High-end bridge cameras: Sony RX10, Panasonic FZ1000 etc

I've just got back from Vietnam and have only looked at a few images so far. There were all taken with my RX10iv which I'd hardly used at all before I left (maybe 10 frames), so quite a learning curve coming from a Fuji. It's a wonderful place.
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stevewestern said:
I've just got back from Vietnam and have only looked at a few images so far. There were all taken with my RX10iv which I'd hardly used at all before I left (maybe 10 frames), so quite a learning curve coming from a Fuji. It's a wonderful place.
View attachment 450371
Click to expand...

"Excellent" set of candid street style captures Steve, looking forward to seeing some more.
 
Good morning Mike and Alby and Steve I have to mention this. My wife was looking over my shoulder with a cup tea in bed this morning and commented " these images are superb" sadly she also said mine weren't as good! So praise indeed. I am mulling over my next casual camera for everyday opportunity bird nature shots.
Your work and others on here really do stand out as testament you don't need the latest and greatest all the time!
 
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MK1 Photography said:
Good morning Mike and Alby and Steve I have to mention this. My wife was looking over my shoulder with a cup tea in bed this morning and commented " these images are superb" sadly she also said mine weren't as good! So praise indeed. I am mulling over my next casual camera for everyday opportunity bird nature shots.
Your work and others on here really do stand out as testament you don't need the latest and greatest all the time!
Click to expand...
She is too kind! Yes, as a fairly casual walk about type camera the RX10 is hard to beat (just don’t expect too much in low light!). Cheers
 
Thanks Mark, I just like using the sony bridge camera and I'm pretty happy with the results I get from most cameras these days that I own and have owned in the past.
Glad you and yours enjoy viewing our efforts. :thumbs:
 
I'd appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has moved from an APS-C camera to the Sony RX10iv, and anyone else too.

My current camera is a Pentax K5, the original K5 not the K5II, so it is now nearly 15 years old. At the time the Sony sensor in the K5 was well liked and DxO labs rated it as the highest ever for an APS-C sensor and ahead of several full-frame sensors such as the one used in the Nikon D3.

I don't have a load of lenses – the 18-55mm kit lens, a Pentax 55-300mm zoom and a few other manual Pentax K mount lens from the 1970s.

My main photographic interest is landscape. I also have an interest in wildlife and when trying to photograph wildlife the long end of the 55-300mm zoom lens often is not enough. It is also a bit soft at 300mm so really only useful up too about 220mm which means with the 1.5 crop factor of the K5 I'm getting the FF equivalent of about 330mm.

Even with my small number of lenses I’m finding carrying the camera and lenses a bit of a bind.

Therefore, I’ve been looking at high end bridge cameras. One that is very well liked in reviews is the Sony RX10iv. I’ve also seen a lot of excellent photos using this camera on here and elsewhere. I know that the camera is only part of the equation in recording good images and I’m not assuming that I would necessarily get such good results, but having the equivalent of a FF range of 24 – 600mm in one package is very attractive.


But I have some concerns.

The sensor is smaller than an APS-C sensor and combined with slightly more pixels than the K5 (20 megapixels versus 15 megapixels in the K5) might have an impact on detail and in low light.

The RX10iv is now over seven years old and is no longer in production(though I’m currently using a much older camera, so perhaps this should not concern me).

I use an old version of PSE for editing and rarely use any noise reduction on images. Would using an RX10iv need a dedicated noise reduction package?

There are a couple of RX10iv Facebook groups I look at and although the number is small, some people have various problems with the RX10iv(eg menus stuck, lens not retracting), which are a bit of a concern as any problems might be difficult to get fixed.

Any views, comments, experiences of/about the RX10iv wild be appreciated.

Thanks

Dave
 
Hi Dave.

There are a few of us using the RX10iv on here and I think it's fair to say we're all generally very happy with it - I'm not aware of any issues that crop up frequently and I don't recall much being mentioned on here either. Mine has been 100% reliable.

