Sony RX10 HD camera

[Phil Goetz]

Zebra, three steps of ND, clean HDMI out, clickless aperture, peaking for focus, optional XLR in...

wow.

[Arthur Gannis]

The G6 has no headphone jack, to get a bunch of equivalent F2.8 lenses to even get close to that range 8X will cost you a fortune, Just that 12-35 F2.8 Panny will cost more than the RX-10 and still has another 130mm to go.I like the fact that it has provision for XLR mic and that I will never have to worry about dust on the sensor. The Zeiss glass at constant 2.8 is a winner. Last week I was seriously looking at the G6 but now, Sony is a game changer for me. Seriously, this camera should have had a battery speed grip available for it like the new Sony A7 and A7r. If I needed the interchangeability of lenses, then the Sony A7 would fit the bill, but I don't think even that camera will ever have a 24-200 F2,8 optic made for it. The only issue is not being able to use fisheye or superwides on it but for those few instances that a fisheye is needed, then I will slap on a Century optic adapter and away I go. Still cheaper than a fisheye lens anyway.

[Simon Denny]

Can anyone confirm if this camera is NTSC/PAL or region specific. The searching I have done points to NTSC only but I did find a spec sheet that mentioned PAL. Time will tell I guess.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Simon Denny

Can anyone confirm if this camera is NTSC/PAL or region specific. The searching I have done points to NTSC only but I did find a spec sheet that mentioned PAL. Time will tell I guess.

According to the Sony UK webpage

The Cyber-shot RX10 supports both PAL and NTSC movie recording

Sony - Premium performance and portability; Full range shooting from wide angle to telephoto : : News : Sony Europe Press Centre

[Simon Denny]

Thanks Nigel, thats the same info I was looking at but no reference if this camera is NTSC/PAL switchable.

[Nigel Barker]

My reading of the various press releases & reviews is that similar to the Canon DSLRs all frame rates are available e.g. 24p/25p/30p/50p/60p. This is in contrast to e.g. Panasonic who have different NTSC (24/30/60) & PAL (24/25/50) models.

[Simon Denny]

Yeah, thats the info that I'm gathering from the specs also. I have been looking for a small handycam to run around with but I think this one might fit the specs I'm after.

[Simon Denny]

Finally found some specs on the Sony Australian website.

AVCHD - 1,920 X 1,080 / 50fps (28M, PS) Yes
$ 1,499.00
(AUD inc. GST)

Ah, now the price...... It's a bit steep with a fixed lens, oh well it still looks good on spec

[Dave Blackhurst]

In looking around for info on the camera, I've seen it referred to as 60p/24p (indicating NTSC) or 50p/25p (indicating PAL). It would be a nifty feature to have it able to switch between the two specs, but I'd expect it to be one OR the other... the above link with 60/25 is a bit odd?

Considering the features after adjusting to the initial price shock, this is really priced around the same as a high end "Handy Cam", and it's a LOT more camera in many respects. From that standpoint, it's sort of in a market segment all by itself (much like the RX100).

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

In looking around for info on the camera, I've seen it referred to as 60p/24p (indicating NTSC) or 50p/25p (indicating PAL). It would be a nifty feature to have it able to switch between the two specs, but I'd expect it to be one OR the other... the above link with 60/25 is a bit odd?

Considering the features after adjusting to the initial price shock, this is really priced around the same as a high end "Handy Cam", and it's a LOT more camera in many respects. From that standpoint, it's sort of in a market segment all by itself (much like the RX100).

Dave, perhaps you missed my link to the specifications on the Sony UK website where it clearly states that

The Cyber-shot RX10 supports both PAL and NTSC movie recording

Why would you expect it be one OR the other? The Canon DSLRs are world models. It's Panasonic who produce separate PAL & NTSC models. The bonus for separate models is that there is no 30 minute recording limit on the NTSC variant.

