The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Mark II features the World's first stacked 1.0 inch BSI CMOS sensor with a DRAM memory chip. The camera features 40x Super Slow Motion Capture, 4K Video Shooting, High-speed Anti-Distortion Shutter, and 14fps continuous shooting. The RX10 Mark II updates the RX10 (Mark I), with a new sensor, plus an improved electronic viewfinder (EVF), with a high resolution of 2.36million dots.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Features
The RX10 Mark II's main features remain the same, with a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* 8.3x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 24-200mm in 35mm terms, and a constant f/2.8 aperture, however there is now a new sensor, that offers high speed shooting, as well as 4K and high speed video recording.
High speed video has been available on digital cameras previously, such as the Casio Exilim FC100 offering 1000fps however, this has been at a greatly reduced resolution (240x64 pixels), and more recently with the Nikon 1 J5, which offers 1200fps video at a resolution of 416x144. The RX10 II offers 1000fps at an impressive resolution of 1136x384, and this resolution increases if you select 500fps or 250fps video.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Stacked CMOS Sensor:
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 Mark II stacked CMOS sensor explained - Image Courtesy Sony
World's first 1.0type stacked CMOS image sensor with DRAM (Exmor RS) - The stacked sensor enables the following benefits:
- Super fast electronic shutter (1/32000s)
- Super slow motion up to 1000fps (max 2 or 4 seconds)
- 4K movie with full pixel read-out without pixel binning
- Simultaneous still image recording up to 17MP during movie recording
- 14fps high speed continuous shooting without display blackout
- Anti-distortion shutter
4K video recording is available at 25fps with optical zoom and stereo sound available, and you'll also find microphone and headphone sockets on the side. High speed video is available at 250fps (1824 x 1026), 500fps (1676 x 566) and 1000fps (1136 x 384), for a limited amount of time, which can be extended when shooting at a lower resolution.
The camera has a weather-sealed body that resembles a Digital SLR, and a weight to match at 755g (body only). The camera features diffraction-reducing technology, designed to maintain clarity even when using smaller apertures. There is side access to the memory card slot, which accepts either Sony Memory Sticks or SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.
The rear features a 3inch tilting screen, as well as a 2360k dot electronic viewfinder (with eye-detection sensor), and rather uniquely for this style of camera, on top is an LCD screen much like you would find on a mid to professional range Digital SLR.
Wi-Fi connectivity and NFC is included, letting you remotely control the camera, and you can add additional features to the camera using Sony PlayMemories apps, which can be downloaded over Wi-Fi.
Key Features
- 20.2 megapixel 1.0-type back-illuminated Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/2.8 24-200mm (35mm equivalent) zoom
- 8.3x optical zoom lens with Optical SteadyShot
- 2360k dot OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder
- 3inch tilting LCD screen, 1229k WhiteMagic
- BIONZ X image processor
- Eye-AF focuses on subjects eyes
- Top mounted LCD
- Multi-interface hot-shoe
- Manual controls
- 4K Video, High speed Full HD video at 100fps
- High speed video at 250, 500, and 1000fps
- All pixel-video readout (for optimum IQ)
- Magnesium alloy weather-sealed body
- Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Handling
Physically, very little has changed between the RX10 and RX10 Mark II, with the Mark II featuring an updated mode dial, with one custom mode (instead of two), and the addition of a "HFR" mode, which stands for High Frame Rate (Video). The delete button is now customisable as the second custom button (C2), and the top custom button is now labelled as C1.
Handling is good with the camera featuring a large rubber hand grip surrounding the right hand side where you hold the camera, and on the back this continues all the way round to where there is a shaped area for your thumb to grip. Above the thumb is where you'll find the exposure compensation dial. If you hold the camera with two hands, which is recommended due to the size and weight of the camera, then the left hand side of the camera (viewed from the rear) also features a rubberised grip that goes round to the front of the camera.
On the lens is the zoom ring, plus a manual aperture ring. The zoom ring controls the power zoom lens, and the aperture ring lets you set the aperture between f/2.8 and f/16, making the camera feel like a more traditional camera. In addition the aperture clicks can be switched off, letting you smoothly and silently change aperture during video recording. You can set the shutter speed using the rear scroll wheel, for manual control over exposure.
