The RX100 III earned Editors' Choice marks in 2014, and is still a good choice for many photographers. At low ISO settings, it even rivals some DSLRs. Combining 20.1 MP (effective) image quality, a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), brighter and wider ZEISS® lens, and compact size, the fixed-lens RX100 III is crafted for serious photographers on the go. We can live with these compromises, but make sure you can, too. The second generation URSA Mini Pro features fully redesigned electronics and a new Super 35mm 4.6K HDR image … Here we have two 1" type sensors, with the RX100 III having slightly more resolution, but it's fairly close. And now the real fun begins, as virtually everything but the best full frame cameras start to show strain at ISO 1600 and above, so it's nice to gauge just which ones handle it the best and which struggle more. Even those prime-lens compacts are a chunk larger. Your own results with RAW conversions may of course vary somewhat. We chose to include a variety of sensor sizes in this comparison to show what you could expect as ISO rises, as all models listed are in roughly the same general price bracket here. Like the other RX100 camera before it, the Sony RX100 III is a fantastic compact camera – one of the very best. This perfect pocket camera combines stunning 20.1MP image quality, electronic viewfinder & bright ZEISS lens. This camera handled noise well, not becoming obvious until ISO 6400, and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 12800 and 25600, an excellent performance for a small image … While at base ISO the 20.1-megapixel sensor provides what we’d expect from such a resolution, the RX100 III holds onto its detail very well futher up the ISO scale by compact standards. ISO 12,800 yields a good 4 x 6 inch print, again in stride with the mk II and capable of a good print at its highest ISO setting (not all camera models can do that!). At first glance the RX100 III crops seem to pop off the page and appear sharper overall, but a careful study shows unnatural sharpening artifacts, while the older mk II images look far more realistic and natural. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III compact camera earns Editors' Choice accolades because of its image quality and excellent EVF, even despite its high price. Front The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III doesn't zoom as far as the RX100 or RX100 … ... Where the RX100 III’s video is … ... 2.1% Ricoh GR III 1.9% Sony a6400 1.9% Sony … The standard metering mode produces generally well-exposed shots and exposure-compensation settings are easy … As detailed earlier, you can set the lens control ring to tweak exposure if it’s not busy controlling another parameter, or fiddle with it using the menu system. Video is improved, too, although the Sony RX100 III doesn’t offer 4K video shooting. There are also centre-weighted and spot-metering modes if you want to give more bias to a particular point of the scene. The 20MP sensor means there's plenty of detail to be had. The RX100 III's aggressive default processing shows odd and unwanted artifacts in some areas, notably the mosaic tiles, while the mk II delivers more consistent imagery, though obviously not very detailed. Of course, this may not compensate for the lack of hot shoe, meaning you can’t attach an external mic. Still, it’s only people who have experience of previous RX100 cameras that would complain about this. Below is a summary of the relative strengths of each of the two contestants. So it remains with a 1-inch sensor in BSI technology that has a high resolution of around 20 megapixels. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III produced images of outstanding quality during the review period. This sharpening can be turned down for JPEG shooting in-camera, and of course RAW conversions can be made to order, but it's important to remember that unless you want this much sharpening applied at base ISO, it's advisable to turn this setting down before shooting. Like the Sony RX100 before it, the Sony RX100 II found favour amongst discerning photographers looking for a high quality compact camera that will slip into a jacket pocket. Sharpening and noise reduction at default JPEG settings have increased in aggressiveness compared to the first two models, resulting in a bit sharper detail but at the expense of increasing noise levels. The standard metering mode produces generally well-exposed shots and exposure-compensation settings are easy to alter. Aggressive default sharpening and noise processing results in visible noise and artifacts in the middle range ISOs that force a print size reduction compared to the mk II across 3 middle-range ISO settings. While you naturally need to keep an eye on metering, the results are also helped out by the Sony RX100 III’s fantastic dynamic range. Since the original release of the Sony RX100 back in 2012, the company has been pushing updates to the camera and releasing one new iteration every year. It’s also very well made. Combining 20.1MP (effective) image quality, a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), brighter and wider ZEISS® lens, and compact size, the fixed-lens RX100 III … Can't have everything so is the image quality of the RX100 I pretty similar to that of the II and III? This sensor was already convincing on the RX100 II, and Sony … This perfect pocket camera combines stunning 20.1MP image quality, electronic viewfinder & bright ZEISS lens. NOTE: These images are best quality JPEGs straight out of the camera, at default settings including noise reduction and using the actual base ISO (not extended ISO settings). So what is the bottom line? Sony RX100 III: Image Quality. We got performance of up to 12.42EV, a good 2-3EV better than we often get from compact cameras. We use industry standard tests in order to compare features properly. Detail and dynamic range take more of a dive at ISO 1600 and onwards, with the