Sony RX100 III Creator Kit Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony RX100 III is a premium compact digital camera that packs impressive imaging capabilities into a small, portable body. This third iteration in Sony's popular RX100 series maintains the sleek, stylish design but makes some important upgrades under the hood.

The RX100 III features a large 1-inch type CMOS sensor with 20.1 megapixels of resolution, allowing it to capture excellent image quality despite its compact size. It has a high-quality Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.8-2.8 lens, providing both wide angle and short telephoto perspectives as well as fast aperture settings for artistic background blur.

Some standout features include a pop-up OLED electronic viewfinder, 180-degree tiltable LCD screen, built-in ND filter, and integrated WiFi/NFC connectivity. This makes the RX100 III a highly versatile everyday carry or travel camera. From landscapes to portraits to street photography, the camera provides advanced controls in a pocketable form factor.

Body and Handling

The Sony RX100 III features a sleek and compact body, perfect for slipping into a pocket or bag when on the go. Despite its small size, the camera feels sturdy and well-built thanks to its aluminum alloy body and carbon fiber construction on the top plate. It weighs just 290g, making it easy to carry around all day if needed.

The camera is very easy to operate, with well-placed physical controls including a mode dial, exposure compensation dial, and customizable control ring around the lens. There is also a 3-inch tilting LCD screen that flips up 180 degrees, allowing you to easily take selfies or frame shots from high or low angles. The screen provides a high resolution of 1.2 million dots, ensuring vivid image previews and clear menu navigation. Overall, the RX100 III offers an intuitive control layout in a highly portable form factor.

In comparison, the Sony RX100 VI enhances the experience further with its longer zoom range and faster autofocus. It retains the compact design while offering additional features such as a 24-200mm lens, making it versatile for various photography situations. The improved touch screen and enhanced burst shooting capabilities add to its appeal, making it a fantastic choice for both enthusiasts and professionals alike.

Image Sensor

The Sony RX100 III features a 1-inch type Exmor R CMOS sensor with approximately 20.1 effective megapixels. This is quite a large sensor for a compact camera, providing good light gathering capabilities and enabling shallow depth of field effects.

The resolution of 20MP gives plenty of flexibility for making large prints or heavily cropping images. It's a good balance between resolution and noise handling. At lower ISOs, intricate details are retained while noise is minimized.

Overall, the sensor size and resolution combination allows the RX100 III to deliver excellent image quality in a highly portable body. The large sensor enables shots not typically possible from standard compact cameras.

In comparison, the Sony RX10 III offers even more versatility with its larger 1-inch sensor and a powerful zoom lens, making it ideal for capturing distant subjects with great detail. With its fast autofocus and impressive low-light performance, the RX10 III is perfect for both enthusiasts and professional photographers seeking a compact solution without compromising on quality.

Lens

The Sony RX100 III features a 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with a fast aperture range of f/1.8-2.8. This allows the lens to capture a lot of light for excellent low-light performance and blurred backgrounds.

The focal length range is extremely versatile, going from a true wide angle to a short telephoto. This covers everything from landscapes to portraits with ease. The wide f/1.8 maximum aperture at 24mm is great for low light shots and shallow depth of field.

Image quality from the lens is superb, with excellent sharpness and color rendition. The Zeiss coatings effectively reduce flare and ghosting, even when shooting into the light. Distortion is very well controlled for a compact lens of this range. Overall the lens produces images with plenty of detail and pop.

Autofocus and Performance

The Sony RX100 III features a contrast-detection autofocus system with 25 points, which is quick and accurate in most situations. It can lock focus in as little as 0.05 seconds in good light. The autofocus modes include Wide, Center, Flexible Spot, Expand Flexible Spot, and Lock-on AF for tracking moving subjects.

In real-world use, the autofocus is very reliable for still photos of stationary subjects. It can track moving subjects reasonably well too, as long as they are not moving erratically or at high speeds. The phase detection pixels on the image sensor do provide an advantage here over a traditional contrast-detect only system.

Continuous shooting goes up to 10 frames per second, which is very fast for a compact camera. The buffer depth is decent too, allowing bursts of up to 44 Extra Fine JPEGs or 29 RAW images before slowing down. This makes it great for capturing action and fleeting moments.

Overall, the autofocus system performs admirably for a compact camera and keeps up with most shooting situations an enthusiast photographer will encounter. It's not as advanced as some mirrorless or DSLR cameras, but very capable given the size and class of the RX100 III.

