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[ Every time a hot new gadget is announced, the buzz can reach aboiling point before anyone stops to think about what all the fussis all about. In our Scouting Report series , we ll cut through the marketing jargon and examine what makes acertain product special or in some cases, simply overhyped. ] Earlier this week, Sony announced its first so-called premiumpoint-and-shoot camera, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 . It s the new flagship model in Sony s compact-camera lineup,and it s a new breed among Sony s camera offerings. The companyhas offered basic point-and-shoots, rugged cameras, pocketmegazooms, mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, andtranslucent-mirror DSLR-style cameras for years, but it hasn tsold a high-end pocket camera until now. The key word here is pocketable. This is a small camera.Usually, a compact camera like this presents compromises when itcomes to image quality and performance, but the RX100 looks like itwill excel in both those areas. Thanks to core specs that trumpthose of rivals such as the Canon PowerShot S100 , Nikon Coolpix P310 , Olympus XZ-1 , Panasonic Lumix LX5 , and Samsung TL500 , Sony s RX100 looks like a very big deal, with a very big price($650) to match. Here s why it may be worth that entry-level-DSLRprice for anyone looking for a best-in-class pocket camera. Sensor size : At 13.2mm by 8.8mm, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 s 20-megapixel CMOSsensor isn t as large as a DSLR sensor, but it s quite a bitbigger than the ones found in other premium compact cameras. TheRX100 s sensor is 2.7 times the size of the 7.6mm-by-5.7mm sensorfound in its most-popular competitor, the Canon PowerShot S100, andit s about 4 times the size of the sensors found in pocketmegazooms and basic point-and-shoot cameras. There are a lot ofvariables that go into a camera s image quality, but a biggersensor is usually one of the most important factors. A larger-sizesensor usually offers benefits such as better performance withoutthe flash in low light, less noise at high ISO settings, anddramatically shallow depth-of-field effects at wide aperturesettings. About all those megapixels: Usually, packing a smaller sensor fullof pixels will lead to lesser low-light performance, image noise,and generally less-impressive photos. However, the RX100 s sensorlooks like it will be big enough to keep those problems to aminimum. According to my calculations, despite its higher megapixelcount, the RX100 s sensor has a lower pixel density (174K pixelsper square millimeter) than the one found in the S100 s12-megapixel sensor (277K pixels per square millimeter). The lens : The Cyber-shot RX100 has a very bright F1.8 aperture at itswidest-angle focal length of 28mm. It s not alone in the premiumcompact class in terms of an F1.8 lens; the Nikon Coolpix P310,Olympus XZ-1, and Samsung TL500 all have F1.8 lenses. However, dueto the RX100 s larger sensor size, it should be a better performerin the dark and when creating shallow depth-of-field effects. Andwhile the lens s optical-zoom reach seems paltry at 3.6X (28mm to100mm), the camera s 20-megapixel sensor will allow plenty ofresolution for shooters to crop and digitally enlarge portions ofeach image without much loss of detail. With that sensor size, thecamera s 20X digital zoom at 10-megapixel resolution might alsoproduce very good results. Video capabilities : Again, a lot of compact cameras now shoot 1080p video, but veryfew of them do it at 60 progressive frames per second, and evenfewer of them allow you to use manual aperture, shutter, and focuscontrols as you re recording video. The RX100 does all of thosethings, which is extremely rare. Sony s cameras have always faredvery well in PCWorld s subjective tests for video quality, and theCyber-shot RX100 looks like it has the best video capabilities ofany Sony compact camera yet. It s not all sunshine and daisies invideo land, however: The RX100 doesn t have a hot shoe or mic-inport for an external microphone, so audio capture through itstop-mounted stereo mics better be excellent. Intangibles : I d argue that the hidden jewel in all of Sony s recentCMOS-sensored cameras is the outstanding range of creative featuresand shooting modes. The company invented the motion-controlledSweep Panorama mode now found in everything from competing camerasto mobile apps. Sony s Handheld Twilight mode is anothergroundbreaking and often-mimicked feature, using automated exposurebracketing and image stacking to create well-exposed shots inlow-light situations. Sony s cameras always shoot fast, too; theRX100 has a 10fps burst mode and quick autofocus speeds. Themost-recent in-camera innovation is an Auto Portrait Framing mode that analyzes headshots, runs them through a rule-of-thirds algorithm, and recrops them to optimizecomposition. For the past few years, Sony s in-camera A.I. hasbeen the best in the business, and the RX100 will provide a blendof manual and automated features that should make it easy foranyone to snap good shots. The downsides : The Cyber-shot RX100 looks like the new pocket-camera king, butit ll come at a very steep price. At $650, it s at least $150more expensive than any of its pocketable rivals; only the $800 Canon PowerShot G1 X , which has an even bigger sensor (and a much bigger body) than theRX100, has a higher price in the realm of enthusiast fixed-lenscameras. For the same price, you can get an entry-level DSLR withaudio inputs and a hot shoe and a kit lens but of course, thatwon t fit in your pocket. The key draw with the RX100 is a massiveamount of power for a very small camera. Scouting Report verdict This camera looks like it s definitely worth the hype. Its sensoris bigger than those found in all pocketable competitors, its pixeldensity is sane, its F1.8 lens is bright and fast, it offers fullmanual controls for stills and video, and it will come filled withgroundbreaking features. It s pricey, but it might come as closeto DSLR-level image quality as we ve seen in a pocket camera. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Shoe Display Stand , Long Handle Shoe Horn, and more. For more , please visit Polypropylene Non Woven Fabric today!
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