● While autofocus tracks moving action wonderfully, you can’t change the zoom setting while shooting in continuous shutter mode. While AF does a marvelous job of tracking a subject coming towards you, you can’t change the zoom setting while shooting a series of frames.
● No M1 M2 memory recall modes on the top mode dial as we have on Sony’s interchangeable-lens cameras, just one “MR” mode from which you can recall your presets. This means you have to use several clicks to do what the interchangeable-lens cameras do in just one.
Why I Love 600mm
Here’s a sunset snap at 35mm equivalent; about what you get with an iPhone:
Sunset in Palm Trees. Sony RX10 Mk III at 35mm equivalent (13.3mm actual), f/3.2 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100.
And here’s what you get zoomed-in:
Sunset in Palm Trees, Waikoloa, Big Island. Sony RX10 Mk III at 500mm equivalent (187mm actual), f/4 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
The whole point of ultra-tele lenses is that you can turn every ordinary little sunset like this one into an epic sunset by zooming in. By filling the frame with whatever little red there is, BAM!, the whole frame explodes with color. These are JPGs essentially as they came from the camera without any color fiddling.
Another advantage of an ultra-tele is that you make the disc of the sun huge. In this case I didn’t move between these two snaps; I just zoomed-in. The palms you see in the better image are a very long way away. The very long lens enlarges everything to make a strong shot out of a dull one.
You have to consider depth of field; long lenses have very little. In this shot the trees are in focus, and the water beyond is not.
Specifications
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Image Sensor
5,472 x 3,648 pixels native (19.96 MP).
8.8 x 13.2mm, also marketed as “one inch,” which it is not. This “one inch sensor” is much smaller than a DSLR sensor, but bigger than a cell phone camera’s sensor. Therefore its technical image quality falls somewhere in between the two.
While its sensor is much smaller than a DSLR’s, its sensor is larger than most other point & shoot cameras, so it usually performs better, especially in low light.
It gets fast autofocus through the ability to read the sensor for contrast detection at very high frame rates; it does not use phase detection and doesn’t need it.
2.727x crop factor.
3:2 native aspect ratio, with 3:4, 16:9 and square (1:1) crops available. I program a button to allow fast selection of the different crops.
ISO
ISO 64 ~ 12,800; ISO 100 is optimum.
To ISO 25,600 with a multi image mode.
Auto ISO
Adjustable for high and low limits from ISO 100 to ISO 12,800 in full stops.
Auto ISO minimum shutter speeds adjustable either to track the zoom setting (and adjustable ± 2 stops from there), or settable in full stops from 30 seconds to 1/32,000.
Autofocus
315 Phase-Detection points.
25 contrast-detection areas.
AF-S, AF-C, AF-A, manual and DMF modes on front selector switch.
Lens
Actual Focal Lengths
8.8 ~ 220mm.
35mm Equivalent Focal Lengths
This 8.8 ~ 220mm lens sees the same angles-of-view on the RX10 Mk IV’s sensor as a 24 ~ 600mm lens sees on a 35mm or full-frame camera.
Temple of Ramses III at Bumfook, Egypt. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 24mm equivalent (8.8mm actual), no flash, wide open at f/2.5 at 1/13 hand-held at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
Optical Construction
18 elements in 13 groups.
7 ED and one Super ED glass element.
6 aspherical elements, two of which are ED.
Voice coil focus.
Close Focus
1.2″ (3 cm) at wide and 29″ (72 cm) at tele.
It’s much better than rated, see Macro.
Diaphragm
9 blades.
Round to f/11.
f/16 minimum aperture at all focal lengths.
Defeatable aperture clicks with a slide switch on the lens barrel.
Maximum Apertures
Actual focal length
(shown in EXIF)
35mm equivalent
(shown as zoomed)
Maximum aperture
8.8mm
24mm
f/2.4
9.2 ~ 9.5mm
25 ~ 26mm
f/2.5
9.9 ~ 12.5mm
27 ~ 34mm
f/2.8
12.8 ~ 20.2mm
35 ~ 55mm
f/3.2
20.5 ~ 36.3mm
56 ~ 99mm
f/3.5
36.7 ~ 220mm
100 ~ 600mm
f/4
Zooming
It zooms either via the electronic zoom ring or the little lever around the shutter.
It’s a pumper zoom, getting longer as zoomed.
It retracts when off, as shown at the top. It extends this far at 24mm:
Sony RX10 Mk IV, zoom set to 24mm equivalent. bigger.
It retracts just a little as zoomed from 24mm to 75mm equivalent, and at 75mm equivalent is back at the 24mm mark on the barrel. From 75mm to 600mm equivalent it gets longer and longer and longer. Here it is at 600mm equivalent:
Sony RX10 Mk IV, zoom set to 600mm equivalent. bigger.
Stabilization
Optical.
Rated “4½ stops improvement.”
Hood
The plastic bayonet hood is included:
Sony RX10 Mk IV hood. bigger.
Shutter
Frame Rates
24 FPS (Hi), 10 FPS (mid) and 3½ FPS (Lo).
Mechanical Shutter
1/2,000 to 30 seconds and bulb in all modes except in AUTO, whose maximum time seems to be ¼ second.
