The evolution of the RX100
Get price Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M5
The cameras built into smartphones are now so good that compact cameras are gradually losing popularity. Previously, hundreds of new compacts of all stripes were produced every year, but now there are a couple of dozen of them with difficulty. The trend is obvious: nobody needs inexpensive compacts anymore. Manufacturers are faced with the choice of making compacts abruptly or abandoning them altogether in favor of system cameras.
DSC-RX100M5 Installations: ISO 640, F2.8, 1/160 s, 70.0 mm equiv.
The successful existence of the Sony RX100 line for several years and the release of a new model is a peculiar phenomenon. The thing is that in terms of functional saturation, this camera is able to give odds to many mirrorless cameras. The developers of the series have been working for many years, so that their offspring become a real standard for a compact camera.
Modern RX Series. In the center are five versions of the RX100 camera.
Today we deal with the fifth-generation RX100 - the Sony the Cyber-shot RX100 the V . After its debut in 2012, Sony steadily updates this line once a year. The resolution of a relatively large 1-inch sensor for compacts did not change from the very beginning - 20 megapixels. In the second generation, the sensor changed production technology from ordinary CMOS to BSI-CMOS, and in the fourth generation it also received its own DRAM memory module. For those who do not want to go into technical details, we explain: we are talking about the most advanced technologies for the production of matrices.
The zoom lens in the first two models covered a range from 28 to 100 millimeters in equivalent, but already in the RX100 III the manufacturer sacrificed the zoom ratio to suit a wider viewing angle and increased aperture ratio in telephoto position. Therefore, from 2014 to this day, we have a very convenient and versatile range of focal lengths of 24–70 mm with the highest aperture ratio of F1.8–2.8 for zoom. From the third generation, a built-in retractable electronic viewfinder also appeared in the camera, and from the fourth, the ability to record video in 4K resolution.
Technological groundwork for the future in the previous model was very, very solid. Therefore, the main points of the improvement program for the fifth generation RX100 were the autofocus system and the burst frequency. Sony’s latest ubercompact has a powerful system with 315 phase AF sensors that occupy almost the entire sensor area, while previous cameras in the family focused exclusively on contrast. As a result, the camera produces a truly epic rate of fire - 24 frames per second with constantly working autofocus. No other compact on the market and is close to such characteristics. Most DSLRs and mirrorless ones also remain behind in these parameters.
