SONY RX10 II / SHOOTING REPORT

The RX10 was released two years ago as a compact camera featuring a 1-inch sensor. Together with the F2.8 constant 24-200mm equivalent high zoom lens, it established its unchallenged position. And, I believe it was because of the minute and clear rendition even though it had the high-zoom lens. The new RX10M2 follows the concept of the predecessor, while it features the new "1.0 type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor" with advanced signal processing and a DRAM memory chip attached on the backside. The increased processing speed enabled 4K movie shooting and ultra-fast still image shooting. This means that you can now enjoy the minute rendition in a wider variety of situations.

( Photography : Z II / Text : KIMURAX )

The new sensor has enabled more than 5X faster readout of data and quicker shooting capability. The maximum speed of the electric shutter is 1/32000 second and it freezes lightning short moments without difficulty. And, the continuous speed has improved to 14fps from 10fps. The AF is pleasantly quick thanks to the "fast intelligent AF" adopted in the Alpha 7 mirrorless series.

Shot around the middle zoom range. It realistically captured the wet and dry skin of the middle-school boys. Can you see the white grain-like objects above the head of the boy in the center? Actually, they are splashes flying off from his shaking head. In the original image, I could see each drop clearly and I was quite impressed by that.

I cropped the wide sand beach with the tele-end. The gradation of the ocean blue looks natural.

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The reflection looked even more beautiful because the car was well-maintained. The gradation of the shadow area is wonderful. In addition, it faithfully reproduced the original shininess and the texture of the materials.

In order to check distortion, I included straight lines around the corners at the wide-end. Even though I put a ruler on the PC monitor, I almost didn't notice it. In addition, the balance between light and shadow looks wonderful while the contrast is kept high. And, each tile looks very sharp.

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Despite the sunshine falling through the leaves, the mountain stream was chilly and shadowy surrounded by a thick bunch of trees. In order to freeze the shape of the waves, I increased the sensitivity to ISO1600 to get a faster shutter speed. While shiny feel of subjects tends to be lost by roughness caused by noise, I don't notice such issue on this image. The illuminated shiny waves looks wonderfully realistic and I say we can ISO1600 regularly.

The background bokeh is maximized by setting the aperture wide open, getting close to the subject, and zooming in to the tele-end. The bokeh taste changes according to the distance to the background and the brightness, but overall, it's smooth. FYI, while the working distance at the wide-end is 3cm just like the predecessor, the one at the tele-end is 25cm, which is 5cm shorter than the predecessor. This distance is more than short enough for 200mm equivalent.

The upgraded EVF with 2,360,000 provides an even clearer view and it's particularly useful to adjust the amount of bokeh with the focus point locked. You can also use the 3.0-inch rear LCD monitor, but you want to remember that the EVF consumes less battery. By the way, I'm truly impressed with the texture rendition and the 3D quality of the flower and the leaves.

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Faster speed opens doors to a new world.

The RX10M2 has the RX10's identity including the high-quality finish, the nice operation feel, and the edgy shape. The 2-year interval since the RX10 was released is relatively long for a compact digital category and it means the RX10, which combined a 20.2-megapixel 1-inch sensor with a F2.8 constant 24-200mm equivalent zoom lens, was almost the ideal one that covers any daily scene. Inheriting the excellence, the RX10M2 is equipped with the ultra-fast processing capability and it fears nothing, even though it's still a second generation. If you want a camera that takes care of almost any kind of shooting, this is the camera for you.

( 09.08.2015 )