Sony DSC-RX10 III Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera

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

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

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

Great travel camera! This is the best "all in one" camera on the market right now. The improved image sensor in this model provides stunning image quality and excellent 4K video clips. I had the original RX10 and really liked that camera. However this latest model blows the original away in mage quality and lens performance. The 24 - 600 zoom has an incredible focal length range that allows for detailed close ups from quite a distance. The images have excellent color, dynamic range and contrast straight out of the camera. The camera is pretty easy to set up. The price is on the high side but the image quality is almost equal to my 4 year old full frame Canon DSLR. The only downside is that you can not make deep crops of the photos you take, the picture quality goes down in a hurry. But if you don't crop your images the quality is awesome. I highly recommend this camera for all forms of general photography, especially if you need extreme telephoto coverage. This would make a great wildlife and birding camera without getting into the expense of a DSLR. I recently returned from an awesome trip out of the country and came back with photographs of a quality that previously would only be available hauling a full frame DSLR around.

Buy this camera if you like focus hunting. Buy this camera if you want a digital zoom ring. I'm sick of blurry photos so I'll be returning this junk. Good luck focusing through a window, leaves or a net with the fake manual focus ring. The camera determines the focus range that it thinks is best. You can only manually focus within a small range of what the camera determines. You can get good shots with perfect conditions. I bought this as a travel camera. Conditions are rarely perfect while traveling. I'm stuck with this thing while traveling through Australia for the next 3 weeks:( The slow motion high frame rate is also a disappointment. 2 seconds of slow motion even at 240fps?! My iPhone can do better than that. Update. After more practice I'm getting the Hang of the focusing system. It is possible to focus past ubstructuons like leaves. I'm still not impressed but I've decided to keep it. Mostly because I don't want to travel with bulky lenses and my wife likes that she doesn't have to change lenses. I'm still leaving this at 2 stars due to all the focus hunting and blury shots.

So you see Sony has released this new camera. 24-600mm zoom (35mm equivalent) and think, OH, MY GOD. Then you look at the lens and see... 2.4-4?!?!?! And your mind gets blown all over the kitchen. (This review will seem more negative than positive because it's the harsh truth) Then you receive your camera. Nice package. MISSING the battery, whatever, I'll deal with Sony later. I borrowed one from work. Right off the bat, I very much dislike that the camera itself is the charger. (I'm used to my Nikon and Canons with external chargers) Then I try the full manual modes. It's cute that the camera has clicking on the F/stop ring, but it's also fake, Then the truth starts to set in, all of the settings are a bit fake... The "zoom" ring is a digital ring, the focus ring is a complete lie. The camera gets you within the focusing distance, and then you can kind of control what happens next. I will say that it's nice that when you look through the viewfinder it zooms more for ultra fine focusing, but it just doesn't let you focus that well. It REALLY tries to keep it focused on what IT thinks should be in focus. Very irritating. They also say that at 600mm it will focus at .97M or whatever. It might, when it feels like it, it usually passes focus, a few times then remains out of focus, then again, you try to manual focus, but again, that's a lie... The image stabilization is very good, better than expected to be honest, that's about all I can say about it. There is a cute feature that turns the screen off when you put your face to the viewfinder. Unfortunately I find that to be a bit too sensitive. The RX10 has a screen that moves, so when I try to use the camera like my Hasselblads, the screen turns off, not the worst, because when I want to take waist level shots I take them blind anyways. Going back to the lies about the specs... F/2.4-4, Definitely a lie, more like F/4-11 throughout the range in 35mm equivalent. Which when you look at it, all of a sudden makes the specs of the camera, not so great. 25x zoom is a hell of a thing, but camcorders have had that for years... Point and shoots have had decent magnification too throughout the years. If you're used to a full size SLR (Canon 5D, etc) this camera will be small to you, when using it, my pinky is floating and I find it a bit uncomfortable, I hope Sony makes a base grip for the camera. Also, if you're used to Canon/Nikon menus, Sony's will take a lot of getting used to. A lot of the items I'm finding unnecessary. That said, good all around camera if you're maybe not the professional you think you are. And with the specs, 14FPS 960FPS at 4K video, you'll be all the rage in your group of friends, for me... It's just a cool toy.

