RX10 II
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24 hours with the Sony RX10 II, a 4K-ready superzoom camera
The market for superzoom cameras is a niche one. But manufacturers continue to churn them out for people who want them, as small a group as this may be. And while Canon is designing models that can fit in your pocket, Sony's latest high-end superzoom is a very different kind of device. The RX10 II has a big, DSLR-like body (similar to its predecessor), which it needs to accommodate that Zeiss 24-200mm (35mm equivalent, constant f/2.8) zoom lens. Coupled with this fixed glass is a 1-inch, 20.2-megapixel Exmor RS BSI CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X image processor for fast and sharp shooting. Aside from being just a superzoom, though, the RX10 II is also being marketed as a premium video camera: It records 4K (3,840 x 2,160) at up to 30 fps and offers an insane slow-motion setting at 960 fps. After shooting with it for a day, I can say that everything comes together nicely -- and you'd hope as much considering its $1,300 asking price.
Sony's latest high-end superzoom shoots in 4K
The new Sony Cyber-shot RX10 II has huge boots to fill, as the original RX10 superzoom is one of the best cameras we've ever seen. To up the ante, Sony has piled on a lot of new features, with the splashiest being 4k video. Like the flagship A7R II and compact RX100 IV, the RX10 II now captures 3,840 x 2,160 video by reading out the entire 1-inch, 20.2-megapixel sensor. It then oversamples at 4K or 1080p to maximize sharpness and minimize moire and anti-aliasing. To top it off, you can shoot in nearly full HD at a stellar 240fps, or up to 1,000fps at an effective resolution of 800 x 270. Sony points out that it would take about 80 seconds to play back just 2 seconds of video shot at that speed.
