The Sixth Element

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 VI 96,990

- ​​​​​​​Sujith Gopinath

Compact cameras are all but wiped out by the influx of smartphones. However, there are a few in the premium compact segment that still command respect, and the Sony Cyber-shot RX100-series is certainly amongst those. These premium ultracompact cameras have seen a host of improvements over the years, and we have the sixth edition of the series for evaluation. The RX100 VI gets a muchneeded extended zoom up to 200 mm.

Design and Build Quality

The Sony RX100 VI is designed identical to the RX100 V, except for the lettering on the lens assembly. The camera has a tough metal exterior with engineering plastic base and fixtures. The tripod mount is metal. The camera uses a popup viewfinder and a multi-functional control ring. Overall, the camera has a very good build quality.

Key Features

The RX100 VI uses a 20.1 MP, 1.0-inch type (13.2 x 8.8 mm) Exmor RS CMOS sensor, same as that of its predecessor. The signals are processed by a BIONZ X image processing engine. The camera incorporates a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-200 mm equivalent f/2.8-4.5 lens in place of the 24-70 mm f/1.8-2.8 lens in the RX100 V. The new lens is constructed with 15 elements in 12 groups, including eight aspheric elements. This includes an advanced aspherical (AA) element. The lens offers a total aperture range of f/2.8 to 11 at the wide-angle end and f/4.5 to 11 at the telephoto end. It features optical SteadyShot image stabilisation with electronic compensation. The system effectively compensated for rolling shutter effect.