Sony RX100 IV Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony RX100 IV is a high-end point-and-shoot camera that packs impressive capabilities into a compact body. Part of Sony's popular Cyber-shot RX100 series, the RX100 IV builds upon its predecessors with enhancements in speed, video recording, and design.

This fourth iteration in the RX100 lineup provides the world's first 1.0-type stacked CMOS sensor in a compact camera. This allows for high-speed continuous shooting up to 16 fps, as well as 4K video recording. The RX100 IV also has a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.8-2.8 lens, providing a useful zoom range for everything from landscapes to portraits.

For photographers looking for DSLR-like performance in a pocketable form factor, the RX100 IV makes an excellent choice. Its combination of portability, image quality, speed, and video capabilities set it apart from smartphones and basic point-and-shoots. Read on for an in-depth look at what this advanced compact camera has to offer.

Design

The Sony RX100 IV is a high-end compact camera with a sleek and stylish design. Despite its small size, it feels very solid and well-built. The metal body lends it a premium feel and the textured grip provides good handling.

Weighing just 298g, the RX100 IV is highly portable and can fit into a pocket or small bag. The dimensions are 4 x 2.4 x 1.6 inches, making it easy to carry around all day if needed. Build quality is excellent with an aluminum top cover, magnesium alloy body and refined finishes. Buttons and dials also have a sturdy tactile feel.

Ergonomics are good for a compact camera of this size. There is a decent grip that allows stable holding of the camera. The most frequently used buttons and dials are within easy reach of the right thumb and index finger. There is also enough space on the back for the thumb to rest comfortably without accidentally pressing any buttons. Overall the RX100 IV handles well, balancing portability and usability.

In contrast, the Sony Cyber-SHOT DSC-H300 offers a more traditional bridge camera design. It features a large grip and a long zoom lens, making it perfect for capturing distant subjects. With a 20.1 MP sensor, it produces high-quality images and includes a variety of automatic modes for easy shooting. The body is also lightweight, weighing around 580g, yet it still feels sturdy. Overall, while both models are excellent in their respective categories, their designs cater to different photography needs.

Image Quality

The Sony RX100 IV features a large 1-inch 20.1MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor that delivers outstanding image quality for a camera this compact. The sensor is able to capture fine details and textures while keeping image noise to a minimum even when shooting at high ISOs.

The ISO range is 125-12800, expandable to 80-25600, making the RX100 IV highly versatile for shooting in low light conditions. Images show very low noise levels up to ISO 3200. At the highest ISOs, noise starts becoming more visible but detail is still preserved remarkably well.

The combination of the high resolution sensor and Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens produces sharp images with excellent detail across the frame. The fast f/1.8-2.8 aperture range also helps maximize sharpness by letting more light into the lens. The RX100 IV is capable of resolving an impressive amount of fine detail for such a small camera.

Overall, the image quality from the 1-inch sensor is outstanding. Photos are crisp and detailed with excellent dynamic range. Noise is kept impressively low even at high ISOs. For a pocketable compact camera, the RX100 IV delivers DSLR-like image quality in a much smaller package.

In comparison, the Sony RX10 III features a one-inch 20.1MP sensor as well, but it comes with a versatile 24-600mm equivalent lens. This allows for greater zoom capabilities while maintaining impressive image quality. Its larger lens aperture enables exceptional low-light performance and creates beautiful background bokeh. The RX10 III is also tailored for advanced photographers, incorporating features like 4K video recording. Both cameras are highly praised for their image quality, but the RX10 III stands out for its versatility in capturing distant subjects.

Video Capabilities

The Sony RX100 IV has impressive video capabilities for a compact camera. One of the headline features is 4K video recording at up to 30fps with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. This allows you to record ultra high resolution 3840 x 2160 footage, providing a lot of flexibility for cropping and editing videos.

The RX100 IV can also shoot HD video at frame rates up to 960fps for incredible slow motion footage. You can capture fast action and dramatize scenes by slowing clips down to 40x slower than normal speed. Bitrates for video range from 3-100Mbps depending on resolution and frame rate, ensuring high quality results.

The Zeiss lens provides quiet, smooth zoom capability during filming and the camera offers full manual control over exposure settings. Overall the RX100 IV is one of the most advanced compacts for videography with professional-level 4K and slow motion modes.

Performance

The Sony RX100 IV delivers impressive performance that sets it apart from other compact cameras. The autofocus system is extremely fast and accurate, allowing you to capture fleeting moments with ease. It utilizes phase detection and contrast detection autofocus for lightning-fast focusing speeds.

The continuous shooting speed is excellent at 16 fps when using the speed priority mode. This allows you to shoot fast action sequences with minimal lag between shots. The buffer depth when shooting RAW+JPEG is large enough to capture about 22 frames before slowing down. The camera performs well for action photography like sports or wildlife.

