Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Review

August 29, 2013 | Mark Goldstein | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star

Introduction

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II is a premium compact camera aimed at the keen enthusiast photographer. The RX100 II offers an integrated 3.6x, 28-100mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* zoom lens with a fast aperture of f/1.8 at the wide-angle setting, a new 20.2 megapixel 1.0-type Exmor back-illuminated CMOS image sensor and Full HD 24p/25p high-definition video recording. The RX100 MK2 also boasts built-in wi-fi and NFC connectivity, a high resolution tiltable 3 inch LCD screen, Multi Interface Shoe and Multi Terminal accessory connections, continuous shooting at up to 10fps at full resolution, high-speed autofocus that locks onto your target in 0.13 seconds, built-in pop-up flash, support for the Raw format and full manual controls. The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II is available now for around $750/£650.

Ease of Use

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II builds on the success of the original RX100 model by adding a slew of advanced features that make it even more well suited to the experienced photographer looking for a capable pocket camera. It offers a relatively large 13.2 x 8.8mm CMOS sensor, which is the same size as that used in the Nikon 1 series compact system cameras and 4x as big as a typical compact sensor, a fast f/1.8 lens (at least at the 28mm wide-angle focal length), a large and high-resolution screen that can now be tilted up and down, speedy auto-focusing system plus manual focusing too (complete with focus peaking), full control over exposure and Raw file format support. The only notable thing that's missing out of the box is an eye-level viewfinder, but you can at least now fit an optical electronic viewfinder thanks to the addition of the Multi Interface Shoe, with external flash, stereo microphone and shutter-release remote controller accessories also available.

The Sony DSC-RX100 II has a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8 at the 28mm wide-angle setting, but somewhat disappointingly this slows to f/4.9 at the 100mm full telephoto setting. Still, the combination of the fast lens with a seven-bladed circular aperture and the big sensor is a real joy to use, allowing you to easily create defocused depth-of-field effects that you simply can't achieve with most other pocket cameras. If you've been searching for a small camera that will give you DSLR-like bokeh, then look no further than the RX100 II - check out our Sample Images page to see just want you can achieve. The combination of the f/1.8 aperture, effective built-in image stabilizer and higher maximum ISO speed of 12800 also makes this camera well suited to hand-held low-light photography.

Surrounding the lens is an innovative control ring, much like the one first seen on the Canon PowerShot S-series cameras. Depending on which shooting mode is currently selected, this allows you to change key settings including aperture, shutter speed, the digital zoom and picture effects. The rear control ring also achieves the same things, but we found it more intuitive and quicker to use the large, smooth front ring. It's not original, but is very effective.

Despite its large image sensor and correspondingly physically big zoom lens that dominates the front of the camera, plus the inclusion of a new tilting screen and Multi Interface Shoe, the Sony RX100 II is still quite small and slender, measuring just 3.6cms in depth, 5.8cms in height and 10cms in width, and weighing 254g with the battery and memory card fitted, not much bigger or heavier than the RX100. On the back there's a large 3-inch, 1228k-dot resolution LCD screen which can now be tilted up to 45° downwards to shoot over crowds or up to 84° upwards. As you'd expect with a screen of that size on such a small camera, the RX100 II has no optical viewfinder to fall back on in brighter lighting conditions, although in practice Sony's WhiteMagic technology results in a a very high contrast screen that can be comfortably used outdoors even in harsh sunlight.

There's still no means of gripping the camera on the front, with just a small thumb-shaped lozenge on the rear, making the DSC-RX100 II a little difficult to get to grips with, especially since its aluminum body is very smooth. Sony have recognised this, though, by also announcing the AG-R1 grip accessory. Also located on the front of the RX100 II is the lens and a porthole on the left for the self-timer/AF illuminator. There's a clever fold-out pop-up flash unit on top of the camera which is automatically raised when you select a flash mode - it can also be manually raised and lowered if desired.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II
Front Rear

Press the small On/Off button on the top plate and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II quickly readies itself for action in a just over a second. The adequately sized shutter-release button has a definite halfway point, very quickly determining focus and exposure with a bleep of affirmation even in low-light, focus points highlighted as green rectangles on the LCD. When you manually focus, MF Assist automatically magnifies the image to help you get sharp result, and there's also the same convenient Peaking function from Sony's DSLRs that highlights sharply-focused areas of the image on the LCD screen.

