Sony unleashes Cyber-shot RX100 II with BSI CMOS sensor

The other big announcement from Sony today is a ‘Mark II’ version of its popular Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 compact camera. The RX100 II – for which Sony has confusing given three different names) – features a new 1-inch, 20.2 megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor, which Sony claims is 40% more sensitive in low light than its predecessor. The 3-inch WhiteMagic LCD now articulates (84 degrees up, 45 degrees down), allowing for easier composition.

Another major addition is a Multi Interface Shoe, which can not only accept an external flash, but also an electronic viewfinder or stereo microphone. The RX100 II also has Wi-Fi and NFC capability, which allows for one-touch photo transfer between camera and smart devices. Lastly, the camera now supports 1080/24p video recording. The RX100 II will be available next month for $750.

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Press Release:

Sony Adds Two New Premium Compact Cameras to Acclaimed Cyber-shot® RX Line

New RX100 II model adds Exmor R™ CMOS sensor and connectivity; New RX1R full frame camera with enhanced resolution and detail

NEW YORK, June 27, 2013 – Building on its lineup of acclaimed compact cameras, Sony is introducing two new additions to the Cyber-shot RX series– the RX100 II and RX1R models.  

Based on the same sleek, stylish design as the existing RX100 model, the new RX100 II features a new 1-inch back-illuminated CMOS sensor, enhanced system expandability and adds Wi-Fi® convenience with NFC One-Touch compatibility.  With an identical camera body and design as the existing RX1 camera, the new special edition RX1R model has had its optical low pass filter removed for increased resolution and detail. 

 “Sony continues to redefine the levels of performance for a pocket-sized, fixed lens camera,” said Patrick Huang, director of the Cyber-shot business at Sony Electronics.  “Now, with a total of four models in market in our Cyber-shot RX line – each with its own unique value proposition – consumers have more options than ever to experience the ultimate balance of size, imaging performance and imaging power.” 

New Cyber-shot RX100 II Camera

Designed to increase sensitivity in low-light conditions and reduce overall picture noise, the new Exmor R sensor in the RX100 II camera is the world’s first 1.0-type back illuminated sensor ever developed.  It is approximately 40% more sensitive in dimly lit situations compared to the existing RX100 model.
The powerful sensor is paired with an exceptional F1.8 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens to deliver exceptionally sharp, natural still images and Full HD video in any shooting condition – from bright daytime scenes to night-time landscapes and everything in between. 

Additionally, the new RX100 II model is equipped with Wi-Fi capabilities and is also the first ever Sony camera to include NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, giving the extra convenience of instant, one-touch wireless transfer of content between devices.  Its Smart Remote Control functionality lets users preview images and control shutter release directly from their connected phones or tablets.  

A Multi Interface Shoe on the RX100 II model allows users to add optional accessories including an electronic viewfinder, powerful external flash and clip-on LCD monitor.  A Multi Terminal lets users add a shutter-release remote control. 

The camera features a bright, detail-packed 3.0-type White Magic™ LCD display that tilts upwards (up to 84 degrees) and downwards (down to 45 degrees), giving shooters greater freedom to compose shots from overhead and low angles. 

Additionally, the RX100 II model has expanded Full HD video capabilities with the addition of 24p shooting for cinematically styled movies. Other refinements include a step zoom function that lets users instantly choose any of five popular focal lengths for handy scene framing. Shooters can select 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 70mm or 100mm focal lengths using the camera’s control ring, giving them an intuitive and fast alternative to zooming in and out.

The new camera is also compatible with Sony’s TRILUMINOS Color technology, ensuring richer, more natural color reproduction when connected to the new BRAVIA televisions featuring TRILUMINOS Display.

New Special Edition Cyber-shot RX1R Camera

The new Cyber-shot RX1R full-frame compact camera is designed to satisfy even the most critical photographer’s desire for sharper, more detailed pictures and enhanced resolution.  The model’s ‘R’ suffix denotes a further improvement in the pocket-sized camera’s already spectacular resolution.
In common with many digital cameras, the original Cyber-shot RX1 camera features a multi-segment optical low-pass filter (OLPF) in front of the sensor to suppress unwanted moiré and color artifacts.  The enthusiast-oriented RX1R model removes this low-pass filter to realize the full resolution potential of the image sensor and bring new levels of realism to landscapes and other finely-detailed subjects. 

Additionally, to take advantage of  the OLPF removal, the camera’s processing functions have been optimized to maintain image sharpness without compromising lens/sensor performance.

While weight and dimensions remain the same as the ground-breaking DSC-RX1, the special edition RX1R is also now compatible with TRILUMINOS Color technology, allowing for the ultimate image playback experience on compatible BRAVIA televisions.
 
