When I first started to read the manual for the Sony RX100 M3 regarding shooting stills, I could not believe the amount of intelligence and options they have packed into this little camera! The mode dial has 10 positions, and behind two of them are 3 and 12 options respectively, giving more than 20 mode options of which some are auto modes that combines underlying features in a new way! This may seem quite intimidating of you are new to photography or new to this camera, but let me see if I can give you an overview so that you quickly can zoom in on the options that are best for you.
If you want automation
Professional photographers want control of their camera because they want control of the process and hence the outcome. Us more humble amateurs may want to turn to some of the automatic modes, either because we are lazy or because we have other things to attend to (like hosting the party where we are also taking pictures). Now, there are 2 fully automatic modes for shooting stills named Intelligent Auto (green) and Superior auto (yellow/orange), but the text is not written on the dial, instead a little camera is depicted in yellow and green, with an “i” in front of it (i for intelligent presumably):
In these modes, the camera takes care of everything – ISO, aperture and shutter speed. You “just” have to point and shoot. The difference between Intelligent auto (green) and the Superior Auto (yellow) is that the camera in the latter mode takes several pictures and combines them into one. You may have come across a feature named HDR on your smartphone (or bracketing on a DSLR), this is a bit of the same. The camera takes several pictures and combines them so that the low light parts are “boosted” so they become more bright and the high light parts are scaled back a bit so they are not blown out. This improves the dynamic range, i.e. how bright and dark parts that the camera can handle in one shot.
If you want automation with a twist
In the automatic modes, the camera tries to guess what it is you are shooting, and adjust the camera settings to optimize what you shoot. Sony call this scenes, i.e. types of photographs that you do. It is very kind and in the top left corner shows you what scene it has arrived at, based on what the electronics find on the sensor. In this example where I am taking a picture of a plastic cow, the camera figures that it is flower photography! It is not as bad as it sounds – it is an object full of colors and close up, so a flower is not a bad guess. Notice the graphics top left gives the scene mode:
In the two fully automatic modes described above, the camera constantly guesses what we are trying to shoot and it arrives a for example: Pet, Gourmet, Macro, Baby (!), Sports, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset. Night scene, Night portrait, Fireworks, etc. It also has some scenes where it just concludes that the light is very limited or that you are trying to shoot hand-held. In the fully automatic modes, the camera informs you of what it has concluded in the top left corner.
The point putting the camera in Scene mode (SCN on the dial) is that you can now tell the camera what it is you are shooting. Of course only from the list of options given by Sony, but they cover many situations. In this way, you can control that the camera optimizes for the right scene, so that it does not think you are shooting fireworks, when you actually take a picture of a flower (he he). Such mistake is very unlikely I have to add, but there are some scenes where the camera has troubles finding the right scene (gourmet and macro are very similar to give a better example).
So choose scenes mode when you want to still rely on the cameras ability to optimize the settings based on what you are shooting, but you take control and tell the camera what it is you are shooting, so it selects the right shelf to meter from.
Semi automatic modes and manual mode
The RX100 of course also gives the option to select the classic semi automatic modes: Aperture priority mode, Shutter priority mode and Program mode:
(A)perture priority: You control the aperture, the camera selects the shutter speed.
(S)hutter priority: You control the shutter speed, the camera selects the aperture.
(P)rogram mode: You select both the Aperture and the Shutter speed but in pre-set tandems, so the
exposure is still correct.
The ISO is set according to the value selected in the menu system. Press the Fn button top left of the rear command wheel, and the menu appears. Bottom left gives the ISO setting. You can control if you want to set the ISO yourself, if you want to have the camera do so – with or without limitations to upper and lower values:
The RX100 also lets you control it all in manual mode where you can set each of the parameters in the exposure triangle as you see fit. This is probably the mode you want to use of absolute control of the camera is vital to you, for example if you do long exposures.
Memory recall (MR)
In the memory recall mode, you have 3 modes to choose from of previously stored mode information. So you are not only selecting the priority mode, but also the exposure compensation, just to name one. There are 3 pages of information with what the camera stores!
I find that the confusing part is to store this information (not the recall), but the process is simple: set-up the camera exactly the way you like it to, and then go into the menu system and select item 7 in the shooting menu, and hereafter select “memory”. You can the store then information in bank 1, 2 or 3 by moving left and right with the command wheel and pressing the center for storing.