The leaf shutter only runs to 1/2,000 at f/8 and smaller. At f/2.8 it only goes to 1/1,000. If you need faster than 1/1,000 at f/2.4, no worries; use the electronic shutter:
Silent Electronic Shutter
1/32,000 to 30 seconds in all modes except AUTO, whose maximum time seems to be ¼ second.
This Sony’s electronic shutter is designed not to have any distortion when photographing moving subjects, a problem which plagues most electronic shutters.
Remote Releases
The shutter button is threaded to take a real cable release!
You can also use the RM-VPR1 wired Remote Commander.
There’s a Remote Camera Control program to control just about everything from your computer via USB.
Flash
Built-in.
1/2,000 sync speed.
The hot shoe has 20 pins with power for use with all sorts of microphones and other accessories.
Still Formats
JPG and/or raw.
20MP, 10MP and 5MP JPG image sizes.
Adobe and sRGB.
Video
4K, HD and Slo-mo to 1,000 FPS
S-Gamut/S-Log2
S-Gamut/S-Log3
Clean HDMI output
Time Code / user bit
Gamma display assist
Slo-Mo as explained under Usage.
File Formats: XAVC S 4K, XAVC S HD, AVC HD and MP4.
It runs at 1,000 progressively-scanned frames per second at some resolutions; these aren’t misprints.
3,840 x 2,160: 29.94p, 25p, 23.97p.
1,920 x 1,080: 1,000p, 960p, 500p, 480p, 250p, 240p, 59.94p, 50p, 29.97ps, 25p, 23.97p, 59.94i, 50i.
1,824 x 1,026p: 1,000p, 500p, 250p, 240p, 480p, 960p.
1,676 x 566p: 1,000p, 960p, 500p, 480p, 250p, 240p.
1,280 x 720: 29.97p, 25p.
Audio
Recorded only along with video.
AAC LC, AC3, Dolby Digital 2 channel, Linear Stereo PCM.
Stereo microphones built in.
Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.
Headphone jack.
Finder
0.39″ XGA OLED.
4:3 aspect ratio.
2,359,296 dots.
0.7x magnification at 50mm equivalent setting, rated.
1.0x magnification at 70mm equivalent setting, measured.
Auto brightness control.
-4 to +3 diopters.
21.5mm eyepoint.
LCD
Flipping LCD Screen, Sony RX10 Mk IV. bigger.
3″ (7.5cm) diagonal.
4:3 aspect ratio.
Swivels up 107º and down 42º, but not left or right.
Partial touch screen, works only to select the AF point.
No anti-reflection coating.
1,440,000 dots.
Connectors
Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.
Headphone jack.
Multi/Micro USB 2.0.
Micro D HDMI.
WiFi
802.11b/g/n.
2.4 Gigacycles.
NFC.
Bluetooth
Version 4.1.
Storage
SD, SDHC and SDXC.
Various Sony Memory Stick formats.
Body
Mostly plastic, with weather seals.
Power
It’s rated to consume 2.2W using the rear screen, and 2.4W with the finder.
Battery
NP-FW50 lithium ion battery.
Rated 400 shots or 200 minutes with the rear LCD; 370 shots or 185 minutes with the finder for stills.
Sony NP-FW50 battery. enlarge.
Charging
Charges via USB, and the camera can run from USB power.
If you have no USB source, Sony includes an AC -> USB adapter which both can charge the battery and power the camera indefinitely.
A tiny folding-plug BC-TRW external battery charger is optional.
Quality
Bottom, Sony RX10 Mk IV. bigger.
Made in China.
Size
5¼″ x 3¾″ x 5⅛″ WHD.
132.5 x 94.0 x 127.4 millimeters WHD.
Weight
38.434 oz. (1,089.65g) with battery and card, actual measured.
Rated 38.7 oz. (1,095g) with battery and card, 37.1 oz. (1,050g) stripped.
Environment
Operating: 0 ~ 40º C (32 ~ 104º F).
Model Numbers
Sony calls this the DSC-RX10M4.
Included
Camera
Lens Hood
NP-FW50 battery
AC-UUD12 / UUE12 AC -> USB adapter
Micro USB cable
Shoulder strap
Lens cap (attached)
Hot shoe cap (attached)
Eyepiece cup (attached)
Printed basic manual and warranty card
Price, USA
$1,698, Fall 2017 ~ April 2018.
Optional Accessories
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Also available at B&H.
BC-VW1 external folding-plug battery charger
(discontinued; only available used today).
Microphones
The 20-pin hot shoe has power for all sorts of things, especially Sony’s microphones.
With these, there’s no need for any other power or audio connections; just slide them in and you’re done!
ECM-XYST1M pivoting stereo Mic
This mic is a huge improvement over the built-in microphone because it’s isolated from the camera to avoid mechanical noise, has more and adjustable stereo separation and has much larger microphone capsules for better low-frequency response as well as much lower electronic noise.
Use this for music, as well as any general use where you’re close enough.