As a walkabout/hiking camera I think it's unbeatable - you can get a decent landscape shot at 24mm then if you see a bird a few seconds later you can get a good wildlife shot at 600mm. Not much competes with that!

A couple of samples:


Beinn Alligin by Mike Smith, on Flickr

(if you're interested, click through to Flickr and zoom in to see the fine detail)

Robin Portrait by Mike Smith, on Flickr

The main downside is low light performance - being a small sensor you are going to get more noise and I almost never shoot above iso1600 and normally try to keep it to iso800 if possible. I use Topaz Denoise to reduce noise and sharpen - it's not super expensive and should plug in to PSE. You don't need this as such but I would recommend it :)
 
Tringa said:
I'd appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has moved from an APS-C camera to the Sony RX10iv, and anyone else too.

My current camera is a Pentax K5, the original K5 not the K5II, so it is now nearly 15 years old. At the time the Sony sensor in the K5 was well liked and DxO labs rated it as the highest ever for an APS-C sensor and ahead of several full-frame sensors such as the one used in the Nikon D3.

I don't have a load of lenses – the 18-55mm kit lens, a Pentax 55-300mm zoom and a few other manual Pentax K mount lens from the 1970s.

My main photographic interest is landscape. I also have an interest in wildlife and when trying to photograph wildlife the long end of the 55-300mm zoom lens often is not enough. It is also a bit soft at 300mm so really only useful up too about 220mm which means with the 1.5 crop factor of the K5 I'm getting the FF equivalent of about 330mm.

Even with my small number of lenses I’m finding carrying the camera and lenses a bit of a bind.

Therefore, I’ve been looking at high end bridge cameras. One that is very well liked in reviews is the Sony RX10iv. I’ve also seen a lot of excellent photos using this camera on here and elsewhere. I know that the camera is only part of the equation in recording good images and I’m not assuming that I would necessarily get such good results, but having the equivalent of a FF range of 24 – 600mm in one package is very attractive.


But I have some concerns.

The sensor is smaller than an APS-C sensor and combined with slightly more pixels than the K5 (20 megapixels versus 15 megapixels in the K5) might have an impact on detail and in low light.

The RX10iv is now over seven years old and is no longer in production(though I’m currently using a much older camera, so perhaps this should not concern me).

I use an old version of PSE for editing and rarely use any noise reduction on images. Would using an RX10iv need a dedicated noise reduction package?

There are a couple of RX10iv Facebook groups I look at and although the number is small, some people have various problems with the RX10iv(eg menus stuck, lens not retracting), which are a bit of a concern as any problems might be difficult to get fixed.

Any views, comments, experiences of/about the RX10iv wild be appreciated.

Thanks

Dave
Click to expand...
Dave if you want an all in one solution that returns a more than reasonable result then the Sony rx10 iv is the answer, looking through my past catalogue of photos with other camera I am more than happy with the results I get from this camera. Yes low light can be a challenge but saying that my Pixel 7 pro phone does an incredible job in low light compared to some of the cameras I have owned in the past.
here is a shot I took the other day early morning thru my bedroom window at 600mm and cropped quite a bit. I've obviously run it thru my software and tbh pretty amazed how this camera produces good enough files to manipulate into a reasonable final product. (Disclaimer)...My standards may be lower than yours though. :D

Early morning alarm by Ajophotog, on Flickr
 
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dibbly dobbler said:
Hi Dave.

There are a few of us using the RX10iv on here and I think it's fair to say we're all generally very happy with it - I'm not aware of any issues that crop up frequently and I don't recall much being mentioned on here either. Mine has been 100% reliable.

As a walkabout/hiking camera I think it's unbeatable - you can get a decent landscape shot at 24mm then if you see a bird a few seconds later you can get a good wildlife shot at 600mm. Not much competes with that!