Panorama
I have done an entire video on how to shoot in panorama mode with the RX100 and you may have come across this feature on your smartphone. But it is a nice way to “get it all in” when you have a wide subject to capture. Notice that you can shoot both in portrait and landscape mode – you select the direction on the front dial (the one at the root of the lens).
If you are in the market for a serious (enthusiast) camera that will deliver pictures on par with many entry level cameras but in a pocket able size, and doing do without breaking the bank? Then I think you should have the Sony RX100iii on your short list. I am not sponsored by Sony and I bought the camera myself.
The Sony next to a Nikon DSLR.
I guess we a are all looking for a good deal, and the most value for money, also when shopping camera gear. I find that the Sony RX100iii is an amazing value for money “package” and below i give you 18 reasons why this is a great pocket camera. And then some less-than-optimal features of this camera and finally my verdict after using this camera as my every-day-in-my-pocket camera for more than half a year.
Notice that the camera I review is the mark 3. It comes in later versions: Mark 4 and 5 has the same lens, whereas mark 6 has a new lens with longer zoom (and it is not so fast). Later version gives 4K, more frames per second, etc, but if you like me want to get the best value for money, the trick is to not buy the latest model, but an older model that still fits your personal preferences. So if say 4K video is important to you, the mark 3 is not the one to go for. So if you decide to go for an older camera model to get better value for money – make sure you do not compromise what is important to you. Ok, lets have a look at the mark 3…
1) Small and compact
The best camera is the one that is with you. We have all heard that statement – but although trivial, it is also very true. I throw the camera in my bicycle bag frequently, and the fact that it is light and takes up very little space, makes it an easy decision to bring it along.
The Sony RX100M3 is compact!
2) Lens cover built in – turtle mode when closed!
Maybe a small thing, but the fact that the camera has a lens cover built in and that it closes every time you shut down the camera is one of those small things that makes life with this camera so much easier. I don’t have to worry about fingerprints on the lens or what way the camera is turning when I grab it to go out the door. It is a turtle until it unfolds!
Lens cover built in!
3) Lens: It is fast!
With a minimum aperture of 1.8, this Zeiss lens is fast! Notice that the M6 version of the RX100 is at 2.8, also with a longer zoom, but it is not as fast as the M3, M4 and M5 of this camera. If you shoot a lot of available light situations with the “risk” of low light, say restaurants and other places where a flash would ruin the mood, then you will love the speed of this lens!
Ready for shooting!
4) Lens: Good all round zoom range
The lens zooms from 24 to 70 mm, and that is a classic all-round zoom range that I find is great for most situations. Maybe not shooting sports and wildlife, nor a landscape (although it has a built in panorama function), but for most other situations, the zoom range is all I need.
The Sony RX100M3 and Nikon vintage lens.
5) Lens: fast focus!
Maybe someone who has tested a lot of different AF lenses can dig out examples of lenses that focus faster than this camera does, but I must say that I am impressed, given that it is a pocket camera. I have not missed a shot due to the lack of speed in the auto focus, but of course I use this camera mainly for street photography and friends/family, so maybe I am easy to please.
6) 20 mp sensor
20 mp is a lot if resolution. It is only slightly less than Nikon’s entry level cameras D3400 and D5600 and at par with the D7500. I am impressed with the quality of the files this camera produces, both in JPG and RAW. It is truly impressive that such a small camera in terms of sensor resolution and ability to produce RAW files takes up the competition with many DSLRs and mirror-less.
Lighthouse, Langelinie, Copenhagen harbor
7) In body camera stabilization
I could simply not understand how I was able to come home with “stable” pictures shot at 1/4 of a second. That has never happened to with my DSLR – always blurry pictures! That was until I read that the RX100 has in body camera stabilization – and it works! Not that it works miracles, I can still come home with shaky pictures, but it certainly enables me to have the shutter open for longer than on my DSLR, where I would be cautious to go below 1/80. Here 1/4 is the limit in my experience.
8) Tilt screen
Camera reviewers always talk about the benefits of a tilt screen, and to be honest I think it is over rated. But I must admit that especially for shooting close to the ground, I enjoy the option to flip out the tilt screen so that I don’t have to lie on my stomach in order to see what I am shooting.
Tilt screen.
9) Viewfinder in that small camera!
I don’t know how they have managed to fit it in there, but there actually is a “pull it out manually” electronic viewfinder built into this small camera! And it is a great feature for those sunny days where the back LCD screen is of little use. Some complaint that it is a two step process to pull out the viewfinder, but I find that once you have learned it, then no problem. And the viewfinder turns off the LCD screen when you put your eye to the viewfinder – smart!
