Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 VI

The Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 VI is an advanced, compact point-and-shoot camera, and the predecessor to the . Key features include:

• 20.1MP 1″ BSI stacked sensor; improved ISO performance

• Built-in Zeiss 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 Vario-Sonnar T* lens

• Internal UHD 4K video capture

• Integrated tiltable touchscreen LCD and pop-up EVF

What’s New? Longer reach, improved performance, and touchscreen controls! The Sony Cyber-Shot RX100 VI boasts a built-in Carl Zeiss 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 Vario-Sonnar T* (equivalent) lens, giving you a markedly longer zoom range than the integrated 24-70mm lens. It uses an improved BIONZ X processor for faster autofocus performance. It’s also the first camera in the Cyber-Shot RX100 series with a touchscreen, which gives you new focusing and shutter capabilities.

20.1MP 1.0-inch BSI Stacked Sensor. The imaging aspect of the sensor is unchanged from the RX100 V, using the same 1.0-inch BSI CMOS sensor with integrated DRAM chip. However, Sony’s crammed an intricate phase-detection autofocus system on the chip as well. The new processor adds substantial gains in speed across the board. The camera tops out at 24 fps continuous shooting with autofocus for bursts up to 233 JPEGs before hitting the buffer wall. The processor also boasts the same high ISO performance you got with the RX100 V.

Fast Hybrid Autofocus System. The RX100 VI’s autofocus system offers some significant improvements over the RX100 V’s. It can lock onto subjects within 0.03 seconds, and its Eye AF tracking performance is twice as fast as its predecessor’s. Additionally, its fantastic on-sensor phase-detection system offers 315 AF-points that cover 65% of the frame.

Integrated Wide-Angle to Telephoto Zoom Lens. The RX100 VI’s integrated Carl Zeiss 24-200mm f/2.8-4.5 Vario-Sonnar T* (equivalent) lens gives you a wide-angle to telephoto focal length for more versatility than the RX100 V.

Tiltable Touchscreen LCD and Integrated Pop-Up EVF. The 3.0-inch 921.6k-dot tilting rear touchscreen LCD is a substantial upgrade that lets you use Touch Focus, Touch Pad Autofocus, and Touch Shutter features, while offering 180° upward/90° downward tilt, giving tripod and arm’s length shooters plenty of options. The 0.39-inch 2,359k-dot SVGA OLED pop-up electronic viewfinder is essentially the same as the Mark V’s, providing users a pleasant traditional shooting experience.

Internal 4K Video (Burst). The RX100 VI shoots UHD 4K video at 24/30 fps in XAVC S format, using full pixel readout with no line skipping or pixel binning. The increased data throughput from the integrated DRAM chip also enables extremely fast Full HD 1080p capture at up to 960 fps. For advanced users, S-Log2, S-Log3, and HLG gammas are accessible, and the RX100 VI offers a Micro-HDMI output for 4:2:2 uncompressed video to an external recorder for more demanding shoots.

Advanced Controls. Like the other models in Sony’s RX series, this camera offers manual control options for advanced users, as well as iAUTO mode for those who just want to pick up and shoot. There’s a dedicated function button and manual control ring that can be programmed to offer quick adjustments of over forty different functions, allowing users to forego menu diving.

Built-In Wi-Fi. Allows wireless image transmission and camera control with compatible smartphones and tablets.

User Flexibility. The RX100 VI records images/video to SDHC/XC memory cards (not included) and is powered by the same NP-BX1 rechargeable lithium battery rated for 224 shots per charge. Please note that 4K video capture in S-Log2 and S-Log3 requires a memory card.

The Sony RX100 series are some of my favorite cameras; I take them everywhere because they’ll fit in a pocket but they give me a far better-than-cell-phone-if-not-quite-interchangeable-lens-camera-…

The Sony RX100 series are some of my favorite cameras; I take them everywhere because they’ll fit in a pocket but they give me a far better-than-cell-phone-if-not-quite-interchangeable-lens-camera-quality image. For me, that’s an incredibly useful travel/walkabout/party camera. The question most people ask me is “Which one is best?” I don’t have a simple answer for that, but maybe this will help you decide which one is best for what you want to do.

First, there’s a reason to stay with versions IV-VI. These all have a stacked-architecture sensor that gathers more light and a separate processing chip, the earlier versions don’t. They also have a programmable control ring (you know, like Canon invented for the “R’ cameras, except it was already here), 4k video capability, slow motion video, and a lot of other goodies.

Next, is the only one with a wide zoom range: 24-200mm f/2.8-f/4.5 equivalent. So if you want pocket telephoto capabilities, that one is your choice. If you can get by with a more standard zoom range, and have a higher-quality, higher-aperture 24-70mm f/1.8-f/2.8 lens.

That leaves a lot of people choosing between the IV and V. The IV is less expensive. The V can shoot slightly longer video clips. The IV has only a 25-point contrast detection AF system, while the V has that and adds a 315-point on-sensor phase detection system. If you’re a really superb photographer trying to shoot action or tracking video with a tiny camera, the V is probably a better choice for you. For what I use this for, the IV meets my needs perfectly. If I’m shooting action shots and tracking subjects, I’ll go get my big-boy camera.

January 2019