The top left of the camera features the mode dial, and the camera even features a sensor plane marking so you know where the sensor sits in the camera. The Sony multi-interface hotshoe means the camera is compatible with a number of Sony accessories.
A small pop-up flash is included, as well as a good size LCD screen (with illumination button next to it), which gives shooting information, as well as remaining shots and battery life. The shutter release features a thread for a screw in shutter release cable, and there is a zoom rocker surrounding the shutter release button, with the on/off switch behind.
On the back, the tilting rear screen has a high resolution, and is clear to see, with a recessed gap to make it easier to pull the screen out when you want to tilt it. The electronic viewfinder features a 2360k dot resolution, dioptre correction, as well as an eye-detection sensor so that when it's held up to your eye it will automatically switch to the viewfinder. The viewfinder is clear and bright and updates smoothly and is of a good size, even when wearing glasses.
The menus are clearly laid out and resemble the menus from other Sony Alpha cameras, making it easy for anyone familiar with another Sony Alpha camera to switch over to this camera. The function button brings up a set of options on screen, that can be quickly changed without having to go into the menu system, and these options can be customised. On top is a custom button that can be customised, and the 4-way direction pad on the rear can also be customised, along with the AEL button, C2, and control wheel on the back. The focus point can be set over a wide area of the screen, almost into the far corners, although this would be made easier if the screen was a touch-screen.
Wi-Fi features - As will other recent Sony cameras, the body features NFC (Near Field Communication) and built in Wi-Fi so that you can simply touch the camera to a compatible NFC enabled smartphone to setup the connection. The Sony PlayMemories Mobile app will then allow you to remotely control the camera, as well as download and share photos from the device.
Battery life - Battery life is rated at 400 shots according to Sony / CIPA test results, which is very good for a camera of this type. Although there is on a USB charger provided, so we would recommend a spare battery.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Speed - We took a number of shots to test the camera's responsiveness, from switch on to first photo, shot to shot, focusing speed etc. We take a number of shots and then use the average to ensure accurate and consistent tests, making it easy to compare with other cameras.
| Shutter Response | <0.05secs |
| Wide - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.125secs |
| Full zoom - Focus / Shutter Response | 0.125secs |
| Switch on Time to Taking a Photo | 1.8secs |
| Shot to Shot without Flash | 0.4secs |
| Shot to Shot with Flash | 1.1secs |
| Continuous Shooting - JPEG (shots before slow down) |
12.4fps (47 shots) |
| Continuous Shooting - Flash | 1.0secs |
| Continuous Shooting - RAW | 6.8fps (29 shots) |
Focus and shutter response are both excellent, and the camera has a quick shot to shot time. High speed continuous shooting is possible without the view on screen or in the viewfinder blanking out, making it easy to track subjects that you are photographing. It takes around 15 seconds to write the photos to a high speed memory card after shooting.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Sample Photos
Sample Photos - Portrait photos taken with flash show very little red-eye, and images have good colour and skin tones. Exposure is reliable and DRO (Dynamic Range Optimisation) can be used to boost shadows. This can be set to Auto or one of files options. To extend dynamic range further you can either edit the raw files on your computer or shoot with the HDR option active that combines a number of different shots.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Lens test images
Lens Performance - The lens performs well whether using the wide-angle end of the lens or the telephoto end, with good detail into the corners of the frame. The lens is quite resistant to flare and the provided lens hood helps shade the lens from the sun and other bright light sources. Distortion is low, and the camera does a job job of controlling distortion, automatically correcting JPEG images in camera.
When shooting JPEG+RAW, the JPEG quality is set to JPEG Fine, and JPEG Extra Fine is only available when shooting JPEG only. Focus is reliable, and face-detection focus helps ensure your subject is correctly focused. Closest focus distance is 3cm when shooting wide, or 30cm when shooting at the telephoto end of the lens, which makes it possible to get good results with pleasing background blur, and bokeh, with the camera's image stabilisation helping ensure sharp shots.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II ISO test images
ISO Noise Performance - For the lowest noise and best detail possible we would recommend using ISO64 to ISO800, as images have low levels of noise and good levels of detail. For lower light situations ISO1600 to ISO3200 still provides good results, although noise increases and detail is reduced. At ISO6400 and ISO12800 noise levels become strong and we would recommend avoiding this setting if possible, although results may still be useful if resized and used on the web. Noise options include OFF, Low and Normal, with the default being normal. Results are slightly improved over the RX10 Mark I.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs very well with a slightly warm colour cast under tungsten lighting, with the tungsten preset giving an accurate result. AWB performs well under fluorescent lights with a very slightly warm image, with the fluorescent preset giving a lightly blue tint.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Digital filters
Digital Filters - Creative effects include: Toy camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Richtone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolor, Illustration. Unfortunately raw isn't available when shooting with these effects.
