Sony RX100 II Hands-On Preview

The Sony Cybershot RX100 II is an update to last years RX100 - a serious compact camera with manual controls. The RX100 has proved to be a popular model and Sony have improved it by upgrading to an Exmor R CMOS sensor which allows for better image quality in low light, and it has a tiltable LCD monitor. Sony are aiming the camera at what they call Creative Influencers and Hobby Enthusiasts.

The RX100 II is also the first NFC Wi-Fi enabled camera from Sony. This means that you can quickly connect the camera to another NFC device, such as a smartphone or tablet to use it as a remote release and share pictures. There is the addition of an accessory shoe, which allows you to connect a flash, electronic viewfinder, microphone or remote release. There are other accessories available, which will also fit the original RX100, including a grip, jacket case and 49mm filter adapter.

Other improvements include movie recording using the full manual controls, so you can change the aperture and shutter speed, and the step zoom allowing you to quickly jump from 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm and 100mm (all 35mm equivalents). This is in addition to the traditional zoom rocker.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 II has an ERP of £650 and is expected to be available from mid July. Sony will also continue to manufacture and sell the original RX100 until at least Christmas and possibly beyond. 

Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 II Key features

• 20.2 megapixel Exmor R 1 inch sensor
• 3.6x Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/1.8-4.9 lens, equivalent to 28-100mm
• Optical image stabilisation 
• 3 inch tiltable screen, 1,229,000 dots
• Aluminium body
• Full HD video, stereo sound
• ISO100 - ISO25600
• Multi terminal
• Multi Interface Shoe
• Macro: 5cm
• HDR / Panoramic / 10 fps continuous shooting
• P/A/S/M Manual shooting, plus RAW

Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 II Handling

Other than the new additions mentioned earlier, the rest of the camera has remained very much the same. The screen is able to tilt up to 84° and down to 45° and as you'd expect, the accessory shoe is placed on top. The new model is slightly heavier than the old model and has more depth to accomodate the tilting screen, but is the same height and width as the mark I. During our hands on session we were shown the NFC working with a Sony Xperia phone. If your mobile device doesn't have NFC you can connect by inputting your Wi-Fi password instead.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Hands-On Photos of Equipment

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Specifications

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