Less than a month ago Sony shook the 4K world again with the announcement of three brand new mirrorless compact cameras capable of shooting superb 4K video (and stills) internally the Sony A7R II, Sony RX10 and Sony RX100 IV. The freelance cameraman and editor Johnnie Behiri from Cinema5D already had the chance to test the latter of the three in a real shooting situation and even managed to put together an entertaining short doc called “Barber Brothers”. Behiri also shares his personal impressions on the Sony RX100 IV along with an ungraded version of the film that everyone can now download and play with. Before we summarise some of the ins and outs of the camera, let’s see the short first.
Barber brothers, shot on a Sony RX100 IV from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.
And, here is the ungraded version of the film.
Barber brothers, shot on a Sony RX100 IV-Ungraded from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.
For me personally, the lovely 4K images this camera produces are more than convincing to consider it as a feasible option for some of my next personal projects. As Behiri says the slow-motion capabilities and 4K internal recording are unbeaten for the price and are also the biggest selling point of the Sony RX100 IV along with the compact body size. The 100 Mbps 4K recording in XAVC-S codec, the Pop-Out EVF, S-log2 mode, Zebra, Peaking and internal ND filters are another welcomed addition to the plethora of professional features that this tiny camera provides.
Sony RX100 IV Features
- 20.1 MP 1″ Exmor RS BSI CMOS Sensor
- BIONZ X Image Processor
- Internal UHD 4K Video & S-Log2 Gamma
- Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* f/1.8-2.8 Lens
- 24-70mm (35mm Equivalent)
- 2349k-Dot OLED Tru-Finder Pop-Up EVF
- 3.0″ 1229k-Dot Multi-Angle Xtra Fine LCD
- Slow Motion Video at 960 fps
- Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC
- ISO 12800 and 16 fps Continuous Shooting
Yet, there are some drawbacks and limitations you should be aware of when using the camera for commercial projects and paid gigs. It’s a bit of a shame that the Sony RX100 IV don’t provide any viable audio options except the internal audio recording. Even a 3.5 output jack would be a lovely addition, yet a compromise, however, we can’t get everything we demand.
There is also a limit of up to 5 minutes recording time in 4K resolution plus some evident rolling shutter artefacts in this mode so forget about the fast pans. The camera also uses buffering when shooting in slow-motion which means that you always have to wait until buffering is completed before you are able to reveal the footage or trigger the recording of a new clip. Ooh, did I mention that the battery life is atrocious and you need to carry a dozen of these to get trough a proper shooting day.
If you’d like to find more information about the project or get more of the Behiri’s insights from his experience with the Sony RX100 IV head on over to Cinema5D.
B&H Order Link:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV Digital Camera
[source:Cinema5D.com]
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