HeyYou Loc: SE Michigan

Very interesting camera !
Great viewfinder - but far from the compact P&S I want.

Every time I see cool new compacts - it gives me the reason to buy another lens for my dSLR !

CHOLLY Loc: THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE!

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

mikegreenwald Loc: Illinois

The Sony R100 series of cameras are outstanding pocket/glovebox cameras. They are extraordinarily capable, and good backups at times. That being said, they are not a substitute for DLR's. They are a niche camera, avd very good at what they do!

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

I beg to differ! I once had a Nikon SLR kit with two bodies and lenses ranging from 15mm to 500mm. Too much weight, too much bulk and too much stuff. My wet darkroom was, in fact, a full sized room.

In my digital darkroom, the RX100 is the backbone. And, its a good one. The RAW files are plenty capable of moderate printed enlargements.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

Your experience with AUTOFOCUS on the RX100M3 troubles me so I did some searching in the user's manual. I know...the manual sucks...but it's all I can capture for reference to your specific problems.

First off:
What mode autofocus were you using? Here's the options:


Focus Mode

Selects the focus method to suit the movement of the subject.

MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Focus Mode] → desired setting.

Menu item details

(Single-shot AF) (default setting):
The product locks the focus when the focus adjustment is achieved. Use [Single-shot AF] when the subject is motionless.

(Continuous AF):
The product continues to focus while the shutter button is pressed and held halfway down. Use this when the subject is in motion.

(DMF):
Allows you to use manual focus and auto focus in combination.

(Manual Focus):
Adjusts the focus manually.

You mentioned your focus kept changing. With moving objects, they recommend the "Continuous AF" mode, but for fixed objects, they recommend "Single-shot AF" mode which locks the focal point when the shutter button is partially depressed. This may have been the cause of your problem. I also preset one shooting memory setting for fixed focus and a second memory location for moving objects. This allows me to switch easily without going through the whole menu. When in doubt though, the "DMF" mode allows the correction of focus through the use of the function ring.

I also hope you downloaded and installed the firmware upgrade that was issued from SONY before you gave up on the camera. I and my wife had no problems so far if we follow some simple rules for use. We really haven't done much video with it yet but will very shortly. I just wish that SONY had an AC power pack that would replace the battery for extended video usage. This would eliminate the overheating auto shutoff function.

You also complained about the camera's size. With patch pockets, that's not a problem at all but I agree it's a bit oversized for dress or formal wear but it's a lot more camera then your Canon S-100 too. It even becomes larger when the Gariz half case is attached, but when fully encapsulated with the leather body cover, it sure does a good job of protecting the camera. I was also a bit concerned about those flimsy wrist straps and the body's tiny connection so I added a good wrist strap and secured it to the flip out Gariz connection on the thumb screw. Now just use the wrist strap and there's no worries about dropping the camera and the small integrated leather grip on the Gariz half case makes for secure hand holding as well.

MW

- Checked for software update. Mine already had the latest.

- AF-S is the one I use most often as I mostly have non-moving subjects. My issue was that within the AF area, the camera often selected an object to focus on other the one I would expect. This can happen with any camera but the Sony seemed to do this more often than I'm accustomed to. This can be a personal issue that is influenced by subject matter and composition. I have to say that the face recognition was one aspect that worked very well but I'm don't do a lot of people photos.

AF-C this is the mode that was most problematic. Even after locking on to a moving subject there were difficulties. An example would be a pet that move intermittently. I the subject held still for a while the camera would start hunting for a new subject.

Expanding on what I wrote in the original post this will be a great camera for some people but not for others. A couple of on-line reviews read something like "world's best pocket camera". That is the kind of generality that when said about any product should be dismissed right off the bat. However, this "could be the world's best pocket camera for many people but not for everyone" is more accurate. That's why I hope that the way I wrote the post indicated that it was based on my personal experience and was not a condemnation.

singleviking Loc: Lake Sebu Eco Park, Philippines

But you never answered my questions so I don't know how you got such a poor opinion of the camera (other than it wouldn't fit in the breast pocket of your fitted TUX). And I've never had your autofocus problem either.
WHAT SETTINGS WERE YOU USING? This complaint about hunting of the autofocus even when the camera is on a table top sounds pretty strange unless the object of interest is moving and even then you can't depress the shutter button to lock on the subject.

I suspected that the firmware update was what added the "/B" to the model number but wasn't sure. Thanks for that info. It was a question posed by an Amazon customer.