Sony RX10 Flash

Coverage and Range
Fair flash range due to the relatively bright lens, but with somewhat narrow coverage.

Coverage. Flash coverage was uneven at wide angle, leaving dark corners in our flash coverage test image. Narrow coverage at wide angle isn't unusual, though, and some of the corner darkening is likely from the lens itself, and keep in mind the RX10's lens is wider than most at 24mm equivalent. Coverage was more uniform at telephoto, but quite dim here.

Exposure. Our Indoor Portrait test scene came out a little dim in our Auto flash test. The camera did maximize aperture at f/2.8 and used a relatively quick 1/60s shutter speed to help avoid motion blur, though. Some positive exposure compensation or a slightly higher ISO (the camera chose ISO 200) would have helped.

ISO 200 Range. With the lens at maximum aperture, flash exposures started out bright at 6 feet, and increased in brightness before starting to fall off. Brightness remained good out to about 10 or 11 feet at ISO 200.

Manufacturer Specified Flash Test. The Sony RX10's flash range is rated at 10.2m / 33.5 ft. with Auto ISO. In the test shot above at 33.5 feet, the RX10 chose ISO 1600 and produced a well-exposed flash image, so Sony's flash range rating is credible. Our standard test method for flash range uses a fixed setting of ISO 200, to provide a fair basis of comparison between cameras. We've now also begun shooting two shots using the manufacturer-specified camera settings, at the range the company claims for the camera, to assess the validity of the specific claims.