Today was a big day in the Apple world, but here in photography land, Sony had some big announcements of their own to make – including their brand new RX10 IV. In case you are not up to speed, Sony’s RX10 line has long been an advanced ‘bridge camera’ with professional quality and features, but with a fixed zoom lens. This latest model continues that trend but brings with it some big upgrades.
Starting with the lens, the RX10 IV has a 24-600mm F2.4-F4 lens designed by Zeiss which will not only make this model incredibly versatile in terms of what it can shoot but will also retain excellent image quality throughout the range. As well, that F2.4-F4 aperture means in most situations where a bridge camera would be in use, this lens is more than capable of gathering enough light.
The RX10 IV also features Sony’s latest 1″ sensor technology with 20MP, front end LSI, and their top end BIONZ X image processor. But the real story here, if Sony’s press materials are any indication, are in terms of the AF capabilities in this camera.
The RX10 IV is getting some more advanced AF technology from Sony’s mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. Impressively this camera can also shoot with an impressive burst mode of 24FPS with full AE and AF functionality, and as well, it has the room in its buffer for over 249 images. If it is not clear by those upgrades alone, there is a lot to like about the RX10 IV if you shoot sports, action or wildlife and don’t want to lug around a much larger traditional kit for those photography niches.
As well, as you should expect from Sony these days, the RX10 IV will also feature full 4K recording as well as a slew of professional video features and aids that is bound to make this a popular alternative to camcorders and more full featured cinema kits. The 4K is full pixel readout without any binning, which will make for excellent quality.
This all comes in with quite a price tag though, at $1700. The RX10 IV will ship at some point in October, though no specific date was announced today. We are at the Sony event and will have some initial impressions up later today so stay tuned!
For more details on the RX10 IV, you can check out the Sony website, here.
