Sony RX0 and RX10 IV: The really tiny and really big RX100

Ever looked at the Sony RX100 and thought, “Gee, I wish there was a really big version of this and a really tiny version of this”? If your answer is yes, Sony Malaysia’s got good news for you. Meet the brand new RX0 and RX10 IV compact cameras.

Sony RX10 IV: The really big RX100

When I say compact camera, I think that might be a little bit of a stretch if you’re using it to describe this bad boy. The RX100 is compact, but the RX10 is a whole nother beast. It completely dwarfs my Fujifilm X-T20.

But that’s for good reason because the RX10 is part of Sony’s “Super Zoom” compact range. As a result, you get a non-removable 24mm-600mm equivalent (actual 8-210mm) f/2.4-4 lens which gives you some incredible reach and is also optically stabilised.

The camera’s sensor is a 1.0-inch stacked Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip and really fast phase-detection AF (315 points). It’s also equipped with Sony’s powerful BIONZ X image processor meaning the camera can shoot 24fps continuous burst with AF/AE for up to 249 shots. That’s Sony a9 levels of speed.

At the back, it also features a 3-inch touch-sensitive TFT LCD tilt display with 1.44 million dots. If LCD shooting isn’t your thing, the RX10 IV also features a 2.35 million dot OLED EVF that you can peek through too.

Video capabilities are pretty similar to what you get on the RX100 V. It can do 4K up to 30fps, 1080p up to 120fps and a 960fps high-resolution mode at a resolution that’s just below HD. It also shoots video in S-Log3 flat videos so you have more freedom in post.

Sony’s new RX10 IV will retail for RM7,999 and is available for pre-order right now at authorised Sony outlets. It’s set to be available in stores early November.

For that kind of money, the RX10 IV probably isn’t the camera for me. It’s huge and for someone like me who travels a lot with their camera, size definitely matters. I also don’t have a big need for Super Zooms so that lens will be wasted on my kinds of photography. Personally, I’d get something like an a6500 instead because it’s much smaller, has a bigger APS-C sized sensor and has the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.

However, if Super Zooms are your thing and you don’t want to invest too much into a multi-lens system, it’s hard to ignore the RX10 IV’s speed and performance that’s all wrapped up in a neat all-in-one package.

Sony RX0: The really small RX100

You’d be forgiven for thinking of it as a GoPro HERO6 competitor, but Sony would have you believe that it isn’t because their marketing material steers very clear of words like “action cam”. And honestly, I am starting to agree with them. Sony’s RX0 doesn’t feel like an action camera the way a GoPro does.

It feels like a really, really tiny RX100 V.

Sony’s new camera, despite its diminutive size, features a 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor inside with an effective pixel resolution of 15.3 megapixels. This is also a stacked sensor that features a DRAM chip and a BIONZ X processor so it is capable of crazy slow-motion of 960fps/1000fps. This sensor is then paired with a ZEISS Tessar T 24mm (equivalent) f/4.0 lens for a slick wide-angled field of view.

Since it’s designed to go where no RX has gone before, Sony’s made this camera nearly indestructible. By itself, the camera is waterproof up to 10m (with a case that goes up to 100m) of water, it’s shockproof, and crushproof up to 200kg/2000N of force.

However, since it’s a camera, you’re probably more interested in its video and photographic capabilities. Well, for starters, it can take 15MP stills. But it also can record up to Full HD video at 60fps internally, though it does have a Clean 4K HDMI out port so you can record 4K footage to an external recorder. It can also capture video in S-Log2.

The company is really targetting professionals here as they’ve made it easy to link multiple RX0 cameras together with their Sony FA-WRC1M wireless radio commander. With this, you can trigger up to 15 RX0 cameras at the same time.

I was also impressed with the number of ports you have access to on the Sony RX0, including a microUSB port and even a microphone jack. It doesn’t have a touch-screen, however, so you’ll have to navigate the interface with the buttons that are built in.

This tiny powerhouse from Sony is priced at RM3,199, so it’s quite a bit pricier than the brand new GoPro HERO6 which retails at RM2,399. Is it worth it? That really depends on how you plan to use a camera like this because despite their similar form-factor and durability, these are very different cameras.

The RX0 is also available for pre-orders now at authorised Sony retailers with in-store availability set for the beginning of November.

Sony AX700

Sony Malaysia also had their new AX 700 handycam on display which also features a 1-inch stacked Exmor RX CMOS sensor but only has a resolution of 14.2MP. It can shoot 4K HDR video and has 273 phase-detection AF points. This handycam is priced at RM7,299 though there’s no pre-order for it.

More info on these cameras is at sony-asia.com.