ECM-GZ1M mono zoom shotgun microphone
This one-piece mic just slips into the hot shoe and you’re done. It’s a directional mic that varies its pickup angle as you zoom the lens. It’s designed to pick up audio from longer distances where you can’t place a wireless mic closer.
Use this for things where you’re using your 600mm lens, like bird songs and sports.
UWP-D11 Professional UHF mic
This professional system includes a mic, transmitter and receiver.
Attach this receiver to the SMAD-P3 adapter which provides power from the camera and direct-connects the audio via the hot shoe!
Use this if you want to put a mic on your talent and hide the transmitter behind them, as we do on TV.
We use these both in studio, as well as for interviews in the field.
Of course you can use a Sennheiser wireless system, but you’ll have to change batteries in the receiver and plug audio into the RX10’s mic input, while this dedicated Sony system powers the receiver from the camera and needs no audio cables.
Getting a Legal USA Version (for USA only)
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In the USA, be sure your box has a “UC2” on the sticker near the bar codes.
If the letters are different, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can’t take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the USA, and you won’t even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you’re willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!
Always be sure to check your box while you can still return it, or just don’t buy from unapproved sources, so you’ll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.
The legal USA version also has a warranty card from Sony USA:
USA Sony warranty card. bigger.
If there’s a question, you can call the number on the card to confirm your serial number, or just get yours from the same places I do so you don’t need to worry.
Performance
Top Sample Image Files Intro
Specifications Accessories USA Version
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Overall Autofocus Manual Focus
Bokeh Distortion Falloff Exposure
Ergonomics Finder High ISOs Long Exposures
Auto ISO Flash Macro Mechanics
Noise & Vibration Sharpness Stabilizer Sunstars
Zooming Movies Top LCD Rear LCD
Playback Data Power & Battery
Overall
Performance top
The RX10 Mk IV is a real eye-opener. Sony has pulled out all the stops to give us a camera that honestly gives us a one-piece alternative to a DSLR and several zoom lenses in a much smaller package.
This camera is as fast and just as good optically as my bigger cameras —and I don’t have to change lenses. No, its sensor isn’t as big as a DSLR’s, but sensors are so good today that it doesn’t matter anymore in any reasonable light. By using a somewhat smaller sensor Sony has been able to design a lens around it that does things that no larger lens can do. Sony has decades and decades of experience making video cameras with long-range zooms, and many decades of sensor experience (I was an application engineer for Sony’s CCDs over 25 years ago!), and they’ve put all this together into one fantastic camera.
If you need a camera with a great ultrawide to ultra-tele lens, this is the best there is. I can’t get a lens with this broad a zoom range for any DSLR.
Autofocus
Performance top
Autofocus is fantastic. It’s fast and sure in any light, even with moving targets. It has a dedicated AF mode switch (good), but the switch isn’t that convenient to use by feel (there isn’t always an in-finder indication of the focus mode as you move the AF mode switch; you have to be sure to set the DISP mode to show enough details to see this).
Face recognition is fast and good, finding faces and tracking them all over the frame automatically — but only if you activate it at MENU > Camera 1 > page 14. Set this to ON or you miss out on much of what makes this camera so great.
In this shot as usual it found Katie’s eyes and just focused on them instantly and automatically. It magically ignores the interfering plants in the foreground:
Katie hunts for Easter eggs, EASTER Sunday, 01 April 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 26.4mm (72mm eq.) at f/3.5 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 1,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file.
Katie runs with a sponge at her second-grade field day. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 435mm equivalent (160mm actual), wide-open at f/4 at 1/160 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display full resolution images at full resolution).
Autofocus is fast in any light, and facial recognition works great. See the sports shot above? Even the older RX10 Mk III had no problem shooting continuously and tracking focus and faces, and did it all silently. It’s honestly the easiest camera I’ve use for shooting sports; it just finds targets and stays locked on them as it motors away — and this Mk IV is even better.
99% of the time, once I’ve turned on Face Recognition (MENU > Camera 1 > page 14), it just figures out where to focus and does it instantly
Autofocus is also great in dim light, not needing the AF illuminator for great shots in the dark.
There’s a dedicated (and unmarked) focus-lock button on the left side of the camera at the base of the lens. AF is so smart that I’ve never needed this button.
While autofocus tracks moving action wonderfully, this camera’s only limitation is that you can’t change the zoom setting while shooting in continuous shutter mode. While AF does a marvelous job of tracking subjects coming towards you, you can’t change the zoom setting while shooting a series of frames. In Continuous Low (3½ FPS) the zoom only moves very slowly between shots, and in the Mid (10 FPS) and Hi (24 FPS) modes the zoom ring is completely ignored while shooting still sequences.
Manual Focus
Performance top
The great news is that I never need manual focus.
If you do need it, there’s a selector lever on the front of the camera.
There is no instant manual-focus override; the manual focus ring is ignored except in the DMF and Manual focus modes.
DMF gives instant manual override, but only from the AF-S autofocus mode.
Bokeh
Bokeh is wonderful.
Flowers. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 240mm equivalent (87mm actual), no flash, f/4 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 160. bigger or camera-original © JPG file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
Davis 6250 weather station. Bigger or Camera-original © file.
