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| The RX100(4) is a good street camera, quick, unobtrusive and capable of very good results. You can see here the subject has a very high brightness range, mixed lighting and abundant detail. OSS has kept the still parts of the subject sharp with a slow shutter speed while the moving people are blurred. So the results are good but there is room for improvement in the menus, body design and controls. |
The best features of the RX100(4) are the sensor, lens and AF. In consequence the camera reliably makes very good photos in a wide variety of conditions, indoors and outdoors.
The least appealing aspect of the RX100(4) is the ergonomics and the overall user experience.
This may be thought by some to be due to the diminutive size of the device but in my view is mainly due to a design which unsuccessfully scales down a configuration found in larger models.
My experience with mockups has helped me to understand that cameras do not scale up or down successfully. Each size range requires a different design.
I have some constructive ideas about this which are embodied in my Mockup#11 illustrated below.
This evaluation and ergonomic scoring of the RX100(4) follows my usual schedule which you can read about here.
It is biased towards still photos which is my main interest but much of the comment is relevant to video.
Setup Phase
There are two main tasks in this phase,
1. Making selections in the menus and
2. Allocating functions from a list of options to the dials and certain of the buttons on the control panel.
Sony’s menus as they appear on the RX100(4) and other models have drawn a good deal of mostly well deserved criticism.
There appear to me to be two problems with menu content and submenu groupings.
The first is that as functions have been added to successive RX100 cameras, so are menu items. Fair enough but if items just accumulate without restructuring, the menus become cluttered and overburdened and that is what we find here.
The second problem is that the main submenus are camera centric not user centric. So we have Camera, Custom, Setup, Playback etc.
But as a user I am more likely to look for groupings related to the process of making pictures which might include things like Focus, Exposure, Drive, Button/dial functions, Video and so forth.
So we have items related to Focus and Exposuresettings mixed up and scattered about within and between submenus.
Auto Review, a Playback function is located in the ‘Gears’ menu instead of ‘Playback’.
Still and Video items are lumped in together but scattered about in no order that I can discern.
I understand that Sony wants this to be a camera which seamlessly blends still and video functions but I find it much easier to set up the camera if stills items are separated from video items.
There are too many curious items like ‘Micref’ and ‘For Rangefinder’ which add to the confusion.
The process of allocating dial and button functions is straightforward enough but I would prefer to see these items on their own submenu for ease of access when I want to change my selections.
Some reviewers have criticised the graphical user interface of the Menu screens but I find it quite easy to use and easy to navigate with a combination of lateral and down scrolling. It is not as pretty as the GUI of a Panasonic or Samsung camera but quite functional nonetheless.
‘Menu resume’ operates by default. Thus the menu will open at the last item used. So if you use one item frequently it is easy to access.
There is no ‘My Menu’ for items which are used frequently. Every camera should have a My Menu.
The 259 page PDF Help Guide is woeful. The content, layout, presentation and navigation look like something from the 20thCentury.
The Help Guide is not structured in line with the menus either so trying to work through the menus with the Help Guide is tediously difficult.
For instance Fn button Menu Operate is on Page 44 but Fn Button Set is on Page 138, go figure.
The Help Guide needs help in the form of a complete rewrite, ASAP.
Setup Score 8/15
Prepare Phase
This is the several minutes before making photos in which the user configures the camera for the prevailing conditions and capture type (still, video, single shot, continuous, indoor, outdoor, hand held, tripod and so forth.
The RX100(4) offers a useful and in my evaluation, quite adequate level of user inputs for Prepare Phase adjustments.
The Fn button can access up to 12 functions, each user assignable from a list of 34 options. This is a decently quick way to access most functions which I think users would want readily to hand but not on one of the direct access buttons.
User assigned settings are available for the Control Ring, Left, Center and Right buttons and the C button. This provides plenty of options for quick access to any of a long list of functions.
There is also a Memory Recall function for groups of settings but this is less well implemented as you can only assign Shooting Mode and ‘Camera’ Menu items to the memory. This is so limiting I have not found it useful.
Prepare Phase score 12/20
Capture Phase, Holding
This evaluation and score is made with the Sony AG-R2 stick-on handle fitted. I would not care to use this camera without the AG-R2 or similar handle fitted as without the handle there is really nothing on which the fingers can get a grip.
