Sony RX10 II Conclusion

Sony RX10 II Conclusion

by Mike Tomkins

2013's Sony RX10 was a camera that went unrivaled, a fact due in no small part to the fact that it had no direct rivals. The closest alternatives were a long-zoom whose image quality was crippled by its smaller sensor size, or an interchangeable-lens camera which couldn't compete on size and weight -- at least not if you wanted the same focal length range and bright f/2.8 constant aperture.

But time has moved on, and two years later that is no longer the case. Where the original RX10 launched into a market of its own creation, the Sony RX10 II must now do battle with cameras from both Panasonic and Canon.

There's no question about it: The Sony RX10 II is an even better camera than ever before. The same great body, lens, and resolution are retained, but 2015's model focuses faster, shoots faster for longer, has an even more enjoyable viewfinder and -- for those who favor using that finder -- even boasts just slightly better battery life.

And then there is its Wi-Fi wireless communication capability, far and away the most intuitive I've ever seen -- at least if you're an Android user. (And if you're not, well you only have Apple to blame for refusing to allow a similarly-slick experience on the iOS platform.)

Nor is that all. With the RX10 II, Sony catches up with its rivals by offering in-camera 4K video capture, and then takes things to the next level with really fun (and frankly, useful) slow-motion capture capabilities. Sure, the camera upsamples these to Full HD post-capture and I'd really rather that it didn't, but even prior to upsampling the resolution of its high frame-rate video is far beyond anything seen in consumer cameras before.

With all of that said, there are still some flies in the ointment. While image quality has improved since the original RX10, arguably the Panasonic FZ1000 still has a slight edge in this area. The rear control dial is also still unnecessary small and has an unsatisfying feel.

And while the bright constant aperture of the Sony RX10 II's lens is really great, that lens can't pull subjects up close from as far away as can those of its direct rivals. Nor are versatile features like a tilt/swivel LCD or touch control included in the RX10 II's design, which is something of a shame. Instead, there's a tilt-only screen which can bind up on tripod mounts, can't be used for selfies, and doesn't help when shooting over your head in portrait orientation.

But the real elephant in the room is the list price, a whopping US$1,300. This hasn't come down even slightly since the launch of the original RX10 two years ago, and nor have I yet seen the Sony RX10 II selling for more than a few dollars below list. (As of this writing in late September 2015, that is.)

By contrast, the Canon G3X lists for US$1,000, saving you several hundred dollars that could instead be spent on an external strobe, batteries, flash cards and other accessories, or on transporting yourself and your new camera to some cool locations at which to shoot great photos.

And the margin to the Panasonic FZ1000 is even greater. Even at its US$900 list price you'll save a full 30% of the cash you'd have proffered for the RX10 II. And with street prices for the FZ1000 now sometimes reaching as low as $750, you're very close indeed to being able to buy two of Panasonic's cameras for the price of a single RX10 II. That's a pretty big ask.

Of course, an argument can be made that Sony's price would have dropped were RX10 IIs not flying off the shelf even at their current, rather stiff price. But it's not easy to recommend a camera when you can get another which can do most of the same things -- and with as good or better image quality -- for half as much cash.

Of course, therein lies the rub: I did say most of the same things. There are some features the Panasonic FZ1000 simply can't give you. It lacks any way to monitor audio levels, for example, and has no built-in neutral density filter to help you blur backgrounds and motion. And if you're a raw shooter, the RX10 II's greater buffer depth will also be very welcome.

Not to mention the Sony's oh-so-cool high frame rate capability, which is unique among long-zoom cameras of this writing. Sure, you can also get that in the more affordable and pocket-friendly RX100 IV, but the RX10 II's far more powerful lens makes it a much more useful tool.

If those features don't matter to you, there's really no reason to hesitate. Go ahead and read our Panasonic FZ1000 review right now, and have your wallet ready: You're going to want one.

But if they do matter -- and for many of you they will -- then it seems that the RX10 II is still the cream of the crop. And for that, you'll certainly pay a premium, but a worthwhile one I think. Brace yourself, put thoughts of the bank manager from your mind and click that buy button: This is one heck of a camera, and you're really not going to regret it.

But what of our Dave's Pick award? I hemmed and hawed a little over this, I must admit. But despite reservations over that pricetag, I have to look at this camera for what it is, what it can do, and in particular its completely unique capabilities, of which high frame-rate video is key. And when I think about those, there can really be no question: The Sony RX10 II is very clearly worthy of a Dave's Pick, and that hallowed spot in your camera bag!