Sony RX100 III review
Sony RX100 III review
ISO tests
Testing procedure
- This is a simple ISO test like you might do at home yourself, manually moving up the ISO values in Program mode.
- These are all RAW files, imported into Lightroom and exported as 300 dpi jpeg without any NR.
- No crops this time, as you should not expect to be able to do that with a sensor this size
Conclusions
- ISO noise is well under control up to ISO 800, where you’ll be hard pressed to see any noise without cropping.
- ISO is usable up to 6400, after that, it gets into the way of sharpness and definition.
- ISO auto values can’t be changed in iAuto mode (it can in P, A, S and M), something that bothered me in the A77II, but in the Sony RX100 III it’s no problem.
- 80
- ISO 100
- ISO 125
- 160
- 200
- 250
- 320
- 400
- 500
- 640
- 800
- 1000
- 1600
- 2000
- 2500
- 3200
- 4000
- 5000
- 6400
- 8000
- 10000
- 12800
Sharpness test
My Sony RX100 III sharpness test is just an indication of how the Zeiss 24-70 f/1.8-2.8 performs. Although I try my best to keep all variables in a test like this under control, I don’t have a professional testing facility. In real-life use, I found this lens to be nicely sharp from corner-to-corner, keeping in mind that it is not meant for professional use. The center at all focal lengths on the Sony RX100 III is decently sharp at f/2.8, mostly peaking at f/4. Corners reach peak sharpness at f/5.6 (except at 35mm where F/2.8 seems to be the magic number).
24mm
Center is a bit soft at f/1.8 but reaches maximum sharpness around f/2.84. Corners are at their sharpest around f/5.6.
Center
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F1.8-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F1.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-center-F11-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm center F11
Corner
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F1.8-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F1.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-8.8mm-corner-F11-1-1024x682.jpg)
24mm corner F11
35mm
Both center and corners are nicely sharp at f/2.8, both center and the edges peak at f/4.
Center
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-center-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm center F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-center-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm center F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-center-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm center F5.6
![](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-center-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm center F8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-center-F11-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm center F11
Corner
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-corner-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm corner F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-corner-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm corner F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-corner-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm corner F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-corner-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm corner F8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-13mm-corner-F11-1-1024x682.jpg)
35mm corner F11
50mm
Center sharpness peaks around f/4-5.6, corners at f/5.6
Center
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-center-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm center F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-center-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm center F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-center-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm center F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-center-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm center F8
Corner
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-corner-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm corner F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-corner-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm corner F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-corner-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm corner F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-18mm-corner-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
50mm corner F8
70mm
The center is already quite sharp at f/2.8, and both center and sharpness reach their best at f/4.
Center
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-center-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm center F2
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-center-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm center F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-center-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm center F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-center-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm center F8
Corner
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-corner-F2.8-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm corner F2.8
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-corner-F4-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm corner F4
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-corner-F5.6-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm corner F5.6
![Sony RX100 III: sharpness](https://www.wimarys.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/RX100M3-26mm-corner-F8-1-1024x682.jpg)
70mm F corner F8
Sony RX100 III sharpness conclusion
The Sony RX100 III performs very well for a camera of its stature. The Zeiss 24-70 f/1.8-2.8 reaches peak performance mostly at f/2.8 already. It is sometimes beneficial to step down to f/4 or f/5.6 to get the best corner-to-corner sharpness.
Thanks for these tests – very hard to find basic information about the lens performance – much appreciated.
Thanks Peter, I always like to know what the sweet spot is for all lenses really.
A very serious test, thank you!
Do the 4 corners have the same quality/resolution?
Hi Fritz, thanks. Yes all 4 corners performed similarly. This would be the ideal pocket size travel camera, in performs a lot better than you’d expect from a camera this size.