My New (broken) Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV and Trusty Old Canon S110
When it comes to small “point & shoot” cameras, I’ve been in the Canon Camp of a number of years, having purchased an S90, S100 and S110 over the last six years. They are often called pocket cameras, because they do indeed fit in one’s pocket. There is a Canon S120 available, but given I’m launching a startup business, money is only spent on essentials.
Unlike most folks, obsessed with cell phone selfies, about the only thing I use my iPhone camera for is taking pictures of food when eating out (another common obsession). The pocket camera is great for “street photography”, as it is faster and less threatening than my monster Nikon SLRs.
So I had no plans to purchase a new pocket camera, as my white S110 worked just fine – until I saw a recent video of Trey Radcliff “What’s in my Camera Bag.”
He dumped his big Nikons some time ago for the relatively new series of professional Sony mirrorless cameras such as the Sony a7R II, which costs about $3200 – and that’s without any lenses. Add 2 or 3 Sony zoom lenses, and figure about $8,000. He then pulled out a bunch of Leica lens, many of which can cost more than a few thousand dollars each (well out of my budget).
Towards the end of the video, to my surprise, he pulls out a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III, and stated that it is his go-to street photography camera. I was in shock!
The Model IV was released some months ago and the highly opinioned Ken Rockwell says it is the best P&S camera on the market. A massive 1” sensor and Carl Zeiss zoom lens are certainly the reason.
So . . . screw the budget. I ordered it on Amazon, and it came on Saturday. First thing I noticed was really cheap packaging and a newspaper like instruction manual. The camera body itself (unlike Canon) is plastic and it feels cheap for a camera that cost nearly a thousand dollars. But boy does it take crisp, fully saturated photos, and the 4K videos are awesome (if you have something to play them back on).
For that reason, I only gave the camera a 4 star review on Amazon. I was relieved that I purchased the “drop & spill” protection plan.
My observations proved right: I can’t believe I did this, but the camera slipped out of my jacket pocket when I was getting out of the car and hit the pavement on the corner where the battery and SD card hatch is. Hardly a visible dent, but now it won’t open.
So on Monday I will send it back for repair, so glad I invested $65 for that protection plan (it better damn work). However the camera still works fine, so today, as the sun is out, I’ll give it a real test. Photos to follow.