The overall operation and handling of the RX100 IV is very responsive. It powers up instantly and has minimal shutter lag. The touch screen interface allows for intuitive menu navigation and settings adjustment. Some handy features like an Exposure Compensation Dial and customizable buttons further enhance the handling experience.

Features

The Sony RX100 IV comes packed with features both advanced and convenient for photography enthusiasts. Some of the standout features include:

Pop-up Electronic Viewfinder

The RX100 IV has a pop-up 0.39” XGA OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder with 2.36M dots resolution. This allows you to frame shots and manually focus easily, even in bright sunlight where the LCD screen may be harder to see. The viewfinder pops up with the flick of a switch so it's there when you need it and out of the way when you don't.

Tilting LCD Screen

The 3-inch 1229k dot LCD screen tilts up to 180 degrees and down by 45 degrees, providing flexibility when composing shots from high or low angles. This is useful for getting creative perspectives or taking perfectly framed selfies.

Built-In WiFi and NFC

The RX100 IV has built-in WiFi and NFC (Near Field Communication) connectivity for wirelessly transferring photos to smartphones, tablets or computers. This allows easy sharing online or backing up your shots. NFC provides a quick one-touch connection to NFC-enabled mobile devices.

ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* f/1.8-2.8 Lens

The built-in ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* lens has a fast f/1.8-2.8 maximum aperture range, allowing for enhanced low-light performance and creative shallow depth-of-field effects. The lens combines both excellent image quality and versatility in a compact form factor.

Lens

The RX100 IV comes equipped with a high-quality Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 zoom lens. This provides a very useful focal range for everything from landscapes to portraits, while still remaining pocketable.

The lens has a bright maximum aperture range, starting at f/1.8 at the wide 24mm end and going to f/2.8 at the telephoto 70mm end. This allows for great low light performance and blurred backgrounds. Macro focusing is also possible, allowing you to focus as close as 5cm for impressive close-up shots.

The advanced optics and Zeiss coatings ensure excellent sharpness and clarity throughout the zoom range, even when shooting wide open. Chromatic aberration, distortion and vignetting are also well controlled. Overall, the lens provides exceptional image quality in a versatile zoom range that fits into your pocket.

Battery Life

The Sony RX100 IV has impressive battery life for a compact camera with its advanced features and capabilities. It's powered by a rechargeable NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery pack.

For still photography, Sony rates the battery life at around 280 shots per charge when using the rear LCD screen, or 230 shots when using the electronic viewfinder. This battery rating holds up well in real-world usage for casual shooting. The battery drains faster when using features like Wi-Fi or high-speed continuous shooting.

When recording video, the battery life is approximately 55 minutes of continuous 4K video recording per full charge. For HD video recording, the maximum recording time jumps up to 75 minutes. This provides decent video recording runtime without having to swap batteries mid-shoot.

The battery charges via the camera's micro USB port. A full charge from empty takes about 100-150 minutes, but quick-charging for about 50 minutes will provide enough power for a full day of casual stills and video shooting. Overall the battery performance is solid for this class of camera.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent image quality and low light performance from 1" sensor and bright Zeiss lens
• Fast hybrid autofocus system with 315 phase detection points
• Shoots 4K video and high frame rate slow motion up to 960fps
• 180 degree flip up LCD screen handy for selfies and vlogging
• Built-in electronic viewfinder
• Numerous advanced controls like full manual exposure
• WiFi and NFC connectivity for image transfer and remote shooting
• Compact size with large sensor makes it highly portable

Cons

• Battery life could be better when shooting 4K video or using WiFi
• Lens is fixed, not interchangeable
• No mic input for better audio recording during video
• Menu system can be confusing with so many options
• Price is on the high side

Conclusion

The Sony RX100 IV is an impressive premium compact camera that packs a lot of advanced technology into a small body. It delivers excellent image quality for its sensor size, with great dynamic range and low noise levels even at high ISOs. The fast 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 Zeiss lens provides a useful zoom range for everything from landscapes to portraits, while retaining a bright aperture for low light shooting.

The addition of 4K video, slow motion recording, and a flip up screen make the RX100 IV a highly versatile camera for both stills and video. The compact size means it can go anywhere, while the large sensor allows for shallow depth of field not typically found in a pocket camera.

For those needing the ultimate in portability without sacrificing image quality and features, the RX100 IV is easy to recommend. The combination of size, speed, image quality and video capabilities is unmatched by any other camera in its class. While not cheap, the RX100 IV delivers performance that outpaces what its price may suggest. It's a great choice for travel, events, video and everyday shooting when you want to go light without compromising on photo capabilities.