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Sony RX10 1V the new boy. (3 Viewers)

Make sure when you're going into the menu to save the settings that you're not going into "Memory Recall" and then choosing 1/2/3...that's for accessing those settings...but for saving the settings, you have to go into 'Memory'. This is where you can select 1, 2, or 3, and hit center button to save the settings to that memory bank. Then to access them, go to MR on the mode dial and choose 1, 2, or 3.
Memory is for saving the settings, Memory Recall is for accessing them. Hopefully that helps.
 
Make sure when you're going into the menu to save the settings that you're not going into "Memory Recall" and then choosing 1/2/3...that's for accessing those settings...but for saving the settings, you have to go into 'Memory'. This is where you can select 1, 2, or 3, and hit center button to save the settings to that memory bank. Then to access them, go to MR on the mode dial and choose 1, 2, or 3.
Memory is for saving the settings, Memory Recall is for accessing them. Hopefully that helps.

'The Guru'

Sorted thank you !!
 
So having played with the camera a lot now, and having recently taken it on the 35 day Atlantic Odyssey, here are my thoughts:

-It is a very capable and very good bridge camera, probably the best out there.

-It is still a long, long ways behind my Canon 7d2 and 100-400mk2 for birds in flight, seabirds, focus tracking, and most most most importantly, being able to actually find targets in the viewfinder. It was nearly useless for photographing Storm-Petrels, Diving-Petrels, and Prions, which is where the majority of the ID challenges are and where photos are most necessary, for me. Basically the EVF is a massive hindrance and it doesn’t matter if the focus tracking is really fancy the EVF makes it worlds harder to get on birds. When you do get on a bird the smaller sensor and slower lens are more noticeable than I expected for small seabirds in flight.

-The MR settings recall is unnecessarily cumbersome. I found it best to use one MR setting for center point focus for perched birds and then just use Aperature Priority for birds in flight. This is far from ideal. Sony’s custom setting recall is really a step behind, forcing you to jog the dial then jog it back then use the menu (with lag) to select a custom set. This is pretty pathetic in a $1700 camera.

-The custom buttons can be programmed to recall a MR setting but only while depressed. This gives the idea of using the camera with perched bird settings and pressing and holding a C button to put it in BiF mode and then release the C button after taking BiF pictures. Except the C buttons aren’t located anywhere that this is possible for those who don’t have two index fingers, as noted above.

So overall a lovely camera with a great lens and great sensor, that performs about as expected but is really crippled IMHO by the custom settings implementation and even more crippled by the EVF. I guess it answers the question, to me, of whether bridge cameras can replace DSLRs for seabirds and I would say it is a very clear no. However it is realistically a good replacement at 1/3 the weight for field birding / record shots / rarities / photos for ID later and the like when birding on land.
 
I find the evf pretty good. Certainly light years ahead of the Canon SX50 I've used which I admit is old technology. I'm sorting through my Thailand photos and I have to admit I failed to focus more times than I would expect but I was still getting used to it. I also don't seem to be able to hold it as steady as a SLR and 100 - 400 or the Canon mark ii stabiliser is better than the Sony's. I suspect the former.

Re noise this Sib blue robin was taken at ISO8000. I admit that it would have been btter at ISO8,000 with my Canon 7d mark ii but as I would have been using a f5.6 rather than f4 it would have been at ISO16,000. It has been worked on but I have not used noise reduction. Obviously it has lost some quality with resizing too.

I won't be getting rid of the SLR for a bit - but I don't suspect I'll use it much, apart from for macro work.
 

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Actually that looks rubbish. This is a ISO8,000 too and has had nothing done to it apart from being converted to jpeg and resized for uploading.
 

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Really enjoying my RX10 Mkiv and getting good results. One thing I can't sort out, is how to turn off the LCD. I've put a little bit of blue-tak over the eye sensor, but is there an official way?
 
Really enjoying my RX10 Mkiv and getting good results. One thing I can't sort out, is how to turn off the LCD. I've put a little bit of blue-tak over the eye sensor, but is there an official way?

Yes. Go to shooting menu 2, page 7. There is an option for FINDER/MONITOR. If you change that from Auto to Viewfinder(Manual), only the viewfinder will show anything, though it still uses the eye sensor so there's still a fraction of a second lag time.

