Sony RX100.5A Ergonomic Score 1 July 2019

The RX100.5A has the same body and controls as the Mk4.  No surprise therefore that its ergonomic score is almost identical to the Mk4.

I have given the  Mk5A an extra point in Setup Phase. It has  an updated version of Sony’s menu system with a My Menu and some improvement to the layout.

Otherwise there is no change. That is not good news. Part of the problem with these RX100 models is their diminutive size which to some extent limits options available to the designers. But the Ricoh GR2/3 models are about the same size yet have much more workable controls leading to a higher score.

I think the main problem is Sony’s ongoing recalcitrance on the whole issue of the user experience and user interface of its cameras.

I believe the only reason Sony is getting away with this is the dismally inadequate competition from Canon, Nikon and the rest. I suspect that if Sony ever properly sorted out the user interface issue  its competitors would wilt like flowers in a heatwave.

The Mk5A has a standard issue current model Sony Menu system, fortunately now with a My Menu.

There has been some attempt to group items under subheadings but we still have like items scattered about and unlike items lumped together. There is no separate Movie Menu.

Sony is not alone in perpetrating muddled menus on its customers, all the camera makers do it to some extent and they all need to stop tinkering with their existing systems and redesign their menus from the ground up with properly meaningful categories which work for photographers.

There is a shortage of control access points for Prepare Phase. The camera is workable enough until one wants to set up for manual exposure and manual focus at which point the exercise is fraught with obstacles.

The Mode Dial, Fn button and MR modes go some way towards offsetting the basic deficiencies of the controls.

I have read on a user forum an opinion by an owner that he “likes” using his RX100.x camera with no handle at all. Most however find the thing almost unusable especially on a hot day when the smooth flat front gets slippery.

There are some good and some not-so-good features here.

The monitor is of good quality and can swing up/down. Camera data is clearly displayed on a black background beneath the preview image. The active AF frame is gray initially and can be difficult to see.

There is an EVF which rescues this camera from irrelevance for outdoor/bright light use. But it has to be popped-up-pulled-out-pushed-back-pushed-down-again which is a nuisance. The panel itself is of good quality but the inability to fit an eyecup makes viewing in some conditions difficult.  Camera data are presented beneath the preview image which is desirable but the characters are small, thin and not as easy to see as those on the monitor.

The camera works best in one of the semi-auto modes. It does not reward the photographer who wants to take control of exposure parameters.

There is still no touch screen. I am not usually a great fan of touch screens particularly on larger cameras but on very small models like this one both thumbs can be brought onto the screen making AF area placement and other actions readily achievable by touch.

The lens control ring (smoothy-no-clicky) provides a vague, disengaged experience with no clear relationship between the turn of the ring and the consequent parameter change.

Check out the Ricoh GR3 for an object lesson in good operating design in a very small camera body.

The camera works efficiently in Review Phase. As usual with Sony, the review image magnifies to 100% at the focus point with one pull on the zoom lever. This is best practice behaviour. Scrolling around and between images is efficient.

Sony combines best practice in some aspects of function such as Auto ISO with annoyingly near-worst practice in the the layout and function of various controls.

Worse, Sony has been inexcusably obdurate in failing to fix major user interface issues since the original RX100 of 2012.

When customers stop buying compact cameras altogether the camera companies will blame smartphones. They will be wrong.

Yes smartphones have replaced budget, point-and-shoot compacts, sure.

But the threat to advanced, enthusiast level compacts arises from their poor ergonomic design leading to an unsatisfactory user experience.