As with all lenses, shoot at the 600mm setting at f/4 focused as close as possible for the softest backgrounds.
Distortion
Performance top
At shot as JPG, the RX10 Mk IV has no visible distortion at any setting:
Front Door, 05 April 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 8.8mm (24mm eq.) at f/4 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file.
Palms in a Cage. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 48mm equivalent (17.6mm actual), no flash, wide open at f/4 at 1/640 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
The camera is smart enough to correct any lens distortion automatically, so you never see it either in the finder or in your photos.
I suspect if you shoot raw and use non-Sony software to open the file that the distortion may not be automatically corrected.
It’s at least as free from distortion as construction is straight; buildings are never perfect, either.
Three windows. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 24mm equivalent (8.8mm actual), no flash, wide open at f/2.4 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 100. Bigger.
Falloff
Performance top
Just as with Distortion, falloff is automatically corrected, so there is no visible light falloff (darkening) in the corners.
Exposure
Performance top
As I expect from mirrorless cameras, exposures are almost always perfect, regardless of how crazy the light.
In every condition it always seems to get perfect exposure, especially in strong backlight where it especially seems to get great exposure where most other cameras underexpose faces.
The Program exposure mode is optimized to shoot at large apertures to minimize diffraction for the sharpest results. The extremely high linear resolution of this camera’s small sensor exaggerates softening due to diffraction. If you shoot at smaller apertures like even f/8 you will get softer results than at f/4. The superb Zeiss lens is ultrasharp, even wide-open.
The large apertures give the softest possible backgrounds. If you want smaller apertures; just turn the rear dial to shift the program.
Ergonomics
Performance top
The RX10 Mk IV is fiddly and confusing to set at first, but once set to your preferences, it roars with speed. See my Sony RX10 Mk IV User’s Guide for hints. Everything takes a little longer to set than on Sony’s interchangeable-lens cameras.
Once set, everything works very fast, although I miss having dedicated M1, M2 and M3 positions on the top dial. The MR setting still requires a few more clicks to select memory recall settings.
Most buttons can be programmed as you like them in MENU > Camera 2 > Page 9 > Custom Key.
The Power switch is an improvement over Nikon’s top professional cameras: it is behind the shutter button so it doesn’t get knocked by accident as they do.
The Playback-mode button-function markings aren’t in blue; they’re in the same silver gray as everything else, making it more confusing.
The aperture ring lacks an A setting, so we still have to select the A mode on the top dial to activate this. Fuji and Contax cameras do this much better.
The battery goes in four ways, but only one of them clicks home and works.
There is a little plastic tip that pops out from between the zoom and focus rings, so the camera sits well on a table without banging the rings or the front of the lens.
Under the lens there is a slide switch to disable the aperture ring clicks if you like.
It goes to sleep after a few minutes of disuse and retracts the lens automatically. When asleep, tapping the shutter or menu button wakes it back up and erects the lens.
The industrial design of the camera lacks the finesse of pro DSLRs from Canon and Nikon. The RX10 looks boxy and it feels boxy. It lacks the curves of the pro cameras that make them feel soft and comfortable to hold and use. The RX10 doesn’t feel well in the hand after long periods of time. It is not expertly sculpted to our hands, and becomes uncomfortable when the back of my middle finger wears against the lens’ aperture ring.
I love having a Focus Lock button, but it is not in an easy place to use it. It needs to be further forward, where the manual focus ring is. Sadly the manual focus ring rarely does anything, but it’s right where our fingers go and is usually what we want to move. The zoom and focus ring positions should be reversed.
While there is a lot to improve here, I’m comparing this compact point & shoot cameras to the professional DSLRs I usually use. The RX10 is probably the best compact camera I’ve used, it’s just not quite up to pro DSLR standards — yet.
Finder
Performance top
The electronic view finder (EVF) is superb. It’s always sharp and colorful in any light, from daylight to night time inside or out.
I’ve never used a better EVF, but the one thing no EVF can do is work under starlight or dim moonlight without any man-made light. SLRs are much better in total darkness. It’s easy to autofocus and lock the RX10 on the moon for infinity focus, but for astronomical work like photographing the Milky Way, the finder goes completely black because there isn’t enough light; you’ll have to guess where to zoom and make test exposures to see what’s in your image.
Even though you can’t see anything in the finder under starlight, the RX10 makes swell time exposures under any light; once the shot is completed you can see it just fine in the finder.
Yosemite Falls by Moonlight. Sony RX10 Mk III at 30mm equiv. (10.8mm actual), f/2.8 at 30 seconds at ISO 800. bigger.
The diopter adjustment is well out of the way, so it stays where you set it.
Bravo, Sony!
High ISO Performance
Performance top
High ISOs look great.
Cameras have come a long, long way over the years, and even this little 9x13mm sensor looks great at crazy-high ISOs.
While it doesn’t go to the completely ludicrous ISOs of Sony’s full-frame cameras, it goes to the high ISOs we actually need for real pictures. What is very impressive is how the images below at normal screen sizes all look the same, even at ISO 12,800. They are sharp and colorful, meaning that for any real photography you can use ISO 12,800 if you need to; it’s a real, usable ISO that gives usable images.
