- Let's talk about the Sony RX100.
(chic electronic music)
Now in its seventh generation, the Sony RX100
is just about the best point-and-shoot camera you can find.
In fact, with everything it can do,
calling it a point-and-shoot seems a little bit dismissive.
As you might know, I'm a big fan of Canon cameras and lenses
but this little Sony is super near and dear to me.
When I started this channel a few years ago,
I didn't have a DSLR that was good for video.
And so, pretty much the first, like, 50 videos
on this channel were made entirely
with the Sony RX100 Mark V.
And that's really what I wanted to dive into today
is how does the Sony RX100 Mark V stack up
against the newly released Mark VII.
And just to jump ahead and spoil the entire video,
I actually think that the Mark V
is the best overall option for video.
Unless you have a few really specific needs,
then the Mark VII is definitely worth it.
So let's start out by talking price.
The RX100 Mark V is pretty much discontinued at this point,
but you can still find it on some camera websites
and it's usually between 800 and $900,
kind of depending on when you look.
The new RX100 Mark VII retails for about $1,200
and that's a pretty huge price.
When I got my Mark V a couple of years ago,
I got it for $900,
and at the time, I thought that was way more money
than I would ever spend
on a non-interchangeable lens camera,
small point-and-shoot.
But that $900 really ended up being totally worth it.
$1,200, on the other hand, is a lot more money
and honestly, that puts you right in the price range
of, like, a decent DSLR and lens setup.
So, if you're willing to spend $1,200
on a small camera like this,
it really comes down to the size being a priority,
the fact that you want a small, compact camera.
And the small size is actually one of the best features
of the entire RX series.
These cameras are really small
but they are incredibly powerful.
And so, if you're looking to upgrade,
you're curious about the Mark VII
or you have a Mark V and you're thinking about upgrading
or you wanna buy one for the first time
and you don't know if you should get an older model
or the brand new model, there's a few things to compare.
First, the form factor and build quality is almost identical
between pretty much all of the RX series.
There's a few minor improvements with the new cameras
but, by and large, you really can't tell them apart,
and that's a good thing
'cause these are super well-built cameras.
They are really expensive,
and once you get the camera and hold it,
it feels like a premium device.
It's mostly made out of metal.
It's super sturdy.
I've traveled all over the place with this one
and it still works great, so they are really durable.
Both cameras can record really nice-looking 4K video
but they do have a five-minute limit.
The Mark V has a really strict five-minute limit
where the camera will just automatically turn off.
The Mark VII was supposed to address that
but it seems like, at least from all the tests
and things that I've seen and read, it's still an issue
just because the camera gets so hot
when you record 4K for too long.
There's a lot of stuff happening in a really tiny space
and you can feel the camera heating up.
And I think at least with current technology,
it just comes down to physics
is something that is in the way
of overheating not being an issue, but both cameras
can also record 1080 pretty much indefinitely
till your memory card or your battery runs out.
I really love the video quality of the RX100 Mark V.
The 4K is beautiful.
Even if you're not outputting at 4K
and you're just downsizing to 1080, it looks terrific.
Here's a short side-by-side comparison
of the RX100 Mark V filming in 4K
against the Canon EOS R filming at 1080p
with the SIGMA 24-millimeter 1.4 lens.
And now, just for the sake of a full comparison,
this is the RX100 Mark V filming at 1080
against the Canon EOS R also filming at 1080.
The Mark V and the Mark VII
also have electronic SteadyShot stabilization
with different levels of variation,
and it works really well.
It's not as magical as like the GoPro
or the Osmo Action's stabilizers are,
but it's a really good, really effective stabilizer.
Where some differences begin to emerge are with the lens.
The Mark V uses a 24 to 70-millimeter lens,
whereas the Mark VII uses a 24 to 200-millimeter lens.
So, that is a big difference
in terms of telephoto capability,
but that difference comes with a tradeoff.
The Mark V uses a faster 1.8 aperture,
whereas the Mark VII uses a slower 2.8 aperture,
and that could be a deal breaker
depending on how you're going to use this camera.
And I'm not sure of the technical details behind it
but it seems like that new lens made it not possible
to have an ND filter built into the camera.
The Mark V does have a built-in ND filter
but the Mark VII doesn't.
And actually, neither does the Mark VI, for that matter.
And speaking of the Mark VI, I'm kind of leaving it out,
but the Mark VII and the Mark VI are almost identical.
The upgrades with the Mark VII
are that it has a few different high frame rate options
and it does have an external mic jack.
So, if you have a Mark VI,
I don't think it's worth upgrading to the Mark VII
unless you really need that external mic jack
or you're doing really specific things with high frame rate.
Otherwise, all the other features
and the 24 to 200-millimeter lens
are exactly the same on the VI and the VII,
so I'm kind of ignoring the VI in this review
and really focusing on the V versus the VII
because that's where the real big differences lie.
Another similarity between pretty much all of the RX cameras
is that the battery life is pretty terrible.
