The Best Deal in Photography? - Sony rx100 I (the original)

I typically shoot with a Ricoh GR III, but before purchasing my Ricoh, I used the Sony rx100 series extensively. I owned the rx100 vii for several years before selling it to buy my Olympus. After missing the pocketability, I purchased the original rx100. Is the rx100 still worth buying in 2023? Hopefully the images in this review will help you answer that question.

[agustinfunesemma]

This goes to show that a 12 year old camera still takes better looking photos than the last generation flagship smartphones in 2024. Great video and nice pictures!

[djtrackyard]

The Rx100 can and will go anywhere with you and the kind of pictures you get is phenomenal. I have the mark 1 and have gotten absolutely gorgeous photos of the places I went, of my friends and family and everything in between. It's a camera that almost feels like it sticks to you wherever you go. No hassle of bags, extra lenses and other stuff.

[christianhdot]

The thing is: the camera isn't so important. It's the photographer makes the photos. The art, view and the skills of the photgrapher is more important.

[pierrenantais]

Great video! I have an RX100 mk3, even more beat up than yours and it's still ticking! When I look at my family photos, whether taken with my Nikons, Sonys or Olympus, it is the ones taken with my little Sony that stand out a memorable. In the early 70s I shot with a GAF pocket camera made by Chinon with a 38mm lens, a focal length I abandoned. Those photos are all about family memories and are priceless. Today, photography is going towards graphic arts, with sky replacements and changing colours of a dress or car. I can guarantee you no future generation will remember or want to keep those. I'm saving my money to buy the latest RX100 and recommend to all to get one too. As much as I love my Olympus EM1m2, nothing beats the no-pressure to produce great photos like an RX100. Shoot souvenirs and family with this tiny wonder and not unremembered art shots with 5kg of camera equipment.

[Alex__H]

This was exactly the video I was looking for. Great idea to let the photos do the talking and the price and lack of worry over beating it up a bit definitely have swayed me to get this over the later iterations. Thanks!

[linguica]

I bought a RX100 mk1 a few months ago and I've been having fun kitting it out. People love their EVFs and bendy screens but I feel like an even an extra quarter inch of thickness or 60 extra grams matters when the major point of the camera is to be pocketable, and I've found the screen to be perfectly serviceable, especially if you set the screen to manual full brightness or the "Sunny Weather" mode. After the screen protector I got some tiny 6mm split rings and put them through the miniscule cord hole so I could attach a leather wrist strap, and a 42mm MagFilter ring to use with a polarizer. More extravagantly I 3D printed a custom grip based on the Hasselblad Stellar (which itself was just a rebranded mk1) that I found on a 3d model website and attached it with a special craft double-sided "SuperTape". I have also ended up shooting manual in RAW+jpeg on black and white mode, as the camera's B&W science hides a lot of sins with the sensor especially in low light, and I can always revert the RAW to full color in an editor if I want to make a real picture out of it. Setting the control ring to ISO mode lets me dial in the shutter speed and aperture manually and then choose the ISO and has proven the simplest way for me to manage the exposure triangle.

[macallanvintage]

The real beauty in the MK1 to MK3’s magic lies in the processor/jpg processing where lots of highlight details can be maintained and they look great straight out of camera.

Sometimes, a smaller sensor makes it easier for a specific processing system to perform well, resulting in very pleasing jpgs.

In many countries, even old Mk3s are still not cheap, which is a testament to its great performance and quality.

[theuktoday]

Most of my cameras began life around 2014 / 2015 when it seemed to be a golden age for digital cameras. Newest is a Sony RX100 Vii.
I like your video, old cameras are brilliant value for money. I'm not bothered about specs, it either works or it doesn't at this level.
Its a great little camera!

[vladimirsvacko]

I own my RX 100 since 2015. Unbeatable form factor. An EVF would be very nice in bright conditions.
But the auto mode is also quite good, so that a blind shot delivers usable images too.

[andresalgadomarques]

I love photography and every camera nowadays is more than good enough to let us capture the moments we love and cherish. You definitely prove that in this video! 👍

[akbarkamdar]

Great video! I've been alternating between my RX100M5 and my A7RIV a lot in recent months, and thinking that people who mainly shoot with a standard zoom lens on a full frame body would actually be a lot better off with using an RX100 for that. Incredible piece of kit, absolutely punches above its weight.

As for cropping, I've been able to get Instagram-usable results cropped all the way to 1.5 megapixels!

[scothowe]

Thanks for the excellent video. I just ordered one of these online. I’ve been looking for something to take on a cruise this fall when I want something really small. Looking at your sample photos reassures that I made a good choice. Saved a nice chunk of change over the other cameras I was considering also.

[Mark_Cadden]

Bought this beauty back in 2016 for a pretty penny not gonna lie BUT 7-8 years later she’s still going very strong. It had a lot of buzz when it came out and I remember it being vlogger’s camera of choice for a bit (which is funny) BUT— I believe it’s underrated now. Like you said— you can get it for under $200 (which is so much less than I did and I think it’s for sure worth it

[TimLucasdesign]

I have this camera and love it. With regards to the bubbling screen, just get a razor blade and pry off the rear screen protector. It makes 2 minutes and makes it look brand new again!

[yellowwducky]

I have it and have had it since its release. A great and very capable little unit. The controls are a bit finicky if you are trying to do things in the dark. I do want to get the camera that everyone seems to want these days to replace it but am more than happy to wait given I have the rx100.

[mellowscorpio]

I love your photos, and the editing of this video is really soothing, the music and general pacing made this great to watch - thanks for sharing your thoughts on the sony rx, I've got model three and I'm looking forward to taking it with me on my upcoming trip to Australia :)

[YoSpiff]

I bought a used mk3 recently as a backup for the Canon G7x that I use when cycling. I shoot while riding and someday I'll drop and break it, so wasn't about to buy something new and pricey for that. The Sony takes great shots, but shooting one handed while riding, I had a tendency to bump the mode and exposure comp dials when getting it out. So the G7X will be my first choice for this use. Not a problem for most people, though.

[RobMadeo]

Nice video, thank you. I have the II, which I bought to be used as a basic point and shoot -- but it does so much more!

[Enmesharra]

I purchased my RX-100 and leather case back in 2012. Glad l spent the extra money on the case. Because my camera is still in perfect condition. Always love this camera and still use it all the time. Because of its lite weight and 1” capable sensor, I’m actually now setting it up on my Pentax spotting scope for (digiscoping) birds.

[wessamhamadneh]

I sold my Nikon Z7 to fully use the RX100V. Excited to use it as my primary camera. Really cool and fun camera with lots of features !