I can shoot the RX10 IV in any light and get great results, no problems here.
Pops carves the EASTER ham, EASTER Sunday, 01 April 2018. (Sony RX10 Mk IV at 18.9mm (52mm eq.) at f/3.2 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 3,200, exactly as shot.) bigger or camera-original © file.
High ISO Image Sample Files
Complete Images
Click any for the same camera-original © files as above to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly):
Crops from above
These are 600 × 450 pixel crops that vary in size to fit your browser window. If they are about 6″ (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 37 × 56″ (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same magnification. If they are about 12″ (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at 75 × 112″ (2 × 3 meters) at this same extreme magnification.
At these ridiculous magnifications you will see differences as the ISO climbs. While noise reduction keeps the noise reasonable, what we lose are details removed by the noise reduction along with the noise. All digital cameras do this today.
ISO 64 and 100 give the most detail in the wood grain and gold trim around the clock dial. What mosquito noise you think you’re seeing around the clock face numbers are artifacts from the Normal JPGs I shoot; this goes away if shot raw or at higher JPG settings.
By ISO 400 wood grain, details in the gold ring around the clock face and white highlights in the black wood of the clock are starting to be replaced by noise, and we’re starting to lose the minute-ticks around the clock face. By ISO 3,200 most of these details are gone.
At ISO 12,800 all these details are gone, even though the overall highlights and shadows and colors are the same.
Click any for the same camera-original © files as above to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly):
Long Exposures
Performance top
Long exposures are easy, and let you shoot at ISO 100 under starlight.
Simply use the Bulb setting (see my Sony RX10 IV User’s Guide) and a standard threaded locking cable release.
Here’s a five-minute exposure:
Yosemite Falls by Starlight. Sony RX10 Mk III at 40mm equiv. (14.2mm actual), f/3.2 for five minutes at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution properly).
It was partly cloudy, so we’re looking at the stars through blowing clouds in this five-minute exposure.
If you have Long Exposure NR ON as I did here, the camera sits around displaying “PROCESSING…” for an additional five minutes making a dark-frame exposure to subtract from the image. More at Usage.
Auto ISO
Performance top
Auto ISO is perfect.
Auto ISO is so good that I don’t have to select ISO manually unless I’m putting the camera on a tripod to use ISO 100 at night; Auto ISO always grabs whatever ISO I need without ever having to set it.
It gives me complete flexibility to program the ISO ranges and minimum shutter speeds I need so the RX10 4 can set itself exactly as I would under any situation.
We can set Auto ISO to use any ISO from 100 to 12,800 in full stops as minimum or maximum, and can set any full-stop shutter speed from 30 seconds to 1/32,000 as the minimum speed below which the RX10 4 starts increasing its ISO.
We also can set Auto ISO to follow the lens’ focal length for minimum speed, and offset this by ±2 stops in full stops either way.
Bravo!
Built-in Flash
Performance top
Flash performance is outstanding.
It is better than any DSLR or LEICA I have ever tested because it always gives perfect results in difficult daylight shooting. In these unedited shots below it’s lighting my family who are standing in shadow with the sun behind them, and the picture looks as it should. If I shot this without flash, they would be blank silhouettes:
Katie, Noni, Emily, Pops and Ryan at the park, 31 March 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 14.2mm (39mm eq.), Flash ON at f/4 at 1/400 at Auto ISO 100, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.
Pops, Ryan and Noni at the park, 31 March 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 18.9mm (51mm eq.), Flash ON at f/4 at 1/640 at Auto ISO 100, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.
These were all shot at default settings; I popped up the flash and that was it. It’s critical with people pictures that the camera just nail it on the first try as the RX10 Mark IV does; I never have to try several exposure settings to get it to look this good.
Ryan with what he made Mom at school for Mother’s Day. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 44mm equivalent (16.9mm actual), flash ON, f/4 at 1/1,000 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Note how the camera automatically choses much higher speeds than possible on DSLRs so it has plenty of flash power to fill in dark shadows in direct sunlight.
The little built-in flash work extremely well for daylight fill-flash because the ultrafast leaf-shutter allows for blazing 1/2,000 flash sync. This lets the small flash compete well with the sun.
This is better than the built-in flash performance of DSLRs whose very different focal-plane shutters won’t synchronize with flash above about 1/200 of a second — making the RX10 Mk IV’s flash about ten times more effective!
Just pop up the flash and it works great even at long distances with the long lens. I’m impressed; I wasn’t expecting this.
Pooped-looking Katie with what she made Mom at school for Mother’s Day. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 36mm equivalent (13.3mm actual), flash ON, f/3.2 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 125, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Works great in shade, too!
The only limitation is that the camera locks-up while the flash is recharging, which can be a second if the flash needed to fire at high power.
Macro
Performance top
Macro performance is spectacular.
There’s no need for any macro buttons; it simply focuses right up to the front of the lens at the wide setting. It focuses so close that you’ll have a hard time getting light on your subject, since it’s pretty much touching the lens:
It has different close-focus distances at different focus length settings, I find it best to shoot at the 50mm or 600mm settings:
At 600mm, you don’t have to be close to be close. Here’s a 9-year-old’s eyeball from several feet away. You can see me in the reflection:
Ryan’s Eyeball. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 600mm equivalent (220mm actual), wide-open at f/4 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 1,600, Perfectly Clear. bigger.
