Ordered an RX100

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bakubo
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Ordered an RX100

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My Canon S95 that I bought on 2012/1/5 still looks and works like new. I keep it in a soft case when I carry it in my pocket so it looks just like it did when I got it. It isn't a camera I use all that much, but when I travel I always keep it in a pocket even though I am carrying and using my m4/3 gear. I also carry it with me from time to time when I don't want to carry anything larger, just in case I see something I want to photograph. Some people these days use a phone for that, but I don't. I find a smartphone to be an extremely poor camera. I am not talking about IQ so much, since some of them are actually pretty good (in a small sensor digicam sort of way), but the camera usage and ergonomics of all of them are horrible, IMO. Although some people are fans of using their phone's camera, I have to wonder how many of them would buy a camera that had a 1/3.2" or 1/2.6" or 1/2.3" or whatever sensor with usually a single focal length wide angle lens and few adjustments or adjustments that are clunky to use with the touchscreen. But that is what most phone cameras are like.

Anyway, I finally decided to upgrade my little pocket camera to a Sony RX100. For several years I had thought about it (and had also considered the Canon G9X and G9XII). In the past the prices were just more than I was willing to spend on this sort of low use camera though. The price of the RX100 has come down and now can be bought in the States for $368. It is a similar price in Japan, but there it has the Japanese-only menu. I am back in the States for awhile so I ordered the RX100 last night. Should be a pretty nice upgrade even though it is a 2012 camera. The Sony 1" sensor, according to DXOMark is about 2 stops better for noise and dynamic range than the S95's Sony 1/1.7" sensor. Lenses are almost the same: RX100 28-100mm f1.8-4.9 and S95 28-105mm f2-4.9. And very importantly it is almost exactly the same small size as the S95.

I fired up LR and see that since I bought the S95 I have 2830 photos and during that same time I have 52,702 photos in total using all cameras. Handy to have sometimes, but not heavily used. I expect the same for the RX100.

By the way, some time back I created a gallery on my website with some of my favorite digicam (small sensor, non-ILC) photos since 2000. I included the year and camera also in the caption.

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/Dig ... index.html

Most of the photos on my website in other galleries were taken with various larger sensor, ILC cameras.
Last edited by bakubo on Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ValeryD
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Now we are waiting for photos and impressions from shooting with a new camera. :)
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Yes, I will. Amazon says Friday delivery, but big Hurricane Lane is about to get to us here in Hawaii and it looks like the bad weather is likely to be Thursday/Friday. If so then probably the camera won't get to me on Friday.
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bfitzgerald
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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It's quite cheap the first one, let us know what your thoughts are on it.
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Yes, I will do that.

Here are a few usage stats of my Canon S95.

Most used focal lengths:
  • 6mm (28mm): 1937
  • 22.5mm (105mm): 310
  • And all the rest spread pretty evenly between the other focal lengths.
Most used ISO:
  • ISO 80: 1893
  • ISO 800: 160
  • ISO 400: 125
  • And all the rest spread among all the other ISO settings from 80 to 3200.
The RX100 1" sensor, as I said, is about 2 stops better for noise and dynamic range. Also, the 28mm-efl wide end is where I use it the most and it is f1.8 vs. f2 there so that is also helpful in keeping the ISO down in lower light. Then one more nice thing is the base ISO is 125 vs. 80 so that will help keep shutter speeds up and reduce the times I need to go above base ISO.

I will note that from the times I have handled the RX100 the biggest ergonomic negative for me is the clickless dial around the lens. I sure don't like that. Canon uses a dial with clicks. Since I always have the front dial set to EC a click dial is much nicer. I can get by with the clickless dial though.
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Just a short update. I finally got the RX100 last night, Friday night. It was supposed to arrive the previous Friday, but Hurricane Lane screwed up all kinds of shipments to Hawaii for everything. Then, apparently, it got lost before it arrived to Hawaii because the tracking info stopped in California on 8/20. Amazon sent me another one though so I finally got it. :D

I charged the battery overnight so this morning I turned it on for the first time, set the date/time, and went through the menu to check it out. I notice that it has firmware 2.0, but on the Sony website it says the newest is 1.1. Hmm. I did some searching though and see that others who bought an RX100 recently also have 2.0. I also read that the current ones being sold have a newer BIONZ processor than what was in it before. Okay, so it seems that although the RX100 came out in 2012 it has been quietly updated a bit without a name change.

More later after I have used it some.
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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I've got the model 1 and it's a super camera, even without the upgrades. A pit bull bit it a couple of years ago and Sony said it would cost $300 to replace the screen and in their opinion, not worth it. So I bought a screen off ebay and did it myself. The camera trundles on. Enjoy!

