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Author Topic: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera  (Read 3290 times)

Eric Myrvaagnes

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Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« on: December 27, 2016, 10:24:47 am »

Excellent article, Terry. Thanks for doing it.

At the suggestion of my local camera dealer (yes, we still have one) I tried a Sony RX10 (original) a couple of years ago and bought it for a trip to France.
I fell in love with it so completely that I eventually sold off all my Canon 5DII and lenses, and the Sony has been my main camera  ever since.

When the II came out, I didn;t think it had enough improvement to warrant an upgrade. But with the III, I am wondering. The 24-600 (FF equiv) zoom reach is tempting, because the Zeiss lenses are so good. The additional weight is a little intimidating.

I would love to hear from anyone who has had direct experience with both the original RX10 and the RX10 III, or even the RX10 II and the RX10 III.

-Eric
« Last Edit: December 27, 2016, 11:29:41 am by Chris Sanderson »
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #1 on: December 27, 2016, 10:25:55 am »

So would I - in fact, I'm so keen, I've even corrected the spelling of "Sony" ;-)

Jeremy
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Telecaster

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #2 on: December 27, 2016, 04:04:52 pm »

I'm curious about this one too. I'd prefer to give up some reach for less bulk, though.

-Dave-
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SveinE

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #3 on: December 28, 2016, 04:28:52 pm »

Thanks for the article. I'm also interested in the RX10 III. I tested the first version when it was launched, and liked it a lot. Never bought it though as it was too close to my Olympus MFT-camera with a 14-140 lens.

The Mark III is even more interesting because the new lens replace any two lens combo I can find for MFT (or any other system I'm aware of).

I went to a store today and they had both Mk II and Mk III on display. The Mk III was quite a bit bigger than I expected. It's only a couple of millimeters wider and taller, and around 25 millimeters longer, but still seemed very "massive" compared to Mk II.  Tried it briefly in the store,  but Terry McDonald's article is obviously a much better source of info than any comment I could make. It seemed very well made though, but AF seemed slow at the long end.

I've seen AF speed mentioned in several reviews as not bad, but not stellar. It's no doubt better outside in good light than in a store, but it's is a concern for me and one of the reasons I'm also looking at the Panasonic FZ2000. I tested the FZ1000 when it came out and it had the best AF I've ever seen in a superzoom/bridge camera. FZ2000 is supposed to be at least as good.

FZ2000 also have build in ND, but a slightly shorter zoom range, slightly slower lens, and - according to the tests I've seen - the optical quality of Sony lens is somewhat better.

Size and weight is pretty close so not an important factor. Ergonomics are somewhat different, but very good on both models IMO.

So, what it comes down to for me is basically better AF (and ND) on FZ2000 vs better optics on Sony. Not an easy decision. Better optics don't help if AF isn't fast enough... Any input would be interesting.

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luxborealis

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #4 on: December 28, 2016, 05:51:07 pm »

If it's any help...

Since writing the article back in the summer, I've done a lot more action shooting with the Sony RX10iii and am very pleased with the results. Just to qualify my comments, I've shot field hockey and soccer outdoors and volleyball and basketball indoors, so, both "fast" and "slow" sports under very different conditions. In all cases, the number of missed shots increased compared to my D800E, but I also captured enough excellent shots to not worry about the missed ones (I'm not shooting for Sports Illustrated, after all!).

The only real weakness I can see with the RX10iii is trying to follow birds in flight, but that is also my own shortcoming in technique. I find that in continuous focus, I irretrievably lose focus the second the bird veers out of the focus box. The D800E does a much better job with 3D focus and all (as it should do for considerably more $).

I must admit to being intrigued by the Olympus set-up Kevin reviewed recently. That 12-100mm lens is sure tempting combined with a sensor twice the size of a 1" sensor. But then I discovered the lens alone is the same price as the Sony RX10iii; I'll stick to the Sony, thanks.

Lastly, I've been using the Sony at ISO 64 and am greatly enjoying the results. I've also had great success with maintaining sharp details even when using f/11, but only on a tripod. Diffraction (yes, not refraction!) clearly becomes an issue at f/16.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #5 on: December 28, 2016, 08:03:40 pm »

That's a very useful update, Terry. Thanks for that, and for the original article.
I'm still on the fence about upgrading from my RX10i. I think I need to try out both the RX10ii and RX10iii and see how much of a burden the added weight of the iii is.

The Zeiss lens on the RX10i seems to me astonishingly good.

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SveinE

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2016, 05:01:08 am »

Thanks for the update and comments on AF although it certainly dont make it easier to choose between RX10 III and FZ2000. I was leaning toward FZ2000, but now it's closer to fifty-fifty. The FZ1000 is the only fixed lens camera I've used which has managed BIF with any consistency - not great, but still useful. However, BIF is not a extremely important factor in choosing between RX10 III and FZ2000. 

I've also looked at Olympus 12-100 F4 which have and a similar zoom range to the RX10 I/II. 12-100 get very positive reviews on stabilisation and optical performance and combined with a MFT body it certainly looks like an interesting alternative to RX10 I/II, but at a higher price even for someone who own the body already. I don't see it as an alternative to RX10 III though.
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luxborealis

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2016, 08:44:25 pm »

That's a very useful update, Terry. Thanks for that, and for the original article.
I'm still on the fence about upgrading from my RX10i. I think I need to try out both the RX10ii and RX10iii and see how much of a burden the added weight of the iii is.

The Zeiss lens on the RX10i seems to me astonishingly good.

Eric, since you first remarked on the RX10iii some months back, and the fact you have the RX10i, I've been trying to get a sense of how important the "extra" focal length beyond 200mm is to me.
  • about 10% of all my photos are shot at focal lengths longer than 200mm;
  • of those 729 shots, fewer than 1% (62) are *** or higher;
  • of those, 20 shots are **** or higher; with 4 of those being worthy of framing.
that being said, those 20 shots are almost 1/4 of all my **** or higher.

Hmmm, I think I've muddied the waters.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Sony RX10 III - The Ultimate Travel Camera
« Reply #8 on: December 30, 2016, 12:29:21 am »

Thanks Terry,

That is very useful muddying!

With my Canon 5D and 5Dii I used my 24-105mm lens probably 95% of the time. I also had a 200mm lens, but I don't think I ever took more than three shots with it, and they were not worth keeping. So the Sony gave me the equivalent of 24mm to 200mm without having to change lenses, and I soon found myself using the full range to 200 with good results.

So if I spring for the RX10iii, chances are good that I'll start having fun even well beyond 200.

I'll have to go play with the ii and the iii some time soon.
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