[Simon Denny]

Hey Nigel, on the Sony Australian website it makes no mention of NTSC only PAL, so I think these cameras will be region dependant, I could be wrong

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Arthur Gannis

The only issue is not being able to use fisheye or superwides on it

And don't forget you can't add on faster primes, something you can on the g6 and you have etc mode as well with hardly any visual loss so any lens you put on can serve 2 focal lengths at faster f-stops. The constant aperture lens on the rx10 is impressive but it remains to be seen how high you can crank up the iso before it turns ugly, also shallow dof will nowhere be near to what other dslr's with larger sensors can achieve with faster primes, including the g6. It will be a great all purpose camera that will be able to handle most situations, but you still would need a exchangeable lens dslr to fill the gaps.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

IConsidering the features after adjusting to the initial price shock, this is really priced around the same as a high end "Handy Cam", and it's a LOT more camera in many respects. From that standpoint, it's sort of in a market segment all by itself (much like the RX100).

I suspect this will be the end for the "high end" cx7xx serie handicams which run at the same price, who would get that camera now if you can get this one with far more features?

[Dave Blackhurst]

Noa -

Yep, that may well be the case, and we won't see any more high end Handycams... That market niche was in deep trouble already, with fewer options last year!

You can push the ISO on the RX100M2 quite a way before it's too ugly to use, and drop it from 60 to 30 in shutter priority mode with effective results. I've been experimenting, and the RX100 and HX300 can keep up fairly well with the PJ7xx in low lux mode, which you already know is pretty usable unless you're filming black cats at midnight on a moonless night.

Hmmm, prolly won't have an IR mode on the RX10... but I've got a sneaking suspicion that that big glass up front will bring in a lot of light, could be good... the HX300 has the same small sensor Sony uses throughout their Cybershot line, but that big glass gives it more advantage than I expected... f2.8 on the RX100M2 is quite usable, and it's got a tiny lens relative to what the RX10 is bringing to the party.

Obviously we have to wait for hands on a production RX10, but frankly Sony is fairly predictable when it comes to performance - I'm thinking I may ditch a "backup" 7xx series cam and set the money aside for when the RX10 hits - it doesn't make "sense" if you're trying to compare to an SLR type camera, but starts to add up when you consider it as a small highly flexible video cam that can also shoot high quality stills while being a small "kit". The RX100 and 100M2 are a similar proposition - higher quality results than you expect, from a small package - I was VERY skeptical of that, but hands on quickly impressed me, I wouldn't part with the 100M2, it's a fun camera to shoot with, and almost impossible to get "bad" results out of.



Nigel -

ALL my Sony Cybershots and Handy Cams are ONE OR THE OTHER - so I have pretty good reason to suspect that will be the case, but I've found several references now to 60/50/24, so it may be Sony is getting smarter and opening up to a "world cam"... but I wouldn't count on it...

Sony has for some time had region specific models with different suffixes, that's HISTORY, not speculation... I also believe they have done it to help deter "grey market" channels - it would actually be a bit of a surprise (albeit a pleasant one) if they abandon that long running approach.

The US RX100M2 is 60p/24p... NTSC. I'm sure they have a 50/25 PAL model.

AND the Cybershot and Alphas have ALL have a 29 minute clip length, I believe that is in the announced specs for the RX10. Sony specs have also been known to be "wrong" early in release cycles...

[Arthur Gannis]

How can anyone say that a camera with this much versatility, features, photo image quality, 20mp sensor, HDMI uncompressed output, video HD recording, Zeiss optics, image stabilization, compactness, incredible zoom range that covers 99% of all mostly used focal lenghts, is a bit too overpriced??
This camera is a true bargain considering that it is fully paid just with one wedding contract alone. Do any of you remember the Sony Betacams SD or the JVC ENG type cameras that weigh a ton ? You needed to mortgage a house to get one, not mentioning the accessories needed to even make them run like thousands in Anton Bauer chargers and belts. What about head clogs and constant servicing costs ? How about the associated decks needed to edit all that tape, remember. Gee, now you have a camera that you can wear around your neck like a tourist and does second duty as a pro instrument to start making some money with instead of accumilating expensive gear.The video quality is far and beyond superior to those. Expensive camera ? only if you do $99 weddings. The only thing I wished this camera had is the ability for lens interchangeability with a few superwides and long teles just to silence the critics.