Sony RX100

It’s no secret that the market for compact cameras has been imploding. Their market share has been taken over almost entirely by smartphones. The shining light among them, however, has been the very high-end of the market – typified by cameras like the Sony RX100 IV, and the Canon G5 X. Nikon was poised to cash in on those buyers with its DL series of premium point-and-shoots. However, after a series of delays, and apparently increased costs, Nikon has decided to cut its losses and cancel the DL line entirely. 

Up until now, the choice for best point and shoot was tricky – none of the three leading cameras had everything. The Canon G7 X got top marks for image quality and has a good zoom range, but no viewfinder. The Sony RX100 IV sort-of-has a viewfinder (it is a small pop-up), but has a limited zoom range and is a little lower-scoring on image quality. The somewhat older Lumix LX100 is also a worthy competitor, but its larger size isn’t justified by image quality or features. Canon has finally broken the logjam with its new Canon G5 X. This new model adds an excellent Electronic ViewFinder (EVF) and a hot shoe for an add-on flash. There are also some other, smaller, updates to video recording formats and other features, but the EVF and hot shoe are clearly the headline here.

For the last couple months I’ve been traveling with both a DxO ONE (that fits in my shirt pocket) and a Sony RX100 IV (that barely fits in a cargo pocket). I’ve had a lot of fun with both cameras. While they have very similar sensors, they are different in almost every other way. Since they are both likely to be popular choices for image lovers looking for the ultimate compact camera, here are my thoughts on the very new ONE (you can read my review of the Sony online), and how it contrasts with a traditional high-end point-and-shoot… #dxoone

For those have followed the ground-breaking Sony RX100 since it became one of the first and best cameras to fit a 1-inch sensor into a compact form factor, each new version is eagerly anticipated. The good news is that Sony has steadily improved the camera's features with each updated model.