I'm seriously considering buying a mk III because of the viewfinder. The wife insists on a viewfinder.
Sony a77ii, RX-100 I; RX10 iii; Rokinon 8mm f/3.5; Tamron 17-50; Sony 70-400G; Lightroom 6.2; Photoshop CS5; PicturesToExe 8.0.
Argonaut
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Just for Bakubo - we are in Kyoto today (!) and in spite of typhoon Jebi went to a Yuzen dyeing class as part of our trip. A friend P*S'd us in fluorescent lighting with my RX100. A dash of white balance in RAW in LR, export jpg and there you are.
DSC04084.jpg
(95.88 KiB) Downloaded 3434 times
Sony a77ii, RX-100 I; RX10 iii; Rokinon 8mm f/3.5; Tamron 17-50; Sony 70-400G; Lightroom 6.2; Photoshop CS5; PicturesToExe 8.0.
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Argonaut wrote:I've got the model 1 and it's a super camera, even without the upgrades. A pit bull bit it a couple of years ago and Sony said it would cost $300 to replace the screen and in their opinion, not worth it. So I bought a screen off ebay and did it myself. The camera trundles on. Enjoy!
Glad you were able to fix it yourself. Pit Bulls are famous for having a very strong bite. Better your camera than your hand. :lol:
Argonaut wrote: I'm seriously considering buying a mk III because of the viewfinder. The wife insists on a viewfinder.
Ever since the RX100III came out that has the pop-up EVF I have also thought about possibly getting it. I have handled it and all the other various RX100* models in Japan many times. I much prefer having an EVF in addition to the rear screen. But, as an update to my Canon S95 the RX100III has 3 big negatives for me:

1. Price is much higher than I am willing to spend for a low use S95 replacement. The RX100 was $363 ($368, but I had a $5 Amazon discount code that was sitting around unused), but the RX100III is $748. There is no way in hell I would spend even close to that much for it. If it was $425 or less I would have considered it, but even that is more than what I value it at. Truth is that even $363 for the RX100 is a bit more than my value for it, but once it got to that price it was in the acceptable price range for me.

2. The RX100 is slightly thicker than the S95. Also it is heavier. That was a negative, but still within the acceptable range. The RX100III is even thicker/heavier. A bit too much of a difference than the S95.

3. The RX100 has the 28-100mm f1.8-4.9 lens and the RX100III has the 24-70mm f1.8-2.8 lens. Sort of a six of one, half a dozen of the other choice, but I decided for my use of this camera the RX100 lens would be more useful. Almost the same as the S95 lens except the RX100 is 1/3 stop faster at the wide end. Of course, these are all EFL.
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Argonaut wrote:Just for Bakubo - we are in Kyoto today (!) and in spite of typhoon Jebi went to a Yuzen dyeing class as part of our trip. A friend P*S'd us in fluorescent lighting with my RX100. A dash of white balance in RAW in LR, export jpg and there you are.
We have been back in Hawaii for the last 5 months and I am missing Japan. :) Maybe we will go back late this year. Nice photo of you and your wife or friend.

Since 1985 I have been in Kyoto many times, but last year in May we stayed for a month there and that was the longest time I had ever spent in that city. Here are a few Kyoto photos from that month. Unfortunately, the first day we were there I hurt my foot so during that month I wasn't able to easily get around as much as I usually do so I was really disappointed. Of course, I walked many places, but not as much as I would normally do.

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/Jap ... index.html
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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bakubo wrote: I charged the battery overnight so this morning I turned it on for the first time, set the date/time, and went through the menu to check it out. I notice that it has firmware 2.0, but on the Sony website it says the newest is 1.1. Hmm. I did some searching though and see that others who bought an RX100 recently also have 2.0. I also read that the current ones being sold have a newer BIONZ processor than what was in it before. Okay, so it seems that although the RX100 came out in 2012 it has been quietly updated a bit without a name change.
Someone went through the menus of an older RX100 with the latest 1.10 firmware which is on the Sony website and compared it to the menus in the current RX100 with 2.0 firmware (which is not available on the Sony website). The menu changes that he found are:

1. The 1.1 firmware when the Fn (function) button is pressed brings up 7 items that you can quickly change. The 2.0 firmware has 12 items in a double row.

2. Firmware 2.0 allows Auto ISO in M mode.

There may be, and probably are, some internal things such as bug fixes, etc. in 2.0, but Sony has no documentation. I suspect the reason 2.0 is not on the website for download is because it won't work on earlier cameras. Again, probably because of a hardware change such as using an updated BIONZ processor.

Note that there is a 2.0 firmware for some of the later RX100 series cameras (RX100III, RX100IV, etc.) that is on the website, but this 2.0 for the RX100 is different and does different things.
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Something I really like about my S95 is that with the camera off and the lens retracted I can press the play button to look at photos. I discovered that the RX100 can do the same thing, but I did find a difference though. With the S95 I press the play button again when I am finished. With the RX100 though when I press the play button again the camera perversely turns fully on and the lens extends. I discovered though that when I am done looking at photos that if I press the power button it will turn off, not turn on. So, there is a way to look at photos without turning on the camera and having the lens extend.

Also, if while in RX100 play mode I press the menu button then I can make changes to the menu also. The S95 can do that too.
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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In 2012 soon after getting the S95 I discovered that the rear display in vertical orientation would appear to turn black if I was wearing polarized sunglasses, but in horizontal orientation it was okay. I checked my RX100 wearing polarized sunglasses and it works in both orientations. Great.
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ValeryD
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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Henry! I can not believe you did not take any pictures with the new camera. :)
You have nerves of steel ... Just tell us about the camera. Where is the photo? :)
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bakubo
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Re: Ordered an RX100

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ValeryD wrote:Henry! I can not believe you did not take any pictures with the new camera. :)
You have nerves of steel ... Just tell us about the camera. Where is the photo? :)
Here is one from a few days ago. :) Taken as a jpeg, not raw. I think I have taken only about 50 photos with the camera so far. Since it is new I have been carrying it around in my pocket quite a bit though.

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