A couple of samples:


Beinn Alligin by Mike Smith, on Flickr

(if you're interested, click through to Flickr and zoom in to see the fine detail)

Robin Portrait by Mike Smith, on Flickr

The main downside is low light performance - being a small sensor you are going to get more noise and I almost never shoot above iso1600 and normally try to keep it to iso800 if possible. I use Topaz Denoise to reduce noise and sharpen - it's not super expensive and should plug in to PSE. You don't need this as such but I would recommend it :)
Click to expand...

Two very nice captures Mike, particularly liking the Robin pic'.
 
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ajophotog said:
Dave if you want an all in one solution that returns a more than reasonable result then the Sony rx10 iv is the answer, looking through my past catalogue of photos with other camera I am more than happy with the results I get from this camera. Yes low light can be a challenge but saying that my Pixel 7 pro phone does an incredible job in low light compared to some of the cameras I have owned in the past.
here is a shot I took the other day early morning thru my bedroom window at 600mm and cropped quite a bit. I've obviously run it thru my software and tbh pretty amazed how this camera produces good enough files to manipulate into a reasonable final product. (Disclaimer)...My standards may be lower than yours though. :D

Early morning alarm by Ajophotog, on Flickr
Click to expand...

Very nice wildlife style captures Alby, well seen & caught with some nice light.
 
Tringa said:
I'd appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has moved from an APS-C camera to the Sony RX10iv, and anyone else too.

My current camera is a Pentax K5, the original K5 not the K5II, so it is now nearly 15 years old. At the time the Sony sensor in the K5 was well liked and DxO labs rated it as the highest ever for an APS-C sensor and ahead of several full-frame sensors such as the one used in the Nikon D3.

I don't have a load of lenses – the 18-55mm kit lens, a Pentax 55-300mm zoom and a few other manual Pentax K mount lens from the 1970s.

My main photographic interest is landscape. I also have an interest in wildlife and when trying to photograph wildlife the long end of the 55-300mm zoom lens often is not enough. It is also a bit soft at 300mm so really only useful up too about 220mm which means with the 1.5 crop factor of the K5 I'm getting the FF equivalent of about 330mm.

Even with my small number of lenses I’m finding carrying the camera and lenses a bit of a bind.

Therefore, I’ve been looking at high end bridge cameras. One that is very well liked in reviews is the Sony RX10iv. I’ve also seen a lot of excellent photos using this camera on here and elsewhere. I know that the camera is only part of the equation in recording good images and I’m not assuming that I would necessarily get such good results, but having the equivalent of a FF range of 24 – 600mm in one package is very attractive.


But I have some concerns.

The sensor is smaller than an APS-C sensor and combined with slightly more pixels than the K5 (20 megapixels versus 15 megapixels in the K5) might have an impact on detail and in low light.

The RX10iv is now over seven years old and is no longer in production(though I’m currently using a much older camera, so perhaps this should not concern me).

I use an old version of PSE for editing and rarely use any noise reduction on images. Would using an RX10iv need a dedicated noise reduction package?

There are a couple of RX10iv Facebook groups I look at and although the number is small, some people have various problems with the RX10iv(eg menus stuck, lens not retracting), which are a bit of a concern as any problems might be difficult to get fixed.

Any views, comments, experiences of/about the RX10iv wild be appreciated.

Thanks

Dave
Click to expand...
I can't comment on the Sony, but I went from an APS-C camera (Fuji X-T20) to a Lumix FZ2000 which I believe is the same size sensor as the Sony. I can echo what the guys above have said; image quality is excellent and the convenience is fantastic. These are all shots that I took with my FZ2000:

51065714297_5375e6a226_o.jpeg

P1100112.jpeg

P1060505.jpeg

P1030961.jpeg

P1040092.jpeg

Something else about bridge cameras that I've only discovered since going back to interchangeable lenses: panning is a lot easier than with a big heavy telephoto lens!
 
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dibbly dobbler said:
Another couple from the feeder today. With Topaz to denoise and sharpen, then a bit of 'background blur' from Photoshop you could almost pretend these were taken with a real camera! :LOL:


Goldfinch by Mike Smith, on Flickr


Tree Sparrow by Mike Smith, on Flickr
Click to expand...


