Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI Review - Review 2022

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Six ($ane,199.99) is essentially the RX10, just smaller. It covers the same zoom range as Sony'southward first 1-inch bridge photographic camera, and while its lens isn't as vivid when zoomed in, it fits into your pocket. Information technology doesn't come cheap, however: At $1,200, information technology'due south the most expensive pocket camera we've seen that doesn't avowal a Hasselblad or Leica badge. Its image quality and build are acme notch, helping to justify the cost tag and earn our Editors' Choice recommendation. If you like the idea of the camera, but struggle to justify its cost, the $800 Panasonic ZS200 is a good, more affordable alternative—but bated from its longer zoom range, information technology'south not quite the equal of the RX100 VI.

Design: Large Zoom, Small Body

The original version of the RX100 was a groundbreaking camera at the fourth dimension of its 2022 release. Its 1-inch image sensor ran circles effectually competing point-and-shoot cameras—the sensor format is about four times equally large as image sensors found in typical point-and-shoot models. And while its 28-100mm f/ane.8-4.9 lens was dim on the long cease, information technology didn't accept long for Sony to rectify that. It'south continued to iterate on the blueprint, calculation a wider discontinuity (only shorter) zoom lens starting with the RX100 III, which remains our Editors' Choice for premium pocket cameras.

Earlier I dive into the RX100 Half-dozen ($998.00 at Amazon) , permit's look at its place in the market. It does not replace any previous RX100 model. To date, the only RX100 photographic camera to be discontinued and replaced is the RX100 Five, which was replaced past the RX100 VA before long after Sony unveiled the RX100 VI. There is an cool corporeality of alphabet soup to keep clear in your caput, and now that Sony has cleaved from strict Roman numerals in naming, the waters are muddied further. The RX100 VI's long lens makes information technology unlike plenty from the others in the series that I really wish that Sony had just chosen it the RX200.

The 3/IV/Five/VA lens design, a 24-70mm f/1.8-2.viii, is a short zoom built for shallow depth of field and low-lite shooting. The RX100 Six sports a (full-frame equivalent) 24-200mm zoom, but with a narrower f/2.8-four.v aperture range. It'south more similar to it larger cousins, the RX10 and RX10 II bridge models in coverage, although both of those 1-inch sensor shooters apply a 24-200mm f/two.8 lens with superior macro capability. The RX100 VI matches neither its bridge siblings nor the RX100 models with the 24-70mm lens in macro capability. Information technology can focus to three.2 inches at the broad end, compared with the 2-inch focus bachelor in previous models. At the telephoto end, the VI needs at least 3.3 feet between the camera and the subject area to focus.

It's not the first fourth dimension nosotros've seen a long zoom 1-inch sensor camera in a pocketable course gene. Panasonic started the trend with its disappointing ZS100 and has continued with its sequel, the ZS200, which sells for $800. It doesn't have the fit or finish of the RX100 Half dozen, and while we're still in the process of testing the ZS200, we'll talk about the differences in the quality of its 24-360mm lens and the RX100 Vi's 24-200mm zoom later on.

Despite having a longer zoom range, the RX100 VI is simply larger past a factor of millimeters when compared with the cameras that have come before it. Information technology measures ii.3 past four.0 by one.7 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.6 ounces. It's smaller and lighter than the ZS200, which comes in at 2.6 by 4.4 by 1.eight inches and 12 ounces.

The camera is housed in a metallic exterior, finished in matte blackness without too many adornments. The Sony logo is at the height corner in white, with the Zeiss bluecoat in blue at the lesser corner—the lens features Zeiss branding as well. While it does collapse into the body when you power the camera down, the lens doesn't sit down completely flush. The space isn't left unused—there's a programmable control ring surrounding it. Past default, it adjusts shutter or aperture based on shooting fashion, but you can change it to act equally a zoom command, adjust the ISO, set exposure compensation (EV), or perform some other sundry function. I set it to adjust EV, as the camera doesn't have a dedicated dial adjustment for that part.

The pop-up EVF and wink both retract into the top plate when not in use, and are raised up with a mechanical switch. The EVF is slightly different from previous ones in that you don't demand to pull the eyepiece toward yous to get information technology properly focused. The downside is that you demand to be careful when using it—press the viewfinder up confronting your glasses and the eyepiece may give in, throwing the OLED console out of focus.