outer reaches of the ISO 12800 native range starting to look quite scrappy. The Sony RX100 III is a tiny bit deeper than its predecessor thanks to its new lens, which sticks out a little more, but this is still an eminently portable camera. Sony Cyber-shot RX100 Print Quality Though its official base ISO starts at 125, the Sony RX100's ISO 80 images looked good printed at 24 x 36 inches. Still, it's an amazing camera for its size, even with the slight step back from its predecessor in low light image quality. However, performance remains compelling, if not an upgrade to what we saw last year in the RX100 II. Tell us what you think - send your emails to the Editor. I also don't care about video, but am partial to viewfinders. It’s also not a cheap solution, so make sure you’ll appreciate the smaller size or you’d be better of buying a decent CSC with a great lens for this sort of money. The G1X II looks surprisingly good in the bottle crop for this ISO, but then loses fine detail in the other crops. The G1X II has a much larger sensor than the RX100 III, with more than twice the surface area, but roughly 7mp less overall resolution. The GM1 has a much larger sensor, not quite as large as the G1X II but close, and roughly 4mp less resolution than the RX100 III. Ditto for the smaller-sensored Stylus 1, which is really designed to remain at ISO 800 and below. The RX100 III captures video in HD in the XAVC S format, allowing full HD recording at a data rate of 50 mbps with low compression, resulting in excellent video quality. The Sony RX100 III is another compact camera smash – a tiny package that can create some stunning images. We've seen this 1in, 20-megapixel sensor quite a few times recently, and each time we've been extremely impressed by its low noise at fast ISO speeds. ISO 800 shows a bit too much noise in these same low contrast areas to call a 16 x 20 inch print "good" here, as we did with the previous two RX100 models, though it's certainly usable for less critical applications. ISO 3200 is generally an area for APS-C and Full Frame size sensors, but it's worth taking a look to see if any of the cameras in this comparison can match stride here given today's powerful in-camera processors. As with base ISO, the GM1 wins against all cameras in this heat for consistently good imagery with the fewest unwanted processing artifacts. ISO 1600 prints warrant a reduction in size to 11 x 14 inches here. To newcomers, getting this sort of quality and flexibility from a camera this small is an eye-opener. A nice job for this ISO, and would likely yield usable images in most shooting situations. Combining 20.1MP (effective) image quality, a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF), brighter and wider ZEISS® lens, and compact size, the fixed-lens RX100 III … We never, ever accept money to review a product. This is fairly common for this sensor size though. Sony RX100 has the same height and width with Sony RX100 III. RX100 III photo, ISO 125, f/9, 1/100 sec. ISO 400 shots are good at 20 x 30 inches, again with only minor but acceptable noise in shadowy areas of our target. Arguments in favor of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III: Better image quality… Next, check out our best cameras round-up. The larger G1X II sensor shines here, able to resolve fine detail in most areas that the RX100 III lacks in. ISO 3200 has results similar to 800/1600, where the mk III requires a size lower at default settings due to over-aggressive processing artifacts, and we can only call 8 x 10's good here. Sony RX100 IV – Image Quality. Material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted or otherwise used without the prior written consent of The Imaging Resource. Sony RX100 III Image Quality. There’s commendably minor variation in detail captured throughout ISO 80-800, giving you a good degree of lower-light flexibility without a huge compromise in image quality. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II produced images of excellent quality. Comparison image of Sony RX100 and Sony RX100 III … Its default settings are not dialed to be as sharp, but the result is more natural and sharpening easily added in post. If you're using an ad-blocker you might miss out on seeing the deals. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VA sports the same bright lens and image sensor as the RX100 V, with improvements limited to its menu system and JPG engine. The two cameras have the same sensor, so that’s no surprise. Thanks to the faster lens, the zoom range is more useful in trickier lighting and the EVF is genuinely good – a real achievement given how small this camera is. This goes a good way to explaining why the Sony RX100 III’s photos are so special. Recent advances in sensor technology have made ISO 1600 look a lot more like ISO 100, but there are still cameras whose quality starts to fall apart at this setting. This ISO is clearly too high for most sensors of this size, although the RX100 II certainly handles the noise much better, with images that appear much cleaner than the mk III. This makes for a somewhat challenging comparison. Still, it yields images far superior to the RX100 III here. The RX100 II was such a big leap ahead for what a premium compact could achieve in low light performance, so we'd hoped for the trend to continue but, at least with print quality, this is not the case. The Sony RX100 III takes a slight step backwards in the print quality department as compared to the great strides the RX100 II made. Below are crops comparing the Sony RX100 III with the Sony RX100 II, Canon G1X II, Nikon J4, Olympus Stylus 1 and Panasonic GM1. MSRP $999.99 $848.00 … It is highly possible that conversions in RAW will yield larger sizes, but certainly not a guarantee. This means that as of today, we have had a total of 8 such releases: RX100, RX100 II, RX100 III, RX100 IV, RX100 V, RX100 VA, RX100 VI, and RX100 … Sony RX100 III Preview: A high-end