mikee

I'm looking at buying a Sony RX10-IV as a travel camera. I currently have mostly Nikon. Is Sony like Nikon with the grey market concern? Thanks in advance.

User ID

If the savings are substantial enough to forego the legit USA warranty, any brand except Nikon is no problem. Whenever it needs work, just pay for it. Only Nikon USA has that distinction of refusing to do any work for any price on non-USA gear.

The conundrum acoarst is whether the savings justifies the risk. When a USA version has a five year warranty that makes the risk vs price decision harder to judge. Repairs can typically run well beyond $300.


FWIW:
The OMD EM1-II with a 12-200 is $100 less than that Sony. Slightly larger but vastly superior to an RX10 ... you might even abandon Nikon ;-)

Unlike the Sony, failure in the lens or body doesn’t bring down both the lens AND body. You make your own choice about repair vs “junk-it-and-replace” on either component. The “replace” option can be “same but used” or a newer upgrade, usually depending on age, same as you would do with your Nikon.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

This is what you need to know about Sony's grey market policy:

https://www.apotelyt.com/camera-deal/sony-a7-iii-bargain

If it were a Nikon, there is no way I would buy one - since Nikon does not share tools, training, or parts with third party repair services, and they will never repair grey products themselves, even if you want to pay for it.

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-store/shopping-help/gray-market.page

Grey market Nikon products are never going to be cheap enough to justify the small savings up front - and you will not have an easy time selling them. Just not with the hassle.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

I don’t know about “vastly superior”. The Sony gets you 50% more zoom at f/4 as opposed to the Olympus 12-200 at f/6.3.

User ID

That is the singular advantage of the RX. And that is a lens, not a camera. The EM1 remains a vastly superior camera ... for which plenty of optics are available.

The EM1 is also a representative of a system. If you want a more exotic zoom than I used in that example, one way to pay for more lens is to buy less camera body. The EM1 is top tier. Nearly any camera beneath it in the m43 system is superior to an RX. And most other m43 bodies are even smaller than the EM1.

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Point is I suggest the m43 system for travel vs the RX. Build it however you want. One caveat is that the 50% bonus on the long end BELONGS to the RX. No way around that ... except to admit that it’s a nonissue, just a number, much like the 1200 and 2000 long end on some other all-in-one zoom cameras.

Silly long reach is the solitary selling point of such cameras. Get real about optics and you’ll get a much better camera that is definitely travel friendly. This is not “in my humble opinion”. There’s no humbleness involved ;-)

julian.gang

I've been considering this camera also! Buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...Julian

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

If you haven't purchased the RX-10IV mikee, the RX-10V is scheduled sometime this year (hopefully soon). I personally wanted the RX10iv for travel and for all my other uses and will now be waiting on the V. I don't want to buy a new camera and then a month or two later have a newer version come out. With that in mind, there may be some good deals on the IV version once the V version is selling.

Sony Rumors; "The camera is rumored to feature a Bionz XR and new 20 megapixels 1.0-type stacked CMOS image sensor, AF/AE calculations still up to 60 times/s. but the dynamic range extended and supported 14bit uncompressed RAW. And Full-Res 5K Oversampling 4K/60p 10bit 4:2:2 Video in XAVC HS / XAVC S / XAVC SI Mode."

RX-10IV is probably the most capable 'all in one' camera you can buy today. However as a 'system' ICL camera's allow you to build and use many different lenses from primes to tele's.....at the cost of carrying extra gear when travelling, if so desired....Cheers

tcthome Loc: NJ

If it were a Nikon, there is no way I would buy one - since Nikon does not share tools, training, or parts with third party repair services, and they will never repair grey products themselves, even if you want to pay for it.

Does anyone know how Nikon equipment becomes grey market? Just wondering. Maybe I should staart another thread & ask.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I purchased the RX10 IV in April 2018 for a Danube River cruise. I have not regretted that. I do not buy discounted photography equipment from unauthorized sellers.
It is a fabulous camera. Only down side is Sony's menu system. I recently sold all my Canon equipment on UHH. The Sony covers all my needs in photography.

I recommend purchasing the Friedman or White book on the RX10 IV.
Enjoy,
Mark

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I purchased the RX10 IV in April 2018 for a Danube River cruise. I have not regretted that. I do not buy discounted photography equipment from unauthorized sellers.
It is a fabulous camera. Only down side is Sony's menu system. I recently sold all my Canon equipment on UHH. The Sony covers all my needs in photography.

I recommend purchasing the Friedman or White book on the RX10 IV.
Enjoy,
Mark

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

User-ID has a point, in that, a system camera allows you to have a good body and the choice of any of a myriad of different lenses. And such a camera, in this case, the Olympus OMD-EMII he mentions is a great example of a light system camera, and Olympus offers a great array of lenses. But if one is looking for a camera that is convenient and offers a range of focal lengths suited to the user’s needs, a bridge camera has a lot to offer, and the RX10IV is the current best of the bunch. Those who have it sing its praises, and for good reason. It depends on what one wants out of a camera and for what it will be used. For travel the RX10IV is hard to beat. For critical work, a system camera is probably a better choice. Personally, for travel, a compact camera or bridge camera suits me just fine. A system camera is great for travel if it’s a compact unit such as the Olympus, but then there is that thing about having to change lenses to suit an occasion or subject. It can be clumsy at times, inconvenient at best. And choosing a lens that covers all the desired focal lengths can be expensive and, of course, the image quality may not be as good as that of a prime lens or shorter zoom lens. Then again, superzoom bridge cameras have the same issue. My advise is to decide what your exact needs are and get the camera that meets those needs best. And if it’s a bridge, you just can’t go wrong with the RX10IV. Good luck.

User ID

Maybe you should read what’s already written in UHH on that topic.

User ID

When the stacked sensor becomes reality, I may very well upgrade my attitude toward the RX10 :-)

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Acoarst I’d personally still rather have an ILC with stacked sensor, especially an APSC or an m43. But the mega zoom camera, as a genre, would be a much more satisfactory offering with a stacked sensor.

IIRC Sony’s a1 does have a stacked sensor, but I can wait for the tech to trickle down to about 1/3 that price in FF, and presumably even less than that in a smaller format.

Blaster34 Loc: Florida Treasure Coast

Waiting on the V Gregg but not sure how much longer I can wait. Planning a couple of extended trips in April thru the summer and would like to have the RX-10 to take with me instead of all the other photo gear (bodies/lenses, etc) I have. Moving to the RX-10 completely and will be selling all my ICL equipment....issues with camera/lens weight and hand/nerve nerve problems after surgery and the RX-10 seems the best way to go.....Cheers

HiFromSusan

ABSOLUTELY go Olympus rather than a bridge camera. Same price, less weight, and fantastic features without limitations in apertures or shutter speeds. Contrast detection in the EM10 series, but anything higher has phase detection AI, so you won't have to limit your photos to sunny days.