Fortunately, all of these cameras
take the exact same battery
and the batteries themselves aren't that expensive,
so it's not too difficult
to just buy some extras and keep them with you.
And to be totally honest,
I don't really fault these cameras
for having poor battery life
because there's so much packed into them
that it just takes up so much power.
It's a super small, super compact thing.
There's only a certain size battery
that's gonna physically fit in here.
And to do all of those things
is just gonna take a lot of power.
So, what is the biggest difference
between the Mark V and the Mark VII?
And in my opinion, it comes down to one really small
but really important detail,
and that is the external mic jack.
The RX100 Mark VII is the first in the entire series
to feature an external mic jack,
so you can plug in pretty much any microphone
or wireless unit that uses a 3.5-millimeter jack,
and that can really improve the audio
in whatever you're trying to produce.
So, does that make the higher price tag
of the Mark VII worth it over the Mark V?
In my personal opinion, it doesn't.
The Mark VII has a few key features over the Mark V.
It has much improved high frame rates.
It does have that 70 to 200-millimeter lens,
which could be really important
if you wanna be able to zoom in much further
than this camera can.
And it has that external mic jack,
which is probably the biggest of the new features.
But overall, I actually still think
that the Mark V is better suited
for people who want to shoot video
because it does have that faster lens
and it has those built-in ND filters.
And with a camera like this,
you're generally taking at a lot of different places,
and a fast lens with a built-in ND filter
just makes it more accessible
to a wider variety of locations
and environments and situations.
The fact that it also comes in at a lower price point
doesn't really hurt either.
As much as I care about good audio quality
and as much as I wanna try
and always get the best audio quality possible,
the best feature about the Sony RX series
is its compact size.
So, as soon as you start adding on a microphone,
in my mind at that point, why not add on a different lens?
And then I would rather just use a DSLR
that gives me more options, better battery life,
and just a lot more versatility.
Because none of these cameras have accessory shoe mounts,
they have a flash and a viewfinder that pop up,
so that prevents you
from mounting anything directly on top of them.
So if you do wanna mount a microphone to the Mark VII,
you'll actually need a bracket,
something that looks kind of like this
where you mount the camera on one side
and then you can fit your microphone on the other side.
This is the RODE VideoMic Pro, so it's a pretty small mic.
And then you end up with a rig
that looks something like this.
And this is still pretty small and compact,
and it's gonna give you great video and a great audio,
but it's also not something that's gonna fit in your pocket
or be super easy to carry around all the time,
especially if you get to the point
where then you start adding on
some other kind of tripod or stabilizer or gimbal.
At that point, you're dealing
with a fairly sizeable camera rig.
So again, why not just start moving into the DSLR world?
My favorite thing about the RX100 series
is that it is small and compact.
So, without the bracket and the microphone,
the camera itself will easily fit into your pocket,
it's easy to carry with you,
it's very inconspicuous when you're using it,
and people can really underestimate
when they see you out filming
with a little camera like this,
the crazy, good results that you're going to get.
And the cool thing too when it's so compact,
it's easier to take with you more often
because I know that when I have a big camera
or a big setup, if I take it with me somewhere,
I feel like I have to use it.
And if I don't use it,
I feel like it was a waste of my time and my energy.
Whereas, when you're just taking this with you
and a couple of extra batteries,
if you end up not using it very much,
it ends up not being a huge loss
because it's not inconvenient to travel with.
Now of course with the Mark VII,
you still have the compact size,
and then you do have the option
to add the microphone and make it bigger, if you want,
and that is pretty cool.
And if I had the choice to put a mic jack on this or not,
I would definitely choose one.
And to be fair, the built-in microphone
isn't terrible on the RX100 Mark V.
It's not amazing, but it's definitely usable,
especially if you're close to the camera.
What I've noticed is that to my ears,
it sounds a little bit thin, but that's pretty easy to fix
if you just add a Bass Boost equalizer in Final Cut Pro,
and then you get pretty decent sounding audio.
And my favorite compact setup
is actually this little Manfrotto,
I think it's called the PIXI tripod, with the RX100
because it just screws right into the bottom.
There's no mounting plates or anything like that.
It's a pretty small, easy-to-use little handle.
It's nice and sturdy.
If you want to adjust it, there are no knobs or anything.
There's just one push button that lets you adjust the camera
and position it wherever you need it.
So here's what it ultimately boils down to.
I really think that the RX100 Mark V
is still an awesome camera and still really, really usable
and I would urge you to consider either just keeping yours
or choosing it over the Mark VII,
unless you need those specific features,
like a microphone jack or a longer lens
or some very specific high frame rate options
because, as you probably know, I really love new camera gear
and it's really fun to play with it
and see how everything is advancing
and use all of these new features.
But one thing I think it's important
for all of us to remember
is that just because something new comes out
doesn't mean the thing that you have
isn't going to work just as good as it did
the day that you bought it.
In fact, here's a playlist I put together
of some of my favorite videos on this channel
that were filmed entirely using only the Sony RX100 Mark V.
(chic electronic music)