Both reviews praised the bright lens, pocketable design, viewfinder and image quality, while criticising the price and missing touchscreen. Photography Blog found default JPEGs slightly soft and the smooth body difficult to grip. Expert Reviews liked improved automatic exposure and video detail, but found autofocus tracking during bursts slow.
1.0-type optical format; physical dimensions 13.2 × 8.8 mm
Image formats
JPEG and RAW (Sony ARW 2.3); XAVC S, AVCHD 2.0 and MP4 movies
ISO detail
Standard single-frame ISO 125–12800; extended ISO 80/100; multi-frame noise reduction reaches ISO 25600
Image processor
BIONZ X
Lens and shooting
Built-in lens
24–70 mm equivalent
Maximum aperture
f/1.8–2.8
Optical zoom
2.9×
Stabilisation
Optical lens stabilisation
Maximum continuous burst
10 fps
Lens detail
ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T*; actual 8.8–25.7 mm; equivalent range applies to 3:2 stills; built-in three-stop ND filter
Autofocus
Contrast-detection AF; single-shot AF, continuous AF, direct manual focus and manual focus; Lock-on AF and Eye AF
Shutter
Manual mode permits Bulb and 30 seconds to 1/2000 second; other modes have different limits
Burst detail
Speed Priority Continuous reaches approximately 10 fps with focus and exposure fixed at the first frame (Photography Blog). Sony specifies approximately 2.9 fps normal continuous shooting with AF-S.
Stabilisation detail
Optical still-image stabilisation; movie Intelligent Active mode adds electronic correction
Flash
Manually raised built-in flash; no accessory shoe
Video
Highest video resolution
1920 × 1080 at 50 fps
Video detail
PAL Full HD up to 1920 × 1080 at 50p; NTSC up to 60p. XAVC S at up to 50 Mbps; high-speed 100p PAL or 120p NTSC uses 1280 × 720. No 4K movie recording.
Audio
Built-in stereo microphone; LPCM, Dolby Digital or AAC audio depending on movie format
Screen and viewfinder
Viewfinder
Electronic
Screen size
3″
Screen dots
1,228,800
Touchscreen
No
Tilting screen
Yes
Display detail
LCD tilts approximately 180° upwards and 45° downwards; dots are subpixels, not image pixels
Viewfinder detail
Retractable 0.39-type OLED with 1,440,000 dots, 100% coverage and approximately 0.59× equivalent magnification
Connections and design
Wi-Fi
Yes
Battery life (maker's claim)
320 photographs
Body weight
263 g
Release detail
Sony Japan specifies 30 May 2014 retail availability; Sony's US announcement specifies June 2014. Sony describes RX100 and RX100 II as continuing models alongside III.
Recording media
SD, SDHC, SDXC and Memory Stick variants; XAVC S requires Class 10 SDXC
Ports
Multi/Micro USB with USB 2.0; Micro HDMI
Wireless connections
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n at 2.4 GHz; NFC One-touch connection
Battery life detail
NP-BX1; CIPA maker claim approximately 320 photographs using LCD or 230 using viewfinder
Charging
USB charging; USB power supply during shooting and playback
Dimensions
Approximately 101.6 × 58.1 × 41 mm (width × height × depth)
Weight detail
Approximately 263 g body only; 290 g with battery and media. Photography Blog's narrative incorrectly describes the body-only figure as loaded weight; Sony's specification is used.
Colours
Black
Pros and cons
Pros
+Retractable electronic viewfinder
+RAW recording and built-in neutral-density filter