Go on to take the shot and JPEG or Raw images are quickly committed to memory in a single second, the screen momentarily blanking out and then displaying the captured image before the user can go on to take a second shot.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II is wi-fi capable and the functions can be adjusted in the Settings main menu. You can WPS Push to force locate a hot spot, access settings, edit the device name, display the MAC address or format all settings if you wish. More “on the spot” wi-fi functionality is done in the quick menu. Choosing where to transmit the images to (either smartphone or computer) is done in the Playback menu when you're looking at the pictures you've taken. One cool feature of the wi-fi is being able to link the camera to your smart phone using the PlayMemories Mobile app. You can then use the phone as a remote so those outstretched arm 'selfies' will be a thing of the past. The RX100 II is also the first ever Sony camera to feature NFC (Near Field Communication) technology (the same technology that's used for mobile payments), which allows you to connect it to a compatible internet enabled device or another NFC-enabled camera by simply tapping them together.

The shutter release button is encircled by a responsive forefinger-operated push/pull rocker zoom lever, with the camera taking around four seconds to zoom from wide-angle to full telephoto. Sony have added a clever step zoom function which lets you instantly choose from five popular focal lengths using the control ring - 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm or 100mm. The RX100 II's twin built-in stereo microphones are also located on top of the camera, plus a round shooting mode dial with a knurled edge and positive action. This lets you quickly switch between the various shooting modes that are on offer.

Sony has included Intelligent Auto scene recognition, which works in virtually identical fashion to the intelligent auto modes of Panasonic's and Canon's compact ranges. Simply point the RX100 II at a scene or subject and the camera analyses it and automatically chooses one of 11 pre-optimised settings to best suit. There's also the Superior Auto mode, which places greater emphasis on reducing blur and noise and increasing the dynamic range.

Adding to the RX100 II's snapshot simplicity, these features accompany face recognition and smile shutter functionality on board, the former mode biasing human faces in the frame and the latter mode firing the shutter when it detects a smiling subject. The Face Detection system automatically adjusts the focus, exposure and white balance for people in the frame, and can even be set to distinguish between children and adults. Smile Detection offers three self-explanatory options, Big, Normal and Slight. Used in conjunction, the Face and Smile Detection systems do result in more hits than misses, especially in contrasty lighting conditions, although all those smiling faces could ultimately freak you out a little! The self-portrait options in the self-timer menu work by automatically taking the shot with a two second delay after either one or two people have entered the frame.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II
Front Tilting LCD Screen

In addition to the regular Program mode, which provides the full range of camera options and additionally allows you to change settings like the ISO speed and metering, is the welcome inclusion of Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority and fully Manual modes which let you independently set the aperture and shutter speed, making the RX100 II instantly appeal to the more experienced photographer. The range of apertures on offer is extensive for a compact camera, ranging from F1.8-F11, and the ability to choose from 30 - 1/12000th second shutter speeds opens up a lot of creative potential. There's also very welcome support for the RAW file format, which is really the icing on the cake for serious photographers looking for a backup-pocket camera to their DSLR.

The proven Sweep Panorama mode lets you capture a panoramic image very easily without the use of a tripod. All you need to decide is whether you would like to start from left or right, top or bottom. Then press and hold down the shutter release while doing a "sweep" with the camera in hand. Exposure compensation is available before you start the sweep, but the exposure is fixed once you depress the shutter button. After you are done with the sweeping, the camera does all the processing required, and presents you with a finished panoramic image. There are two modes, Standard and Wide. Note that if you do the sweeping too slowly, or you let go of the shutter release button too early, the panorama will be truncated.

In the Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur shooting modes, the DSC-RX100 II takes six shots in a rapid sequence, typically at a high sensitivity setting and a (relatively) fast shutter speed, and then combines them into a single image that has somewhat less noise than a single shot taken at the same ISO and exposure settings. In our experience, the difference between the two modes is that in Anti Motion Blur mode, the camera is more willing to pick a really high ISO setting like ISO 1600 to maintain a fast shutter speed, whereas in Hand-held Twilight mode, it will only go as high as absolutely necessary to avoid camera shake at the chosen focal length. If light levels are truly low, however, the RX100 II will pick a high ISO speed even in this mode.

The Clear Zoom function effectively digitally doubles the zoom range, using Sony's new Pixel Super Resolution Technology to increase the magnification. The Auto Portrait Framing mode uses face detection and the rule of thirds to automatically crop and create tightly framed portrait shots. The same Pixel Super Resolution Technology ensures that the resulting image is still a full 20 megapixels in size, and the original uncropped image is also saved for easy comparison.

