The Sony RX100 Mark III: A Pocket Camera that Packs a Punch
As I sit here with the Sony RX100 Mark III, it's hard not to feel impressed by what this small camera can do. It's truly one of the best pocket cameras on the market, and for good reason. Putting it beside its predecessor, the original RX100, is like comparing apples and oranges - while the new model may be slightly thicker, it's still incredibly compact and easy to carry around.
One of the biggest new features of the RX100 Mark III is the pop-out viewfinder. This is a game-changer for a camera of this size, allowing you to shoot pictures and video with a crisp 1.4 million dot EVF that gives you all the information from the LCD screen, including menus. The viewfinder pops up with a simple switch on the side, which powers up the camera. However, there is one minor downside - if you want to put the finder away, the camera turns itself off.
The rear of the camera features a bright and clear three-inch LCD that can be angled downward or flipped all the way up to get the perfect vlogging angle. For me, this has been incredibly useful when recording myself, as it allows me to see exactly what I'm doing without having to look away from the screen. The Sony RX100 Mark III really pulls out all the stops on the video side, thanks in part to its reasonably large one-inch sensor that allows for almost DSLR-like depth of field and dynamic range.
One of the biggest improvements over the Mark II is Sony's new XAVC HD 50 megabit codec, which gives you a lot more room to push your footage in color grading. You also get standard 24p and 30p footage, as well as 60p and 120p modes - the 60 FPS video looks fantastic, with almost no loss in quality. However, if you want to go even faster, things start to get a bit cropped out and drop down to 720p, resulting in some very soft footage that's just not worth it for most use cases. But let's be real, who doesn't love slow motion? Just don't expect me to ever use the 120 FPS mode - for that level of quality, I'd rather stick with the fantastic 60p mode.
Of course, one of the biggest limitations of the RX100 Mark III is its built-in mic. While it's not bad by any means, there's just no substitute for a good external microphone. Unlike DSLRs, which have a dedicated mic-in jack, you're pretty much limited to using the RX100 audio or getting an external solution. And let's be honest - telling people they're wearing silly glasses is just not that funny. But hey, at least it's a great excuse to get some decent headphones!
In addition to its video capabilities, the RX100 Mark III also features a ton of pro-level photography tools, including zebras and peaking, which make it easier to get exposure and focus right. And then there's the built-in three-stop ND filter - this is an amazing feature that's usually only found on very expensive pro cameras. Combined with the camera's brighter lens, you can shoot at much wider apertures than before, allowing for those gorgeous blurred backgrounds even in bright daylight.
Speaking of the lens, it's truly one of the best I've ever seen. It's equivalent to a 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens on a DSLR - and that's saying something. The Canon 24-70 lens is over $2000, making this tiny camera an absolute steal. And let me tell you, it performs - the bokeh is absolutely fantastic, with nice and creamy flares even when shooting directly into the sun.
Of course, no review would be complete without talking about low-light performance. While it's not quite on par with a high-end DSLR like its bigger brother, the A7S, the RX100 Mark III still manages to impress. The lens is fairly bright and has good stabilization, which allows for some amazing shots in even the darkest conditions.
Finally, let's talk about autofocus. It's always been one of the RX100's strengths, and the Mark III is no exception. Autofocus grabs focus quickly and accurately, and it also has a five-frame-per-second burst that's better than many DSLRs in this price range.
So what does it all add up to? The Sony RX100 Mark III is an absolute powerhouse - one of the best pocket cameras on the market, hands down. Whether you're a serious photographer or just someone who wants a great camera for everyday use, this little guy delivers.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys this is Austin and today I'm herea review of what might be the best pocketcamera ever, the Sony RX100 Mark III.With smartphone cameras getting better andbetter buying a point and shoot has becomea much harder sell but the RX100 does a greatjob of showing what's possible with such asmall camera. Put it beside the original RX100and you'll see it's gotten a bit thicker butit's still much smaller and way more pocketablethan a typical DSLR. One of the big new featuresis the pop out viewfinder. This is a verybig deal for a camera this small as it allowsyou to shoot pictures and video on a niceand sharp 1.4 million dot EVF which givesyou basically all the information from theLCD including the menus. It pops up with aswitch on the side which powers up the camera.Pull the eyepiece out and you're ready toshoot although one minor downside is thatif you want to put the finder away the cameraturns itself off. Around back is a nice andbright three inch LCD that you can angle downwardor flip all the way up to get that perfectvlogging angle. For a one man operation likeme being able to see myself when I'm filmingis a huge help. So I'm actually using theSony RX100 Mark III to record myself rightnow and Sony has really pulled out all thestops on the video side. Several of my recentvideos were shot on the RX100 and thanks tothat reasonably large one inch sensor youcan get almost DSLR like depth of field anddynamic range. A big improvement on the MarkIII is Sony's new XAVC HD 50 megabit codec,giving you much more room to push your footagein color grading. The standard 24p and 30pfootage is nice but you also get 60p and 120pmodes as well. The 60 FPS video looks fantasticwith almost no loss in quality but bump thingsup to 120 frames per second and it crops inquite a bit and drops to 720p, giving youvery soft footage. It can be usable if youjust have to have that super slow motion lookbut I can't imagine myself ever using it overthe fantastic 60p mode. However if you'reserious about video you're going to be limitedto using the built-in mic on the RX100. Nowit's definitely not bad however unlike a DSLRthere's no mic-in jack so you're pretty muchlimited to either using the RX100 audio orgetting some kind of external solution. Goingaround and telling people that they're idiotsfor wearing these, in my opinion is a littlebit much.You also get pro video features like zebrasand peaking which make it easier to get exposureand focus right and one hugely helpful featureis a built-in three stop ND filter. This isan awesome thing to have as NDs are usuallyonly found on very expensive pro camcorders.That combined with the brighter lens allowsyou to shoot at much wider apertures thanbefore, allowing you to get those nice blurredbackgrounds even in bright daylight. Speakingof, the lens is nothing short of fantastic.It's the equivalent to a 24 to 70 millimeterf/1.8 to 2.8 lens on a DSLR. To put that inperspective the Canon 24 to 70 lens is wellover $2000, making it even more impressivethat Sony managed to fit something even remotelyclose in such a small package. All of thishelps to make the RX100 Mark III solid forpictures as well. With 20 megapixels on aone inch sensor you're getting a lot moredetail than on a smartphone which allows youto crop way in and still get a usable shotfor sharing to sites like Instagram. The lensis long enough to get nice portraits and itcan also pull off a nice macro shot too. Thebokeh is also absolutely fantastic, nice andcreamy thanks to that new Zeiss lens and it'snicely controlled with minimal flaring evenwhen shooting directly into the sun. Low lightperformance might not be able to touch a highend DSLR but it's still impressive. Sincethe lens is fairly bright and has good stabilizationyou can get some nice shots at night but it'sno low light monster like it's bigger brotherthe A7S. Autofocus has always been good onthe RX100 and the Mark III is no exception,it grabs focus quickly and accurately. Italso has a five frame per second burst whichis better than some DSLRs in this price range.The Sony RX100 Mark III might be the ultimateYouTuber camera. It's small enough to fitin a pocket and yet has good enough imageand video quality to replace a DSLR for me.So what do you guys think, would you everpick up an RX100? Definitely be sure to letme know in the comments below. Anyway guysthank you so much for watching and I willcatch you in the next one!\n"