Given that the camera cost me AUD1188 and the handle probably cost Sony a dollar to produce I am not amused that I had to purchase the handle separately.
The screen protector is another low cost (to Sony) item which I had to purchase separately (at high cost).
Anyway even with the handle the holding position is cramped. My right middle finger bumps up against the lens ring and my fingers are scrunched up. The thumb support is vestigial providing very little actual support at all.
The left hand is not altogether happy either especially with the ‘left hand over lens’ position which I prefer as it allows my left wrist to stay straight for better control and stability than the ‘left hand under lens’ position..
The situation is not too bad with the EVF down but with the EVF popped up the ‘left hand over’ position becomes more difficult as the EVF is sitting where my fingers want to be.
Holding score (with AG-R2 handle) 7/20
Capture Phase, Viewing
The monitor screen is very large for this size of camera and looks nice although as with most screens is barely usable in sunlight. It flips up/down and selfie reverse but is not fully articulated.
The pop up EVF is a very nice piece of engineering but is not optimal ergonomically. One reviewer described it as ‘dinky’ with which I concur. You have to pop it up and pull it out every time. At least this switches the camera on (and off when the EVF is put back to bed). There being no way to fit an eyecup, stray light gets into the EVF easily. I often place my left index finger around the EVF in a not altogether successful attempt to prevent this light entry.
The EVF itself is sharp and clear.
Both monitor and EVF offer limited adjustment by the user. I prefer Panasonic’s approach which allows the user to adjust all color, contrast, NR and sharpness parameters for both the monitor and EVF.
Both monitor screen and EVF are configured in the ideal ‘viewfinder’ style with key camera data displayed on a black border below the image. This data is a bit thin and small in the EVF and could be bolder to advantage.
A large amount of additional data can be displayed (or not as desired) on screen or EVF with repeated presses of the Disp button.
The balance between monitor screen and EVF is biased in favour of the screen. I think the overall viewing experience would be improved with a fixed, always ready EVF and a moderate reduction in monitor size.
Viewing score 9/20
Capture Phase Operating
The camera is decently serviceable particularly in P Mode, aided by a very good auto ISO algorithm.
This is a good thing as operation in the A, S or M modes is less engaging.
The lens ring provides no tactile feedback when turned so it is not always easy to hit the desired parameter, be it aperture or shutter speed.
Fortunately there is a good HUD (head up display) in the EVF and on the monitor while the lens ring is turning.
Also fortunately the lens ring turns the optimal way for ‘value up’ (push right at the top).
The only button which I can easily locate and operate by feel is the center button in the 4 way controller. This is a good thing as I need to find that button by feel to activate the ‘change AF area position’ action. Even the shutter button is flat, featureless and recessed with no definite ‘half press’ position.
The other buttons are small, crowded into the control panel and difficult to find by feel.
The procedure for changing position and size of the active AF area is decently easy although it does require a pre-press on the center button to activate the up/down, left/right buttons for moving the AF area.
Some reviewers, come to think of it most of them, bemoan the lack of touch screen capability but I find little use for touch screens especially for hand held still photography. I have been using
Panasonic cameras with touch screens for several years and always find it easier to switch the touch screen function off as it irritatingly causes the active AF area to be bumped off position by my finger, thumb or left eye user’s noses.
Operating score 11/25
Review Phase
Sony has implemented this very well on the RX100(4). A single press on the Playback button brings up at 100% the part of the subject on which focus was established for instant focus checking. The user can scroll from one frame to the next with the same level of enlargement at the same position in the frame.
Review score 5/5
Overall score 52/100
Comment
This is not a bad score for a very small compact but there is plenty of room for improvement in both the information interface and the control interface.
The RX100(4) scores better than the Lumix GM5 which has a similar sized body but not as well as the Lumix TZ80 which admittedly has the advantage of a slightly larger body but overall better execution of both the information and control interfaces.
If Sony is to significantly improve the ergonomics of the next RX model (assuming there is to be one) a major rethink of the menu system and body design and control layout is required.
I have indicated where I think the body design might go with my Mockup #11 shown below.
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| Mockup #11 on the right embodies many of my ideas for improving the small advanced compact camera. The advantages of the mockup are difficult to appreciate in a photo. You have to have your hands on the device to appreciate what it offers. |
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