This is a somewhat revised review based on an additional month or more of experience with this camera. This is my seventh Sony digital camera (Sony Alpha 55/65/99/77ii) and my third RX model (after owning and loving both the RX1 & RX100III). So you could say I’m biased, or alternatively, pretty comfortable with Sony products and operating systems. There is little question that Sony is at the head of the class in designing sensors for digital cameras, and they lead if not dominate the sensor market, all the way from cell phones to medium format and virtually everything in between. On the other hand, there have been times when users might readily question whether they have clearly moved past simply making great sensors to creating great cameras and great camera systems. The latter takes a very different set of technical skills from the former. Opinions on this vary of course, but I believe that their recent products suggest that Sony continues to learn, evolve, and improve their grasp of what it takes to create a great camera (and system) beyond simply a great sensor. This latest effort is overall most impressive, with only a few caveats and minor problems. Indeed, if you could carry only one camera with one lens with you on a long trip and were not constrained to carry something that would fit just in your pocket, I cannot imagine a better choice for an enormous variety of shooting situations, for both video and stills. It’s the digital photography equivalent of a brilliantly balanced decathlete, who can’t really challenge the best in the world at the glamour events of sprinting (analogously, not as good as FF professional equipment in stills photography where their DR and low light S/N performance is clearly way better), but whose overall excellence and versatility is very tough to equal. And in good light, it’s capable of taking excellent still images, and simply stunning video. Its video is leagues better than virtually any professional full frame stills camera, excepting the Sony A7Rii/ASii (two models that can equal it in the HD and 4k video department). It offers very high quality video in both more traditional 1080p as well as newer 4K modes, and excellent still photography image quality, as long as you stay under ISO 800 (and frankly ISO 400 is a reasonable limit if you’re shooting JPEGs and want fairly clean images). The lens provides an enormous range of view angles from wide-angle to super telephoto plus a macro ability at 600mm, and with generally excellent optical quality. The lens itself a technological tour de force, and recent formal testing suggests that it is sharper at least most of the time than the lens on the competing Panasonic FZ 1000 as well as perhaps slightly sharper than the fine lens on the RX10 Mark 2. The lens alone might be almost worth the purchase price, as there’s nothing like it available on larger APS-C or full frame sensors. Its optical quality easily exceeds the nearest APS-C competition, the recently released 16-300 Tamron, which has only ¾ the reach, and is not nearly as fast, and that lens is not remotely as sharp all the way out (at a 450mm equivalent view) as this lens is at 600mm equiv. view. Of course, it’s not a fair comparison, as smaller sensors allow the construction of lenses that would simply be huge (and hugely expensive), on larger sensors. Still, with all these qualifications, it’s a very impressive lens. I would argue based on recent testing (see the DPR and IR reviews) that it’s the best 24-600 anyone has built up to this point in time (and it’s in another league from the only other 24-600 on a 1” sensor, the lens on the Canon G3x). For those unfamiliar with the RX10 line, some history might be useful. The original Sony RX 10 Mark 1 came out with basically the same operating system and sensor as the hugely successful, much more compact Sony RX100, but with a significantly larger and faster and more versatile 24-200 2.8 lens, and a correspondingly larger form factor. Features on that groundbreaking first model included: 20.9 MP 1”-type Exmor R CMOS sensor with BSI construction 24-200mm equivalent F2.8 lens with optical image stabilization Up to 10 FPS continuous shooting ISO 125 - 12800 (expandable to ISO 80) 3” tiltable LCD with 1,228,000 dots Built-in 1.44M dot electronic viewfinder 1080 60p/24p HD video with full exposure control (MPEG-4/AVCHD) Raw/JPEG/ Raw+JPEG Built-in flash and expandable Smart Accessory Shoe for system accessories Eye AF function detects and focuses on a subject’s eye Built-in Wi-Fi and NFC for sharing and remote camera control Bright F2.8 Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* Lens (24-200mm) Fast AF thanks to new “BIONZ X” processing engine (but using CDAF instead of on-sensor PDAF). It easily garnered a Gold Award from DP Review, but it was rather expensive on release, at $1300, although it has now dropped significantly to only $800, less than two thirds that price. It was fairly successful commercially, although its high price made it less attractive than its closest large sensor compact rival the Panasonic FZ 1000 (which used the same Sony sensor as the RX10), but which sported a lens that went twice as long to 400 mm, even if not a constant f2.8 – and it offered in body 4K, two very significant advantages, all for a $300 lower price. It generally looked like clearly the better value, and was rated slightly higher on DPR, also easily garnering a Gold Award. Sony was clearly not content to rest on this first benchmark, and knew that they needed to up their game in view of Panasonic’s impressive