Monday, October 3, 2016

Sony RX100 III


Some of you may know that I love my 9-year-old Canon 5D II.  I even call it My Precious. But last year while in Japan the size and weight of My Precious wore me down. It felt akin to dragging a ball and chain around everywhere with me. I vowed to look for a small travel camera to take on the next trip. 

There are quite a few small-sized cameras out there that appealed to me. Only thing . . . the ones with features to my liking cost big $$$$, and every single one of them had at least one flaw that prevented me from taking the plunge. 

Long story, not too short, this past weekend, on yet another trip to Best Buy . . . to look and touch and ponder . . . I met salesperson Maki. Maki himself had gotten the newest model (IV) of the Sony RX100 to take with him to Japan last year and he had loved it. He said that if I wasn't interested in the video aspect, then the Mark III (cheaper) version was just as good. 

Several factors came into play in my decision to buy this particular camera. (1) Maki himself bought it to take on his trip to Japan, (2) my trip is 1 1/2 weeks away, and I do not want to be lugging 5 pounds of camera gear into the bathroom stalls with me again, and (3) finally and maybe most importantly the camera is on sale right now for $100 less than usual. 

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One of the things that people grumble online about Sony cameras is its menu system. They say that it is absolutely horrendous to maneuver through. And it turned out to be true. But that's because there are so many tweak-able options for you to choose from. Once you get used to it, maneuvering is not too bad. I've even been able to change functions on the control dial in the back of the camera to my liking . . . now I just press it right to change ISO, down to change shutter and down again to change aperture. I've assigned exposure compensation to the lens ring. There is also a programmable Function button where you can quickly access your choice of features.

Ironically, the hardest thing for me to get used to is the camera's small size. I've had to learn to hold it differently or my hands will cramp up.  Also, I find myself not using the awesome electronic viewfinder which I actually love. The viewfinder is positioned on the left side of the camera, but because I'm left-eye dominant my face gets in the way of the control buttons. A right-eyed person wouldn't have that problem. Maybe I can teach myself to use my right eye . . . we'll see. Luckily, I can use the screen in the back of the camera to view instead.  

I don't have any software to process RAW images from this camera right now, so I'll be shooting only JPG for now.  If the photos end up turning out okay though, I'll probably not even bother shooting RAW with it. 

Here are my first test shots.

1/80, f4.0, 125 ISO, 62mm, Program mode
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1/80, f4.0, 320 ISO, 70mm, Manual mode
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1/80, f4.0, 320 ISO, 24mm, Manual mode
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1/160, f2.8, 160 ISO, 40mm, Manual mode
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1/80, f2.8, 1600 ISO, 24mm, Manual mode
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1/60, f1.8, 1600 ISO, 24mm, Manual mode
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1/80, f3.5, 1600 ISO, 33mm, Manual mode
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1/25 (!!!!), f2.8, 800 ISO, 70mm, Auto mode
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1/80, f3.5, 1600 ISO, 70mm, Manual mode, (do you know what movie?)
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I paid $750 for the camera . . . LOTS.  Hopefully, it'll be worth it. Getting excited!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

j: wow the quality is really good and it's so tiny! Powerful. Congrats you really deserve it. You're smart - you save on everyday stuff at garage sales so that you can buy high quality items that you need. Smart buyer! Have fun and I'm soooo excited for you!! -N

Cloudia said...

Mahalo for the good info

Honolulu Aunty said...

Wow! $750 for such a little camera?!

Actually, you take good pictures no matter what kind of camera you have.

DNakamaru said...

Camera looks good! I know what you mean traveling with my slr on the bus, restaurants and bathroom can be hard.
Japan!!!! I'm jealous!

celia said...

Your photos are terrific!!! I can almost touch Kona's fur - so real. The Dean & DeLuca also is also like I have it at my place - not on your blog. I also noticed one of your photos was f1.8. I think you did very well!!! I think you are really going to enjoy your trip.

Leslie's pics said...

I'm so excited....yet so scared for you!!! I hope it works out, your back needs a break. Then you can sell me your lenses for cheap! :D hehehe!

K and S said...

too technical for me, but i'm excited for you!

jalna said...

Thank you, N!!!

Welcome, Cloudia.

That's what Wendell said, Aunty. LOL.

Real hard yah, Dean.

Thanks, Celia.

Les, hopefully, it'll be tethered at all times. We have similar lenses I think, except for my 85mm f1.2. Dunno if you would want that 2-ton lens that cost me a fortune.

Thanks Kat!

Mark Shelby said...

Jalna, that very nice. That's brave of you to spend so much. I could never bring myself to pay that.

For a while now I have had my eye on this Fuji. It's water proof and dust proof. Perfect for all of my adventures. And it's under only $179. Kind of like a throw away watch. If it ever breaks you just buy a new one. Plus it fits in my pocket. Comes in several colors which is fun.

I think it's almost the best value out there in a pocket camera. I've been waiting for da price to come down more, but da bugga stay stuck!

Check out the pic of it and info at the link below. Maybe your readers might like this too.

https://www.amazon.com/Fujifilm-FinePix-XP90-Blue-Waterproof/dp/B01AJUG6EO/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1475643463&sr=8-10&keywords=fuji+camera

Fujifilm FinePix XP90 Blue Waterproof digital camera


16.4MP BSI-CMOS Sensor
• Waterproof to 50ft/15m, freeze proof to 14 Degree/-10 Degree, shockproof to 5.8ft/1.75m, and dustproof
• Fujinon 5x Optical Zoom (28-140mm)
• Wi-Fi sharing and remote shooting
• Interval Shooting Mode + Time Lapse Movie

jalna said...

Mark, I think I might've seen that camera at Costco. Don't remember the price there though.

Susie said...

Wow nice!!! And here I am looking at a 70-200 fixed lens.....twice that amount. Maybe next year.... just looking???? Awesome shots though. I'm sure the camera will be fine on your trip.

jalna said...

Buy um, Susie!!