Sony’s New Pocket Cam Is Great — But Is It Worth $1,000?

 

You know why I love reviewing the Sony RX100 camera?

Because of reflected glory. When I recommend this camera, readers send me love letters. They actually thank me for “finding” this camera.

The RX100 is a very expensive ($800+), very amazing pocket camera. Many critics call it the best pocket camera ever made. Thanks to a huge light sensor and an incredible f/1.8 lens, it offers most of the control and quality of a bigger and heavier SLR camera — and yet it fits in your pocket or purse.

Photo above courtesy of Sony; the rest were taken by David Pogue with the RX100.

Here are some sample shots, so you know what kind of quality we’re talking about:

(To view a slideshow of the full-resolution originals with explanatory captions, click through to my Flickr set. You’ll quickly understand why a phone camera could never do what this camera does.)

Sony introduced the RX100 in 2012 and has updated it each year. The second edition, the Mark 2 (2013), added the ability to tilt the screen and the option to send pictures to your smartphone wirelessly. The Mark 3 (2014) added a pop-up eyepiece viewfinder, which is incredibly useful (and the only one on the market). And now, this week, Sony brings us the RX100 Mark 4.

The things that make the RX100 truly amazing haven’t changed in the Mark 4. It’s still a professional-quality camera packed into an unbelievably small package — one you can put into a pants pocket. You can see why a big sensor, pop-up viewfinder, and f/1.8 lens are such a big deal — and to read about Canon’s rival, the G7X. (Short version: The Canon offers the same amazing lens and sensor — with a better zoom and lower price. But the Canon suffers from lower battery life, lacks a panorama mode, and has no optical viewfinder. The Sony’s panorama mode is phenomenal.)

The leading disappointment of the previous model hasn’t changed, either: The Sony has a wonderful wide angle, but the maximum zoom is only 2.9X