Having scoured the SD card for older photos, I note my preference for framing textures, patterns, and abstracts with the little Sony RX. I expect the imminent arrival of a metal hand-grip to improve handling, as I’m always a little concerned that the sleek black metal body will one day slip from my fingers. It’s already a small camera, and since current second-hand prices for this model are not exactly cheap, replacing it would likely not be worthwhile.
There’s a small sea vessel beneath the floating seaweed and greenish water. It was one of those days where sun penetrated the water and highlighted submerged structures. I think this photo was made at an aperture of 5.6 and an ISO of 125 – the base ISO of the RX100. Noise is not even really an issue until you get to ISO 400 and above. Even then, modern denoising tools are great at what they do.
I especially like the blue in the picture above. Some people suggest that the RX100 biases towards blue/green on Automatic White Balance, but so far I’ve yet to find the AWB setting not to my liking. Of course, seaside photos like this are perfect if settings bias to cooler tones. Nikon cameras traditionally have a cooler bias, but that’s only ever an issue if JPG output is the goal.
Rarely do I convert a colour image to black and white. Lightroom does provide some nice colour filter options, and I do recognise that black and white images can be powerful. In the photo above, black and white conversion has enhanced the beams, surfaces, and light and shadow.
RX edits
All of the photos in this post are from the RX100’s Raw files. My editing is fairly minimal, and includes some Contrast and Clarity boosts, as well as Vibrance. My sharpening is actually quite spartan, as the diminutive Sony applies some baked-in pre-processing. I believe that some sharpening is already applied, including chromatic aberration reduction, and distortion correction. Consequently, the RX100’s Raw files already look pretty good.
In terms of noise reduction, I don’t do extra at all at base ISO for any camera, as the noise pattern is already so low as to be invisible if print is the goal. I do like Lightroom’s AI-based noise reduction though. It makes pictures at 3200 ISO and above practically noise-free.
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I owned an RX 100 for a bit but the shutter button disintegrated on me and when I got a look at the flimsy internal parts of the mechanism I got so mad I threw it into the rubbish bin. Also, I hated the menu system. I did like the image quality very much, along with its portability. I took a trip to Sedona AZ and brought along only a Rolleiflex and a Leica M3. Unfortunately, I left the film spool for the M3 home and could not find a camera store that stocked one. I went to a camera store and bought a Sony A6500 and Zeiss 35mm lens and used it for my hikes. It was a nice camera that I sold when I got home. Again, the menu system drove me absolutely bonkers. Most digital cameras have menu systems that are very dense and as I get older (I am 67) I am losing the will to wrestle with the complexity. I get on runs using a Leica M10 largely because of its simplicity and straightforward (germanic) menus. The same goes for the Fuji X100V – I rarely have to go into the menu system because of the “Q” button’s easy access, and the other core controls are easily set using dials – it is a fantastic camera and often the only one I bring along for travel. At this point in my life, I have too many cameras and need to simplify. However, I have a hard time parting with cameras. One day soon, the cull will begin.
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Yes, those awfully bulky and feature rich Sony menus! I’ll join you gladly in not being a fan. They are terribly cramped and not very well organised at times. I tolerate them at best, honestly. Now that I have my RX100 set to the settings I prefer, I rarely dive into the big menu. It does make excellent photos and is eminently pocketable, so that’s a plus.
You raise an interesting point about build quality though. I’d hazard a guess and say that even though cameras seem to have advanced a lot in the last decade and a half from early digital, build quality seems to have decreased. More plastic and thinner metals, in particular. We’re paying a lot for great cameras, but I’m not entirely sure the makers are focused on top build quality. In the search for old cameras that are new to me, I just bought myself an Olympus E1. Have always been curious about the 4/3 system and even though Olympus is really no more as an imaging player, they have made some lovely cameras over the decades. And the E1 looks to have some good build quality at the very least.
Yes, the camera and lens collection. It spills into areas of the home where it perhaps shouldn’t! Culling? Hmmm….I guess it will need to happen one day! I’ve never handled a Leica but maybe one day I’ll have the chance. Thanks for the comments 🙂
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I picked up the camera yesterday, more from obligation than desire. I do enjoy photographing performers very much. On gear, yes OM System and Olympus cameras have superior build quality. The Olympus 40-150 F 2.8 is one of the best and most versatile lenses I have used. On PetaPixel I learned this weekend Panasonic made the first mirrorless camera. In my experience, these cameras are technical marvels (over the top so?) in a very small package, so they fill a good niche for hiking, and the reach is great for bird photography, the reason I bought into the system in the first place. As for build quality, FujiFilm cameras are on par with OM System and much more intuitive. Cheers.
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