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Sony RX100 III Performance


Timing and Performance

Generally excellent performance, with improvements over the Mark II.

Startup/Shutdown/Play to Record/Buffer Clearing

Power on
to first shot
~2.0 seconds

Time it takes for LCD to turn on and lens to deploy and capture a picture.

Shutdown
~2.0 seconds

How long it takes to retract lens.

Play to Record,
first shot
~0.8 second

Time until first shot is captured.

Buffer clearing time
12 seconds
after 48 LXF JPEGs*
13 seconds
after 26 RAW files*
19 seconds
after 23 RAW+JPEG files*

Worst case buffer clearing time. -- This is the delay after a set of shots before you can remove the card. Some cameras won't retract their lenses and shut down until the buffer is cleared.
*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC memory card. Slower cards may produce correspondingly slower clearing times.

The Sony RX100 III is faster than the Mark II at powering up and taking a shot (2.0 vs 2.8s), though shutdown is about the same. Worst-case buffer clearing times are good considering the deep buffers.

 

Shutter Response (Lag Time)

Full Autofocus Wide
0.149 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at wide angle position.

Full Autofocus Tele
0.147 second

Time from fully pressing shutter button to image capture, zoom lens at telephoto position.

Full Autofocus
Flash enabled
0.321 second

Time to capture while forcing flash to fire, zoom lens at wide angle position.

Manual Focus
0.051 second

For most cameras, shutter lag is less in manual focus than autofocus, but usually not as fast as when the camera is "prefocused".

Prefocused
0.011 second

Time to capture, after half-pressing and holding shutter button.

Full autofocus shutter lag is very fast at 0.149 second at wide angle, and 0.147 second at telephoto. The lag at wide-angle is the same as the Mark II's, but telephoto is faster (versus 0.195s), likely because of the brighter lens. Enabling the flash raises full autofocus shutter lag to 0.321 second, which is still pretty fast and about the same as the Mark II. Manual focus lag is a very fast 0.051 second, a little slower than the Mark II's 0.029s, but still very quick. Prefocused shutter lag is only 0.011 second, which is incredibly fast and the same as the Mark II.

 

Cycle Time (shot to shot)

Single Shot mode
Large XFine JPEG
< 0.25 second

Time per shot, averaged over 18 shots, 15 seconds to clear.*

Single Shot mode
RAW
< 0.25 second

Time per shot, averaged over 20 shots, 10 seconds to clear*.

Single Shot mode
RAW + L/F JPEG
< 0.25 second

Time per shot, averaged over 15 shots, 15 seconds to clear.*

Early shutter
penalty?
No

Some cameras don't snap another shot if you release and press the shutter too quickly in Single Shot mode, making "No" the preferred answer.

Speed Priority Continuous mode
Large XFine JPEG
0.10 second (10.00 frames per second);
48 frames total;
12 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 48 shots, then slows to an average of 0.53 second or 1.90 fps.

Speed Priority Continuous mode
RAW
0.15 second (6.72 frames per second);
26 frames total;
13 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 26 shots, then slows to an average of 0.60 second or 1.66 fps.

Speed Priority Continuous mode
RAW + L/F JPEG
0.15 second (6.73 frames per second);
23 frames total;
19 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 23 shots, then slows to an average of 0.86 second or 1.16 fps.

Continuous mode
Large XFine JPEG
0.30 second (3.33 frames per second);
50+ frames total;
9 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 50 shots with no signs of slowing.

Continuous mode
RAW
0.36 second (2.81 frames per second);
50 frames total;
13 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 50 shots, then slows to an average of 0.59 second or 1.69 fps.

Continuous mode
RAW + L/F JPEG
0.35 second (2.86 frames per second);
31 frames total;
19 seconds to clear*

Time per shot, averaged over 31 shots, then slows to an average of 0.85 second or 1.18 fps.

Flash recycling
3.6 seconds

Flash at maximum output.

*Note: Buffer clearing times measured with a SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC memory card. Slower cards will produce correspondingly slower clearing times. Slow cards may also limit length of bursts in continuous mode. ISO sensitivity also affects cycle times and burst mode performance, with higher ISOs generally increasing cycle times and reducing burst performance.

Single-shot cycle times are outstanding (probably the fastest we've measured for a P&S), at under a quarter second no matter the file type. That's faster than the Mark II's ~0.5 to 0.6 second range.

Speed Priority Continuous mode captures Large/ ExtraFine JPEGs at 10.0 fps for 48 frames, taking 12 seconds to clear with a fast 95MB/s UHS-I SDHC card. That's about the same speed as the Mark II, but buffer depth has improved from dramatically from 13 frames. In RAW mode, the frame rate drops to 6.7 fps for 26 frames with 13 seconds to clear, or 23 RAW+JPEG frames with 19 seconds to clear. That's both faster and deeper than the Mark II's 4.9 fps for 13 RAW frames and 4.5 fps for 10 RAW+JPEGs frames. Note that AF and exposure are locked at the first frame of a burst in this mode.

In standard continuous mode, large/xfine JPEGs are captured at 3.3 fps indefinitely with 9 seconds to clear, 50 RAW frames at 2.8 fps with 12 seconds to clear, and 31 RAW+JPEG frames at 2.9 fps with 19 seconds to clear. The Mark II was slower with shallower buffers, ranging from 2.4 to 2.9 fps with buffer depths ranging from 12 JPEGs to 8 RAW+JPEG frames.

The Sony RX100 III's flash recycles in about 3.6 seconds after a full-power discharge. That's also faster than the Mark II, but the Mark III's flash is weaker.

 

Bottom line, the Sony RX100 Mark III's performance is generally excellent, and improved over the Mark II in almost all respects. It's very fast at autofocus, shutter lag, single-shot cycle times and JPEG continuous mode. Burst speed still drops when shooting RAW, however not as much as the Mark II, and buffers are much deeper.

Battery

Battery Life

Above average battery life.

Operating Mode
Number of Shots
Lithium-ion Rechargeable Battery,
(CIPA standard)
320

The Sony RX100 III's battery life has a CIPA rating of 320 shots per charge, which is above average for its class, though a little lower than the Mark II's 350 shots.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery as appropriate), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

 

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