Sony RX100M3 viewfinder.
10) All the benefits of a mirror-less
You have all the benefits of a mirror-less, meaning that it is a quiet camera, you see what you get in the viewfinder prior to shooting and you have all the LCD information in the viewfinder also. I especially enjoy the level information for shooting landscapes, so I don’t have to level in post but can get it right in camera.
11) Ten (10) frames per second
This camera shoots up to 10 frames per second, and the M4 and M5 takes this even higher (24 FPS). I do not really know what you need all those FPS for in this small camera (I mainly shoot burst for wildlife with a long lens), but if you need it – there it is!
12) Consistent menus and controls
The Sony product range has as far as I can tell, consistent interfaces and menu systems across their product range. I think all Nikon and Cannon shooters that convert to Sony find the menu system terrible, but it is consistent across the product range and if you “speak Sony” then you will quickly learn how this camera works.
13) Fast startup – ready shoot!
I think the camera starts up and is ready surprisingly fast. Of course, not as fast as a DSLR where it is just a flick of a button (and where the mechanical viewfinder always works). On this camera, you have to wait for the lens to extend and the EVF to get operational, but I often find that I miss a short more because of me fumbling with pulling the camera out of my bag or pocket than the start up time.
14) ND filter
Although the ND filter “only” gives 3 stops, and maybe will not be enough for those loooong exposure where a waterfall turns silky smooth, it still comes handy when shooting into the light and the maximum shutter speed becomes a limit. Again, I am impressed that it has been possible to cram in an ND filter in this feature packaged camera.
15) Smartphone integration
Unlike the say Snapbridge software from Nikon, the software from Sony actually works every time and transfers pictures from the camera to your smartphone both fast and in a relatively user friendly way.
16) Charges via USB
Sony RX100M3 charging in camera.
You can charge the camera via mini USB, so in your car or in the office, just plug it in and it will start charging. Flashing orange light means charging – steady means done.
The camera does not come with a dedicated battery charger, which some will see this as a downside. Instead it comes with a cable and an AC adapter. As battery life is a bit shallow on most mirror-less, the option to charge in your car or at the office in my case takes some of the pain from poor battery life out of the equation.
The only minor gripe here is that the plug is not USB-C which the industry seems to adopt as the new standard – but here the fact that this camera is an older model starts to show.
17) Control ring
The control ring on the front of the camera in my mind is brilliant! Some complaint that it does not have clicks or stops, but it is not on my wish list. What the ring controls depend on the mode, but if you shoot in aperture mode, the camera will allow you to control the aperture by simply turning the ring at the bottom of the lens. I think this is a brilliant way of making an otherwise not-to-user-friendly interface a lot better.
18) Price
When you go for the M3, then you get a model that is a few years old. And it does not have the latest features like 4K video, a motor driven pop-up eve, 24 FPS or a zoom range of 200mm. If you can live with the specs of the M3, then I think you for the price (400 EUR) get a fantastic feature packed pocket camera that is worth every euro!
On the contrary
Just to complete the picture, I also want to share some of the less great things about this camera:
First of all, it is not weather sealed. A 2 euro cent plastic bag from IKEA can help a lot, but it is not sealed for rough conditions!
The zoom range ends at 70mm. If you need longer zoom, then th Mark 6 offers 200mm, but it is also at a very different price, and the lens is then 2.8 at the short end (up from 1.8)
The LCD screen is not a touch screen. As I have a few “older” DSLRs where the LCD is not touch screen either, I am used to using controls to swipe and zoom in and out. But it is annoying when you have been shooting with a smartphone for a while to come back to a screen that does not react to a touch!
Battery life is not good – but I think this is a common feature of the mirror-less cameras with all the power that is necessary to operate the EVF and the LCD screen.
Some may miss the external flash (a hot shoe), but the camera does provide a built in pop-up flash.
Others may miss a dedicated charger – standard this camera only comes with a AC adaptor for in-camera charging.
The menu system and user interface is – as it is with Sony – a bit cumbersome, but you get used to it. It is a funny mixture of features you use often and features you seldom or never use. So shooting experience is sometimes hampered by a less than optimal user interface.
Some get frustrated by the fact that the camera closes down when you close the EVF. I am now used to it and actually find it quite useful.