Sony's long-standing D-Range Optimizer and HDR functions are present to help even out tricky exposures, for example where a bright background would normally throw the foreground into deep shadow. You can see from the examples on the Image Quality page that these features produce a photo with noticeably more dynamic range than one taken using one of the standard shooting modes, but at the same time without replicating the often "false" look of many HDR programs, and both offer a wide degree of customisation that's previously only been seen on Sony's DSLR/SLT range.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II
Pop-up Flash Side

Present and correct is the increasingly ubiquitous ability to shoot High Definition video clips, but unlike its main competitors the RX100 II does so at full 1080p HD rather than 1080i or 720p, and also with stereo sound rather than mono. The various options are 1920x1080 or 1440x1280 pixels at 50p or 50i in the AVCHD format, and 1440x1280 or 640x480 pixels at 30fps in the MPEG4 format. Sony have also added 24p/25p shooting for smoother, more cinematic movies. During video recording you can take a 17 megapixel still image by pressing the shutter button, or alternatively grab a still from your video footage during playback.

There is full use of the 3.6x optical zoom during recording plus the ability to change the EV level, white balance, and metering options and turn on either standard SteadyShot or the Active Mode mode, which provides up to 10x more anti-shake effectiveness with no side-effects. If you set the shooting mode dial to Movie, you can also choose from Program, Aperture or Shutter priority and Manual modes, giving you full control over exposure for both stills and movies.

There's also a direct HDMI output from the camera, useful for playing back your footage on a HDTV set, although sadly there's no HDMI cable supplied in the box. The dedicated Movie button on the rear of the DSC-RX100 II allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, and then stop recording by pressing the same button - a lot more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on most compacts. You can also activate the movie mode via the Shooting Mode dial.

The rear of the DSC-RX100 II is dominated by the large 3 inch LCD screen, with the resolution a pleasingly high 1228k dots. As already mentioned, the screen can now be usefully tilted up and down. To the right of the screen is the one-touch movie record button next to the rubberised thumb-rest. Underneath is the Function button, which accesses up to 7 customisable options that appear on the LCD screen as a semi-circle of icons that can be selected using either the lens or rear control rings. The Function menu proves to be a very handy way to quickly change the RX100 II's key settings and one of the main ways of setting the camera to suit your shooting style.

Alongside the Function control is the Menu button - press this and a number of shooting and set up folders appear on screen, with white text on a black background aiding visibility. The five shooting folders allow users to select image size, ratio and quality and - if JPEG (RAW and RAW+JPEG also available) - compression rates too, plus features like SteadyShot, long exposure and high ISO noise reduction - all in fact activated as a default. The Movie folder contains the video quality and audio options, while the three Customise folders allow you to tweak the RX100 II to your way of working. Playback, Memory Card, Time and two further Setup folders allow the likes of the LCD brightness to be adjusted, the help guide to be turned on or off, plus user languages, folders and file numbering to be specified.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II
Memory Card Slot Battery Compartment

The traditional round navigation pad can be used to navigate through menus and options, in conjunction with the small button in the middle which activates whatever it is you've chosen. The four directions on the navigation pad also provide a quick way of setting the Display, Flash, the Exposure Compensation / Photo Creativity interface (dependant upon the current shooting mode) and Continuous Shooting/Timer options. The Photo Creativity options make it easier for beginners to change the colour, brightness, vividness and Picture effect modes, with changes previewed in real time on the LCD screen. The navigation pad also doubles up as a control ring that's used to set the aperture and shutter speed in the creative shooting modes, amongst other things. The ring is a little small, but it's not too over-sensitive and the ability to take full control of the RX100 II is very welcome.

The Sony RX100 II can shoot full-resolution 20 megapixel pictures at up to 10fps, a very fast rate for a compact camera. To achieve the full 10fps you need to set the exposure mode dial to the Speed Priority Continuous option, which locks the focus and the exposure at the first frame. The RX100 II can shoot up to 13 Fine JPEGs or 10 Raw files at 10fps, with the regular continuous burst shooting changing the focus and exposure between frames but providing a much slower rate of 2.5fps.

There's a small button for playing back your images underneath the navigation pad. Users have the ability to dip in and out of created folders of images or the calendar view, view thumbnails, select slideshows and choose transitional effects and accompanying music, or delete shots. Press the shutter button halfway and you're helpfully catapulted back into capture mode. And that's basically it. With a press of the Menu button in playback, users have access to a few in-camera retouching effects, including the ability to crop and sharpen an image and apply red-eye correction.