Panoramic | 1/250 sec | f/3.5 | 8.8 mm | ISO 100
Panorama mode - The camera features an automatic panoramic mode, where you simply press the shutter release button and pan the camera from one side to the other. Results are very good, and well stitched together, with a fairly high resolution image produced.
Video - The camera records 4K Video at a resolution of 3840 x 2160 at 25fps, with stereo sound and optical zoom available. Video compression options include pro-grade XAVC S codec at 100mbps, and you can record slow motion videos at 1000fps. To record 4K video you need to use a UHS:I, U:3 memory card. ISO12800 is available as the highest ISO setting available. Additional example videos can be found on the ePHOTOzine YouTube channel.
Standard video resolution and compression options are:
- XAVC S 4K - 25p, 100Mbps, 25p, 60Mbps
- XAVC S HD - 1920x1080 50p, 50Mbps, 25p, 50Mbps, 1920x1080 100fps, 50Mbps
- AVCHD - 50i, 24Mbps, 50i 17Mbps, 50p, 28Mbps, 25p, 24Mbps, 25p, 17Mbps
- MP4 - 1920x1080, 50p, 28Mbps, 1920x1080, 25p, 16Mbps, 1280x720, 25p, 6Mbps
High speed (HFR) video options available:
| Quality Priority: (2 seconds) | Shoot Time Priority: (4 seconds) |
| 240fps/250fps (1,824x1,026) | 240fps/250fps (1,676x566), |
| 480fps/500fps (1,676x566), | 480fps/500fps (1,136x384), |
| 960fps/1000fps (1,136x384) | 960fps/1000fps (800x270) |
The high speed video is then upsampled to a resolution of 1,920x1,080.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 Mark II Review - Verdict
Value For Money
The Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II is available for £1199 which makes it more than the RRP of the RX10, which was £1049 when first introduced. At £1199 the RX10 Mark II is roughly double the current price RX10 Mark I, as well as double the price of the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000, which also offers 4K video and high speed continuous shooting.
Canon Powershot G3 X, 25x optical zoom, f/2.8-5.6 (at 600mm), 5.9fps, FullHD video, no EVF (Optional), £779
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000, 16x optical zoom, f/2.8-4.0 (at 400mm), 12fps, 4K video, EVF, £599
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 (Mark I), 8.3x optical zoom, f/2.8, 8fps, FullHD video, EVF, £599
Olympus Stylus 1s, 10.7x optical zoom, f/2.8, fps, FullHD, EVF, (Smaller sensor), £379
Have a look at more ultra-zoom bridge cameras or alternatively serious compacts in our Top 10 Best Serious Cameras. You'll also need to buy a memory card and a case or bag to keep your camera safe and protected - have a look at our complete guide to camera bags.
Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II Verdict
The introduction of a new high speed 1inch CMOS sensor enables high speed video, as well as 4K video recording, and high speed continuous shooting. Shooting FullHD video at 100fps is also another benefit of the new sensor used in the RX10 Mark II. The inclusion of a microphone and headphone socket, along with numerous video options, means that the camera will be appealing to those interested in video work as well.
With a weather-sealed body the RX10 Mark II gives you confidence to use the camera in a variety of conditions, even when the weather is less than ideal.
The combination of a bright f/2.8 Carl Zeiss 8.3x optical zoom lens, along with a 20 megapixel 1inch BSI CMOS sensor means that the camera is capable of delivering good images even in low light conditions, thanks also to the built in image stabilisation. A bright f/2.8 constant aperture means you can make the most of the camera's ability to blur the background for both video and stills photography.
The main concern is the RX10 Mark II's current price and hopefully this will drop over time, however, the inclusion of high resolution, high speed video makes the RX10 Mark II unique, and for those that want this technology then the RX10 Mark II is highly recommended.
The RX10 Mark II offers high resolution, high speed video and has to be one of the most feature packed cameras available.