Crazy Las Vegas Roll. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 60mm equivalent (22.2mm actual), no flash, f/3.5 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 1,250, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
Food, 31 March 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 27.2mm (74mm eq.) at f/3.5 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 320, exactly as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.
Mechanics
Performance top
The RX10 Mk IV is mostly plastic, unlike the mostly metal RX100 Mk V.
The only metal exterior parts of the RX10 IV are its focus and zoom rings, exposure compensation knob, shutter button, strap lugs, tripod socket and screws.
Everything else is plastic. The top cover, flash housing, mode dial, zoom lever, power switch, top buttons, top LCD cover, lens filter threads, lens front barrel, aperture ring, lens rear barrel, focus mode lever, focus lock button, left and right sides, grip, both connector covers, memory card door, bottom cover and the battery door are all plastic.
The RX10 Mk IV’s lens has to motor out and then back in every time it turns off. These complex and delicate plastic mechanisms eventually break or get jammed, but people usually replace these cameras at about the same time the warranty expires. This isn’t a LEICA M3 or Hasselblad 500 C/M that will still be working well 50 years from now. Like all digital cameras, this is something you buy to take loads of great pictures for the next few years, and then replace with something even better three or four years from now.
Noise and Vibration
Performance top
The RX10 Mk IV has a quiet leaf shutter; much quieter than a LEICA and certainly quieter than any DSLR.
Even better, the RX10 4 also has a completely silent electronic shutter. In this mode, the RX10 shoots completely silently; no one will know you’ve taken any pictures.
Sharpness
Performance top
The Zeiss lens is superbly sharp at every setting, especially wide-open where you often will be shooting.
Fine Home at Dusk. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 240mm equivalent (87.1mm actual), no flash, wide open at f/4 at 10 seconds rested on a fence at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full resolution to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
It’s super-sharp, even shot wide open as I did here.
Katie draws at breakfast. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 50mm equivalent (18.2mm actual), wide-open at f/3.5 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. Bigger or camera-original © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
I’m very impressed; the RX10 and its ZEISS lens is super sharp. Of course it gets softer at high ISOs; noise reduction in all cameras dulls the image more at higher ISOs as it reduces noise.
The Program auto exposure usually shoots wide-open, and the darn thing is always super sharp throughout the entire frame, even at 600mm.
If you’re not getting sharp pictures, you’re doing something wrong, like letting your subject move or shooting through heat shimmer at longer zoom settings, or foolishly shooting at a higher ISO. Let Auto ISO and Program mode do their work and shoot at ISO 100 with the lens wide-open for the sharpest photos.
Heat Shimmer, 31 March 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 220mm (600mm eq.) at f/4 at 1/500 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file.
What looks like waviness and softness in this 600mm shot of buildings miles away is caused by atmospheric heat shimmer, not by the camera. The camera is simply magnifying the effects of the atmosphere that we see through telescopes but can’t see with our naked eyes, just like looking through waves in water. Heat shimmer is caused by the air’s index of refraction varying with temperature. As soon as you get temperature variations and long distances, voilà, it’s just like looking through the surface of water at the high magnifications we get at extreme focal lengths.
Sofie looks out the window, 31 March 2018. (Sony RX10 Mk IV at 193mm (526mm eq.) at f/4 at 1/125 at Auto ISO 500, Perfectly Clear.) bigger.
Olive Tree Sunset. Sony RX10 Mk III, lens at 425mm equivalent (155.4mm actual), no flash, wide open at f/4 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 160, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display the full resolution data properly).
Climber on the face of El Capitan above Yosemite Valley. Sony RX10 Mk III at 600mm equiv. (220mm actual), wide-open at f/4 at 1/800 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
Crop from above image — shot from about a mile away!
Jetliner 35,000 feet above Yosemite Valley. Sony RX10 Mk III at 600mm equiv. (220mm actual), f/5 at 1/1,000 at Auto ISO 100. bigger.
Crop from above image. You almost can read the tail number! Not bad for an object 7 miles away shot with a small hand-held camera.
Image Stabilizer
Performance top
The stabilization system is great.
It gets sharp shots hand-held at 600mm, it also stabilizes the image in the finder to make it easy to hand-hold and frame images at ultra long zoom settings.
Turn it off if on a tripod, oddly it doesn’t automatically cancel.
There’s no need for a tripod unless you’re making very long night exposures.
Bravo!
Running River, Yosemite Falls. Sony RX10 Mk III at 185mm equiv. (67.5mm actual), f/8 at 1/25 hand-held at Auto ISO 100, split toned print. bigger.
The image stabilizer makes it trivial to use slow shutter speeds with long focal lengths to shoot flowing water hand-held.
Hawaiian Torch at Sunset over Lahaina. Sony RX10 Mk III at 24mm equiv. (8.8mm actual), f/11 at 3 seconds hand-held at Auto ISO 500. bigger.
