https://youtu.be/zSy2AF9ld8M

I have just bouth this camera yesterday and apart from the AF issue that this camera have and is that you can not lock AF by pressing the shutter button while recording video

RX10 II LENS WOBBLE WHILE ZOOM AND DOES NOISE

I find this as another annoying issue! I dont know if i have a faulty model but if this normal its bad and ofcource i will return it back

I have the RX10 M1 and this has the same issue, at first I thought it was a fault and returned the camera in person and wanted to test another camera in-store which we did, both cameras from different batches exhibited the same issue.

It's ok though as I don't really zoom while recording and if I do it's to reframe so I'm cool with this. For a camera at that price and what it does, I'll live with this.

As a rx10 mark1 owner I also would say this is normal, you can test it by zooming out completely and than take the front end of the lens and wiggle a bit with it, you will notice it's not solid and you can move it. My rx10 doesn't show it that much during zoom because it takes a full 13 sec to go from wide to tele, something I absolutely hate about this version because it has caused me to miss some shots at a wedding.

The noise you hear is also normal, zooming with this camera is only to reframe your shot.

thank you for the reply

tha camera in europe is way more expensive than the us and that makes it even more not a good choice for me.

maybe i will never zoom so fast or i will never use the internal mic but this 2 issues bothers me when a camera like this cost this much and does not do the basics i want

As a rx10 mark1 owner I also would say this is normal, you can test it by zooming out completely and than take the front end of the lens and wiggle a bit with it, you will notice it's not solid and you can move it. My rx10 doesn't show it that much during zoom because it takes a full 13 sec to go from wide to tele, something I absolutely hate about this version because it has caused me to miss some shots at a wedding.

The noise you hear is also normal, zooming with this camera is only to reframe your shot.

I can skip the noise by adding a mic and i will get a better sound overall in quality and everything

the wobble on the rx10 first version is less cause its slow fuction in the RX10ii in fast zoom its become worst.

i wanted this camera to be a b camera to my cinematography videos and hopefully an A camera in traditional videography service that i dont do much , only 1-3 per year..

this wobble in zoom willl make the look very unprofesional and its better to send it back and buy something else that fits my needs

If you want controlled zooms you are better of with a real videocamera, I"d be happy with that wobbly zoom but not at it's current price which is double of what a rx10 mark 1 costs. I only zoom to reframe a shot and cut the zoom out in post, with the rx10 mark 1 I can't do that because when something important happens and I am zooming out to correct the frame I often need to include the zoom as well because it takes so long.

true

the price of the RX10ii is whats dissapoints me

if it was less i could live with the wobble

i believe an A6000+ 18-105 will give me the best result and at a far better price

But you would be missing out on some features like no 4K, no slog, no high framerates, no constant f2.8 lens etc. The only strong point I see on the a6000 is it's autofocus capabilities.

Stick with the RX10 M2 It will be a great camera producing fantastic images.

But fantastic images won't help if a smooth operating zoomlens is a requirement. :)

But you would be missing out on some features like no 4K, no slog, no high framerates, no constant f2.8 lens etc. The only strong point I see on the a6000 is it's autofocus capabilities.

thanks for this

i can also go for a 24-240 on the A7s i allready have . plus am getting the assasin and i will get for sure the a7sii or the fs1 .

the 24-240 will give better low light with the ff sensor and the bokeh will be better anyway...

apart from the wobble and the very bizzare way of doing focus the cameras is good

But fantastic images won't help if a smooth operating zoomlens is a requirement. :)


thats true

:)

and its a bit of a shame! that is why am thinking of the 24-240 to my a7s

I use the RX10 as my backup or second camera in interviews etc… also I use this a lot inside of cars or where I need a lot of movement. The lens wobble during zoom is really unacceptable from Sony.

I also have a A7s with the Sony 28-135mm f4 and the Sony 18-200mm which I find a great combo.

No lens wobble on my new rx10ii at all, its solid.

Thats fantastic Steve, so if this is true it means I have a faulty camera and also Anthony.

Don't be that sure about it, this reminds me a bit about the sony nex-ea50 stocklens, many complained it did twitch at the start of a zoom, mine did, but there where others that did not experience that problem, if I recall right someone who send it in got the lens back saying the play on the lens was within specifications, I have a feeling it will be the same here though I hope for you it won't.

Yeah, I'm jumping to conclusions. When I returned my camera they said this was normal behaviour…. I was thinking really?

I have lived with the issue an this does'nt effect what I do.

