My thoughts about this camera can be summed up in four words: Good pictures, poor ergonomics.
Sony has supplanted Canon as the leader in camera technology. The lens, sensor and processor in the RX100(4) are excellent, allowing this diminutive compact to make pictures which rival those from much larger models. When I look at the files coming off the RX100(4) I never wish I had used a larger camera or one with a larger sensor.
But Sony has not yet developed a full understanding of the way in which cameras and their users interact with each other.
Using the RX100(4) always seems like an awkward experience to me.
There is nothing much on which to get a decent grip, even with the little stick on handle fitted.
The EVF has very good technical specifications but is a is a nuisance to use and when deployed makes the camera more difficult to hold. In addition the absence of a proper eyecup allows stray light to enter. After all that the EVF provides a different display of camera data from the monitor which is also more difficult to read.
Moving the active AF area requires more steps than other cameras do. The process for changing AF Area size requires a visit to a completely different user interface.
Exposure compensation cannot be set to self cancel and it is difficult to see in the EVF what, if any EC has been set.
By way of comparison Panasonic’s TZ line of compacts are only slightly larger but provide a vastly more coherent and streamlined user experience.
I wish I could say that all Panasonic’s models provide a nice user experience, but unfortunately that is not the case. I gave the LX10/15 one of the lowest ergonomic scores of any camera because of its multiple handling and operating deficiencies.
It seems as though the designers of each model work in separate cells without comparing notes with each other.
Whatever the reason they sometimes inflict the same mistakes on each successive model of a series, but sometimes they make entirely new mistakes, apparently unaware of when they get it right and when they make a hash of the whole ergonomic exercise.
Anyway here are a few shots from a recent trip to the city with the RX100(4).
Despite its ergonomic deficiencies the RX100(4) is a very capable documentary camera indoors or outdoors
What about the RX100Mk5 ?
I have no intention of buying one of these as the purpose of the Mk5 version eludes me. It has the super high speed sensor and processor which it seems to me should have gone into the RX10Mk3.
I can think of few situations in which I would want a compact camera that can fire off 20 frames per second with AF on each one. Children at play maybe.