Completing the rear of the RX100 II is a button with a question mark. This provides a list of shooting tips that Sony no doubt hopes will provide a crutch for new users trading up from a more bog-standard point and shoot compact. Examples of textual advice, complete with small pictorial thumbnail alongside, include 'increase the ISO sensitivity to make the shutter speed faster', and then, the thoughtful addition: 'higher ISO sensitivity may make noise stand out.' Hand holding for those who want it then. Sadly the button can't be reconfigured by more experienced users to something more useful.

The bottom of the Sony RX100 II features a standard metal screw thread for attaching it to a tripod. A lockable plastic cover protects the lithium-ion battery, good for 350 shots or 175 mins AVCHD video, and the removable memory card, with the RX100 II supporting the SD / SDHC / SDXC format in addition to Sony's own proprietary Pro Duo Memory Stick format. The right side of the RX100 II has a tiny metal eyelet for the supplied wrist strap and also the Multi Terminal and HDMI ports underneath sturdy plastic covers, with another wrist strap eyelet on the left side. Note that the camera battery is charged via the USB port, rather than a more convenient separate charger, so it's a good idea to invest in an extra battery or two for a full day's shooting.

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II produced images of outstanding quality during the review period. This camera handled noise well, not becoming obvious until ISO 3200, and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 6400 and 12800, an excellent performance for a small image sensor with such a high pixel count.

Chromatic aberrations were in evidence but were well-controlled, with limited purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default setting and require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can increase the in-camera sharpening level.

Macro performance is good, allowing you to focus as close as 5cms away from the subject. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and good overall exposure. The maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds allows the cameras to capture enough light for most after-dark situations. The Steadyshot anti-shake system works well when hand-holding the camera at slower shutter speeds.

The effective Dynamic Range Optimizer function extracts more detail from the shadow and highlight areas in an image, without introducing any unwanted noise or other artifacts. The High Dynamic Range mode combines two shots taken at different exposures to produce one image with greater dynamic range than a single image would produce. It only works for JPEGs and for still subjects, but does produce some very effective results. Sony's now tried-and-trusted Sweep Panorama is still a joy to use. The Picture Effects quickly produce special looks that would otherwise require you to spend a lot of time in the digital darkroom, while the Creative Styles provide a quick and easy way to tweak the camera's JPEG images.

Noise

There are 9 ISO settings available on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and Raw formats.

JPEG Raw

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

ISO 100 (100% Crop)

iso100.jpg iso100raw.jpg
   

ISO 125 (100% Crop)

ISO 125 (100% Crop)

iso125.jpg iso125raw.jpg
   

ISO 160 (100% Crop)

ISO 160 (100% Crop)

iso160.jpg iso160raw.jpg
   

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

ISO 200 (100% Crop)

iso200.jpg iso200raw.jpg
   

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

ISO 400 (100% Crop)

iso400.jpg iso400.jpg
   

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

ISO 800 (100% Crop)

iso800.jpg iso800raw.jpg
   

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

ISO 1600 (100% Crop)

iso1600.jpg iso1600raw.jpg
   

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

iso3200.jpg iso3200raw.jpg
   

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

ISO 6400 (100% Crop)

iso6400.jpg iso6400raw.jpg
   

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

ISO 12800 (100% Crop)

iso12800.jpg iso12800raw.jpg

Focal Range

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II's 3.6x zoom lens offers a fairly versatile focal range, as illustrated by these examples:

28mm

100mm

focal_range1.jpg focal_range2.jpg

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft and ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)

Sharpened (100% Crop)

sharpen1.jpg sharpen1a.jpg
   
sharpen2.jpg sharpen2a.jpg

File Quality

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II has 2 different image quality settings available, with Fine being the highest quality option. Here are some 100% crops which show the quality of the various options, with the file size shown in brackets.

