Review
Sony DSC-RX100 Image Quality
Image quality is excellent on the RX100, especially when considering the size of the camera, sensor, and pixel density. Sony managed to get almost the same image quality as the Nex Cameras with a much smaller form factor. The Nex cameras do have a more usable depth of field however, which is important for portraits and filming work in particular. That being said, if your pretty close to your subject and zoomed in a bit, you can get some great separation with the DSC-RX100!! You will see some examples of this below.
The dynamic range is also very good as you will see in the first picture below, and the Zeiss Optics are very sharp corner to corner with little fringing to be found. The lens does have slight distortion on the wider end, but it’s really not that bad in my opinion.
A Few High Res Sample Photos
I took this photo from the window of my car and to my surprise the Zeiss optics at 10.4mm was wide enough to capture the entire building. So, if you were wondering what 10.4mm gets you, this is a good example in my opinion. I was about 30-40 feet from the building I would say for reference.
Be sure to Click on the photos for the best viewing experience!!
Sony RX100 – Sample Photo @ 10.4mm
Here’s the other side of the building from farther away with a 100% Crop of the truck in the lower right corner. The detail that the RX100 captures is excellent in my opinion.
Sony RX100 @ f/5.6, 1/640sec, 10.4mm, ISO 125, Handheld
100% Crop – Sony RX100 @ f/5.6, 1/640sec, 10.4mm, ISO 125, Handheld
These next few shots was a highly textured church with a slate roof that made for a really good test photos!
Sony RX100 – High Res Sample Photos
Sony RX100 – High Res Sample Photos
Just look at how sharp this slate roof is when viewing a 100% Crop!!
100% Crop Sony RX100 – Slate Roof
Sony RX100 – High Res Sample Photos
Sony RX100 – Sample Photo
Sony RX100 @ 11.32mm, f/5.6, 1/500sec, ISO 125
Sharp @ 100% Crop
Sony RX100 @ 11.32mm, f/5.6, 1/500sec, ISO 125 – 100% Crop
Here’s three shots of the same scene taken at different zoom levels: 10.4mm, 15.28mm, and 37.01mm
Sony RX100 @ 10.4mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 125
Sony RX100 @ 15.28mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 125
Sony RX100 @ 37.01mm, f/5.6, 1/250sec, ISO 125
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About the Author
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Great review, Jason. Very thorough as befitting a month-long torture test. It’s definitely on my list of cameras to get now, instead of a mirrorless ILC.
Hi Al,
Thanks so much for the comments and kind words
I really would like to have one as well to complement the A99 when it comes out 
I will have to sell the Canon 5D Mark II though which, according to the A99 Rumors, won’t be missed!!
Jay
CNET’s recent review of the RX-100 panned the accessibility of Macro mode. What kind of testing did you do re Macro mode? And how easy/difficult was it to switch into that mode?
P.S. Thanks for all the great Sony related testing you do — I’m the recent owner of an A57 and your site’s postings were very helpful — especially the menu tutorial.
Hey David,
Thanks for the kind words and your support!!! Sry I did not reply sooner, but I’ve been building the new SonyAlphaLab – Forum behind the scenes for the past few days
The Macro abilities are pretty decent, but not amazing by any means. Your able to get pretty close to subjects, and with the 20mp sensor you also have the ability to crop. I just took this photo below the other day at the minimum focus distance. Pretty much as close as I could get to the flower.
Best,
Jay