Fun with the RX100 III

[tashley]

Someone had to get this one rolling!

I received mine today and have barely had a chance to shoot more then twenty frames but I REALLY like what I'm seeing and IMHO the EVF and tiltable screen make this a big usability step up from the Mk I, as does the new and better lens. I am pretty happy to give up the extra zoom reach in favour of the faster apertures and wider wide end. And the files look and feel really nice. Here's a macro shot, and a crop therefrom. More to come in the next few days.

I'm off to Sweden on holiday next week and am seriously thinking of taking this camera alone.... it's just SO much FUN!

 

[tashley]

I am enjoying this little thing an awful lot. Not much liking the files over about 400 ISO but that is as expected, and I don't like the A6000 any better. Also slightly wary of the very different exposures needed as compared to an A7R, in that you so often need -ive compensation of 1/3rd dialled in and the 'blinkies' are only mildly prone to panic early, versus the A7R where often you work with +1 stop and where the blinkies are close to useless.

But like I say, great fun and honestly not significantly slower to work with than the 7 series. Tiltable screen very useful, files fairly pliant, and lens good enough such that up to about a 24" print I would at least as happily use it as an FE 24-70 F4 on an A7R as long as ISO is low.

 

[tashley]

A couple indoors:

 

[biglouis]

Great set of exemplars off this camera. Very nice look to the captures. The iso2000 shot is eminently acceptable for web posting. I wonder why you are not so happy with it over iso400?

Anyway, thanks for posting.

LouisB

 

[bradhusick]

I totally agree about ISOs over 400. For web higher is fine, but at 100% they start to break down.

 

[philip_pj]

A few people baulked at the price, but Sony keeps finding ways to improve the smallest RX - 290 grams of pure utility. Nice images, thanks Tim. Lovely colour and contrast in a good lighting camera. Colour in the latest Sonys is unwaveringly good IMO. They have worked out how to provide photographic results in a tiny camera. Safe trip.

 

[tashley]

Louis, Brad has answered it for me: in a 'spoil me rotten' world the files would look good on a retina display (about 220ppi) up to 3200 - and I'm sure that the technology will allow that one day. For now, given the fast lens and the extremely nice form factor, I can live with it and as you say designate 400+ files as web/small print only. I'd also say that the noise structure is about as nice as one could hope for. Overall I agree heartily with Philip though I would say that I have selectively tweaked the colours in LR on nearly all of these (with the exception of the one below).

One thing to add: though the histo and blinkies are close to accurate, they do give the impression that one can't shoot a sunlit scene with shadow. However, with care, it is just possible to avoid blowing anything that matters. Literally 1/4 stop less DR and it wouldn't work for me but it does sneak in under the bar and that's all that matters.

 

[tashley]

A few more...

 

[tashley]

Food for thought...

 

[tbhv55]

Food for thought...

Indeed... and I'm trying not to think about it!

I have the Mk1 (with which I'm still mightily impressed), but the Mk3's EVF and constant aperture have set me thinking. Did you have the Mk1 or Mk2 before the Mk3? If so, how do they compare?

Thanks for posting the shots - very nice.:thumbup:

 

[tashley]

Thanks, though I hope I can do a lot better than this when I get some interesting subject matter! I had the MkI and I think the output of the new camera is so similar as to be essentially the same, but the lens is optically better and the aperture improvements are useful. The show stealers, though, are the EVF and the tilt screen. Just great, even if the EVF view is a bit small.

 

[tbhv55]

Thanks, though I hope I can do a lot better than this when I get some interesting subject matter! I had the MkI and I think the output of the new camera is so similar as to be essentially the same, but the lens is optically better and the aperture improvements are useful. The show stealers, though, are the EVF and the tilt screen. Just great, even if the EVF view is a bit small.

Thanks - I expected that the output would be roughly similar. Would you say that the EVF reasonably useable, even if "a bit small"?

BTW, I've just realised that my comment on the "constant aperture" of the Mk3 was off the mark. It's actually f/1.8 to f/2.8... but that's still very nice.

 

[tashley]

I'd say it adds a great deal of flexibility and is totally useable. Of course I'd like it a bit larger and it isn't great for spectacle wearers like me, but it is a real addition and I use it a lot.

 

[tbhv55]

Thanks - that's useful to know. But it also makes the Mk3 very attractive - so now, I've just got to exercise some restraint...

 

[biglouis]

The thing about a camera like this is that you will have it with you when an opportunity occurs and as the old saw states, it is the camera you have with you that gets the shot!

I find that all the time with the Ricoh GR and I bet you find the same with the RX100MkIII.

I just hope this that this raises the game for all compact manufacturers - especially those who so rapidly abandoned optical viewfinders in their compacts.

LouisB

 

[tbhv55]

I just hope this that this raises the game for all compact manufacturers - especially those who so rapidly abandoned optical viewfinders in their compacts.

+1 to this.:thumbup:

 

[Arne Hvaring]

Hi Tim, thanks for an excellent user report, it certainly looks tempting. If I buy this camera, it will also be used for occasional video shots. Any experience regarding video quality?

 

[tashley]

Arne, I'm afraid that I shoot video for about twenty seconds a year and really don't feel qualified to comment on how the quality and ergonomics hold up compared to the market. I'm not even convinced I could set all the options correctly, expose appropriately, etc etc.. Sorry!

 

[limbonaut]

Sorry for the less than artistic subject matter but I thought I'd show a good example of DOF bokeh at 2.8. This was handheld.

 

[tashley]

Have spent a day with both the A7R and RX100 III in my bag, and am having more fun and getting more shots I like with the latter. Just sketches - I'll always go back if I can, when the light is right for the scene and with the most appropriate gear I can muster, but it encourages a free shooting style and so I've got a lot of quite pleasant sketches. Whereas two hours on a boat with the 70-200 F4 really p***d me off: I got about five shots I liked out of fifty and each one suffered either shutter shake or missed focus. Never mind, the RX was there to save the day...