Fine (5.17Mb) (100% Crop) Standard (3.54Mb) (100% Crop)
quality_fine.jpg quality_standard.jpg
   
RAW (19.9Mb) (100% Crop)  
quality_raw.jpg  

Chromatic Aberrations

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II handled chromatic aberrations well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

chromatic1.jpg chromatic2.jpg

Macro

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II allows you to focus on a subject that is 5cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro

Macro (100% Crop)

macro1.jpg macro1a.jpg

Flash

The flash settings on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II are Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash, with a Red-eye Reduction option in the Main menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Suppressed Flash - Wide Angle (28mm)

Forced Flash - Wide Angle (28mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64
   

Suppressed Flash - Telephoto (100mm)

Forced Flash - Telephoto (100mm)

ISO 64 ISO 64

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash setting or the Red-Eye Correction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Forced Flash

Forced Flash (100% Crop)
flash_on.jpg flash_on1.jpg
   

Red-eye Reduction

Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

flash_redeye.jpg flash_redeye1.jpg

Night

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 25 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.

Night

Night (100% Crop)

night1.jpg night1a.jpg

Steadyshot

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II has an antishake mechanism which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the same settings. The first shot was taken with Shake Reduction turned off, the second with it turned on. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results. As you can see, with Shake Reduction turned on, the images are sharper than when it's turned off.

Shutter Speed / Focal Length

Shake Reduction Off (100% Crop)

Shake Reduction On (100% Crop)

1/20th / 28mm antishake1.jpg antishake1a.jpg
     
1/20th / 100mm antishake2.jpg antishake2a.jpg

Dynamic Range Optimizer

D-Range Optimiser (DRO) is Sony's solution to improve shadow detail in photos taken in contrasty light.

Off

LV1
dro_01.jpg dro_02.jpg
   
LV2 LV3
dro_03.jpg dro_04.jpg
   

LV4

LV5
dro_05.jpg dro_06.jpg

High Dynamic Range

High Dynamic Range Optimiser (HDR) is Sony's solution for capturing more contrast than a single exposure can handle by combining two exposures into one image.

Off

1.0EV

hdr_01.jpg hdr_02.jpg
   

2.0EV

3.0EV

hdr_03.jpg hdr_04.jpg
   

4.0EV

5.0EV

hdr_05.jpg hdr_06.jpg
   

6.0EV

 
hdr_07.jpg  

Creative Styles

There are 6 Creative Style preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images.

Standard

Vivid

creative_style_01.jpg creative_style_02.jpg
   

Portrait

Landscape

creative_style_03.jpg creative_style_04.jpg
   

B/W

Sunset

creative_style_05.jpg creative_style_05.jpg

Picture Effects

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II offers an extensive range of thirteen creative Picture Effects.

Off

Toy Camera

picture_effect_01.jpg picture_effect_02.jpg
   

Pop Color

Posterization

picture_effect_03.jpg picture_effect_04.jpg
   

Retro

Soft High-key

picture_effect_05.jpg picture_effect_06.jpg
   

Partial Color (Red)

High Contrast Mono

picture_effect_07.jpg picture_effect_08.jpg
   

Soft Focus

HDR Painting

picture_effect_09.jpg picture_effect_10.jpg
   

Rich-tone Mono

Miniature

picture_effect_11.jpg picture_effect_12.jpg
   

Watercolor

Illustration

picture_effect_13.jpg picture_effect_14.jpg

Sweep Panorama

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by 'sweeping' with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching and even successfully compensates for moving subjects.

Standard
panorama1.jpg
 
Wide
panorama2.jpg

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II camera, which were all taken using the 20.2 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Sample RAW Images

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Sony RAW (ARW) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).

Sample Movie & Video

This is a sample video from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II camera at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 25 frames per second. Please note that this 31 second movie is 83Mb in size.

Product Images

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Lens Extended

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Flash Raised

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Image Displayed

 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Turned On

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Function Menu

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Main Menu

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Help Menu

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II / Tilting LCD Screen

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Top of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Bottom of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Memory Card Slot

 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Battery Compartment

Conclusion

The new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II is undoubtedly a better camera than the original RX100, both in terms of features and image quality, but it's also a lot more expensive than the original model, which continues to be sold as part of the premium Cyber-shot range. The eye-watering price-tag of £650 / $750 is an awful lot to ask for a humble compact camera, making the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II one of the most expensive models on the market and putting it into direct competition with mid-range compact system cameras and entry-level DSLRs. Despite that, we love the improvements that Sony have made to an already great camera, making the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II one of the best compacts that we've ever reviewed.

We were already impressed with the RX100's image quality, but the new 20.2 megapixel sensor in the DSC-RX100 II provides even better results from ISO 100-3200, with only the faster settings of 6400 and 12800 suffering from a little too much noise and smearing of fine detail. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled and colours accurate, and the fast 3.6x lens is great for achieving that shallow DSLR-like depth-of-field and using the camera in low-light conditions. The headline grabbing F1.8 maximum aperture disappointingly still slows down as the zoom increases, but it's quite easy to throw the background out of focus throughout the range.

