I purchased this camera less than one month ago, and have had little opportunity to put its extensive capabilities to the test in that short time. Whilst I still have much to learn, however, (in spite of photographic experience gained over many years), I already know that I am not going to be in the least disappointed. Everything points to the fact that this is a highly specified camera with a very fast lens, capable of producing excellent results in every conceivable condition, and at the same time being truly compact even when housed in Sony's splendid (if rather expensive) LCS-RXG leather case.My only negative comment which can fortunately can be easily resolved is this:In common with most other cameras the camera arrived well packed and complete with one ... MoreI purchased this camera less than one month ago, and have had little opportunity to put its extensive capabilities to the test in that short time. Whilst I still have much to learn, however, (in spite of photographic experience gained over many years), I already know that I am not going to be in the least disappointed. Everything points to the fact that this is a highly specified camera with a very fast lens, capable of producing excellent results in every conceivable condition, and at the same time being truly compact even when housed in Sony's splendid (if rather expensive) LCS-RXG leather case.My only negative comment which can fortunately can be easily resolved is this:In common with most other cameras the camera arrived well packed and complete with one battery and charging USB cable. (No memory card included, but this is fairly usual). However, what did concern me was that the only printed instructions were in the form of a small 34 page 'manual' explaining how to fit a memory card and charge the battery, followed by little more that a list of the features that could be accessed by the menu controls. Of course, a full set of instructions were available online, but these ran into 252 pages - far too many for me to print out and certainly to carry in my now aged head! Fortunately Alexander S White came to my rescue. His excellent series of handbooks published under the title "Photographer's Guide to the..." includes the Sony DCS-RX100. In his introductory notes the writer admits that he had not previously published a guide to any other Sony camera nor any other manufacturer's small compacts. In his own words, however, he acknowledges: "When I saw the announcement for the Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100, though, it did not take long for me to decide that this camera is a winner, and one that deserves a book. I decided with no hesitation to turn my attention to this great little camera." Other readers will find, as I have, that he not only loves this camera, but also provides them be they beginners or experienced camera users, with all the advice and instruction they could possibly want. Get the camera with confidence, but also get the book.

This is a very advanced compact camera and a credit to the Sony company for producing it at such a good affordable price. In use the screen is fairly good in bright light but as with all screen-only viewfinder cameras they could benefit from a proper optical or electronic viewfinder for those occasions when you can't see what you're snapping on the little screen. Functions are very easily set and if you don't need a lot of bells and whistles you don't have to use them even though it has them designed-in. You can set it into simple quick mode on P or Auto. And occasionally I use A priority Aperture to set the f level at 11 so I get a really long depth of focus from just in front of me right to the horizon. Of the cheat's quick modes I use the sunset one most of ... MoreThis is a very advanced compact camera and a credit to the Sony company for producing it at such a good affordable price. In use the screen is fairly good in bright light but as with all screen-only viewfinder cameras they could benefit from a proper optical or electronic viewfinder for those occasions when you can't see what you're snapping on the little screen. Functions are very easily set and if you don't need a lot of bells and whistles you don't have to use them even though it has them designed-in. You can set it into simple quick mode on P or Auto. And occasionally I use A priority Aperture to set the f level at 11 so I get a really long depth of focus from just in front of me right to the horizon. Of the cheat's quick modes I use the sunset one most of all.The camera deals with shake very well. If I could criticize 2 or 3 things I'd say the user manual/guide is very poor and misses out on a lot of things users need to find out by going online to help forums where one always finds masses of other people with the same problem. Accessing quick things such as EV light value is a bit of a rigmarole and not available in some modes. Another thing is the way the multi-shot panorama mode appears to fail on 9 attempts out of 10 and tells the user to move the camera more quickly. This goes against one's natural tendency not to move camera quickly otherwise you get blurred shots.Anyhow for those occasions where you need to capture a shot quickly before the subject flies away or whatever, then this Sony is perfect - take it out of you pocket - press the on button and it's ready to shoot - so impulse and opportunity shots are dead easy and the camera won't let you down. A fair bit of post-production fiddling is necessary with some shots and the camera does tend to over bias the blue but this is easy to correct in common software when taking the pictures off the camera card. So summing up, it's the best little compact I've ever had and I've tried at least 6 makes since year 2000. The sensor is large enough to cope with the millions of pixels and the results have been very impressive - and a final mention of that wonderful Zeiss lens that Sony put in this one and used to be in earlier Cybershot cameras, it's supreme and has almost zero barrel distortion. I've never found that before in any camera - Now after 3 weeks of ownership it has a very optimistic future and could very well render my DSLR confined to a spare camera! Well done Sony.

Bought this to replace a RX100 Mark 1 which finally gave up after about 9 years of moderate use -- so not too bad.The RX100 V(A) is a notable upgrade in usage, with the built in viewfinder and tilt-able screen, and much enhanced focus system including face / eye recognition in partficular.Very promising reviews and marks for the sensor performance too - though I haven't yet done much post processing.Generally a very good feature balance against the competition (I heavily prioritise quality and therefore sensor size personally, as the user of a semi-pro mirrorless "SLR" for when i'm in even more enthusiast mode - which makes normal compacts with smaller sensors look really poor.I like the balance of features here compared to later models too - as I said I ... MoreBought this to replace a RX100 Mark 1 which finally gave up after about 9 years of moderate use -- so not too bad.The RX100 V(A) is a notable upgrade in usage, with the built in viewfinder and tilt-able screen, and much enhanced focus system including face / eye recognition in partficular.Very promising reviews and marks for the sensor performance too - though I haven't yet done much post processing.Generally a very good feature balance against the competition (I heavily prioritise quality and therefore sensor size personally, as the user of a semi-pro mirrorless "SLR" for when i'm in even more enthusiast mode - which makes normal compacts with smaller sensors look really poor.I like the balance of features here compared to later models too - as I said I value quality, so a 1.8 max aperture and good lens are definitely better than a superzoom you see on the M6 and 7 for my purposes (I won't be upgrading to those ever -- not good enough max aperture and probably more compromised lens quality to reach those lengths).The negatives -- battery life not great (but spares are reasonably cheap) - and it REALLY should come stock with the GR2 grip.... the design without it is FAR too slippery in the hand.