Two very nice wildlife style captures Mike, liking both of these pic's very much.

"Unfortunately I'm useless at snapping birds nor do I know much about them but I do appreciate good photography. The sort of material I snap doesn't really fit in with the majority of pic's on this thread. If it did then I'd contribute to the thread again as I really miss using my Sony RX10iv & RX100M6"
 
G.K.Jnr. said:
Two very nice wildlife style captures Mike, liking both of these pic's very much.

"Unfortunately I'm useless at snapping birds nor do I know much about them but I do appreciate good photography. The sort of material I snap doesn't really fit in with the majority of pic's on this thread. If it did then I'd contribute to the thread again as I really miss using my Sony RX10iv & RX100M6"
Click to expand...
Thanks George! Be great to see your work on the thread - all genres are welcome of course :)
 
Tringa said:
I'd appreciate the thoughts of anyone who has moved from an APS-C camera to the Sony RX10iv, and anyone else too.

My current camera is a Pentax K5, the original K5 not the K5II, so it is now nearly 15 years old. At the time the Sony sensor in the K5 was well liked and DxO labs rated it as the highest ever for an APS-C sensor and ahead of several full-frame sensors such as the one used in the Nikon D3.

I don't have a load of lenses – the 18-55mm kit lens, a Pentax 55-300mm zoom and a few other manual Pentax K mount lens from the 1970s.

My main photographic interest is landscape. I also have an interest in wildlife and when trying to photograph wildlife the long end of the 55-300mm zoom lens often is not enough. It is also a bit soft at 300mm so really only useful up too about 220mm which means with the 1.5 crop factor of the K5 I'm getting the FF equivalent of about 330mm.

Even with my small number of lenses I’m finding carrying the camera and lenses a bit of a bind.

Therefore, I’ve been looking at high end bridge cameras. One that is very well liked in reviews is the Sony RX10iv. I’ve also seen a lot of excellent photos using this camera on here and elsewhere. I know that the camera is only part of the equation in recording good images and I’m not assuming that I would necessarily get such good results, but having the equivalent of a FF range of 24 – 600mm in one package is very attractive.


But I have some concerns.

The sensor is smaller than an APS-C sensor and combined with slightly more pixels than the K5 (20 megapixels versus 15 megapixels in the K5) might have an impact on detail and in low light.

The RX10iv is now over seven years old and is no longer in production(though I’m currently using a much older camera, so perhaps this should not concern me).

I use an old version of PSE for editing and rarely use any noise reduction on images. Would using an RX10iv need a dedicated noise reduction package?

There are a couple of RX10iv Facebook groups I look at and although the number is small, some people have various problems with the RX10iv(eg menus stuck, lens not retracting), which are a bit of a concern as any problems might be difficult to get fixed.

Any views, comments, experiences of/about the RX10iv wild be appreciated.

Thanks

Dave
Click to expand...

I can't comment on the Sony. I have a Leicasonic V-LUX. I am helping in a project to identify churches in this region of France that may be from before 1000AD. That means taking photos of the architecture inside and out. I started out with a Nikon d300, moved to a d7100 and now usually use the V-LUX. The interiors are taken using iso of 3200 or 6400 and the shutter speeds can be down to 1/8 of a second. With the Nikons I had to use 2 lenses to be able to record wide views of the interior and the long shots of outdoor sculptures and carvings. The V-LUX does it all.

Regards image quality I think that the images are better from the V-LUX but this of course is a personal view and I don't have side by side images from different cameras to put through a microscope. These are hand held photos from the V-LUX, 1/25 @ f8, iso 6400 & 1/20 @ f5.6, iso 6400

Eglise Saint-Vincent de Saint-Germain-de-Confolens by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Eglise de Saint-Maurice-des-Lions (16) by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr


This one from the Nikon d7100 1/30 @ f8, 6400 iso

DSC_3868.JPG

Hope that helps regards the APS-C to 1" sensor comparison.
 