In addition to improving the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II's image quality, the addition of the multi interface shoe, multi terminal and built-in wi-fi/NFC make this the best connected and most versatile Sony camera to date. OK, adding the expensive electronic viewfinder makes the RX100 II both much bigger and even more expensive, but at least you have the option, and built-in wi-fi and NFC make it straight-forward to share your photos and remotely control the camera itself. The tiltable LCD screen is a nice improvement that surprisingly doesn't result in the RX100 II being markedly bigger than the original, and the more cinematic 24/25p video mode is very welcome. The only major feature that we expected to see included on this new model is a touchscreen interface - maybe next time.

With the rise of the samrtphone seemingly sounding the death knell for cheap compact cameras, it looks like only premium models like the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II II will survive their onslaught. Only you can decide if the RX100 II's premium price-tag is simply too high - for us, while it does take the edge off the overall package, the RX100 II is definitely the best compact camera that money can currently buy...

4.5 stars

Ratings (out of 5)
Design 4.5
Features 5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 5
Value for money 3.5

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II.

Canon PowerShot S110

The Canon PowerShot S110 is a new compact camera that offers an extensive list of advanced features - ISO range of 80-12800, RAW support, full manual controls, built-in wi-fi, touchscreen interface and 1080p video - all in a slim and stylish body that you can easily fit in a trouser pocket. Read our in-depth Canon PowerShot S110 review now to find out if this is the best premium compact.

Fujifilm X20

The Fujifilm X20 is a brand new premium compact camera with a large 2/3-type 12 megapixel sensor and a fast 4x optical zoom lens. Boasting impeccable build-quality, intuitive handling and a long-list of photographer-friendly features, is the Fujifilm X20 the ultimate pocket camera for the avid photographer? Read our Fujifilm X20 review, complete with full-size sample JPEG and raw images, videos and more to find out...

Nikon Coolpix P330

The Nikon Coolpix P330 is a new compact camera aimed at prosumers. The Nikon P330 features a 12.2 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, full manual controls, 1080p HD video recording, a 5x wide-angle zoom lens with a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, a high-resolution LCD screen, built-in GPS and 10fps burst shooting. Read our in-depth Nikon Coolpix P330 review to find out if this is the perfect pocket camera for the keen enthusiast ...

Olympus XZ-2

The new Olympus XZ-2 is a serious compact that's aimed at the enthusiast and professional user looking for a small yet capable camera. A 12 megapixel 1/1.7 inch CMOS sensor, fast f/1.8 maximum aperture, high-res 3-inch tilting touch-screen LCD, and a full range of manual shooting modes should be enough to grab your attention. Read our expert Olympus XZ-2 review, complete with full-size JPEG, RAW and movie samples.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 is the latest premium compact camera hoping to find a place in a professional photographer's pocket. With the fastest lens of any compact to date, the LX7 also offers an improved 10 megapixel sensor, full 1080p HD movies and an even better control system than the previous LX5 model. Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7 review with sample JPEG, RAW and video files now.

Pentax MX-1

The Pentax MX-1 joins the growing list of premium compact cameras aimed at advanced users. Offering a large 1/1.7" 12 megapixel sensor, fast f/1.8 4x zoom lens, tilting 3-inch LCD screen and an appealingly retro design, does the Pentax MX1 offer enough to compete in this increasingly competitive market? Read our detailed Pentax MX-1 review to find out...

Samsung EX2F

The Samsung EX2F is a new pocket camera for serious photographers, sporting a super-bright f/1.4, 3.3x zoom lens, sensible 12 megapixel sensor and a swivelling 3 inch AMOLED screen. 1080p video, RAW shooting, ISO 80-12800, 10fps burst shooting, image stabilisation and full manual controls complete the EX2F's star attractions. Read our Samsung EX2F review to find out if this is the advanced compact camera for you...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is an exciting new premium compact camera. A large "1.0-type" 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3.6x 28-100mm lens with a fast maximum aperture of F1.8, full 1080p high-definition video with stereo sound, high-resolution 3-inch screen, manual shooting modes, 10fps continuous shooting, ISO range of 100-12800, Raw support and fast auto-focusing are all present and correct. Read our in-depth Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 review to find out if it's the best pocket camera ever...

