Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Pro Reviews

Stunning photo quality and a great all-rounder – fingers crossed that the price comes down

The RX100 II performs much the same as its RX100 predecessor, turning out some of the best image quality we've seen from a compact camera. With the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity and a BSI sensor, it's at the top of its class in terms of performance and features. With a few caveats regarding the shooting experience, it's a clear class-leader.

Hallelujahs and cheers greeted the original RX100, with one critic going so far as to claim it was the best compact ever. (The RX100, by the way, is still available, now for $150 less.) The RX100 II keeps the momentum going, and offers the best image quality you can get out of a compact. If you want any better, you’ll have to move up to even more expensive models like Sony’s Cyber-shot RX1 or Fujifilm’s X100S. Yes, the RX100 II is expensive, but when you compare it against more powerful variants as well as competing models in its class, you can see why the $750 could be considered a good deal for what you get.

When Sony swapped the 1-inch standard CMOS of the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 for a BSI (backside-illuminated) sensor in the DSC-RX100 II, I expressed some skepticism. My experience with BSI sensors has always been that what they gain in low-light latitude they lose in bright light. But the RX100 II delivers better photo quality than the RX100 across the entire ISO sensitivity range, and better quality than the rest of its similarly priced competition. Add in the new features like a hot shoe -- for accessories like an electronic viewfinder or microphone, as well as a flash -- plus Wi-Fi and a tilting LCD, and despite slightly slower performance the RX100 II is the best sub-$1,000 camera I've seen to date. (For a discussion of the importance of sensor sizes, see the RX100 review.)

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II is a premium compact camera aimed at the keen enthusiast photographer. The RX100 II offers an integrated 3.6x, 28-100mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* zoom lens with a fast aperture of f/1.8 at the wide-angle setting, a new 20.2 megapixel 1.0-type Exmor back-illuminated CMOS image sensor and Full HD 24p/25p high-definition video recording. The RX100 MK2 also boasts built-in wi-fi and NFC connectivity, a high resolution tiltable 3 inch LCD screen, Multi Interface Shoe and Multi Terminal accessory connections, continuous shooting at up to 10fps at full resolution, high-speed autofocus that locks onto your target in 0.13 seconds, built-in pop-up flash, support for the Raw format and full manual controls. The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II is available now for around $750/£650.

RX100 II is a sensational compact capable of producing astounding image quality. Its petite body makes it great for discreet shooting, travelling, or when it doesn't seem suitable to carry a larger camera. It's a camera that can be picked up and used instinctively, with the only downsides being its price and the cost of the optional electronic viewfinder.

Like the best-selling RX100 before it, the Sony RX100 II delivers the same magic potion of large sensor performance in a compact format. When I wrote about the RX100 back in 2012 I said some people will 'complain it lacks a hotshoe, or an accessory port for a viewfinder, or that its screen isn't articulated'. These shortcomings didn't prevent the camera from selling like hotcakes, but it's uncanny those are exactly the things Sony decided to fix, along with also providing built-in Wifi with NFC and a cabled remote option. There's even the chance to mount filters via an optional accessory, although this also works on the older RX100. Changing the sensor for a back-illuminated version of the same resolution is also a very canny move. I don't recall many folk complaining about the image quality on the RX100, but now it's genuinely better at higher sensitivities. It would have been easy for Sony to stick with the existing sensor and concentrate on the physical or software upgrades, but it's refreshing to find an upgrade in this respect. It makes the RX100 II a better complement or even replacement for a larger camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II compact camera offers a few worthwhile upgrades when compared with the original RX100, but comes in at a higher asking price.

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II is all kinds of wonderful, yet all kinds of pricey too. To cut to the chase the latest model is ultimately the original with a hotshoe attachment which, for some, will make it worth every penny. For others, and with the lowering price of the RX100, it makes the original model all the more appealing. For the RX100 II to achieve five star perfection - we're less forgiving when the cash outlay is so high - it needs to iron out those smaller details. Build-in an ND filter, push the mechanical shutter yet faster, speed up inter-menu responsiveness, improve the sloppy Wi-Fi integration, enhance specific focus accuracy - particularly when in low-light autofocus conditions - offer up a digital focus-distance meter and a physical AF/MF control. We'd even like to see a touchscreen, and a more resilient glass on the rear screen - something Sony smartphones can manage, so why not here? For £650 we want the whole hog, not just most of it. But the counters are obvious: that silky-smooth lens control ring, the pocketable size coupled with large sensor benefits, the staggering low-mid ISO image quality and, ultimately, image quality throughout the range. Without doubt: the RX100 II is one of the best compact cameras out there. All in all we're fairly smitten, despite the shortcomings. f/1.8 in good light at ISO 160? Yes please. There's bags of detail and, despite that crazy price tag it seems something crazy has been triggered in our brains: we want to go and buy an RX100 II. Lots of money does deliver lots of camera, and there's stacks of goodness to be found here; it's both crazy by price yet crazy-good all at the same time.

The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 II, thanks to Sony's expertise in the image sensor business, features a 1inch 20.2 megapixel backlit CMOS sensor that delivers impressive noise performance and excellent image quality. Combined with a high quality Carl Zeiss f/1.8 3.6x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation and Sony's skillset in miniaturisation means Sony are able to produce a compact digital camera with an abundance of features, which now includes Wi-Fi connectivity and NFC. If the lack of a flash hot-shoe put you off the original RX100, then this has been resolved with the RX100 II, and the addition also gives the option of using accessories such as the excellent high resolution electronic viewfinder, as well as studio flash lighting and more. The high resolution 3 inch screen now tilts up and down, but adds just 2.4mm to the thickness of the camera, with the camera still pocketable and compact.

The biggest bugbear at the moment is the Sony RX100 Mark II's price, which will hopefully come down in due course. As it stands, it seems like a good idea for Sony to continue to market both versions of the camera at the same time, the original Sony RX100 available now for an excellent price for the feature set. We tipped the original Sony RX100 as the best compact camera of its class available on the market today. That is, a premium compact camera with a smaller than APS-C sized sensor. With a raft of welcome improvements, it's fair to say that the Sony RX100 Mark II steals that crown now, making it incredibly worthy of your lust.