One thing I don't quite like about that is that it won't use the rear LCD for playback, but since you've got blue-tak over the eye sensor anyway that's probably not a big deal for you.
 
Yes. Go to shooting menu 2, page 7. There is an option for FINDER/MONITOR. If you change that from Auto to Viewfinder(Manual), only the viewfinder will show anything, though it still uses the eye sensor so there's still a fraction of a second lag time.

One thing I don't quite like about that is that it won't use the rear LCD for playback, but since you've got blue-tak over the eye sensor anyway that's probably not a big deal for you.

It's odd that it doesn't offer the option of evf for taking photos and LCD for viewing however I soon got used to using the evf for looking at them as well.
 
It's odd that it doesn't offer the option of evf for taking photos and LCD for viewing however I soon got used to using the evf for looking at them as well.

For me personally, I like to cull a good number of photos in camera when I have downtime, so an eye would be up to the EVF for a few minutes at a time.


Thanks Mike for posting that; that's a good workaround. It's not perfect: LCD isn't completely off, there's still the EVF lag, and the camera doesn't remember the setting when you switch the camera off/on. But the LCD is still used for menus and playback. I'll be using that from now on
 
It's a similar thing but I've customised a button to swap between LCD and evf so I can quickly toggle between the two: evf for general photogaphy, LCD for low down close-ups, when I don't want to lie down, and prolonged viewing of shots.
 
Users' final thoughts ...

It's been several weeks since a number of people on here took the plunge and bought the RX10 IV. I would be very interested to hear their opinions on the camera, now that they have been using it for a while.

For those who previously used a DSLR, do you see the Sony as a replacement or just as a complement to your other gear? What would you say are the biggest downsides or frustrations in using it?

I currently use a Nikon D7200 with the 300mm F4 PF lens and a 1.4X converter. It's a lightweight set-up by DSLR standards, but not particularly flexible. I don't really do much with my photographs (in terms of printing etc), so I sometimes think an all-in-one camera would suit my needs.

There is a lot about the Sony that appeals to me, but the hefty price tag makes me hesitate. Can it really be worth it?

All comments much appreciated.

Malcolm
 
I'm still struggling to answer that. I have a five week trip to Malaysia coming up before too long and plan to make the decision whether to sell my 100 - 400 SLR lens after that. On a trip to Thailand with the Sony I felt I got fewer 'keepers' than I would have done with a SLR but I was very new to the camera. And it's hard to say; I've often got back from trips dispppointed by my photographic results. I will say that I have used a SLR once since I've had it and that was for macro work. It has a pretty good close focus at 600mm equivalent at full zoom. In fact for general wildlife it is pretty similar to having the mark ii 100 - 400 Canon but it's no substitute for a macro lens.

I guess I can afford to keep both but I suspect I will find it very hard to justify keeping a lens I could sell for about a thousand quid and almost never use it. It will probably keep my SLR body, which is looking rather tatty and so probably not worth much anyway, and my macro.

Sorry not a great answer. Really it depends on how important lightness is to you: to me it is very important and how important getting the best quality photos is: I'm remembering that I am a birder/naturalist first and a photographer second.
 
Thank you, Steve, for taking the trouble to reply. Like you, I am a birder first and a photographer second.

I guess I'm right in assuming, from your reply, that you're not completely blown away by the Sony. It's not a case of "Eureka! I've found the ideal replacement for my DSLR."

I'll be interested to hear your report from your forthcoming trip.

Thanks again for your input. Much appreciated.

Malcolm
 
I’m a birder first, have never owned a DSLR and have previously relied purely on digiscoping to obtain images. For me the RX10 iv has been a revelation. What tempted me to finally take the plunge was the combination of great lens, very capable autofocus and larger than usual (for a bridge) sensor. Under decent light/reasonable proximity I have taken some very pleasing shots and the ability to capture birds in flight has been incredibly useful. This is a camera which can do most things well, it seems, and I have found myself branching out into other areas of photography, rather than just wildlife.

I guess in comparison to a DSLR it might lose out somewhat in low light conditions and start up time may lag a little. The battery life isn’t wonderful, but it’s easy enough to carry a couple of spares. The bottom line is that I really don’t want to be lugging a weighty and expensive DSLR kit around with me while out birding, and this has proved the best all-round solution for my needs. Whether or not it’s worth the outlay is up to each individual, but it’s a big thumbs up from me.
 

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