compact with all the trimmings Sony’s 3rd generation entry-level RX100 high-end compact utilises the same 20.1Mp 1”-type sensor as its predecessor, but with a new lens and built-in electronic viewfinder.Sony RX100 III Specification: A new ‘faster’ lens and a pop-up EVFAs consumer appetite for small cameras with great image quality … The first two crops from the Stylus 1 look nice and very natural here at base ISO, but the small sensor has trouble resolving the fabric swatches. There's not enough detail left in the J4 images to be of much use in a photograph here, although neither camera produces worthwhile results at this ISO. We may earn a commission if you click a deal and buy an item. The RX100 III clearly shows more fine detail in all areas, but again is over-sharpened, while the J4 has difficulty resolving fine detail in most areas, especially the fabric swatches. The Sony RX100 IV has a 1-inch 20-megapixel sensor, which is the same size featured in all the other RX100 models. As with the RX100 II, the G1X II does appear more natural here at base ISO overall, regardless of the resolution difference. This lets you use wider apertures on bright days without ending up with overexposed shots. The GM1 finally begins to show signs of strain here, as its sensor is still only about a quarter the size of a full frame offering designed to handle this ISO, but it puts forth a gallant effort here regardless, and will likely yield usable images in less critical shooting situations at this ISO. We’ll always tell you what we find. While at base ISO the 20.1-megapixel sensor provides what we’d expect from such a resolution, the RX100 III holds onto its detail very well futher up the ISO scale by compact standards. The lens appears more consistent, both from corner … It also adds a neutral-density filter, which limits the amount of light that gets through to the sensor. Where the RX100 II was able to yield a good 13 x 19, noise levels prevent that size here in the mk III. JPEG image quality At low ISO, the RX100 M3's images look very good. Sony RX100 II Image Quality Comparison. Detail is good, too. All interchangeable lens cameras in this comparison were shot with our very sharp reference lenses. It makes some worthwhile upgrades, too. Image quality is rough at ISO 12800, but photos are still useable. Picture quality The RX100 III takes over the image converter unchanged from its predecessor. The RX100 III's image sensor gives it a distinct advantage over cameras with smaller sensors when the ISO is pushed high. This camera handled noise well, which doesn't obvious until ISO 3200, and then progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 6400 and 12800, an excellent performance for a small image … 13 x 19 inch prints work fairly well here. Sony RX100 III: 10fps (burst depth unknown) Sony RX100 IV: 16fps (burst depth unknown) Sony RX100 V: 24fps with AF and AE for up to 150 JPEGs Sony RX100 VI: 24fps with AF … ISO 80/125 yield a good 24 x 36 inch print, with nice detail, depth, contrast and color. 44mm (full-frame equivalent), cropped to better match Sony a6000 image composition, below (Image credit: Sean Captain/Tom's Guide ) Learn More. Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony RX100 and Sony RX100 III. Photo quality is simply superb among compacts, and to get better you’d either have to embrace a fixed focal length, with an APS-C compact such as the Ricoh GR or Nikon Coolpix A, or accept a much larger body. We also choose 1600 because we like to be able to shoot at least at this level when indoors and at night. The Sony RX100 III takes a slight step backwards in the print quality department as compared to the great strides the RX100 II made. Of all cameras in this comparison, it produces the most consistent images of any camera, not really losing out in any of the target areas. The Sony RX100 III is a reliable shooter. Sony RX10 III Image Quality Comparison. Unlike other sites, we thoroughly test every product we review. The lack of hot shoe limits the camera’s video capabilities, not to mention wiping out being able to attach a larger flash. The RX100 III can also … ISO 200 also prints a good 24 x 36 inch print, with only the mildest hint of noise apparent in flatter areas of our test target. There are some apparent NR artifacts, but they're manageable and minor compared to the RX100 III. Below are crops comparing the Sony RX100 II with the Sony RX100, Canon S120, Nikon J3, Olympus E-PL5 and Panasonic GM1. URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2, is a professional digital film camera that combines incredible 4.6K image quality with the features and controls of a traditional broadcast camera! Instead, it continues to top out at 1080p, but offers the XAVC S format, which boosts capture bitrate to 50Mbps. Imaging Resource © 1998 - 2020. However, Sony’s had to make some sacrifices to get there. 36 x 48 inch prints are fine for wall display purposes here. Very good 24 x 36 inch prints at ISO 80/125/200; a good 11 x 14 at ISO 1600; a nice 4 x 6 at ISO 12,800. Most digital SLRs and CSCs will produce an excellent ISO 100 shot, so we like to push them and see what they can do compared to other cameras at ISO 1600, 3200, and 6400. Is the Sony RX100 III better than the Sony RX100 VII or vice versa? The Stylus 1 has a sensor less than half the size of the mk III, and far less resolution, making for an odd comparison. Below are crops from our laboratory Still Life target comparing the Sony RX10 III's single-shot image quality to its shorter-zoomed sibling, the … As with ISO 1600, these two cameras clearly weren't designed to be pushed to this ISO. Discover the RX100 III compact digital camera. Similarly, this ISO begins to be too high for a 1/1.7" sensor as found in the Stylus 1. The Sony RX100 III is a reliable shooter. On the other hand, with a thickness of 36mm, it is 5mm thinner. ISO 6400 produces a good 5 x 7 inch print, bringing it back in stride with the mk II.