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Sony made arguably the ultimate version of the compact camera with its recent Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 II, though you certainly paid for the priviliege of owning it. It's now brought the same design outlook, and the same sensor, to a bridge-style camera in the form of the Sony RX10.
More of an SLR competitor than a half-way house
Lets get over the big sticking point first, the RRP for this camera is £1,049, which is more than triple the price of most such cameras, and more than double the price of what looks to be its biggest competitor - the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ200. The reason we make that comparison is that both these cameras have F2.8 apertures across the whole zoom range, compared to the narrowing apertures seen on practically all other ultra-zoom devices.
The zoom is restricted by the larger sensor size but it's still a very flexible device
The direct comparison doesn't stand up for long though, the Panasonic has a huge 24x zoom factor (from 25-600mm equivalent) in front of a typical compact-camera 1/2.3in sensor. While the far larger 1in sensor sensor in the Sony means the zoom range is limited to a far more sensible 8.3x zoom (24-200mm equivalent). However, combining the high-quality images we've seen from the RX100 II with a zoom range that only the biggest DSLR lenses can compete with is a tantalising prospect.
The back-illuminated 1in sensor really does produce some great shots, and in our very brief time with the RX10 the new, big lens doesn't look to be letting the side down. We took some quick shots of Tower Bridge during the event, at the extreme ends of the zoom range, and were impressed with the results, see below.
A one-to-one pixel grab at the wide end of the zoom ...
... and the same from the telephoto end of the lens
There are plenty of controls, in order to stay on top of any shooting condition. Top-mounted mode and exposure compensation dials are present, plus a rear dial that changes based on the mode you're using. The aperture can be controlled using a dedicated lens ring, which clicks satisfyingly as you turn it.
The lens ring for aperture control is a nice touch
One contentious design decision will be the use of a power zoom. This is controlled using a lens ring or via a more typical rotating switch around the shutter button. It's a little slow and clunky compared to a manual system, though you do benefit from it automatically retracting when you switch off the camera.
That power zoom may aggravate when shooting stills, but it's just one of numerous features that will be appreciated by videographers. AS well as the zoom's capability for slow, and quiet, zooms; there's also headphone and microphone jacks for all your audio needs; plus a switch that lets you disable the clicking on the lens ring aperture control, for silent control over the depth of field while shooting.
Plenty of audio options and silent aperture control
Whether you're shooting stills or video, the mono LCD on the top lets you keep track of how the camera is set up. For framing your shots there's a tilting 3in LCD display and a 1,440k OLED viewfinder, so no complaints there.
The titling screen and OLED viewfinder should please everyone
Yes, this camera is expensive, even for what it is. However, it also looks to be all the camera you'll need for some time to come and all packed into a body measuring a compact 129x88x102mm and weighing 813g. It's a very tempting device, especially for those who also want to replace a high-end consumer camcorder, and we can't wait to give it a proper test in the near future.
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