It might be the design of the camera that doesn't allow Sony to produce the lens to the same specifications of a regular videocamera, I"m sure if this kind of behavior would occur on Sony's x70 you would get a replacement camera without question, now the rx10 lens, just like the stocklens on the Sony is not supposed to function in that way and you either are lucky to get a good functioning one or you are not. The fact is that Sony seems to be able to produce good functioning lenses as some report they don't have any zoom wobble so not sure we should accept that kind of nonsense from them that this is "normal behaviour"...

Yes, I agree Noa.

Looking at it another way I would say the smooth zoom on Steve's RX10 II, in Sony's service own words, is "abnormal". Because every RX10 I've tried from the Mk1 to Mk2 at a few different dealers, every one of them had wobble zoom mechanism. This is one of the reasons I have given the cameras a pass. All the consumer class real camcorders from Sony I own from the AX100 down to CX350E, interlaced-only palm-sized cam have a perfectly smooth zoom with no wobble whatsoever.

Technically speaking, it is probably very difficult to make a lens with extending zooming mechanism since the weight shifts too far away from the camera's housing support to provide enough rigidity to prevent the lens barrel from sagging from its own weight or twitching to either side.

I guess how tolerant you have for wobbling zoom depends very much on your style of shooting and the kind of video you use the camera for.

No lens wobble on mine either

If you zoom out completely and take the outer end of the lens and move it, is it rock solid or can you move it around?

I retract my earlier statement, there is some lens wobble when fully out

As far as I know Sony didn't make any changes to the lens outside the fact that it can zoom in and out faster during record, maybe that is why they limited the zoomspeed on the original version because the lens design is not intended for fast zooms? I guess for reframing purposes it's not a big deal but if you want a guarantee for a smooth zoom you are better of with a videocamera.

If you zoom out completely and take the outer end of the lens and move it, is it rock solid or can you move it around?
OK yep here to but what a cam....

I have a love hate relation with my rx10 and I"m sure the rx10 II won't change that feeling that much.

Beginning to love it Noa but it wont take the place of my trusty canon 70 d still the best...

Can I ask what technique people are using to focus on the RX10 and RX10 II.

If I am correct you cannot set a function button to AF when pressed, hence I have set a button to switch AF and MF on and off but you then rely on the Camera to AF which can tend to hunt

You can also set a button the hold manual focus when pressed, but you have to keep it pressed which is kind of annoying

My ideal would be like my G7 which you can set a button to AF and leave the camera in manual and just hit the focus button when refocus is required.

the 24-240 will give better low light with the ff sensor and the bokeh will be better anyway...
The 24-240 will not give better low light. The A7s will give better low light performance with the FF sensor but it needs it When the 24-240mm lens aperture range is f/3.5-6.3

Alrighty, got a MkII "In hand", and as a long time Sony user, I'll take a minute to address the "lens wobble and noise"... an absolutely ridiculous reason to bag on the camera... but anyway.

First, there were some complaints (Noa <wink>) that the limited zoom speed on the original RX10 when in record mode (a "standard feature" of all the cybershots I tested, probably to avoid the noise of the zoom motors when zooming quickly) was a problem... Arguably in live/event shooting, it was painfully slow, but of course achieved the objective of a slow, quiet, steady (more professional looking?) zoom.

With the MkII There's a new "fast" setting for zoom speed in the menus, no doubt at least in part to the complaints. You can set it or not, and more importantly invoke it or not when in USE.

What this means is if you "feather" the zoom lever (the lens rings seems to default to "slow", the lever has a two speed switch at least), you can still zoom slowly, but if you smash it, it'll now do a typical Sony style "crash zoom" at a higher rate of speed (almost instantaneous in the clear zoom range... limited by physics in the optical range, but now as fast as the "not recording" zoom speed). Yes, the zoom motors overcoming the mass and inertia of the big honking chunk o' glass do make a bit more noise... that's how motors WORK.

SO, if you NEED "crash zoom" for fast reframing, it's there now, you don't HAVE to use it, as well as being able to disable it if the "noise" bothers you and you have sausage fingers...

Second, yes, due to the size and physics of the lens, when the piezo motors kick in, there's a bit of a jolt, it's noticeable, but really if one is "crash zooming", you're going to be doing a quick cutaway, right? And really the wobble isn't THAT bad if the content is otherwise OK, you COULD use the shot in a pinch... Just say you were inspired by the Bourne movies or sumthin'...

How often does one need to crash zoom, and when doing so, a little wobble is likely the least of one's worries...

I'll start a new post with other initial thoughts, but wanted to hit this thread first, as it suggests a problem where there is a new (and requested... and useful!) "feature" making the RX10II more like traditional video cameras, at least as far as "zooming" is concerned.