offering in the FZ 1000. That original model RX10, released in early 2014, was updated early last year in the RX10 Mark 2, which provided all of the previously mentioned features plus some very significant upgrades, centered around a ‘stacked’ sensor, with very fast data readout enabled by the layered sensor construction, allowing extremely high frame rates, up to 960 FPS in slightly down-rezed HD, along with now being able to do in-body 4K recording (finally!), and gaining a useful bump in continuous shooting from 10 frames per second to 14 frames per second (but with AF locked from the first frame). Sony has chosen (at least so far) not to sell this new sensor to the competition, so there are no directly competing compact larger sensor compacts from Canon, Nikon, or Panasonic (unclear what the sensor is in the new Nikon DL 24-500 which is late arriving to market due to production problems in Japan but it’s not likely a Sony sensor). In any case, this seems to parallel their new-found reluctance to sell their state-of-the-art full frame 42 megapixel BSI sensor to Nikon. Perhaps they’ve decided that when they have a technological advantage, they’re no longer going to give it away, even at a premium cost, to the competition. Perhaps long overdue? Both of those predecessor RX 10 (I/II) models are still available, so the RX 10 Mark 3 is intended to be their ‘big brother’, taking all of the advances in the Mark 2 and adding the impressive 24-600 f 2.4-4.0 Zeiss lens. The weight penalty from the 3x longer telephoto reach increases only modestly from 849g to 1095g (both weights w/batteries). This creates essentially a super-zoom ‘bridge camera’, but with a significantly larger sensor than that class of camera has traditionally contained. And while it can’t compete with the truly ridiculous 83x optical zoom of the Nikon P900, its 24x zoom exceeds anything currently available on the 1” Sony sensor. Given that the newest version of this exceptional sensor is still only available currently in Sony products, this means that these cameras are without real peers – although there is now more competition with several more compact travel zooms from both Canon and Panasonic using an earlier version of the 1 inch Sony sensor in addition to the aforementioned Panasonic FZ 1000 – but nothing remotely as fast as this lens. Additionally, initial testing suggests that this lens is significantly sharper than the lens on the Panasonic FZ 1000. So . . . . how does it function? Overall, I’d have to say exceptionally well, although it’s not perfect, and its autofocus system is still a LARGE step down from the best PDAF systems, particularly in low light, and, like its predecessors, the price of admission is steep. Then again, there’s nothing quite like it, and although it will clearly not take the place of full frame or even APS-C equipment, in low light, or for shooting wildlife or sports at the highest possible image quality with long telephoto primes, it offers a set of functional competencies in a single package that are extraordinary, even when you have to take into consideration its rather steep price. You get what you pay for here. I would say that if you weigh still image and video image quality equally, it’s the best camera I’ve ever had, and the best on the market for under $3k – and only bested by the likes of the Sony A7Rii and A7Sii, but not on the video side, only on the still image side. The photographs at the end of the review show the RX10iii compared to an APS-C semipro a77ii body with a Sony 70-400 G2 lens offering comparable telephoto reach. Although that big and heavy combination (costing nearly $3000 or twice the cost of the Sony RX 10iii) clearly takes better pictures as ISO drifts past 800, or when autofocus demands are particularly challenging, in bright light and when the target is not challenging the CDAF, there is little to separate this camera from an expensive APS-C rig costing twice as much and weighing almost three times as much. Additionally, when I’m using the RX10iii and taking advantage of the ~ one stop faster lens aperture, and the two stops better OIS, I can undercut the ISO of a larger ILC by two stops at least, where the 1” sensor is now less noisy than the sensor in the A77ii. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that this camera can replace APS-C let alone full frame equipment for taking the best possible picture, particularly in challenging light, but I am impressed with how close it can get in good light and where the autofocus system is not unduly challenged. And the 4k video is so good, when displayed on a 4k set that has been properly adjusted and calibrated, that it will take your breath away. It’s like looking through a window onto the subject matter. And the audio is excellent to boot. If you love video, don’t mind getting bigger hard drives, and like a ‘single solution’ that avoids all lens switching hassles (and lots of other hassles too associated with that big bag of gear you’ve been toting for years), buy one. If you’re not sure, rent one. It will likely win you over in short order. Pros: 1) Extraordinary ‘stacked’ BSI 1 inch sensor with exceptional versatility, capable of 4K video in body, high resolution 20 megapixel stills, variable high frame rate video up to 960 FPS, an overall package of capabilities currently unmatched by any single system in the digital photography world. 2) Customizable menu and operating system, with high degree of menu organization overlap with other Sony cameras (but see cons). You can customize this to the moon, in terms of several custom buttons, and multiple settings, such as whether aperture ring has click stops or smooth action. 