There has been a lot of hype about the Sony RX100's DSLR-like capabilities packed into a compact body, but does the user experience and image quality live up to all the talk?

With an expected price of around £550, the RX100 is one of the more expensive compacts available – costing almost £200 more than the likes of the PowerShot S100 and X10 and placing itself firmly in Compact System Camera and entry-level DSLR territory.

• +

  Large sensor and the results it delivers, lens, build quality and size

• -

  It’s a touch pricey compared to rivals

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 is one of the most exciting compacts to appear for some time. Until now the Canon PowerShot S and Panasonic LX series have been the compacts of choice for enthusiast photographers looking for the elusive balance of quality and control in a pocketable format.

• +

  Big sensor, pocketable compact form factor., Programmable lens control ring., 10fps full-resolution burst shooting., Shallow depth of field., Raft of stacking modes.

• -

  Rear control wheel not customisable., Digital zoom can't be disabled in movie mode., No built-in memory and lack of 'No card' warning.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 packs a relatively huge 1-inch image sensor into a point-and-shoot body, delivering close-to-SLR-quality images from a camera you can fit in your back pocket. It's expensive, but worth it.

• +

  Large image sensor. Superb image quality, even at high ISOs. Fast lens. Customizable controls. Large, extra-sharp LCD. Virtually no shutter lag. Raw shooting support.

• -

  As expensive as some D-SLRs. No EVF option, GPS, or Wi-Fi. Limited zoom range. In-camera battery charging only.

The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100, at first sight, might look like just another point and shoot. But with a newly designed sensor that boasts a robust 20.2 million pixels the RX100 is out to prove it can makes its way to the top of the charts.

• +

  Excellent still image quality, Good autofocus and shutter lag performance, Good ISO performance given resolution, Full manual controls along with fully automatic and RAW shooting format

• -

  Cost, No external battery charger, Below average printed user's manual, RAW converter must be downloaded

The RX100 is probably the most capable compact camera on the market today, combining the image quality benefits of a mid-sized sensor with the proportions of a conventional compact. Extensive, though not flawless, manual controls make the RX100 a great second camera for DSLR shooters.

• +

  Excellent image quality and solid ISO performance, Class-leading movie features and quality, A good degree of customization puts your favorite settings at your fingertips, Fast operation, including focus and Raw capture, Flexible lens range (though a brighter zoom would have been nice), Excellent...

• -

  Clickless control dial contributes to vague and unengaging shooting experience, Flash metering is unpredictable, Lack of ND filter can limit the ability to use wide apertures, Screen hard to see in direct sunshine, despite WhiteMagic technology, No official option to fit filters onto the lens...

Saying you’ve found “the best point-and-shoot camera” is like saying you’ve got “the best kind of toe fungus.” It’s something hardly anybody wants. We’re all carrying around perfectly capable cameras on our smartphones, so if you’re going to recommend adding the bulk and expense of a compact camera...

• +

  Truly amazing sensor packed into camera that fits in your pocket. Beautiful Zeiss lens opens up to f/1.8. Fast and accurate autofocus. ISO range from 125 to 6400, and an Auto ISO mode that never misses. The best manual control ring I’ve used on a point-and-shoot. Big LCD.

• -

  No matter how you look at it, 0 is a lot of cheese. No viewfinder. Pre-programmed scenes lack intelligence. Video export isn’t as smooth or easy as it is on other cameras.

The Sony DSC-RX100 is a very modern and beautiful compact camera with an aggressive design and elegant and characterized by the use of high-quality materials. The performance and features are anything but compact and help to make the price of this device quite high, reaching figures that can be...

• +

  Lens F1.8 Carl Zeiss ® Vario-Sonnar ® T; Video Full HD 50p Mode SteadyShot, Clear Image Zoom up to 7.2 x; design and materials; Large Exmor CMOS sensor 1; Xtra Fine LCD high resolution; ring control, ISO 25, 600 in Multi Frame NR.

• -

  Price and Optical Zoom.

Experts overwhelmingly agree: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is the best pocket-sized camera you can buy. Its secret is that it has the biggest sensor of any pocket camera. While other compact cams emptily promise fine photo quality like a bulky digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, experts and...

