Sony DSC-RX100 (the original or 'Mk I')
The Sony DSC-RX100 is another camera in the Sony line up that have been designed for the everyday vlogger. The DSC-RX100 actually has several different versions including the original (commonly referred to as the Mark I), the Mark II, the Mark III, the Mark IV, and the Mark V, which are successive iterations where Sony has added or changed certain features. As a consequence, when researching this camera, it is important to know exactly which version you are dealing with. Currently, only the original (Mark I) and the Mark II versions are under £500, and so in this article we concentrate on these two versions only.
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The Mark I and Mark II versions of the RX100 have a lens manufactured by the Carl Zeiss AG company, a German lens company with a long-standing reputation for making some of the best lens in the world for a range of industries. They are both capable of shooting video in 1080p Full HD, which is optically image stabilised to counteract camera shake when hold ing the camera.
One of the major differences between the RX100 and other sony cameras in the same category, is the size of the image sensor. The RX100 has a big 1.0-inch type sensor whereas most other Sony cameras in this category have the smaller 1/2.3" sensor. This means that the RX100 is better than other cameras with smaller sensors in several ways. First of all, with a bigger sensor, there is more opportunity for light to hit the sensor, meaning that the camera can take some great pictures in low-light conditions. Secondly, ....
Sony DSC-RX100 Mk II
As with most other vlogging cameras, the RX100 has micro-USB and a micro-HDMI ports, allowing it to connect to a computer and an external display. However, the HDMI port is situated right next to the tripod mount port, making it impossible to simultaneously mount the camera on a tripod and stream video to HDMI at the same time, as the HDMI cable cannot be physically inserted when the tripod fixing is attached in most cases.
The cameras use a rechargeable battery, which provides approximately 80 minutes of video recording in total on a full charge, however, the battery is recharged in-camera via USB, making it impossible to use the camera while charging a spare battery without purchasing a separate charger.
The cameras also sport an in-built stereo microphone which makes recording good audio for online publications a doddle, and they also feature a 3.6x optical zoom, which is relatively small but more a feature relevant to still photography than videography.
The main differences between the originals or Mk I and the Mk II versions are the addition of Wi-Fi in the Mk II version, and the addition of a flip-out tilt screen on the Mk II version where the original has a fixed view screen. However, the flip out screen is not a 'selfie screen' as it can not be fully rotated so that it is visible when the user is in front of the camera.