We are embarking into the middle of 2014 and this is the most exciting event for myself because I have never been invited for any special events throughout my 2 years of photography blogging. Sony Singapore sent me an exclusive invitation for the upcoming Sony’s compact camera, the RX100 III or RX100 Mark III, in their Sony Gallery at Wisma Atria. I am very fortunate to be the first 15 people in South East Asia to get a feel of this latest compact camera. Therefore, before I begin writing down my experience in this workshop, I would like to thank the Sony Team Singapore for organizing this event for Sony digital imaging fans like myself.
The event started at 11am in the Sony Digital Workshop and Esther presented the Sony RX100 III on a large TV screen. During this 15 minutes of presentation, she covered the specifications and capability of this Sony’s latest Cyber-shot product and also did comparisons of photographs taken by this camera and an undisclosed DSLR brand. In this workshop, there were only three “Not For Sale” Sony RX100 III and one Sony RX100 II available for everyone to get up close and personal. The Sony Team also showcases some of the photographs taken using this camera and got them printed out in A3 size.
The Sony RX100 III has a wider Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens from 24-70mm with F1.8-2.8 as compared to RX100 II 28-100mm with F1.8-4.9. With the ability to have a 180-degree tiltable LCD screen (3″ with 1229K-dot Xtra Fine) and a wider lens, selfie photographs are made possible for everyone now. It is amazing that Sony’s engineers are able to squeeze in an integrated viewfinder with Zeiss T* coating in this compact camera. The beautiful 3″ LCD screen auto shuts down when your eye is near to the eye piece for battery saving reason. To be honest, I would prefer to use the 3″ bright LCD screen during my photography shot as ergonomically, it is not comfortable holding a small camera and peeking through the view finder.
The Sony RX100 III’s appearances look much like it’s predecessor, the RX100 II. Probably the most obvious difference between the both is the flash hot shoe, which the RX100 III got it removed. The reasons why this accessory option is removed are because of the newer generation of image processing engine BIONZ X, the 1.0-type Exmor R back-illuminated 20.1 megapixels CMOS sensor and larger aperture size, making the photo quality better in low lightings, sharpness in details and reduction of noise. Hence, you don’t need a flash accessory for better looking photographs now. In case if you need some flash lights, a built-in flash is still available. On top of that, the photographs taken using RX100 III are able to output breathtaking size and resolution on the 4K-compatible (3840 x 2160 pixels) TVs.
The Sony RX100 III is able to record high bit rate of 50Mbps for full HD quality videos in XAVC S format. This video format is first to be in the Sony’s RX series and it is developed for professional and serious videographers. In order to enjoy your powerful video creation, you will need a SDXC (Secure Digital eXtended Capacity) memory card with more than Class 10’s capacity and read write speed. This is Sony’s recommendation. The best part of the RX100 III’s video function is the Dual Video Recording. Without much hassles, you can record both HD quality videos (AVCHD/XAVC S) and lightweight MP4 formats together, making it easy for you to share your videos in your favorite social networks and keep your HD quality video memories. No video compressing softwares required.
With the convenience of wireless technology today, Wi-Fi and NFC functions are both included in the Sony RX100 III. Hence, regardless if you are using an iOS or Android device, downloading your photographs and videos are made easy now.
The Sony RX100 III is a beautifully designed camera with high standards of photo and video quality. The user interface for the Sony RX series are the same. Hence, making myself, a Sony RX1 user, easily adaptable to the controls and settings. Since the charging port is a 5V DC universal micro-USB port rather than a sole-proprietary connector, charging this camera on-the-go using portable battery or power bank is easy. The SRP for the Sony RX100 III is $1,199 SGD and this camera will be officially launch on the 19 June 2014.
Address of my visit
Sony Store
Wisma Atria 435 Orchard Road #04-01
Singapore 238877
Opening Hours
Daily: 11:00am to 9:00pm
Telephone: (65) 6733 1876
Website: http://www.sony.com.sg