• +

  Very good photo quality, Quick-shooting, Full manual control, Fits easily into a jacket or pants pocket

• -

  Very few buttons to handle lots of tasks, Flimsy flash stalk and USB/card doors

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 doesn't come cheap, but it looks great and produces consistently first-class stills. Low-light performance can't be faulted, colour reproduction is excellent and movies are crisp, with a well-captured soundtrack. This is the best compact you can buy right now.

• +

  Excellent stills; impressive low-light results; Accurate colour reproduction; Large sensor; Movie mode; Wide aperture lens; Versatile control ring.

• -

  Some wind noise on movies; Control ring can be a little slow; No bundled battery charging cradle; Extremely pricey.

I got it 6 months ago. We just returned from a 1-week Disney Cruise with the g-kids and the LED screen stopped working. I sent it in for warranty repair...and got it back today "un-repaired due to signs of corrosion".

• +

  Small / Compact

• -

  No Viewfinder

My first digital camera was a Sony DSC-S85 and it took fantastic photos. The DSC-RX100M4 is like the S85 to the hundredth power. I bought it primarily because I wanted: 1) the best possible image quality in a "pocket" camera, 2) high enough pixel count that I can crop and still maintain...

• +

  Build quality is superb, it feels built like a tank. Autofocus is sharp and fast, and manual tweaking of autofocus (DMF) is available. Controls are fairly intuitive. Pop-up viewfinder is sharp and works well.

• -

  Due to its size, the number and placement of buttons and other controls can make operation awkward, and forget using it with gloves. The control options (menus) are extensive, this is NOT a camera for novices.

The only downside to this camera, which for some isn't a downside at all, is that it offers far more options than I would ever use. However, I bought it for its compact size and large sensor, and it has delivered many, many terrific images for me.

• +

  Great image quality

• -

  More complicated than I need!

I bought the RX100 I a while back and have taken it around the world as my main camera (the Canon EOS 7D and all of its wonderful companion glass either sitting in the cabin/hotel room or left at home). I looked at the upgrades contained in RX100 II and III and passed them by.

• +

  the new stacked imager yields exceptional photos. Coupled with Sony's intelligent scene management, truly striking images are obtained without having to 'optimize' them after transfer to the laptop. The super-high-frame-rate video is spectacular but alas I have not used it much.

• -

  A slight 'con' is the limited zoom range of the camera lens (70 mm equivalent maximum). However, the image detail obtained is so spectacular it allows cropping and expanding the image with minimal degradation/pixelation. So functionally the lens zooms to about 110 mm, maybe 180 mm via the crop.

Great camera for people who would like a lot more customisation with controls on a compact camera without using the big DSLR. Love the flexibility of the flash so as to use the flash in a more creative way, than just usual spot highlight on the subject.

• +

  Excellent beginners professional camera for someone who cannot handle a DSLR

• -

  na

This camera already has enough reviews about the specs and performance. I'll leave that out, but I'll share my experience of it as a casual photographer.As I get more exposure into photography, I start to learn about many photographs elements.

• +

  Easy To Use, Fast/accurate auto-focus, Good Image Quality, Good Image Stabilization, Good in Low Light, Small / Compact

• -

  Limited Zoom, No Viewfinder, Poor Flash

This camera is not without compromises, that being said for it size it's really amazing all that it can do. I don't use it for video so I can't comment on that aspect of the camera. The lens for me is the biggest compromise when it comes to edge sharpness and distortion.

I noticed some of the small pocketable cameras could take very good photos comparable to those taken with semi decent digital SLR camera. Especially the ones taken during bright daylights turn out very impressive photos.

• +

  Great photos in a small package.

• -

  Too much blue tint if white balance is not chosen correctly.

Work great with camera but break after couple use.

• +

  Compact, Flexibility, Locks In Tight, Price, Weight

• -

  Not Very Solid, Wears Easily

It was about 50 years ago my father had a Zeiss Ikon 'contaflex' SLR camera, in which he took family photos that were on the shelves of my grandparents' home for many years. My first Sony-Zeiss purchase was a DSC-T300, #2009# which was a little tricky to operate, but worked around, getting some fine...