4K video is not a feature of the M3 (comes in later models), but I am fine with 1080p and this camera does ok video footage as far as I can tell.
The electronic viewfinder has to be “pulled” out manually, in later models it opens up motor driven. I have no problem with the manual solution. The EVF even survived that I dropped the camera on tarmac, landing on the corner with the EVF (not popped out when it happened, but still!)
Conclusion
This is a feature packed pocket-able camera that I bring with me almost everywhere I go. I love the combination of great technical features and specs packed into a very compact camera body. The shooting experience is not great – the user interface is as Sony is, and it takes some getting used to. But past that hurdle, this little camera delivers and punches far beyond its weight. And if you can live without 4K and 200mm zoom, then this value wise, as I see it, is difficult to beat. Provided what you mainly shoot is landscapes, street photography, travel pictures and friends/family. Sports and wildlife, macro and other more specialized types of photography is not what the pocket cameras out there are intended for.
My only major concern with this camera is that there is no magic or x-factor! When I shoot with a Nikkor vintage lens I sometimes get the feeling that some sort of magic blends into the equation and gives something extra to the pictures that is hard to define. Not with this one. Top level engineering. But no magic. Just technically good pictures. In pocket format. For around 450 EUR (March 2019). I find that value package difficult to beat.
Sony RX100M3 sample image.
Comparison table III to VI
Below a table with selected differences between the later models of the RX100. As you can see the mark 3 is starting to get old, but in my mind still is a very good pocket camera, considering the price point:
Maybe shooting in manual mode with the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 (M3) is a contradiction in terms, as the camera has been designed with a lot of features to automate the process of taking pictures, but it still offers a manual mode despite all the automated options available. The advantage of manual mode is that it gives you as the photographer full control of all the parameters (shutter speed, aperture and ISO) and hence no decision to be made on your behalf by the camera. So if full control is your thing, manual mode is for you.
In the following the back screen will be used to show the menus and the effect of changing the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Notice however, that all of this can also be seen in the viewfinder, so that you do not need to use the back screen, for example on a sunny day when the back screen is difficult so see.
Mysterious manual mode?
Manual mode is often regarded as a complicated mode only managed by the most senior of photographers. With the introduction of mirrorless cameras like the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100, this is much less so now, as both the viewfinder and the back screen shows exactly what the sensor is capturing as it happens, and hence an over- or underexposed picture will be visible before the fact, so you can adjust the settings beforehand. So my suggestion is that you simply give manual mode a try to see what it is like and then based on that decide if manual mode is for you.
Manual mode selection
Manual mode is selected on the mode dial on the top of the RX100 as the red circle shows
Aperture
When in manual mode, the aperture is controlled by the ring on the front of the camera. By turning the ring as indicated by the blue arrows, you change the aperture.
Selecting the aperture
The aperture value is shown at the bottom of the back screen. Here it is f/2.8 which is very wide and open i.e. letting in a lot of light:
The Sony RX100M3 at f/2.8
Here is the same motive, same light, same shutter speed (1/30) and same ISO (80) but with a much more narrow aperture (f/7.1). Notice how dark the screen is now compared to the above:
The Sony RX100M3 at f/7.1
This is one of the big advantages of mirrorless over DSLRs – you can see the picture will be underexposed immediately – no need to take the picture and review it afterwards. You can fix the exposure problem before you take the picture.
Shutter speed
The shutter speed is controlled by turning the command dial (red arrow) in the direction shown with the blue arrows:
Selecting the shutter speed
The shutter speed can vary from 30 seconds to 1/2000th of a second. And again, you will see the brightness of the picture right in the back display, so if it all black or very dark, you probably need to go to a slower shutter speed meaning that the sensor is exposed to light longer.
ISO
ISO as far as I can tell from the RX100 manual does not have a dedicated button. Instead you have to push the “fn” button just above and to the left of the command dial. When doing so you can move the cursor to the bottom left cell using the command dial:
ISO value displayed bottom left in the rear LCD
Pressing the center of the command dial selects the ISO menu point, and then a list appears where the ISO can be selected, ranging from 80 (the least sensitive) all the way up to 12.800. Notice that you can also choose auto-ISO, where the camera selects the ISO automatically for you. The advantage is that you do not have to worry about the ISO when shooting, but you leave the selection of the ISO up to the camera. The camera may then select a very high ISO, which may not be to your liking.