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Clive K said:
I can't comment on the Sony. I have a Leicasonic V-LUX. I am helping in a project to identify churches in this region of France that may be from before 1000AD. That means taking photos of the architecture inside and out. I started out with a Nikon d300, moved to a d7100 and now usually use the V-LUX. The interiors are taken using iso of 3200 or 6400 and the shutter speeds can be down to 1/8 of a second. With the Nikons I had to use 2 lenses to be able to record wide views of the interior and the long shots of outdoor sculptures and carvings. The V-LUX does it all.

Regards image quality I think that the images are better from the V-LUX but this of course is a personal view and I don't have side by side images from different cameras to put through a microscope. These are hand held photos from the V-LUX, 1/25 @ f8, iso 6400 & 1/20 @ f5.6, iso 6400

Eglise Saint-Vincent de Saint-Germain-de-Confolens by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Eglise de Saint-Maurice-des-Lions (16) by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr


This one from the Nikon d7100 1/30 @ f8, 6400 iso

View attachment 451616

Hope that helps regards the APS-C to 1" sensor comparison.
Click to expand...
Nice work. But I wonder why you’re not using a tripod.
 
Clive K said:
I can't comment on the Sony. I have a Leicasonic V-LUX. I am helping in a project to identify churches in this region of France that may be from before 1000AD. That means taking photos of the architecture inside and out. I started out with a Nikon d300, moved to a d7100 and now usually use the V-LUX. The interiors are taken using iso of 3200 or 6400 and the shutter speeds can be down to 1/8 of a second. With the Nikons I had to use 2 lenses to be able to record wide views of the interior and the long shots of outdoor sculptures and carvings. The V-LUX does it all.

Regards image quality I think that the images are better from the V-LUX but this of course is a personal view and I don't have side by side images from different cameras to put through a microscope. These are hand held photos from the V-LUX, 1/25 @ f8, iso 6400 & 1/20 @ f5.6, iso 6400

Eglise Saint-Vincent de Saint-Germain-de-Confolens by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr

Eglise de Saint-Maurice-des-Lions (16) by Clive Kenyon, on Flickr


This one from the Nikon d7100 1/30 @ f8, 6400 iso

View attachment 451616

Hope that helps regards the APS-C to 1" sensor comparison.
Click to expand...
I think that the V-LUX is the same as the FZ1000? I had one of those a long time ago and it was excellent, still holds its own against the FZ2000.
 
trevorbray said:
Nice work. But I wonder why you’re not using a tripod.
Click to expand...

It isn't for publication of art. More Scenes of Crime. I just take photos of the architecture that could give the expert an idea on when the church was originally built and changes made through the years. Where arches have been filled in, irregular stonework, evidence of where walls, doors, windows have been removed or added, etc. Plus a few general views of the layout. Without a tripod I can take 30 or 40 photos in 20 minutes.

There is little written history of French churches before the 11th or 12th century when they were systematically taken under the control of the Catholic Church. As a result about 80% of French churches are attributed to having been built in the 12th century when in fact many were already established hundreds of years before that. I research the churches in this region online. The ones that look promising get a visit and if I see anything that supports a history of pre 1000AD I take photos of the features. Those are uploaded onto flickr and an archetect who specialises in ancient buildings views the images and forms an opinion of the original date of construction.

This will give you some idea of what is required

 
skullfunkerry said:
I think that the V-LUX is the same as the FZ1000? I had one of those a long time ago and it was excellent, still holds its own against the FZ2000.
Click to expand...

Yes, they are identical. I bought the camera second hand and it was cheaper than the FZ1000 options at the time.
 
ajophotog said:
Sat in the garden this evening in the tropical weather we are having at the moment and a local cat made its appearance, so l pointed the rx10 I’ve in its direction and here are a couple of the results.


Local Cat by Ajophotog, on ipernity


Local Cat by Ajophotog, on ipernity
Click to expand...

Two very nice pet/cat style captures Alby, with #2 being my fav'.
 
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