Simply having to take a fleck of care in employ is worth it when you consider the size and quality of the EVF. Information technology'south significantly larger to the eye than what you get with the competing Panasonic ZS200—0.39 inches measured diagonally—and extremely sharp at 2,359k dots. There is a diopter adjustment available to adjust the EVF to friction match your eyesight.

Acme controls aren't all-encompassing. It has the On/Off button, a zoom rocker and shutter release, and the Mode punch. Rear controls are all located to the correct of the LCD, which takes up the majority of the available infinite. The Record button is nestled into the right side of the rear pollex residuum. Beneath it, you'll discover Fn and Menu buttons, the rear control bicycle, and Delete and Play.

The rear wheel is used for aperture and shutter control, depending on the fashion, and has directional presses to adjust the Drive mode, flash output, EV, and amount of information shown on the LCD or EVF. Its centre push activates EyeAF by default (well-nigh of the buttons are programmable), a very useful feature for snapping portraits. Ergonomically it'southward a little bad-mannered to hold the rear push button in and press the shutter while using the EVF, simply information technology's a bit easier to manage when framing shots using the LCD.

The Fn button launches an on-screen settings card for quick admission to boosted options. It's not touch-sensitive—none of the menus are—which is an odd decision. The menu system is a bit dense, with dozens of options spread across multiple pages. Information technology'due south a testament to how much the camera can do, simply tin can be daunting to navigate. It's best to spend an hr or ii with the camera in society to set information technology upwardly to your liking when you offset unbox information technology, so you don't have to navigate through menus when you should be out capturing images.

Bear on does work for other things, though. You can tap the rear LCD to set a focus point when shooting stills or video, and while yous can't pinch to zoom or swipe through shots in playback, you tin swipe to move around an image when reviewing a magnified version. The display quality is premium, 3 inches in size with 921k dots of resolution and a hinged design. It tin can flip all the way forward for selfie shots or video, and also angles down to 90 degrees, sitting affluent with the bottom of the camera.

Connectivity: Beam Images to Your Phone

The RX100 Vi's lens makes it an platonic photographic camera for travel, as it tin can handle a lot of unlike situations, and its size means it'southward a no-brainer to pack. If y'all want to Instagram from the route, the camera includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi so you can axle images and videos wirelessly to your Android or iOS device using the free Sony PlayMemories Mobile app.

There is a single micro USB port, used for data transfer and charging. Sony includes a micro USB cablevision and AC adapter in the box, only not an external charger. You tin can expect to shoot well-nigh 240 images on a fully charged bombardment (according to CIPA standards) using the LCD. Sony states that you tin extend it to 310 by enabling power saving, simply the EVF uses more power so the photographic camera is only rated for 220 shots when using it.

Those numbers are expert guidelines, but can vary profoundly depending on how you use the photographic camera. Shooting huge bursts of images will net more, and recording standard or wearisome-motion video and transferring photos over Wi-Fi volition eat into battery life. Yous can recharge on the become via a USB battery, and the camera will work while charging. Simply for travel, I'd recommend picking upwardly a spare battery also as an external charger.

In addition to the micro USB connector, there is a micro HDMI port. But there's no mode to connect or mount an external microphone—yous'll want to move upward to the larger RX10 series if that'due south a priority.

The battery and retentiveness card slot are accessible via the lesser plate. The RX100 VI supports UHS-I SD cards and Memory Stick Duo media, but doesn't back up the fastest UHS-II cards.

Performance: Go Speed Racer

The RX100 V was the first pocket camera with on-sensor phase detection autofocus, and the feature continues with the VI. Phase detection, combined with a sensor with a design that allows for extremely quick data processing delivers shooting at up to 24fps with bailiwick tracking, even in Raw format. Shooting that speedily is overkill for most scenarios, but having it as an option is certainly a do good. Y'all can also set the camera to shoot at a speedy, but more than reasonable 10fps.

See How We Test Digital Cameras

The camera buffer can handle about 106 Raw+JPG, 108 Raw, or 231 JPG shots before it fills up. But writing all of those photos to a retentiveness card takes a long time—xc seconds for Raw+JPG, 62 seconds for Raw, or fourscore seconds for JPG. You can go on to capture images as the buffer clears, simply you won't be able to start a video until the images are committed to memory, which tin be frustrating.

