Sony RX10 MarkII – An Impressive Imaging Package

Photo: First World Plaza, Genting Highlands Malaysia – check out how well the RX10II handles low light/ interior lights and with almost no traces of ISO noise – I am impressed!

12^th October 2015, Singapore/ Malaysia – When Sony delivered the NEW RX10 MarkII to me, I don’t really know what to expect. Many things were said all over the world and the Sony camp was raving how marvelous a bridge camera the RX10II is – so I was really excited to test out the RX10II. While half of the world was talking about the impressive 4K video from the Sony RX10II, as a photographer, what I really wanted to know is, if the camera functions and perform like a bridge camera.

As usual, I would like to disclaim that if you found your way here looking for technical specs for the Sony RX10II, please look elsewhere, we are more keen on the final output here.

Some quick notes about the new Sony RX10II, it came with an impressive zoom range of 24-200mm (full frame equivalent) at a constant wide aperture of F2.8. At this specs, the lens has to be a Zeiss supplied Vario-Sonnar T* that delivers sharp and excellent image quality that puts this RX10II above the competition against other bridge cameras. With 14 elements in 11 groups – including 7 aspherical elements – you can imagine the kind of image quality we are talking about here. However with all that glass, the camera is light & compact, (129.0 x 88.1 x 102.2 mm & 770gm) making the RX10II easy to handle and carry around. The Zeiss lens starts focusing from as close as 3cm and that allows amazing close-up shots too.

Photo: Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands Malaysia – The 24mm wide Zeiss lens was a joy to use. I had shot this scene many times doing other reviews but this is probably the closest I stand to get this scene. The amount of details captured is also worth complimenting!
The sensor (being everything Sony) is an Exmor RS CMOS and processed by Sony’s Bionz unit, the RX10II packs 20.2 mega-pixels which is the current trend now in the “mega-pixel war”. If you are still not impressed, well you might wish to know that the RX10II is made for performance with an insane shutter speed of 1/32000 and it has an excellent ISO range from ISO64 to ISO 25600 with built in ND filter slowing light up to 3 stops.

Photo: Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands Malaysia – Zoomed in to 100mm & shot this side view of the giant Budhha from the side of the hill – very impressed with the image quality. All photos on this review can be clicked on and view at full size)

Using contrast detection AF, I was super impressed with this as almost all my shots from the RX10II are 100% accurately locked-on within milliseconds and I got all my shots at the moment – just the way I wanted it. The SteadyShot (anti-blur/ anti-shakes) works seamlessly allowing me to enjoy the blazing fast and quiet AF with accuracy up to 99.5%, the lens front accepts 62mm screw-on filter and along with Sony’s usual “package” of creative filters, functions and a tilt-table screen, from a photographer’s perspective, the RX10II is probably one of the most impressive bridge camera of our time. (wait till you see what other videographers had produced with the Sony RX10II).

Photo: Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands Malaysia – Although it was super misty when I was there, the RX10II produces clear images like this – wow!

Instead of inviting guest reviewers to do the review, I decided to have the RX10II all to myself and I took it to the streets to Singapore’s Little India and Malaysia’s Genting Highlands to put the RX10II through its paces. Do check out the photos in this review and you can click on the images to view at 100%!

Photo: Open Plaza at Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands Malaysia – Its good to have the RX10II with me as the 24mm wide angle is competent for shots like this and the colors it produces are impressive!

Photo: Tortise Pond at Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands Malaysia – Zooming in into the tortise enclosure at 200mm and wow! The sharpness and details are well retained while the area that is supposed to out-of-focus (bokeh) are well re-produced!

Photo: Cradle Rock, Genting Highlands Malaysia – Algae like these are common in Asia’s highlands and I shot this within the 3cm focusing distance of the RX10II and lot’s of details are captured here. Click on the pic to view!

Photo: I was standing beside this man at a traffic junction, I help the RX10II up and just pressed the shutter. What I got here is a man’s face shot with lots of details captured and a contrasting bokeh to match. Little India, Singapore. Photo: Saw this pair of buddies sharing a packet lunch from a distance and I took this shot at 200mm, incredibly accurate & fast focusing. Little India, Singapore.

Photo: I always wanted to do wide angle shots like this in Little India, Singapore. The Sony RX10II is perfect for the job!

In summary, the Sony RX10II is an excellent camera to use for a wide variety of shooting preferences. Not only it is easy to use, the fast focusing, wide aperture lens, the excellent zoom range makes this camera an easy alternatives to other bigger cameras. The weight, the size and the ease of use will let the RX10II find its way into many camera bags for the professional photographers or any enthusiasts who wants a camera that performs like a mini DSLR. And remember, the 4K video is awesome too, just that I am not into video – but after using it for 2 weeks including a short trip, I will buy the Sony RX10II anyway – you should get one too!

Photo: Editor AL posing with the NEW Sony RX10 MarkII at Genting Highlands.
Photo by Susan Gwee.

Thank you Sony Singapore for allowing this review to happen!

About Sony Electronics (Singapore) & Sony South East Asia
Sony Electronics (Singapore) was established on 1st October 1999 with business activities comprising engineering and manufacturing, sales and marketing, and logistics and information systems. As part of Sony Electronics (Singapore), Sony South East Asia is responsible for the marketing and sales of consumer products in Singapore, as well as for business and professional products in Singapore and other countries in the South East Asia region. It also handles export business for consumer products from Singapore to various parts of Asia. Since establishing our presence in Singapore in 1973, we have grown steadily over the years to become a leader in the consumer electronics market. For more information on Sony’s products and services in Singapore, please visit http://www.sony.com.sg/

=========================
About Ourshutterjourney.com
Follow Us or Contact Us below:

===================================