Sony RX100 M II Review

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II is a pocket-sized camera with a large 20 Megapixel sensor and a 3.6x Carl Zeiss zoom with a bright focal ratio. Announced in June 2013, it's an upgraded version of the original RX100 launched one year previously. Depending on where you look, you may see the new model referred to as the RX100 II, RX100 M II or RX100 M2, but they're all the same camera; I'll refer to it from now on as the RX100 II.
The new RX100 II shares the same 28-100mm equivalent zoom with an f1.8-4.9 focal ratio, 3in screen with 1229k dots and 10fps burst shooting as its predecessor, along with the same 20.2 Megapixel resolution, but there's a number of important differences. The sensor remains 1in sized (making it 2.7 to 4 times bigger than those in most compacts this size), but it's now a back-illuminated design which Sony claims delivers 40% greater sensitivity. Indeed it's the largest back-illuminated sensor to date, although unlike the updated full-frame RX1R launched on the same day, the RX100 II retains the optical low pass filter.

Design and Controls

 

From the front, the RX100 II looks the same as the original RX100 and in fact the overall size and appearance is almost identical. The most obvious clue to which model you're looking at is the RX100 II's new hot shoe, other than that the two are virtually identical. The dimensions of the new model are 101.6 x 58.1 x 38.3 - 2.4mm deeper than the older model but exactly the same in the other dimensions - and it's 41 grams heavier at 281g including the battery and card.

 

As i mentioned earlier, the hot shoe marks the RX100 II out from its predecessor, in the middle of the top plate where previously was a plain flat surface looking like something was missing between the two lozenge-shaped holes for the stereo mics. These have been rotated 90 degrees and now sit either side of the hot shoe, but the top panel is otherwise unchanged, with the recessed on/off button, shutter release with zoom collar and mode dial to the left of the hot shoe and the pop-up flash to the right. The RX100 II name is printed in white on the top edge of the LCD screen, with the Exmor R, AVCHD and Cyber-shot branding in a more subdued bronze, a nice sophisticated touch.

Like its predecessor, the RX100 II has a built-in flash unit that automatically pops up when required; when you're finished with it you simply push it back down into the body. The articulated arm on which the flash head is mounted extends it well away from the body, reducing the risk of red eye, and is flexible enough to allow bouncing off the ceiling (it's not that powerful so it would need to be a low ceiling) by bending it back with your finger. In addition to auto you can force the flash off, set it to provide fill-in illumination and there are two slow-sync modes.

 

The RX100 II's built-in flash has a quoted range of 15 metres with the ISO sensitivity set automatically. That's a little down on the 17.1 Metres quoted for the RX100, though I doubt very much that the unit itself is any different, it's more likely that Sony has simply updated its figures to provide a more accurate guide. With flash ranges quoted using Auto ISO it's always difficult to be sure of the exact range in the absence of figures or a Guide Number at a fixed ISO sensitivity. However, the improved performance of the RX100 II's new back-illuminated sensor does mean you can use the flash at a higher sensitivity than its predecessor with similar quality results - and that effectively extends the range of the flash by around a stop or just under one and a half times the distance. So though the maximum quoted distance has been revised down a little, the increased sensitivity of the sensor more than makes up for it.

Lens and Stabilisation

 

The Sony RX100 II shares the same 3.6x optical zoom lens as its predecessor with an equivalent range of 28-100mm and maximum aperture of f1.8 - 4.9. The zoom runs from a respectably wide 28mm which is the same as the wide angle setting on the Fujifilm X20 and the fixed lens of the Nikon COOLPIX A. If you like a wider angle field of view look at the Lumix LX7 or the PowerShot S110 both of which start at 24mm. In terms of range, 3.6 to 4x is fairly typical and strikes a good balance which is ideal for landscape and interior photography as well as portraits, while keeping everything small, lightweight and portable. Here's an example of the coverage in practice. An optional accessory allows you to mount 49mm filters.

After the focal length, the most important specification of a lens is its aperture. A wide maximum aperture is good for low-light shooting and keeping the ISO value down for the best quality, of course, but combined with the larger sensor in the RX100 it should also allow you take shots with a shallow depth of field, something that's been very difficult to achieve up to now.

The RX100 II's bright f1.8 maximum aperture closes quite dramatically, to f4.9 when you zoom in to the 100mm equivalent focal length, which is a bit of a shame as it compromises its ability to create shots with a shallow depth of field. That said, it's the price you pay for compactness - zoom lenses that retain a bright maximum aperture throughout their range are bigger and bulkier, especially for cameras with bigger sensors.

So what sort of depth of field can you expect from the RX100 II in practice? To find out, I made some comparisons between the RX100 II, Fujifilm X20 and Nikon COOLPIX A, and the results may surprise you. Below are two comparisons of the macro capabilities and depth of field characteristics of the three models. For the first I set the lens to the widest angle position and maximum aperture and got as close as I could to the subject. Getting in close doesn't just allow you to capture larger detail, the depth of field also becomes much shallower. As you can see from the examples below, All three cameras allow you to get pretty close to the subject at the 28mm focal length. In its super macro mode the Fujufilm X20 can go even closer than the 1cm macro mode limit, but for this test the ordinary Macro focus mode, which has a 1cm closest focus distance was used.

Sample Images

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