If you look at the Sony a7 series, you can see and mostly tell that the brand has done some pretty big overhauls to their cameras over the years. We can discuss the weather resistance, sensor protection, battery life, burst shooting, shutter styles, AI autofocus integration, etc. But in a similar vein, you can look at the Sony point and shoot camera lineup as something akin to a neglected plant amongst a bevy of really nice, blooming geraniums and fig trees that express their maturity. Except in this case, Sony’s point and shoots aren’t the succulents and cactuses that barely need water. With this in mind, I truly don’t think that Sony knows how to make a point and shoot camera anymore.
Why do I say this? Well, the RX1R Mk III was quite a let down when it was sent to me for review. Lots of reviewers who got it early were hyped for it; but I also can make a very strong argument that they don’t know how to control their emotions about a loaner product (or one gifted to them) against something that they’d actually pay money for.
Essentially, all the RX1R Mk III got was a new sensor and AI autofocus. That’s it.
Really Sony? Could you not have done something to have made the Cybershot series cameras a bit more unique?
As I hear about reviews of the RX10 Mk whatever the hell it is now, I’ve looked back at our previous reviews of the first version, the second, and our first impressions of the fourth. If you’ve read that sentence carefully, then you’ll realize that a former version of the Phoblographer skipped the third version and didn’t even do a full review of the fourth.
Essentially, Sony does to their point and shoot cameras what Canon did to the Rebel lineup of cameras back in the DSLR days. They do the bare minimum, charge a stupid amount of money, and then cash in on it. The new RX10 surely isn’t worth what my friend pays in monthly rent in NYC.
So what could Sony have done? I’ll give you some ideas, but it’s not my job for one of the most valuable billion dollar companies to make stuff up especially when the business overall is cutting costs and killing unions.
Actually, no. I’ve said this too many times. Many of you don’t realize this, but Sony took away several great features that their cameras used to have.
- Multiple exposure
- Star trails
- Touchless shutter
- Light trails
- Light painting
And there are more.
Let me state some the most inconvenient truth for you: You can take a photo with the newer RX10 and the older one, post them to Reddit or Instagram and no one would be able to tell the difference. In fact, I’m part of a birding group here in NYC where a few people use the older RX10 to great effect. And none of them need the new one, though the AI bird detection might be nice when you’re trying to find little birds amongst the trees.
Still, why would I get it when an older a7 and a Tamron lens could do the job easier and better?
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