3) Overall very good photo IQ quality, with decent lowlight ability. Good JPEGs to ISO 400-800, and usable RAW to 1600, and perhaps even to 3200 for smaller prints and web postings – losing ~ 1.5 stops in low light ability compared to the Sony A6300 which is competitive with the best APS-C bodies, and about 2.5-3 stops compared to full frame. 4) Remarkable 24-600 f2.4-4 lens that has very few weaknesses (but see cons). Sharp, contrasty, and with variable speed zooming action. Capable of minimal focusing distance of 2.3 feet, essentially making it a .4x macro lens at 600 mm. 5) Exceptional video, rivaling professional 4K equipment, and excellent sharpness and definition with minimal moiré at both 4K and 1080p. Many advanced video features including various S log profiles, focus peaking, flat picture profile, etc. Possibly an even better video cam than still cam? 6) Decent autofocus – certainly a step down from the A77II, but not nearly as bad as several reviews have suggested (but see cons). In good light, AF is reasonably fast and accurate. And given the CDAF on-sensor, no endless fiddling with MFA (I dislike dealing with MFA on cameras with traditional separate dedicated PDAF arrays). 7) Excellent EVF, fully the equal of the unit on the A77ii, bright, contrasty, fast, and very sharp. Image stabilized (even more so than the A77ii which also sports this feature, given virtue #8). You get to see exactly what the picture is going to look like before you shoot it. After you’ve used a first rate EVF, OVFs seem quite primitive and confining. 8) Highly effective IS worth ~ 4-5 stops. This is significantly improved from the previous model. I have taken many shots at 1/10 sec (!) exposure (on non-moving subjects) at 600mm equiv. view and had many of them be quite sharp. Significantly mitigates noisier 1 inch sensor, and allows you to shoot at lower ISOs (can typically beat ISO of a Sony A77ii which has a less effective IBIS by two stops). 9) Both zoom and focus rings are now on the lens barrel, and can be customized in terms of placement (either ring can be assigned to zoom or focus) and lens zoom speed is nicely variable – but see cons. 10) Video IS has options for modes that offer very impressive stabilization, at least in 1080p (if not in 4k). 11) Excellent, if not remarkable, remote control software, in form of numerous apps. Apps can be activated easily from a custom button, allowing, for example, total smart phone remote control, time lapse, star trails, or special portrait face processing, among the many useful Sony app store apps. Cons: 1) Weight and balance. Not only is this significantly heavier than the RX 10II, but it’s a bit front heavy with the lens. 2) Menu system – many have commented on the top heavy and cumbersome nature of the Sony operating system where you often have to do a lot of menu diving. Somewhat offset by the highly accessible Function menu, which gives you easy access to your most frequently changed settings, and by the highly customizable buttons. 3) Not the camera for sports action junkies. Continuous autofocus is disappointing if you’re coming from dedicated PDAF arrays and it’s a large step down from the Sony A77II, and other large bodied cameras with excellent PDAF. 4) Clearly struggles a bit with autofocus in low light - one suspects the next generation will have PDAF or perhaps hybrid PDAF-CDAF. Takes significantly longer to achieve AF lock in dimly lit indoor scenes, and you often times have to hunt for a high contrast edge. PDAF is likely in line for the RX10M4? 5) Lack of a touchscreen is a deficit for some, although not for this user. However this is a consistent complaint in reviews (including no doubt in the upcoming DPR review). 6) As a minor ergonomic gripe, the back control buttons are virtually flat with the surface instead of more raised up, making simple tactile location and control more challenging and requiring more focused attention. 7) The focus and zoom ring control systems are both fly-by-wire systems, and lack any version of tactile feedback or immediacy. 8) Video IS during 4k is limited to the least effective (but still decent) base IS mode (presumably limited to prevent overheating). 9) As minor gripe, deleting images on smartphone not allowed from smartphone. 10) As another minor gripe, lens retraction is automatic after a minute or so of inactivity (configurable as a menu item?). Pros and Cons Relative to the Panasonic FZ 1000 Pros (Relative to the Sony) Way cheaper (basically half the cost) Faster Autofocus (DFD is excellent) Less turgid menu structure? Cons (Relative to the Sony) Not nearly as much reach (400mm vs. 600mm) Lens not a sharp or as fast (Sony is f4 at long end) Sony has better build quality and is weather resistant Sony may have 4k IQ advantage Sony may have a JPEG engine advantage The well-informed reader will note that both the Panasonic FZ 2500 and the Nikon DL 24-500 are conspicuous by their absence, as these are both still unavailable, and the Nikon is looking like it's not going to be available any time soon, whereas the FZ 2500 is supposedly shipping in November. It's likely that the new Panasonic model will continue to autofocus faster than the RX10iii, with Panasonic's excellent Depth-from-Defocus algorithms. However it's unlikely that the lens, even though they've extended it to 480mm, will be fully the equal of the 24-600 F2.4-4 in terms of sharpness, and it certainly isn't as fast at the long end, but