In other regards, the photographic camera's speed leaves nothing to be desired. It starts, focuses, and fires in about one.8 seconds, locks focus in nigh no time in vivid light, and in about 0.four-2nd in very dim conditions.

Epitome Quality: Best Y'all Tin can Go far Your Pocket

The RX100 Half-dozen's lens doesn't have every bit much reach as the Panasonic ZS200, but our tests show that information technology's sharper, and the f-stop tells us it captures more light. At 24mm f/ii.8 the Sony scores ii,477 lines on Imatest's standard center-weighted sharpness exam. Epitome quality is stiff through near of the frame, only the edges are a flake soft, at i,331 lines. That's less resolution than I want to see at a minimum from a 20MP sensor, ane,800 lines.

Resolution holds steady at f/4 and f/5.6. There's a slight drop in average sharpness at f/8 (2,263 lines), just edges are stronger, 1,554 lines. Yous tin shoot at f/11, but you shouldn't—information technology drops image quality, lowering the score all the manner down to 1,713 lines.

Some edge softness at 24mm isn't unheard of in a compact, and it'due south really the only bad thing there is to say about the RX100 Six'south lens. At 50mm the maximum aperture has dropped to f/iv, only overall image quality is strong. We meet 2,341 lines on average, and while the edges aren't as precipitous as the eye, they're quite crisp at 2,045 lines. Image quality jumps at f/5.6 (2,897 lines), with edges that are just about 200 lines backside the average score. We meet 2,549 lines at f/8 and 1,918 lines at f/11.

At the 100mm setting the maximum discontinuity is still f/4. The lens shows 2,838 lines here, with edges that bear upon 2,700 lines—it'due south not dead even performance across the frame, only it's close. We see two,863 lines at f/5.6, 2,571 lines at f/eight, and one,865 lines at f/11.

Image quality holds up at 200mm. At f/four.v we encounter 2,462 lines on boilerplate, and while the edges aren't that sharp, they're still adequate at one,843 lines. At f/5.half dozen in that location is 2,630 lines, with edges that show most 2,000 lines, and at that place's a slight driblet to the average at f/eight (ii,457 lines) and a more noticeable one at f/xi (1,615 lines).

The lens on the competing Panasonic ZS200 has a longer zoom range, but it isn't every bit sharp. At its best it shows virtually two,300 lines (at the 50mm setting) and its edge performance is very weak at 24mm and significantly softer than the RX100 Vi through the rest of its zoom range.

Ane of the advantages of a 1-inch sensor over the 1/2.iii-inch designs you lot normally find in signal-and-shoots and flagship smartphones is image quality at the higher ISO settings used when shooting in dim lite.

When shooting JPGs at default settings, the RX100 VI keeps racket less than 1.v pct through ISO 3200, two stops below its top ISO 12800 setting. Of course, information technology gets in that location past applying some noise reduction to images. At that place's no noticeable degradation in paradigm quality from the base setting of ISO 125 through ISO 800. At ISO 1600 there is a very slight step dorsum, just one that you lot'll only notice when printing large or cropping heavily. Details are more noticeably smudged at ISO 3200. Paradigm quality suffers much more noticeably at the height ISO 6400 and 12800 settings.

I converted Raw images using a beta version of Adobe's DNG Converter and processed our lab test images using Lightroom Classic CC with default develop settings applied. When working in Raw mode you can capture crisp images with footling prove of noise through ISO 800. In that location's a bit of grain at ISO 1600 and 3200, but it doesn't detract from item. Push the camera to ISO 6400 and the top ISO 12800 setting and you'll be greeted with very rough results, even when shooting in Raw format.

Video: 4K and Slow Motility

Despite not supporting an external microphone, which limits the photographic camera'due south apply for very serious video work, the RX100 VI has some first-class capabilities to record moving images. It tin can record 4K video at 24 or 30fps at your choice of 60 or 100Mbps, and 1080p is likewise available at upwards to 120fps.

