Sony tops up with the magic Mark V

I ALWAYS get excited when Sony Electronics comes out with a new RX100 compact camera, but I couldn’t imagine how it could possibly improve on the already impressive RX100 Mark IV. The Mark V, though, is more dazzling than ever, with an even faster auto-focus, several other new or improved functions and better performance overall.
Yes, the price is still hefty – about Bt39,000 – but no one who’s enthusiastic about photography and wants a camera they can carry around in a pocket or purse every day should hesitate to invest in this one. Measuring 102x58x41mm and weighing just 299 grams, it can be your constant companion.
Sony boasts that the RX100 V has the fastest AF speed, the most AF points, and the fastest continuous shooting speed of any compact camera. It cites its own survey of fixed-lens digital cameras with 1.0-inch-type image sensors, as of this past October.
With the RX100 V you have a large-diameter Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens that allows wide-angle shooting out to 24mm. The maximum aperture of f/2.8 brightness at the telephoto end eliminates camera shake and blue from subject motion.

It’s also great for portraits with that appealing bokeh effect in the background. And the lens is coated to reduce ghosts and flares.
Sony says it’s achieved a new level in auto-focus thanks to a fast hybrid system. Based on the CIPA standard, the camera in Programme Auto mode will auto-focus in five one-hundredths of a second. The RX100 V has 315 AF points covering 65 per cent of the frame.
Continuous shooting speed of up to 24 frames per second is possible when using the “Hi” option at full 20.1-megapixel resolution with AF tracking engaged. With image quality set to “Fine”, a notch below “Extra Fine”, you can capture up to 150 continuous shots.
But it’s the one-full-inch CMOS sensor that earns the RX100 series its chief acclaim. The larger the image sensor and the better the image quality. The RX100 V packs a 20.1-effective-megapixel Exmor RS CMOS sensor stacked with a DRAM chip to increase image-processing speed and a new front-end LSI chip backing up a Bionz X processing engine.

That all adds up to maximum processing speed, a bigger memory buffer and optimal image quality, at high ISO settings in particular.
Your ability to follow fast-moving action through the lens and capture just the right moment is aided by minimised viewfinder blackout between shots in high-speed shooting mode. Silent shooting mode is also an option.
Among the new functions on the Mark V is AF-A mode, in which the camera will automatically switch between continuous and single shot should you forget to do so manually. You can also manually have continuous AF and phase detection AF areas displayed on screen when a shot is framed.
When it comes to shooting rapidly moving subjects, the Anti-Distortion Shutter with a maximum speed of 1/32,000 of a second minimises the commonly experienced “rolling shutter” effect. Used with the built-in ND filter, the fast shutter speed ensures crystal-clear image at a wide-open aperture.
At the same wide lens opening, the fast shutter speed gives you sharp subjects against blurred backgrounds even in bright light.
Another new feature is the ability to select the initial magnification ratio in any mode with Focus Magnifier and between “focus point” and “centre of display” for the location of Magnifier.
The high-contrast electronic viewfinder – a 2.35-million-dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder – retracts into the camera body and is terrific for composing shots in bright sunlight while at the same time providing true-to-life image previews and playback.
The three-inch TFT LCD swivel monitor with 1.228 million dots rotates up 180 degrees and down 45 degrees to assist with shot framing.

There’s a built-in Wi-Fi function and the camera is NFC-compatible for easy transferring of shots to a smartphone or using a phone as a remote control. You can also utilise any of Sony’s growing range of PlayMemories Camera applications.
You can set the first three characters of saved filenames for easier sorting and organisation as well.
While still shots are excellent in quality, 4K movie clips and super-slow motion clips are equally impressive. You have a full-pixel readout to get all those fine details in video with little in the way of moire patterns and “jaggies”. This results from the XAVC S codec used to record video at a high 100Mbps in 4K and 50Mbps in full HD.
Additional professional-grade video features include Picture Profile, S-Log2 /S-Gamut, 100p HD and Full HD modes. You can manually select a frame from a recorded movie and save it as an 8MP still image in 4K or 2MP in HD.
Super-slow-motion video is recorded at 40 times slower than the standard rate and for about twice as long as the RX100 IV managed. The extra time lets you capture a series of high-speed, fleeting moments with incredible detail, resolution and clarity.
You choose among 960, 480 and 240fps and either 50 or 25p playback formats to fit the speed of the moving subject.
In my tests with the camera, I not only got some beautiful portraits of my female co-workers, I was also able to take it along on a trip to check out the Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien.
The 24mm-equivalent focal point of the lens produced magnificent landscape shot in and around the hotel and the ND filter kept the lighting always perfect. The beautiful blue water of the swimming pool was captured as a startling complement to the surrounding shady areas, the fine details clear throughout.
The camera is easy to use thanks to Intelligent Auto and Superior Auto modes. The first is great for complex lighting conditions, taking longer to get better results.
The manual exposure modes are Programme Auto, Shutter-Priority and Aperture Priority, and there’s a Scene mode from which you can manually match the setting to lighting conditions – Portrait, Sports Action, Gourmet, and Handheld Twilight.
Yes, Gourmet mode is for those infinitely share-able shots of glorious dishes waiting to be eaten. Handheld Twilight mode is for when your inner romantic wants to capture the heavenly lights at night.
Two final thumbs up for the facts that the camera was ready to shoot instantly when I turned it on – and I experienced no shutter lag at all.

Key Specs

- Sensor: One-inch-type Exmor RS CMOS with 20.1-effective-megapixels
- Lens: Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T with 24-70mm equivalent focal length, f/1.8-2.8
- Monitor: Three-inch 4:3 TFT LCD with 1.228 million dots, adjustable angles
- Viewfinder: 0.39-inch OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.359 million dots
- Image processing engine: Bionz X
- Focus type: Fast hybrid AF (phase detection/ contrast detection)
- Focus modes: Single-shot AF, Automatic AF, Continuous AF, DMF, Manual
- Focus area: Wide (315 points with phase-detection AF) , 25 points with contrast-detection AF)
- Light metering mode: Multi Pattern, Centre Weighted, Spot
- ISO sensitivity: 125-12,800, expandable to 80/100
- Shutter speed: 30 seconds to 1/32,000 of a second
- Recording media: Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, SD, SDHC, SDXC
- Highest movie resolution: 3,840x2,160 60p
- Interface: micro USB, micro HDMI, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11n
- Battery: NP-BX1, good for about 220 shots
- Dimensions: 101.6x58.1x41mm
- Weight: 299 grams