getting within half a stop of the Sony at 480 (f4.5 vs.f4). The FZ 2500 however it does have a very video-centric operating system, and it's possible that with all the upgrades that it equals or perhaps even slightly exceeds the RX10iii in the 4k video department - and most regard the current 4K video coming from the FZ 1000 as perhaps not quite fully the equal of the 4K coming from the Sony RX10M3. The Nikon DL 24-500 has the advantage of a hybrid autofocus system phase detection on chip which is likely to offer faster autofocus than the simpler contrast detection method on the Sony, but nobody's actually seen one of these cameras, or tested one, so who knows. The DL is also supposed to offer high frame rate video, but the lens is neither as long nor as fast as the Sony's. On the other hand, both the new Panasonic FZ 2500 ($1200) and the Nikon DL ($1000) are going to significantly undercut the price of the Sony RX10M3, which should put some downward price pressure on the Sony model. Competition is after all good for the consumer and prices. Right now, as of the first week in October, this camera still doesn't really have any true competition as neither the Nikon DL 24-500 or the new Panasonic FZ 2000/2500 have even been tested by the digital photography press – And right now they're both unavailable. For those with smaller budgets, both the Panasonic FZ1000 and the Sony RX10M2 remain the most attractive options. In any case, I’m finding far more to like than dislike as I get to know the camera and its systems - I'm now in my fourth month of ownership. As a neat bonus for those with other Sony cams, you can simply drop your SD card from an RX100 or other Sony product into this and go, and your photos and videos across different bodies appear in a neat chronological order when reviewing, and in their normal folder (as long as you don’t stray from the default folder assignments). I’m finding this a big plus and highly convenient, as I can rotate the SD card from body to body, depending on what I’m shooting. While I can’t review or magnify photos from an A77ii or RX1 (due to the larger image dimensions?), I can still see them in the viewfinder, and all RX100 photos can be conventionally magnified and manipulated. As another neat bonus, there are a huge number of useful apps, although not cheap, with many of them $10, at Sony app store (but some are $5 and some are free). Some are potentially very useful for specialized shooting situations: Star Trails and Time Lapse apps, a super-bracketing app, a Sky ultra-high HDR app, and both sync to smartphone and smart remote control apps (both free). While some of these may strike some users as gimmicky, the results so far suggest the apps are quite effective at what they do. In fact, the remote control app that works both for this model and various RX 100 iterations is possibly the best in its class, and allows you to control many shooting parameters from a smartphone remotely. When shooting on a tripod, it's really quite useful. It allows super-stealthy shutter activations (as far as 30 ft. away from the camera) without any chance of moving the camera when you press the shutter button. Don’t leave home without it. I have gotten some amazing wildlife picture using the smartphone remote app from inside the house, while the camera and tripod are outside. I’m impressed with the fundamental truth of the old aphorism – “it’s all trade-offs”. While this camera comes close to excelling at everything, there are still important compromises that you must appreciate: this camera trades off some weight and slightly more compact size against its smaller brother RX-10II, trades off any version of ‘pocketability’ to the RX 100 series, trades off photo (but not video) image quality against bigger APS-C, let alone FF, equipment, and trades off cost against the slightly less capable Panasonic FZ1000 and the minimally less capable RX-10II. You’ll have to decide for yourself what your optimum balance points might be, and how you might trade your favorite virtue against other functional competencies, particularly how much ‘pocketability’ trumps excellence in other areas. Certainly there is little difference in picture quality – if you are shooting at 24-70 mm – between this camera and the much more compact RX-100IV. So for shooting where I simply can’t stand to carry anything even moderately sized, this will not displace the Sony RX100 (I have the M3 version). However, for a ‘single solution,’ encompassing high degrees of competence in relationship to both still photography and videos, and offering an enormous range of focal lengths, it’s hard to find a more balanced athlete than the Sony RX 10 III. There is a reason why is camera is sold out virtually everywhere and often backordered all the way to November . . . demand for this kind of exceptional flexibility and versatility has been running very high ever since its introduction in May. And Sony concedes that they have grossly underestimated the enormous demand for this camera, and they are scrambling to catch up.

This was a great camera, until it stopped working. A few months into ownership I was very happy with this camera. However, suddenly the zoom feature stopped working. Using the zoom switch on top of the camera I was able to zoom to telephoto without problems, but the lens would not go in the "wide" direction unless I turned the camera off. I thought that this must be a one-off problem, but I met another owner who had exactly the same problem. Given this situation I would be very hesitant to buy this camera again.