Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Hands-On Review

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 is one of the first, if not the only bridge camera with a larger than 2/3inch sensor since the Sony Cyber-shot R1 in 2005, which famously featured a 10 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and 5x Carl Zeiss lens. The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 features a 1 inch 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor and an 8.3x Carl Zeiss lens. The RX10 will be available from the end of November.

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Features

With a camera body that resembles a Digital SLR, and the weight to match at 755g (body only), the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 features a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* 8.3x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24-200mm in 35mm terms, with a constant f/2.8 aperture, which goes some way to justify the weight and size of the camera.



The rear features a 3inch tilting screen, as well as a 1,440k dot electronic viewfinder (with eye-detection sensor), and rather uniquely for this camera, on top is an LCD screen much like you would find on a mid to professional range Digital SLR.

FullHD video recording is included at 60p/25p and stereo sound, and you'll also find microphone and headphone sockets on the side, which means that the camera is designed for professional  video recording. The other side of the camera gives you access to the memory card slot, which accepts either Sony Memory Sticks or SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.

Key Features

• 20.2 megapixel 1.0-type back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/2.8 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) zoom
• 8.3x optical zoom lens with Optical SteadyShot
• 1440k dot OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder
• 3inch tilting LCD screen
• New BIONZ X processor with 3x faster processing speed
• Eye-AF focuses on subjects eyes
• Top mounted LCD
• Multi-interface hot-shoe
• Manual controls
• Full HD video, 60p, 25p
• All pixel-video readout (optimum IQ)
• Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Handling

A large rubber hand grip surrounds the right hand side where you hold the camera with your right hand, and on the back this continues all the way round to where there is a shaped area for your thumb to hold onto. Above the thumb is where you'll find the exposure compensation dial. If you hold the camera with two hands, which is recommended due to the size and weight of the camera, then the left hand side of the camera (viewed from the rear) also features a rubberised grip that goes round to the front of the camera.

On the lens you will find the zoom ring, as well as a manual aperture ring. The zoom ring controls the lens zoom, which is a power zoom, and the aperture ring lets you set the aperture between f/2.8 and f/16, making the camera feel like using a more traditional camera - the aperture clicks can be switched off, letting you smoothly and silently change aperture during video recording. You can set the shutter speed using the rear scroll wheel, for full manual control over exposure.



The top left of the camera features the mode dial, and the camera even features a sensor plane marking so you know where the sensor sits in the camera. The Sony multi-interface hotshoe means the camera is compatible with a number of Sony accessories, as well as generic devices that use the flash hot-shoe, such as LED lighting etc. A small pop-up flash is included, as well as a generous LCD screen (with illumination button next to it), which gives shooting information, as well as remaining shots and battery life.



The shutter release features a thread for screw in shutter release cables, and there is a zoom rocker surrounding the shutter release button, with the on/off switch behind. This means you can also control the zoom with power zoom, which is important for smooth zoom during video recording.



The tilting rear screen on the back has a high resolution, and is clear to see. The electronic viewfinder features a 1,440k dot resolution, dioptre correction, as well as an eye-detection sensor so that when it's held up to your eye it will automatically switch to the viewfinder. 

Focus is quick with a focus assist light helping in low light conditions. The focus can be set using a front switch which gives the option of single, continuous, direct-MF, and manual focus.



As will other recent Sony cameras, the body features NFC (Near Field Communication) and built in Wi-Fi so that you can simply touch the camera to a compatible NFC enabled smartphone to setup the connection. The Sony PlayMemories Mobile app will then allow you to remote control the camera, as well as download and share photos from the device.

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Other sample images

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Verdict

The camera feels extremely well built, with a solid body and ample rubber grip, making it feel comfortable to hold in hand. The large number of manual controls on the camera, such as aperture and exposure compensation makes the camera feel like a real camera, rather than just an electronic gadget, and the build quality and large high quality lens goes a long way to justify the price of the camera.

While it may be too soon to say how the camera will perform, if the sensor and image quality from the lens matches the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, which also features the same 20.2 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor, then we would expect performance to be very good. We will update as soon as we have a full production camera in for review. 

Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Specifications

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