When I wanted to transition from a small Canon Powershot point & shoot to a more sophisticated camera, I had two in mind: The Canon Powershot S110 or the Sony RX100. I opted for the Sony partly because it was newer than the Canon and partly because it seemed a powerful camera in a tiny and well-built body. I wasn’t disappointed.

At the time, the pocketable, all-black RX100 was considered an amazing compact camera. Even today, over a decade later, the original RX100 holds up amazingly well. The Raw files are malleable and provide plenty of editing latitude. In many ways, the Rx100 is like a DSLR in a small body, and I guess that was the point behind it.

Photo settings

I’ve not used the Rx100 too much over the years, mostly because I purchased a DSLR not too long after and moved up from there. The RX sat around for a long time but lately, I’ve fostered a new appreciation for small cameras with great output. Though I normally edit Raw files and eschew JPG output, my time is limited these days and I find myself looking much more at JPG output and useful camera settings to make my life easier.

Diving into the needlessly verbose Sony menu, I’ve added the Creative Picture modes to the Function button for easy access, alongside ISO, Metering, and Exposure Compensation. This makes it fast and easy to switch to another picture mode when out and about.

Here are my picture mode settings for the next outing:

Black & White:

• Contrast +1
• Sharpening +1

Standard:

• Saturation +1
• Sharpening +1
• Contrast -2

Vivid:

• Saturation -1
• Sharpening +1

There’s no optimum setting, just a wide range of possible photographic looks. Old internet wisdom from users at the time suggest that the RX100’s JPG output requires a touch more sharpening. DRO and High ISO Noise Reduction are both turned off. Whilst DRO does effectively tackle high dynamic range situations and tames highlights and shadows, it can add more noise to shadow areas at higher ISOs, making it not so awesome for low light photography. I’m also experimenting with White Balance and have it set to AWB and +1 to Amber, so photos should look a little warmer. Some users report that there’s a tendency for the AWB to bias towards blue/green. Being able to tweak this deeply on such a small camera is still amazing, even today!

Of course, Raw is always the preferred option, so I’ve left the Sony at RAW + JPG and the 20 Megapixel image setting. This gives me the option to use the JPG if I like the output or dive into editing the Raw file if I have the time and the photo is a real keeper. We’ll see how these settings work out !