Review Roundup

Reviews of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II from around the web.

pocket-lint.com »

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II isn't a casual camera purchase. It touts itself as the big gun of the compact camera world, and with an asking price of £650 it's about as far removed from a back pocket change purchase as a compact can be. But we're still excited by this latest version of the RX100. Why? Because it comes complete with an updated 1-inch sensor that promises top-notch image quality and there's a new hotshoe for adding an accessory viewfinder. Combined, these tweaks over the original RX100 model ought to make the RX100 II the compact camera to watch. Is it crazy-good or, at that price, just plain crazy?
Read the full review »

pcmag.com »

In the year since its release, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100£367.19 at Onestop Digital has stood alone in the compact market as the only model with a 1-inch image sensor. The RX100 II ($749.99 direct)$748.00 at Buydig.com joins it; it's priced $100 higher, but offers some upgrades. The image sensor is now a backside-illuminated CMOS design, which gives it a one-stop advantage in noise control, and there's built-in Wi-Fi, a tilting rear screen, and support for Sony's add-on EVF.
Read the full review »

amateurphotographer.co.uk »

Sony announced its Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II alongside the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R on 27 June this year. As the name makes clear, the RX100 II is an upgraded version of the original Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 that impressed us greatly when we tested it in AP 14 July 2012. It was part of the recent wave of advanced compact cameras and, for its size, it was top of the class for image quality.
Read the full review »

eoshd.com »

When I reviewed the Sony RX100 exactly a year ago it was genuinely novel. The closest image quality yet to a DSLR in a pocket camera. Can the RX100 Mark II improve enough to stay interesting?
Read the full review »

Specifications

Lens

Optical Zoom 3.6x (Optical Zoom during movie recording)
Clear Image Zoom 7.2x
Digital Zoom 20M Approx.14x / 10M Approx.20x / 5M Approx.28x / VGA Approx.54x
F F1.8(W)-4.9(T)
Focal Length (f= mm) f=10.4-37.1mm
Focal Length (f=35mm conversion) f=28-100mm
Macro (cm) iAuto:AF(W:Approx.5cm(0.16') to infinity, T:Approx.55cm(1.80') to infinity) / Program Auto:AF(W:Approx,5cm(0.16') to infinity, T:Approx.55cm(1.80') to infinity)
Filter Diameter (mm) NO
Conversion Lens compatibility NO
Carl Zeiss® lens YES
Sony G NO

Image Sensory

Sensor Type Exmor™ R CMOS Sensor
Size (Inches) 1.0type (13.2 x 8.8mm)

Camera

Effective Pixels (Mega Pixels) Approx. 20.2
Bionz Processor YES
Face Detection YES
Smile Shutter YES
Soft Skin Effect YES (ON/OFF)
Background Defocus NO
GPS NO
Waterproof NO
Auto HDR YES (ON/OFF)
Picture Effect Toy camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono., Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Richtone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolor, Illustration
Sweep Panorama YES
Intelligent Sweep Panorama NO
Underwater Sweep Panorama NO
3D Sweep Panorama NO
Clear RAW NR NO
Auto Focus Area (Multi Point) YES
Auto Focus Area (Centre weighted) YES
Auto Focus Area (Spot) YES
Auto Focus Area (Flexible Spot) YES
Manual Focus YES
Aperture Auto Mode iAuto(F1.8/F11(W)) / Program Auto(F1.8/F11(W))
Aperture Priority Mode F1.8/F11(W)
Aperture Manual Mode F1.8/F11(W)
Shutter Speed Auto Mode (sec) iAuto(4" - 1/2000) / Program Auto(1" - 1/2000)
NR Slow Shutter NO
Hand Shake Alert NO
Exposure Control ± 3.0EV, 1/3EV step
White Balance Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent warm white, Fluorescent cool white, Fluorescent day white, Fluorescent daylight, Flash, C.Temp./Filter, Custom
Automatic White Balance YES
Light Metering (Multi Pattern) YES
Light Metering (Centre weighted) YES
Light Metering (Spot) YES
Sharpness Setting YES
Saturation Setting YES
Contrast Setting YES
ISO Sensitivity (REI) Auto(ISO160-12800, selectable with upper / lower limit),160/200/400/800/1600/3200/6400/12800 (Extendableto ISO100/125),Multi-Frame NR:Auto(ISO160-25600)
Scene Selection Portrait / Anti Motion Blur / Sports Action / Pet Mode / Gourmet / Macro / Landscape / Sunset / Night Scene / Handheld Twilight / Night Portrait / Fireworks / High Sensitivity
Wi-Fi YES
Eye-Fi YES
Ctrl with Smartphone YES
Send to Smartphone YES