Video Quality

The Sony RX100 III captures high-quality video in full HD 1080p resolution at frame rates up to 60fps. It utilizes the advanced XAVC S codec which allows for high bitrates up to 50Mbps. This results in very detailed, low noise footage ideal for vlogging and video creation.

The camera can also shoot in the AVCHD format which is a more compatible codec if videos need to be shared or edited on older computers. Slow motion options are available at 120fps and 240fps at reduced resolutions. Overall the video quality is superb with rich colors, fast autofocus, and effective image stabilization provided by the integrated SteadyShot system. The flip up screen makes it easy to monitor footage while recording.

Battery Life

The Sony RX100 III comes equipped with an NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery that provides enough power to capture approximately 320 shots per charge based on CIPA standards. This is a slight reduction from the 360 shots per charge of the RX100 II, likely due to the addition of the electronic viewfinder which draws more power.

However, 320 shots per charge is still very solid for a compact camera of this size. The battery life is sufficient for all-day shooting for most users. Power users may want to pick up a spare battery for longer shoots or trips. But the battery life shouldn't be a major concern for the average user.

The camera can also be charged via USB, so you can top up the battery on the go if needed. But picking up an extra battery is recommended for power users who plan to shoot a lot between charges.

Special Features

The Sony RX100 III comes with some useful special features that make it stand out from other compact cameras.

• WiFi and NFC: The RX100 III has built-in WiFi and NFC connectivity, allowing you to wirelessly transfer photos to your smartphone or tablet. This makes sharing photos on social media incredibly easy. The setup process is simple with NFC - just tap your compatible device on the camera.

• Tilting screen: The 3-inch rear LCD screen tilts up to 180 degrees upwards and 45 degrees downwards. This is useful for shooting from creative angles, like holding the camera above your head or low to the ground. The tilting mechanism feels sturdy.

• Pop-up electronic viewfinder: The RX100 III has a pop-up 0.39-inch electronic viewfinder with 1,440k dots. Having a viewfinder is extremely helpful when shooting in very bright sunlight. No longer do you have to guess if your subject is in focus.

• Built-in ND filter: In bright lighting conditions, the built-in 3-stop neutral density (ND) filter is useful for allowing you to use wide apertures for blurring backgrounds. Helpful for portraits and shallow depth of field.

• Zebra pattern: The zebra pattern highlight overexposed areas in the frame, allowing you to adjust exposure on the fly for preventing blown out highlights. Very handy feature for videography.

• Step zoom: The step zoom function lets you precisely control focal length adjustments, helpful when framing portraits or other compositional techniques.

The special features make the RX100 III a versatile take-anywhere camera for both photos and videos. The connectivity options, tilting screen, viewfinder and ND filter add to its appeal for enthusiasts.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent image quality and low light performance from large 1" sensor
• Bright f/1.8-2.8 Zeiss zoom lens with versatile 24-70mm range
• Fast hybrid autofocus system with 315 phase detection points
• Useful built-in ND filter for shooting in bright light
• 180-degree tiltable touchscreen great for selfies and vlogging
• Excellent 4K video quality with full pixel readout and log profiles
• Useful custom button and control ring for quick access to settings
• Compact size with robust metal body construction
• Shoots up to 10 fps continuous with AF/AE tracking

Cons

• More expensive than other compact cameras
• Lens not as wide angle as some other compacts
• Battery life could be better when shooting 4K video
• No built-in viewfinder (only optional external one)
• Single SD card slot
• No mic/headphone ports for video shooters

Conclusion

The Sony RX100 III is an excellent choice for those seeking a versatile yet highly portable camera. Its large 1-inch sensor delivers outstanding image quality, especially for a camera of this size. The Zeiss 24-70mm lens provides a useful zoom range in a slim design, making the RX100 III easy to carry everywhere.

Autofocus and continuous shooting performance are impressive for this class of camera. The flip-up screen is also a nice feature for selfies and vlogging. Video quality is very good, though limited to 1080p resolution.

The main downsides are the relatively short battery life and high price. However, the RX100 III packs a lot of features and excellent image quality into a pocketable body. For many users, the performance and portability will outweigh the drawbacks.

Overall, the RX100 III earns a strong recommendation for those seeking the best blend of image quality, performance, and portability in a compact camera. It’s an excellent everyday carry camera for travel, street photography, and casual use. While not cheap, the RX100 III delivers capabilities that outclass basic compacts and smartphones for photography enthusiasts.