Sony RX10 IV | Advanced Premium Compact Camera (1.0-Type Sensor, 24-600 mm F2.8-4.0 Zeiss Lens, Fast 0.03s Autofocus, 4K Movie Recording)

My main reason for buying a new camera in the first instance was that my older camera, a Lumix LX100, was lacking in both the pixel count and zoom range. This started to become an issue on my travels. After a lot of research, and with my initial thoughts focusing on a mirrorless, I decided to buy the Sony RX10iv. Thus far I am very happy with the results though I have yet to test every detail of the camera. The attached photos were all taken on this camera to highlight some of it's characteristics. Although with it's 1" sensor it does tend to struggle with low-light conditions, it is not impossible to get fairly decent results. It is not the perfect camera, but it is the closest I could find for my needs. The zoom range - without having to carry and change extra lenses - is probably its strongest feature and certainly the thing that finally helped me part with my cash. I won't go into all the technical detail as a) I don't fully understand the whole of the cameras functions as yet and b) there is a plethora of sites on the internet and videos on YouTube that give all that information. The camera isn't cheap, especially when you take into account the fact that it is a bridge camera with a small sensor. But don't let that put you off, the build quality, and quality of images, is fantastic. The brilliant focusing system and zoom range alone makes it that little bit more special when compared to its competitors. The downsides: there is no in-built ND filtering system so you'll need to buy these if desired. There is no time-lapse program. The RAW files do not automatically open in Lightroom 5. However, there is a Sony app that will convert the photos to TIFF format which you can then import into the editing program. All-in-all a very good camera and certainly one I'll be taking on all my travels and using for all my future video work.

An amazing camera! In fact I sold all my Nikon full frame SLR cameras and lenses to buy this - and I don't regret it! There's no doubt full frame sensors are better and Nikon lenses are pretty amazing. But my D750 spent 4 years in a cupboard due to its weight. The D750 + 24-120 F4 lens was around 1.7kg. The Sony with a 24-600 lens is 1.1KG. To match the 600 range with the Nikon I'd need something like a Sigma 150-600mm lens which alone weighs almost 3kg. So its Sony 1.1KG vs Nikon D750 plus lenses at 4.6Kg. I'm getting lazy and 1.1Kg is really my maximum weight for a camera. If I'm guaranteed an amazing photo - say an alien spaceship landing - then I'll happily lug almost 5Kg around. But most of the time I come back from a hike having taken no photos. I've only had this a few weeks but so far its blown my socks off - its just amazing! My biggest fear - and what's always put me off these "super zoom" cameras - is lens image quality. Back 9 or 10 years ago I had a Nikon D60 and bought a super zoom 28-200mm lens. Terrible image quality. Nice and sharp in the centre but outside the centre became more and more blurry. Ended up selling it on ebay. This camera had amazing reviews for its lens sharpness. I had my doubts. But the lens truly is sharp right from wide angle to 600mm telephoto! I've yet to take a photo with disappointing lens sharpness - even the corners are pretty good. I did some comparisons between this and my Fuji X-T20 with a 23mm ( 35mm equiv ) F2 lens. Should have been an easy win for the Fuji - after all its a prime lens and one of Fuji's better lenses. And yet when I compared the two and pixel peeped until my eyes watered, I could see no difference in sharpness or detail in the corners or centre. How is this possible?! I can only assume Sony does some computer magic that corrects any issues in camera. To be honest I was slightly gutted - the Fuji was supposed to be my super sharp, high resolution option. In fact there's little between them, despite the Sony being a superzoom. To give an idea of how sharp all over the frame the camera is I've uploaded some photos. I could have taken it at other apertures or zoomed out - I've yet to find a combination where image quality is poor. The main photo shows the whole photo. Then I've uploaded 100% crops of the left, middle and right parts of the frame. The photo was taken at 600mm F8 1/200 second ISO 100. F8 is not the best for sharpness - diffraction will cause some softness from F8 onwards - but still it looks pretty sharp. Just to warn Amazon image upload produces very poor quality images - they look A LOT better in the original. So don't be put off by the fact the images look terrible! Calling it feature packed is an understatement! In fact so many features its overwhelming. I bought the The Friedman Archives Guide to the Sony RX-10 IV book and Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC-RX10 IV: Getting the Most from Sony's Advanced Digital Camera. The second is like the manual Sony should include for free - it explains all the menus very well but not general use. The first book a better guide to getting the most out of the camera. Of course you don't need to use all the features but treat as a point and shoot. Anyway early days and a lot of learning to do - but so far very impressed!

I bought this recently, and am very impressed with the whole quality of the camera. My usual camera that I work with is a Canon 1DX MkII with a selection of L Series fast lenses. I haven’t been doing as much professional work recently so decided to sell my usual Canon gear, o make way for an R3 eventually, so decided on a bridge camera, at least until I decide to buy some new pro-spec stuff. Must say at this point, for a Canon fan to buy Sony, felt like I’d just sold my soul(!), but have to concede, the RX10iv is a truly amazing camera, and far better quality than I expected to find with a 1 inch sensor, especially when I’m used to full frame. Although I will go for an R3 Canon soon, I’ll definitely keep this marvel of a camera, and use it whenever I don’t want to take full SLR gear around. I love it’s solid feel, and it’s weatherproofing, focusing is lightning fast (superbly so), as well as the very fast shutter, and the sharp results I’m getting, even close to the 600mm end of the lens - no surprise from a Zeiss lens I suppose, but very impressive all the same. I wish it was slightly wider at the other end, but that would be asking too much perhaps. This is very expensive for a bridge camera, but in my view, worth every penny. If your budget avails you of the choice to buy this camera, honestly - do it, it’s amazing, and you won’t be disappointed. Would I recommend - wholeheartedly, yes. Sony has a new fan!

Have just bought and used the RX10 and at the moment can only say I am very impressed with the quality of the photographs taken so far. I know this is the camera for me and looking forward to taking highspeed video for analysing arrow flight and bow clearance.

A nice camera that takes good pictures for a bridge camera. Don’t expect the quality of a DSLR camera but as this camera, although pricey, costs less that a good quality lens for a DSLR it is a good choice. I bought mine because we are doing a trip and I did not want to take my DSLR and various lenses on a plane and the Sony is an ideal camera to take with me. You will need to get one or two extra batteries, and a charger, for it as they do not last very long but whatever camera you buy you will probably need to buy extra batteries. Overall I am really pleased with the camera and would recommend it for anyone who wants a good quality camera but not the weight or hassle of carrying a number of lenses. There are only two things that I do not like, the first being that I like to use the view finder, but I wear varifocal glasses and find the view finder very difficult to use. My Canon DSLR has a far more user friendly viewfinder. The other thing is that, unless you buy a charger, you must charge the battery whilst it is still in the camera.