SteadyShot

SteadyShot capability NO
Optical SteadyShot capability YES

Auto Focus System

AF Illuminator Auto / Off

Built-In-Flash

Flash Mode Auto / Flash On / Slow Synchro / Rear Sync / Flash Off
Red-Eye Correction YES
Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash NO
Distance limitations using Flash (m) ISO Auto: Approx.0.3m to 15.0m (W) / Approx. 0.55m to 5.7m (T), ISO12800: up to Approx. 30.0m (W) / Approx. 11.3m (T)

LCD/ Viewfinder

LCD Screen Size (inches) 7.5cm(3type)
LCD Total Dots Number 1.228.800
LCD Monitor Type TFT/ Xtra fine/ Tiltable LCD
Auto Bright Monitoring YES
Optical Viewfinder Optional with MI Shoe accy
Electrical Viewfinder Optional with MI Shoe accy

Recording

Recording Media Memory Stick™ Duo / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (high speed) / Memory Stick PRO HG Duo™ / Memory Stick Micro* / Memory Stick Micro (mark 2)*
Recording Media II SD Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card / SDXC Memory Card / microSD Memory Card* / microSDHC Memory Card*
Recording Format JPEG, RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format)
DCF (Design rule for Camera File System) YES
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) YES
Burst Mode (shots) Approx.10 fps
Burst Interval (approximately sec) Approx.06 sec.
Still Image size (20M 5472×3648) (3:2 mode) YES
Still Image size (10M 3888×2592) (3:2 mode) YES
Still Image size (5M 2736×1824) (3:2 mode) YES
Still Image size (18M 4864×3648) (4:3 mode) YES
Still Image size (10M 3648×2736) (4:3 mode) YES
Still Image size (5M 2592×1944) (4:3 mode) YES
Still Image size (17M 5472×3080) (16:9 mode) YES
Still Image size (7.5M 3648×2056) (16:9 mode) YES
Still Image size (4.2M 2720×1528) (16:9 mode) YES
Still Image size (VGA, 640 x 480) YES
Still Image size (13M 3648×3648) (1:1 mode) YES
Still Image size (6.5M 2544×2544) (1:1 mode) YES
Still Image size (3.7M 1920×1920) (1:1 mode)  
2D Panorama Wide(12,416×1,856/5,536×2,160) / Standard(8,192×1,856/3,872×2,160)
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50p Approx.28Mbps) (AVCHD) YES
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50i Approx.24Mbps) (AVCHD) YES
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50i Approx.17Mbps) (AVCHD) YES
Moving Image Size (1440x1080 30fps Fine Approx.12Mbps) (MP4) YES
Moving Image Size (640x480 30fps Approx.3Mbps) (VGA) YES

Playback/ Edit

HD (High Definition) Playback YES (HDMI® out)
Slideshow (Playback) YES
Trimming NO
Playback Zoom Depends on image size
Cue & Review (MPEG) YES
Index Playback 4 / 9 images
Image Rotation YES
Auto Image Rotation YES
Auto grouping and & Best Picture Recognition NO

General

Battery Remaining Indicator YES
Histogram Indicator YES
PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) NO
Print Image Matching YES
PictBridge NO
Shop Front Mode YES
Start up time (approximately sec) Approx. 2.1 sec.
Menu Language English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian , Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian, Russian

Jacks

Multi use Terminal with HD Multi/Micro USB Terminal, Hi-Speed USB, Micro HDMI®, PAL Video out
Multi use Terminal YES
AV Out NO
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed NO

Power/ Others

Battery System Lithium-ion
Supplied Battery NP-BX1
Stamina (battery life) with the supplied battery(s) in normal shooting condition Approx. 350 / Approx. 175min
Battery for Clock NO
Weight (g) Approx. 254g (9.0oz.)
Weight with Accessories (g) Approx. 281g (9.9oz.)
Supplied Software PlayMemories Home
Supplied Accessories Rechargeable Battery Pack (NP-BX1), AC AdaptorAC-UB10/UB10B/UB10C/UB10D, Micro USB cable, Wrist Strap, Strap adapter, Instruction Manual

Dimensions

Width (mm) 101.6
Height (mm) 58.1
Depth (mm) 35.9

Disclaimers

* Requires adaptor (not supplied)

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