Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 II review

VIDEO AND IMAGE QUALITY – CLICK SAMPLES TO ENLARGE

The Sony RX100 II sailed through our video tests. Autofocus was responsive, details were crisp and low-light shots were bright and clean. There’s a choice of 25p, 50p or 50i recording at 1,920×1,080, with clip lengths up to 30 minutes. There’s comprehensive manual control, too, with access to manual exposure settings while recording. Manual focus benefits from a peaking mode that highlights sharply focussed parts of the frame.

The results of our image quality tests were even more impressive. Brightly lit shots were packed with fine detail, with no hint of noise or noise-reduction artefacts. Processing raw files in Lightroom only gave a minimal improvement to the fidelity of fine details, which goes to show how good the JPEG output is. Automatic exposures were expertly judged, with nicely balanced highlights and shadows.

Crisp fine details, smooth expanses of colour and excellent handling of highlights – we’ve no complaints here

The JPEG output is virtually indistinguishable from the best Lightroom can get from the raw file – a superb result

Automatic metering has handled this tricky high-contrast shot superbly

When low light demanded fast ISO speeds, the large sensor and wide-aperture lens came into their element. At ISO 1600, noise reduction sacrificed fine details a little but image quality was in even better than from the Panasonic LX7 and Fujifilm X20. After resizing these cameras’ output to the same size, the LX7 and X20 at ISO 1600 were roughly equivalent to the RX100 II at ISO 6400 – a massive two-stop advantage. Then again, the LX7 recovers some ground with its wider aperture. It’s two-thirds of a stop brighter than the RX100 II for wide-angle shots and two stops brighter at the telephoto end.

Zooming in causes the aperture to close down to f/4.9, but the sensor is still turning in great results at ISO 1600. The automatic exposure has taken this tricky backlight in its stride too

ISO 3200, and noise reduction is working hard, giving fine textures an artificial sheen. Even so, it’s a superb result, and by far the best we’ve ever seen for such a slim camera

However, we had to avoid Auto mode to make the most of this outstanding low-light capability. Auto mode limited the ISO speed to 800, which resulted in excessively slow shutter speeds and blurry photos. Switching to Program mode opened up the Auto ISO range up to a maximum of 3200, which avoided blur and still produced excellent results.

Auto mode picked a 1/13s shutter speed, so blur was inevitable at the long end of the zoom

Switching to program mode bumped the shutter and ISO speeds up

This camera addresses a genuine need – for a pocket-sized design that doesn’t compromise on image quality or a zoom function. It’s a pleasure to use, too, and its video mode is more than up to scratch. The only real problem on launch was the high price.

As such, we’ve been waiting for the price to drop and it is finally starting to do so. You can now pick one up for significantly less than the launch price and you can now find one for £399, which makes it a far more tantalising prospect. The RX100 II is a brilliant camera – the image quality is superb and you would never guess this is a compact camera.

The newer RX100 III is undoubtedly the better camera if you can afford to stretch, however. Its price has also dropped significantly since its release and is now hovering around £570. It includes some genuinely useful new features, such as its surprising pop-up electronic viewfinder. The III model also makes some changes to the lens. Its zoom reach has been reduced to 24-70mm but with a little added to the wide end (compared to the 28-100mm of the RX100 and RX100 II). The aperture at the telephoto end is much improved at F/2.8 compared to the much poorer F/4.9 at the telephoto end on older models, adding a great deal more flexibility across the zoom range and three times more light.

Still, if you find the RX100 II for the right price, it’s still an excellent compact camera that takes wonderful photos.

Buy the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II now from John Lewis