What Is It? We will admit that when Sony told us they had a new compact camera that would make us rethink the need for an interchangeable lens camera, we were skeptical.  But after several days of shooting with the DSC-RX10 our team became believers.  The Sony CyberShot RX10 is a premium fixed lens camera with many features you’d generally find in top of the line interchangeable lens DSLRs.  It has a large, 1″ sensor that delivers just over 20 Megapixels.  And it uses the same processing engine, the BionZ X found in Sony’s newest A7 line.  It has very fast autofocusing capability, and does a first rate job on recording HD video.  But what sets this apart from other compact cameras is a very fast, very smooth Zeiss f2.8 24mm-200mm lens.  The motor on the lens is as smooth as silk and very quiet.  It makes shooting video a pleasure.  There are plenty of menus and controls that allow you to take control of almost every shooting situation.  It has two complete memory recall settings so you can customize for shooting situations you use most often.  There are several other customizable buttons as well.

Is It Boomer Friendly?  For many higher end camera buyers, the Sony RX10 may solve the dilemma of whether to settle for an easy to use point and shoot camera or whether to spring for a more complex “mirrorless” interchangeable lens system like Sonys NEX line.  The camera has the ease of use of the point and shoot along with the sophistication of the DSLR. The sharp, long zoom Zeiss lens answers all but the more extreme ends of the shooting spectrum.  The customizable menus will take a little learning.  The RX10 has a bright electronic viewfinder, so that unlike most point and shoot cameras, you are not entirely at the mercy of a big LCD screen that can wash out in bright sunlight,

Frustration Factor?  The controls on the RX10 are well located, though the menu button and program wheel are both on the left side of the camera, so you will need two hands to deal with all your settings.  You can pretty much take the camera out of the box and start shooting, but my advice is to take a couple of days to go out in the field and really learn this camera’s capabilities.  That way you’ll get a lot more bang for your buck.

Is It Worth the Money?  This is a premium camera and it carries with it a premium price tag, $1300.  That may scare off a lot of amateurs who are deciding between a point and shoot and a smart phone.  But it shouldn’t intimidate anyone who is looking at this as a worthy alternative to an interchangeable lens camera with the capital commitment that requires.  If we were looking for just one camera that could address virtually all  shooting needs, the RX10 would be the one.

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