In this case I held my RX10 against the railing, and shifted the exposure program to f/11 to get some depth-of-field. This resulted in a 3 second exposure, and it’s sharp! Otherwise I’d have needed ISO 45,000 to use 1/30 at f/11.
Sunstars
Performance top
The nine-bladed diaphragm can sometimes be coaxed into creating 18-pointed sunstars:
Red and Black, 31 March 2018. Sony RX10 Mk IV at 8.8mm (24mm eq.) at f/7.1 hand-held at 1/13 at Auto ISO 400, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file.
Zooming
Performance top
The incredible lens zooms very well. It’s easy to set precise framing with the zoom ring, and just as easily you can use the little zoom lever in front of the shutter button to get in-range quickly. The zoom ring and zoom lever work at two speeds.
At the lower 10MP and 5MP image sizes, it zooms through 1.5x or 2x “digital” zoom, while in fact it’s smart enough simply to be doing some clever cropping of the full-resolution 20MP image and reformatting it to 10MP or 5MP; in other words, 1.5x or 2x zoom really does get to the equivalent of 900 or 1,200mm without losing sharpness at the 10MP and 5MP image settings, which are where I usually shoot.
The finder reports the equivalent focal length as you zoom from 24mm to 600mm, while the file’s EXIF (and file information in Playback mode) reports the actual focal lengths (8.8 to 220mm).
In A mode, the lens always uses the aperture set on the aperture ring from f/4 to f/16. The lens has a variable maximum aperture, but the aperture ring has fixed markings. If you set wider than f/4 and the lens can’t go there at longer zoom settings, no worries, the lens simply uses its widest aperture.
I find the zoom ring is too far back; I often turn the front (focus) ring by mistake. The functions of the focus and zoom rings should be reversed.
Movies
Performance top
I didn’t spend much time with movies. Sony’s been defining the state-of-the-art in video cameras for way over 50 years, so I doubt there’s much I can add.
Not only does it shoot all sorts of high definition and 4K content; it also runs at frame rates up to 1,000 FPS for slow motion.
More at Usage.
Top LCD
Performance top
The top LCD is medium sized and shows some basic information.
It has a dedicated button for a blood-orange LED backlight.
I never use or need this LCD, which is a throwback to 35mm SLRs. It’s there mostly to make this camera look fancier; no one needs a top LCD since everything is shown better on the rear LCD or in the finder.
It goes completely blank when the camera is turned off. It would be far more useful if it showed battery state and shots left when off, as some cameras do.
Rear LCD Monitor
Performance top
The LCD is sharp, bright and colorful.
It has no auto brightness control, but always seems to look well in any light.
I rarely use the rear LCD; I prefer the electronic finder, but to each their own.
The rear LCD pivots up or down, but not left or right, and it can’t flip far enough for self-portraits.
Playback
Performance top
You have to turn on the RX10 and let the lens motor out to play. You can’t just hold the PLAY button.
Playback is fast and fine; no difference here from other Sony models.
The finder and rear LCD have 4:3 aspect ratios, so the full 3:2 frame fits with dark bars across the top and bottom.
If you shoot 4:3 crops, the image has black bars on the sides while shooting, but in playback, the 4:3 images grow compared to standard 3:2 images to fill the entire screen or EVF.
Square images have bigger black bars on the sides while shooting, but fill the screens vertically when played back.
All image shapes fill the screen when zoomed.
Shots made in continuous mode play back grouped together, not as individual shots. This makes it a pain to review them, but easy to delete them all at once.
Data
Performance top
Card Formatting
Cards are not titled properly. They are titled as “Untitled” instead of being titled something meaningful like “SONYRX10.”
Image Sizes and Crops
At lower resolution settings, the RX10 Mk IV is nice in that it tends to retain the same amount of megapixels as the crops are changed. In other words, if shooting at 10 megapixels as I usually do, you get 10 megapixels at either of the native 3:2 or cropped 4:3 settings.
Vertical Shots
Like most digital cameras, vertical shots are merely flagged for rotation and not actually rotated. No one notices unless you try to view the image in software that doesn’t recognize the rotation flags.
JPGs
JPG files are expertly coded; file sizes vary with image complexity for constant quality.
They are tagged as 350 DPI.
Daily Folder Creation
I LOVE how I can set it to create a new folder each day. See Usage for how.
Power & Battery
Performance top
Battery life is half of what a DSLR or Sony’s latest A7 III, A9 and A7R III get with their larger NP-FZ100 battery. If you shoot a lot each day, carrying a spare charged NP-FW50 is a good idea.
I never run it down in a day. I don’t need a spare battery so long as I can charge it each night. If I’m full in the morning, I’m good all day.
I get the best life turning the RX10 off when I’m done any group of shots rather than letting it time-out after a minute.
Even better, when shooting sports as continuous sequences without playing back you can get well over a thousand shots.
Compared
Top Sample Image Files Intro
Specifications Accessories USA Version
Performance Compared User’s Guide
Recommendations More
All Sony Cameras Compared
DSLRs versus Mirrorless
Compared to DSLRs
No DSLR has a lens like this. There is no DSLR lens that covers the equivalent of 24~600mm, and those that come close, like 28~300mm lenses, are only f/5.6. They’re all about as sharp.