Pricing and Availability

The new Cyber-shot RX100 II and RX1R models will both be available next month for about $750 and $2800 respectively.   The cameras and a range of compatible accessories can be purchased at Sony retail stores (www.store.sony.com) and other authorized dealers nationwide.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II Specifications

Additional images

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II

Comments

WOW. Noise performance is I N S A N E. I am becoming a really big fan of sony concerning compact camera’s. Sugoi desu ne!

I just got the RX100 about a month ago. I’m going to sit this generation out and wait for the RX200/mark 3. If i can hold my self that long 😛 But damn sony keep it up!

Personally, I’d gladly give up the articulated display for a slightly longer zoom reach (a-la-S110/LF1) and/or a price drop rather than a bump… But I’m sure there’s just as many people that will really dig it (just like the hotshoe, tho probably less so) and it didn’t come at the cost of a larger body. I’m just surprised no one’s stepped up and introduced a direct competitor, the market needs it.

Maybe not big improvements, but still improvements. The 1st gen RX100 is already a little gem of a camera. The street price of the new RX100 will likely drop too with a little time. Another plus- it might be a good time to pick up a 1st gen RX100 at a discount!

I could be wrong, but the street price of the RX100 never really dropped much… And Sony can be pretty swift about discontinuing their old models. Anyone looking for a bargain on the original shouldn’t wait long to start looking!

I have an RX100. Love it. Am considering a Ricoh GR as my next pocket camera. Same price as the new Sony, close enough. At first glance, the Ricoh still looks good to me. Because about the only thing my RX100 lacks is a hotshoe, for an external OVF. And I can crazy-glue a hotshoe onto it.

As for the flip-up screen, and the wi-fi, and the somewhat better sensor… good new features, but not that important to me. RX100 image quality is already pretty good… and if I buy a pocket camera with a better sensor, it would be the Ricoh with the APS-C.

They forgot the GPS again 🙁

Maybe there isn’t enough space for GPS.

Or enough battery life, or both.

there was enough space for NFC and WIFIi chips though, i would have prefered a GPS instead.

Wifi and NFC are probably a shared chip solution, and NFC takes less power than either of the other two (it’s really just used to facilitate wifi pairing AFAIK)… It seems Wifi in general might be a more popular feature right now, I imagine some sorta market study lead to that thinking since everyone else seems to be following the same path with their compacts.

I can kind of see the logic, since having Wifi means you can use a smartphone to sync up GPS metadata so you can in essence sorta get both features… Also, Sony’s past GPS implementations on the HX line were kinda poor as far as idle/sleep and battery use. Sure you can turn it off if you’re not gonna use it for a few weeks but it’s one more thing to remember.

My old Sony compact was always out of battery if I left it some too long because apparently the GPS never gives up and shuts off if it fails to acquire a lock or sees it hasn’t been used in a while (unlike Panasonic’s TZ line, from what I’ve read). Hopefully they address that by the time GPS makes it to the RX line.

EVF defeats the purpose of a pocketable camera. I would pick another camera such as NEX6, orCanon G1X.

It’s still more portable than any of those tho, I doubt the EVF would be bully enough that you couldn’t carry it I’m another pocket… Tho the value proposition certainly starts to become pretty poor.

But hey, it’s just an option, not like the hotshoe came at the cost of a major size increase… I’m sure it’ll make some people happy. We just need some other manufacturer to start take Sony on so the prices will come down…

40% more sensitive = barely 1/2 f-stop right?

Just under half a stop.

If the 40% sensitivity increase is proven to be correct, this camera will surely shine. I mean we are talking about it matching m43 image quality.

Still not as good as olympus macro capabilities and no lens adapter for such improvments? And sony where is your original underwater housing for rx? ??

I remain very pleased with my RX100. Technically I see no reason to renew. And the price of the RX100 was not very friendly, now the RX100 II became even less appealing in price. and keeping the same lens aperture at the end …
But I think the RX100 still has no competitors.

Yeah, though at this price a lot of mirrorless models would stake a claim… But no ILC would fit in a pocket the way the RX100 can, not even with a pancake lens. I think the fact that they have no competition whatsoever is what allowed Sony to hike the price up…

Nikon’s P330 was an S110 me-too, Canon’s unlikely to drastically revamp the S110, and Panasonic’s LF1 sits just slightly above those with better a better wifi implementation, battery life, an EVF, etc but it’s certainly no match for the RX100. Clearly the first one sold well tho, dunno why nobody’s committed to compete with it.

Hmmm.. not a good substitute for my canon small and cute pocketable 24-120mm canon s100 with ND filter built in.

