Reviews |Sony RX100 V announced

Sony RX100 V announced

Sony RX100 V
News

Sony has announced its latest premium compact camera, the large sensor Sony RX100 V.

The RX100 V is claimed to bring a new level of AF performance and speed to the compact camera market. It is equipped with a Fast Hybrid AF system with the world’s fastest AF acquisition at 0.05 seconds and world’s highest number of AF points on sensor with 315 points covering approximately 65% of the frame.

The new Sony camera can also shoot continuously at speeds of up to 24 fps – the world’s fastest for a compact camera – at full 20.1 MP (approx. effective) resolution with AF/AE tracking for up to 150 continuous shots.

The RX100 V is has a newly developed 1.0-type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor with a DRAM chip, a ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70 mm F1.8 – 2.8 large aperture lens and an enhanced image processing system with a new front-end LSI chip that maximises processing speed, expands the memory buffer and optimises image quality, in particular at high ISO settings.

The camera also features 4K video recording with full pixel readout and no pixel binning, super slow motion recording at up to 1000 fps  with extended recording time and more.

Sony RX100 V

Fast Focusing, Fast Shooting

A first for Sony’s RX100 series of cameras, the new RX100 V model features a Fast Hybrid AF system that combines the respective advantages of focal-plane phase detection AF and contrast detection AF and ultimately enables the camera to lock focus in as little as 0.05 seconds.

This high speed focusing is a perfect complement to the 315 dedicated AF points that cover 65% of the sensor, and ensures that shooters will be able to capture their intended subject with high speed and accuracy, even if it’s moving rapidly in unpredictable directions.

Additionally, processing speed has been greatly enhanced through the addition of a front-end LSI that perfectly supports the camera’s BIONZ X image processing engine. These two components combined with the new Sony camera’s AF system allow the RX100 V to shoot continuously at speeds of up to 24 fps at full 20.1 MP (approx. effective) resolution for up to 150 shots with AF/AE tracking.

Viewfinder blackout between shots has also been minimised in this high-speed shooting mode, which Sony says improves photographers’ ability to follow fast action and capture the decisive moment. Silent shooting is also available in these high-speed modes as well.

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Sony RX100 series

Other improvements to AF performance on the RX100 V include the addition of AF-A mode, Sony says, which allows the camera to automatically switch between continuous and single-shot AF modes. Users can also manually select if they’d like the continuous AF and phase detection AF areas to be displayed live on screen while they are framing a shot.

The RX100 V also offers a high speed Anti-Distortion Shutter (maximum speed of 1/32000 second) that minimises the “rolling shutter” effect commonly experienced with fast moving subjects. This fast shutter speed also allows the camera to capture sharp, crystal clear images with a wide open aperture at brightness levels up to EV19.

Also new on the RX100 V is the ability to freely select the initial magnification ratio when shooting in a mode with Focus Magnifier, and photographers can also select between “focus point” and “centre of display” for the location of Focus Magnifier.

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Sony RX100 V

Professional Movie Functionality

The pocket-friendly RX100 V is packed with a variety of video capabilities that will satisfy even the most demanding video enthusiasts.

With Fast Hybrid AF, the focal plane phase detection AF sensor ensures accurate focusing and tracking performance, even for the severe focusing requirements of 4K movie shooting. AF drive speed and AF tracking sensitivity can also be adjusted via the menu system, giving shooters plenty of flexibility based on their focusing preferences.

In 4K mode,vi the new RX100 V utilises full pixel readout without pixel binning to ensure that all the finer details of 4K video are captured with minimal moire and ‘jaggies’. These results are achieved through use of the XAVC S codec, which records video at a high data rate of up to 100 Mbps during 4K recording and 50 Mbps during full HD shooting.

Additional professional grade video features include Picture Profile, S-Log2 /S-Gamut, 100p HD Full HD mode and more. Users also have the ability to manually select a frame from a recorded movie and save it as a still image file of approximately 8 MP during 4K shooting or 2 MP during HD shooting.

The Sony RX100 V is able to record super-slow motion video[x] at up to 40x slower than the standard rate, and can do this for about twice as long as the RX100 IV model.

Prior to shooting, users will have the ability to choose among 1000fps, 500fps and 250fps frame rates and among 50p and 25p playback formats to optimise the recording to fit the speed of the moving subject, with the option to use the movie record button as a ‘start trigger’ to begin recording once button is pressed or ‘end trigger’ to record footage up until the button is pressed.

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Sony RX100 V

Body Design

The new RX100 V maintains the convenient pocket-sized design of the remainder of the RX100 family and is equipped with a high-contrast 2.35 million dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder, ensuring true-to-life image preview and playback functionality. The EVF retracts in and out of the camera body based on user preference, and features optics with ZEISS T* Coating.

The new camera is also Wi-Fi and NFC compatible and can access Sony’s growing range of PlayMemories Camera Applications.

Another convenient addition is the ability for users to freely set the leading three characters of saved file names for easier sorting and organisation.

There will also be a new underwater housing (model MPK-URX100A) that will be available as a separate accessory for the RX100 V and all other RX100 series cameras. Designed exclusively to fit the RX100 cameras, the housing features a depth level of 40m/130ft.

Sony RX100 V

Pricing and Availability

The new Sony Cyber-shot RX100 V compact camera will be available in Europe in November priced at approximately €1,200 (UK price TBA). The MPK-URX100A underwater housing will be available for approximately €360/£32o.

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