When the menu selector is on top if the ISO item, then an alternative an more easy way to change the ISO is to use the command dial to change the ISO. No need to press the center button first. Simply turn the dial in the direction shown with the blue arrows to the right (do not press down as when moving the cursor around) and a little table appears top center as shown below here. Simply turn the wheel to change the ISO value.
Selecting the ISO
Maybe even easier that this is that instead of using the command dial, you can use the ring on the front of the camera (the one used for aperture previously) and that will have the same effect as turning the command dial.
The price for a high ISO is that your pictures are likely to be grainy, meaning that it looks like sand or pebbles have been thrown at your picture. So be careful if you go much above 1000 – you may get some very grainy pictures. Post processing software like Lightroom may be able to remove or reduce the grain, but it is better to get it right in camera to minimize your post processing time and workload.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M3 camera makes it easy to take panorama pictures. Most of us have got used to the ease of taking panorama pictures from our smartphones, and the RX100 matches that in terms of user friendliness, and on top also gives better picture quality. The RX100 will get your panorama picture ready “in camera” meaning that no post processing is necessary in order to stitch the pictures together. It is ready for you to view a few seconds after the sweeping is completed. But lets dive right into how to take a panorama still picture with the RX100.
How to
To get started you have to turn the mode dial to the panorama mode as shown below. It has a symbol that looks like a box that has been stepped upon lightly:
The panorama symbol above is flush with the white dot on the camera body. Once that is done, all you have to do is press the shutter and follow the instructions on the screen. Notice that you don’t have to hold down the shutter while the panorama shooting is in progress – you can release the shutter immediately – the camera takes over from here.
By default the camera will ask you to swipe the camera from left to right while it takes a series of pictures. And it will tell you this via the LCD instructions:
In that case, start pointing to the left of what you want to be in the center of your frame and with a steady hand swipe the camera from left to right.
You can use a tripod or the like to stabilize the camera while you sweep, but in my experience the camera (in daylight) takes excellent hand held panoramas.
When you sweep, the camera will give you a status bar showing the panorama progress, but I would ignore that for starters. Simply concentrate on moving the camera in a steady pace from left to right and continue until the clicking sound stops. Once the process is complete, the picture will be presented to you on the LCD screen.
If you have moved the camera too slowly, the RX100 will give an error message at the end of the shooting and ask you to start over again. Don’t be frustrated when this happens – it generally takes a few attempts to get the panorama captured.
The result
The RX100 presents the result in the LCD screen, and it may look a bit strange since it is presenting a very wide picture that is not very tall on a small LCD:
The example above is a picture of the Danish parliament. As you can see, the camera shows the picture in full width and hence not very tall. And apparently I have done something wrong as the right hand side of the picture is left grey. But it is super easy and fast to do a new panorama, so no harm done.
If you have the panorama presented as above, you can get the RX100 to present the panorama as a small movie, where it pans across the picture. Just press the center of the command dial while the panorama is displayed on the LCD, and the presentation starts. The good thing about this way of seeing it is that all of the screen is used top to bottom:
Configuration
There are a few options available regarding the panorama function. If you go into the menu system and on the first page on the first sub-menu in the main menu, you will find two options: size and direction (sorry that the LCD is so scratched here – it is a camera I use a lot!):
The size menu gives top options: Standard and wide:
You can test both versions, but as you probably have guessed, the wide version stitches together more pictures than the standard mode, and hence will give a wider panorama and ask you to turn the camera for a bit longer than the standard mode. My suggestion is that you try both and see which one is to your liking.
The direction menu lets you choose which way to swipe the camera, and I find this option especially useful if I do a panorama in portrait mode. Then I ask the camera to swipe up, but as the camera is 90 degrees turned it becomes sweeping to the right! The point is that the aspect ratio of the panorama is changed so that the picture is more tall and less wide, but there are probably many other reasons why you want to change the direction.
There is a more easy way to change the direction when in panorama mode – simply turn the ring on the front of the camera, this will change the direction (the LCD will inform you):
Moving objects
If you have moving objects while shooting the picture, you may find that you get some strange results. Take a look at the picture below, where the cyclist has been captured many times and chopped up in the most dramatic way! Poor guy! As you have probably guessed, he is moving in the same direction as the camera while producing the panorama. Had he been moving the opposite direction, we would have seen him appear only once and in half a version!
So if you can, try to avoid moving objects when shooting your panorama, unless you are prepared to work with the picture in post when you get back home.
Questions and comments
Hope you found this blog useful. Questions and comments are more than welcome.