Well, they’re certainly nowhere near each other in price… With this price hike the RX100 will probably be just about twice as expensive as the S110 follow up, but they’re certainly direct competitors in that they’re both advanced compacts that actually fit in a pocket… We still don’t have a whole lot of those: RX100, S110, LF1, P330. Am I missing any? Only two of those compete directly on price and only one sports a huge sensor, two have an EVF, three sport wifi (two with NFC), etc etc.

Not a direct comparison. One has a large sensor while the other has much smaller sensor in comparison while keeping the same body size. The RX100 MK I is still available though for those who want to save a few bucks.

I’m a little disappointed by the base sensitivity @ ISO160 now. Will be interesting to see how this sensor fairs on dxomark testing.

Before people get too excited, let’s remember that we are talking about Sony here — where “available next month” actually means available to a small number of stores by the end of the year and in most other stores by next spring — at the earliest.

Nonsense. RX100 was in the store exactly one week after announcement.

In fact, RX100 was a week old rumor, it was announced next week after first rumors, and was in the store a week after that.

Sam, I think you are thinking of Panasonic instead. Sony has it’s quirks but have always been very good at getting product out shortly after announcement.

Carl

God what specs! What a cam!

The most serious treathe to Olympus XZ-2. Come on olympus! Now give us the XZ-3 which has same sensor body & specs with ep-5, smilar amazing lens as XZ-2 which is 20mm on the wide, 120mm on tele end. And not above f2.8

Please 🙂

Guys, you realize that you ask for impossible ?

Sony RX-100 is just on the border of the possible. It’s small overall size was made possible on 1″ format exactly by means of slow (f/4.9) lens @ tele.

Having 4/3 instead of 1″ with f/2.8 would take you in a completely different territory size-wise. Look here:

http://camerasize.com/compact/#315.336,332,ha,t

Yeah. But XZ-2 ´s body is so bulky that makes me believe “a M4/3 sensor could fit there !”

And I guess, it could happen, but would not fit pocket or at least can´t fit any lens blades. Should be lens cap.

The sensor would fit… What wouldn’t fit is any kind of lens appropriately sized for said sensor, they go hand in hand. There’s a reason the RX100 has a short lens that’s slow at the wide end, that’s about the best you can hope for given the size/space limitations. If you bump the sensor size further then you either give up size or you get to the point where you end with a fixed prime lens and a niche camera (RX1, Coolpix A, etc).

Hell, I’m impressed they added as much as they did without increasing the size to XZ-2/LX7 proportions… But most of it was work done on the electronics I’d guess, and it did come with a price hike, so we probably won’t even see significant discounts on the outgoing model. Had the price stayed the same I might be tempted but even $650 was kinda pushing it for a compact…

Hopefully somebody else starts building a 1″ sensor compact or Sony’s gonna keep charging whatever the heck they want for it for the foreseeable future… I think Panasonic already showed most of their hand for this year tho (LF1 is even safer now, slotted between this and the S110), and I doubt the S110 follow up will be any kind of revelation.

I’d like to see more faster lens.

You’d like to see a faster lens.

I completely agree. Even F4 on the long end would be great. 3.5 would be ideal, even if that meant it needed a lens cap.

That implies increased size – and most likely a substantial one. Would you accept that ?

I would. Call it the RX10. Put a grip on it and a built in evf… sell it tween the price of the RX100 and RX1.

🙂

Then go, buy Nikon V2 with bunch of excellent fast primes and you’re all set !

“Then go, buy Nikon V2 with bunch of excellent fast primes and you’re all set !”

Exactly once you lose the size advantage, then you can always buy Nikon 1 or even better yet Nex-6

The point of RX100 is that it is a pocket camera. Put faster lens and it won’t be a pocket camera anymore but instead it would be competing against G1X or Nex-6. And that was never the aim of Rx100. It was foremost a pocket camera.

This was the point that cgarrard never comprehended last year either and proclaimed RX100 to be a failure (famously wrong prediction)

Im disappointed…. I really feel they could have done more with it. Heck I could have improved it more then this(front dial, 1/4000 SS, Improved the lens)!

Well….Im sure its a good camera.

But… it’s been unleashed!

Indeed. It’s a bummer they didn’t go to 1/4000 and include a ND filter as well.

Plus, it’s getting pretty darn expensive for a camera with a pretty slow f/4.9.

Well, there’s always the RX200 or whatever they may call the next version.

f4.9 is the long end. Its f1.8 at the small end.

Even the Canon G1X has a f2.8 – 5.8 lens albiet with a slightly larger sensor. However the G1X has a rather distinct size disadvantage over the R100.