1-inch Image Sensor Helps Justify Sony RX100 $649 Price, Bests Canon and Fuji

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 13, 2012 | 0 comments
Sohrab Osati

After we published our story on the Sony Cyber-shot RX100, the $649 pocket size camera with a 20-megapixels and 1080p video, a great many of you tweeted us about the cameras price point. While the Cyber-shot line has usually ranged from $100-$500, many were surprised by the cameras higher price which places it in the entry level DSLR price territory and easily into NEX price point with the NEX-F3 being priced at $599 with a 18-55mm lens.

So what gives on the price and how is it justified? In short, Sony was able to provide a full 1-inch image sensor with 1.8 f-spot, helping you achieve you crisp photos, even in lowlight. This helps the RX100 achieve DSLR quality photos while being pocket sized at a higher MP count (20MP versus 16MP of NEX-F3). Others might look towards competitor pocket cameras like the Canon S100 (12.1MP) and Fujifilm X10 (12MP) which already sees the RX100 winning in megapixels. More importantly, it comes back to the 1-inch image sensor and the 1.8 f-spot which help the camera achieve extremely crisp photos and perform marvelously in low light.

The DSC-RX100 ISO (80-6400) also matches the Canon S100 ISO (80-6400) and beats the Fuji X10 ISO (100-3200). Sony also sweeps the max aperture comparison with 1.8 f-spot versus 2.0 for the S100 and X10. After the jump, we have a image sensor chart and sample photos from the RX100.

As you can see from the image above, the Sony DSC-RX100 dwarfs the competitor camera and is only bested by the Canon PowerShot GX1 which offers a 1.5-inch image sensor. The GX1 only has 14.3-megapixels and is priced at $799. As Imaging Resources put it:

 As with the low-contrast crops, the high-contrast crops show the Sony RX100 besting the S100 and Nikon J1. 

The following are some sample photos with crops at ISO 3,200:

Sony RX100 (left) Canon S100 (right)

Sony RX100 (left) Canon G1 X (right)

Sony RX100 (left) Sony NEX-5N (right)

In the near future, we’ll be putting together some sample shots from the Sony DSC-RX100.

Discuss:

Do you think the Cyber-shot RX100 is priced appropriately, after putting the specs in context?