There is a very slight crop applied to 4K video—information technology's non really noticeable unless you're working from a tripod and switching between still and video capture. Footage is very precipitous, and the camera smoothly racks focus on need and tracks moving subjects with ataraxy. Proxy recording is supported—it's a feature that records both 4K and a lower-resolution file at the same time, so you can easily edit the lower resolution footage then apply the edits to the 4K clip, without putting too much strain on your workstation.

If shooting at 120fps isn't adept enough, you tin move the Fashion dial to the HFR position for High Frame Charge per unit capture. You have the choice of shooting at 240, 480, or 960fps in this way, rendered out to a file that plays dorsum at 24, 30, or 60fps. It's a trivial tricky to use—y'all need to prefocus and frame a shot and starting time a buffer before you lot can start recording. And it takes a long time to render out the video. Information technology's done in real time, so if you record a couple of seconds of footage it can take a infinitesimal or 2 to render out, during which time you can't use the camera for anything else.

The quality of the deadening-motion video varies based on the capture rate. The 240fps footage looks the best, considering its capture resolution isn't that far backside 1080p and the shutter tin fire at 1/240-2d, so the ISO doesn't demand to exist pushed equally high. I tend to shoot at 480fps, as it'southward a good compromise in quality and speed. The 960fps video is cropped, seriously upscaled, and the shutter needs to fire at 1/960-second to capture each frame—information technology's best reserved for use in very bright light.

An Ideal Travel Companion

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Half-dozen is priced at a premium, merely sets itself apart from the bottom-priced contest. Its lens doesn't zoom as far as the less expensive Panasonic ZS200, but what it lacks in telephoto attain information technology makes up for in brightness and sharpness. Fit and terminate are also noticeably amend—the Sony has a larger EVF, a tilting touch LCD, and a smaller, lighter design than the ZS200.

Which is not to say the ZS200 is a bad camera—information technology'southward just not equally proficient every bit polished as the Sony, but information technology'southward also $400 less. The ZS200's longer zoom is certainly more enticing on paper, but unless you're going on safari you'll find a 24-200mm range will cover virtually of the images you want. If anything I wish the lens had a scrap more than wide-angle coverage, but 24mm is the widest angle that you'll find in a pocket camera.

We're naming the RX100 VI every bit our Editors' Option. It doesn't oust the RX100 Three, which besides earns that distinction. Despite being part of the aforementioned family, the RX100 Three's shorter, brighter zoom makes it a distinctly different camera. Whether y'all prefer its 24-70mm f/1.8-ii.8 or the Half dozen'due south 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 is greatly dependent on the type of images you lot desire to make. If y'all're more keen on capturing images in dim interiors or on metropolis streets at night the Iii, IV, or VA are all improve fits, depending on your budget and wants in terms of video and burst shooting charge per unit.

At that place are other pocket-friendly cameras with 1-inch sensors to cull from. Canon has a few, including the excellent G7 X Mark Ii, and Panasonic has its LX10, only neither model has a viewfinder, and both accept shorter zoom ranges than the RX100 VI.

Sony wasn't the offset to market with a pocketable compact with a large zoom range and i-inch sensor—that honor goes to Panasonic. But the RX100 VI is a better camera than either the Panasonic ZS100 or ZS200, despite having a lens that'south not quite equally ambitious in terms of telephoto reach. It'south also more expensive, but information technology'due south only a case of getting what you pay for.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Half-dozen Specs

Dimensions	2.3 by 4.0 by 1.7 inches
Weight	10.6 oz
Blazon	Meaty
Sensor Resolution	20 MP
Sensor Type	BSI CMOS
Sensor Size	i" (thirteen.2 x 8.8mm)
Memory Carte du jour Format	Memory Stick Pro Duo, Secure Digital, Secure Digital Extended Capacity, Secure Digital High Chapters
Bombardment Type	Lithium Ion
Maximum ISO	12800
35mm Equivalent (Broad)	24 mm
35mm Equivalent (Telephoto)	200 mm
Optical Zoom	8.three 10
Stabilization	Optical
Display Resolution	921000 dots
Touch Screen	Yes
Viewfinder Type	EVF
EVF Resolution	2359000 dpi
Maximum Waterproof Depth	0 feet
Video Resolution	1080p, 4K

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/cameras/21515/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vi-review

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