Better DSLRs will have much better sets of dedicated controls allowing us to set them more quickly without having to piddle in all the menus of the RX10. Basic DSLRs will need the same sorts of menus as the RX10 to make basic settings.
Canon DSLRs are usually faster to set and configure, while too many Nikons still lack camera memory recalls and only have idiotic “settings banks” instead, so I find the RX10 Mk IV faster to configure for each shot than a Nikon D850!
I love shooting the RX10M4. It takes a while to set at first, but once set, it’s fast and fun.
While I prefer the colors I get from my DSLRs, the RX10 is just as sharp as my DSLRs, and freer from distortion. I’d have no problem using the RX10 in my studio for macro shots and just about everything I need to shoot.
Compared to the Sony RX100 Mk V
The RX100 Mk V is the same thing, but with a faster lens (f/1.8~2.8), a more limited zoom range (24~70mm) and no exposure compensation dial in a much smaller package. They both handle the same, with the same menu and control system and very similar controls.
The RX100M5 is smaller, lighter, less expensive and better made with more metal, but only zooms to the equivalent of 70mm, not 600mm.
The difference is all in the lens, which defines the size and weight of each camera, as well as the construction mostly of plastic or metal.
Compared to the Sony A6300
The A6300 is very similar, and very different.
The A6300, with its kit 16-55mm lens, is very similar to this RX10 IV, except smaller and with a more limited zoom range. They both handle the same, with the same menu and control system.
The A6300 has interchangeable lenses and a much larger sensor, but I don’t see any significant difference in picture quality; the colors, image rendition and handling are pretty much the same in actual use.
The A6300 has no exposure compensation dial, but it’s easy to program its rear dial to do this.
The best thing about the A6300 is that it has dedicated Memory 1 and Memory 2 instant recall settings on its mode dial. This greatly speeds up swapping between snapping people or snapping places and things, which is very important to me.
If you need to go to beyond the equivalent of 70mm without changing lenses, the RX10 4 is the winner, but if a more reasonable zoom range is good enough, I prefer the A6300 and kit 16-55mm lens over either of the other two. I’d prefer the RX10 IV to an A6300 and two zooms; the A6300 is a fun camera (not serious like DSLR), and therefore I prefer one zoom over having to swap between a normal and a tele zoom. If I want to carry lenses, I’d prefer a real DSLR like a small Canon or Nikon instead, or just get real and carry the magnificent A7 III and any lenses like the 24~240mm.
Usage
Top Sample Image Files Intro
Specifications Accessories USA Version
Performance Compared User’s Guide
Recommendations More
See my separate Sony RX10 Mk IV User’s Guide.
Recommendations
Top Sample Image Files Intro
Specifications Accessories USA Version
Performance Compared User’s Guide
Recommendations More
Get one; I’m astounded at how this one amazing camera can replace my entire DSLR system.
It’s especially great for people who need an ultralong lens; if a 24-70mm is enough, the RX100 Mk V is the same thing in a smaller package, but if you need 600mm for sports and nature, there’s nothing like the RX10 IV or the older RX10 Mk III. This is not your mom’s point-and-shoot.
Sony has come a long, long way in recent years, and as you can see this RX10 Mk IV may be the only camera you need for everything.
See also my separate Sony RX10 Mk IV User’s Guide.
Power
If you shoot a lot each day or can’t recharge every night, it’s a great idea to keep an extra charged NP-FW50 in your pocket (you don’t need a camera bag with this camera).
Especially if you want to charge both batteries at once, get the tiny folding-plug BC-TRW external battery charger so you can charge one in-camera via USB and one in the external charger.
I find the BC-TRW is easier to use and charges faster than fiddling with USB cords to charge in-camera.
Protection
I never use the hood; it doesn’t actually do anything. I leave my hood in the box for resale time.
I don’t use a lens cap; I use a clear glass UV filter and put the RX 10 in my bag. I leave the cap in the box for resale time.
The best filter is the 72mm Hoya HD3 UV. It’s expensive, but filters last for decades. This filter is shatterproof, waterproof and fingerprint proof.
The Hoya 72mm UV Multicoated filter is just as good, but not everything-proof like the HD3.
Many people also like the B+W 72mm 010 UV (single coated) or B+W 010 UV Multicoated.
All of these, even the least expensive Hoya 72mm UV Multicoated, are wonderful. The reason to pay more is to get a filter more resistant to breakage or fingerprints. I love the 72mm Hoya HD3 UV, and you’ll be using it for decades to come.
Multicoated filters are less likely to create ghost images when shot into bright lights. More at Filters.
Where to Get Yours
I’d get mine at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H, or at Crutchfield.
This all-content, junk-free website’s biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Sony does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you’ll have no way of knowing if you’re missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used camera. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.
Thanks for helping me help you!
Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.
More Information top
Top Sample Image Files Intro
Specifications Accessories USA Version
Performance Compared User’s Guide
Recommendations More
Ken Rockwell’s Sony RX10 Mk IV User’s Guide.
Sony’s RX10 IV users guide PDF.
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