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Sony RX10 Pt. 2: Problems


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I have been doing some outdoors shooting with my new RX10, even if I've not been able to do any detailed testing on F/stops and zoom points.

 

Overall, this camera has a solid, serious feel. As David K said, the zoom is slow . . . but I don't do a lot of quick zoom changes. There are some weak, questionable bits, however. 

 

> Using the two-part way of focusing and then shooting, I found the release button requires a heavier squeeze to focus. 

> The On-Off switch is cheap plastic and flimsy. For something that will be used so often, it should be lots stronger. 

> The covers on the places where the UBS and mic plug-in lives also have a weak and badly made feel about them. 

> When shooting in harsh, contrasty light yesterday, highlights were blown. I don't normally shoot when the light is not to my liking, but I know my NEX cameras or my Nikons would have    produced better results. Yes, I'm using the multi settings on both the focus and metering. 

> That very unfunny young Asian reviewer is shown pouring water over the RX10 in his video. The manual clearly states that the RX10 is NOT water proof . . . so don't do that. 

 

>> Hopefully this last item is something I have accidentally setup wrong and can be corrected, but I could not find it anywhere in the menus: when I shoot an image, the finished still pops up and is displayed in both the viewfinder and on the screen. It is up for just a second, but it totally interrupts my shooting. It's driving me crazy. I don't remember it happening the first day I used the camera, but I'm no longer sure of the facts. This has never happen with my NEX cameras or with my Nikons. Many times on this forum I've admitted to not being a smart tech person, but I have a great deal of shooting experience. Some of you were very helpful in cluing me in about how to stop the camera from turning itself off. Perhaps someone reading this can help me with this display problem? 

 

Ed

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Haha. He's a British unfunny reviewer Ed.  :D

 

Anyway, that's no good at all Ed. I don't have one obviously, but as you know have the RX100 II. So the bit about your report I like the least is the On/Off switch. For a camera that here at least, costs over a grand in some places, that's no good at all.

 

On the RX100, which I think has a similar sensor and same MPs roughly, it's pretty easy to blow the highlights. I use the exposure compensation quite a bit. 

 

The last bit about the stills. That hopefully is a menu driven thing. If it's not and based on your current other dislikes, can you take the nuclear option and return it?

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As I recall, it was advice from you and David that cleared up my earlier problem . . . and the solution was in the menu. I don't want to panic and return the camera; I will be shocked if the image popping up is not something I have set wrong. I rarely look at my images while I'm shooting. If I can get the RX10 to play nice, it is the camera with the lens I need. 

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Ed, I looked at the RX100 menu system on this issue. Can't really find anything specific. Maybe David will know.

 

I took a photo on the RX100 and the same thing happens on the screen. Obviously there is no viewfinder. It stays up on screen for about a second, UNLESS I half depress the shutter, which makes it instantly go away. Have you tried that?

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I imagine David might be having a family day today, so I'll wait a few days for him to pop in. In the meantime, I'll try fiddling with the shutter release. Our weather sucks today, snow, ice then rain.  Of course I want to turn that feature off completely, if possible. 

 

Thanks, Gervaris. (That Chinese kid seems to be somewhere in Asia, although he has a British accent.)  

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On the RX100 there is definitely a menu option that turns the preview completely off.  I have no interruptions when taking one shot after another.

 

That's the 'good' news - the bad news is I can't remember which menu option you need.  Will keep searching and update if no one else has already

posted it.

 

John

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I found it!!!  It's Auto Review in the Custom Settings menu. I turned it off, tried it and BOMB . . . no more problem! Thanks you, John. Thank you, Gervais. David, don't disturb yourself. Go back to your guitar and late-night snack.   :D

 

Let's all hope I'm unduly concerned with those little plastic parts; the RX10 will probably last logger than I will.   :rolleyes:

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Those flimsy covers and actually dust and splash proof, and I think overall the camera is fairly solid. You found your answer to review image time. I shoot raw and find the highlight recovery not as good as NEX-7 for example, but if you stick to ISO 125 or higher (200 is a good all-round setting) most lighting does not cause a problem. What I'm findng about the RX10 is that I need a reason to use it, it's not getting much use right now as the weather is awful and I'm not heading the disaster zones to shoot floods, motorway pile-ups, or houses being washed into the sea.

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I don't do anything that involves police anymore, David. Not when there's a bowl of pasta that needs to be recorded for history.  Why I have so much trouble spotting these things in the menus I know not. 

 

The selection of ISO's on the RX10, 250 and 500, remind me of B&W film days. So I take it you are liking those other new Sony better? Or are you not fond of any of them? 

 

I don't usually have trouble with lighting because I tend to be conservative when shooting for stock.

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I had a peek at this camera today. Very solid feel to it. I think the slow power zoom (not a fan of these) would drive me nuts, though, which is a good thing because I couldn't afford to buy one of these babies anyway. I agree, the plastic on/off switch does seem flimsy compared to the rest of the camera. Think I'll stick to interchangeable lens cameras like the NEX's. However, I can see the appeal of the RX10 even though I don't really know why I would need an f/2.8 constant aperture zoom.

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I do not think the slow moving zoom on the RX10 would be much of a problem for me.   On the RX100 I find that the power zoom moves too fast and is hard to position accurately.  On the RX100 I fixed the problem by using the front ring to move the zoom if  I need to move it precisely.

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The zoom has two speeds (at least). The switch round the shutter release shifts it quite fast, the ring on the lens more slowly and sensitive to how hard you twist it. If you move it fast the lens does go quicker. I tend to be conservative in using the zoom ring.

I only around the RX10 for only a few minutes, and I didn't realize that the zoom speed is variable. I wonder why Sony went with a power zoom. It seems a bit out of place on a bigger lens like the RX10's. But I guess that's what people "moving up" from a point-and-shoot want. I remember that Minolta went through a power zoom stage as well with their SLR's, but they eventually returned to manual zooms. I think Minolta also partnered with Zeiss for some of their pricier lenses. Sony seems to be following in Minolta's footsteps to some extent, which I guess isn't too surprising.

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I think the power zoom is useful when shooting video, John . . . although I don't shoot video.

 

Linda, I had a scene with a chef not wanting me to snap pics at a restaurant in Amsterdam a few years ago. He was Spanish, not Dutch. I never have problems here when using the smaller NEX-6 and the close-focusing 24 f/1.8. I try to shoot without making an MGM musical out of things. 

 

We have the winter's first snow storm tomorrow.

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We have the winter's first snow storm tomorrow.

 

Oh lor!  If you are getting snow tomorrow it means it will be here in the UK this time next week.

 

About the same time as my new iMac is due to be delivered from Shanghai.

 

Allan

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$2,000, John!  Sony is the devil.  I really just shot for stock.  I think an FF camera is overkill for stock.

Yep. These days they're probably overkill for 90% of photography.

 

 

Indeed, I only hope that Sony doesn't abandon the smaller format.  I'm waiting to see a NEX with the new 20 plus Megapixel sensor and good high ISO performance. It's about time the 7 had a major update.

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