Sony DSC-RX10 III

A hugely capable camera in almost every respect

$1,498 Manufacturer Sony, sony.com Features 24-600mm (25x) zoom lens, 20.1 megapixels, 4K video, 2.95-inch LCD, 4.41 lbs

Like its predecessor the Mk II, the Sony RX10 III is aimed at the serious enthusiast end of the photography market: anyone looking for ultimate image quality and telephoto reach in a bridge-style package.

The RX10 III has the same 20.1-million-pixel Exmor CMOS sensor, and offers the same excellent 4K video functionality, as the Mk II. In fact most features and functions are identical, so the main talking point is the large and impressive Zeiss 24-600mm lens.

There’s no getting around the bulk of the Sony RX10 III. It’s very well made and comfortable in the hand, but more casual users will be deterred by its size (and price). However, if you want the ultimate image quality in a bridge camera, it’s hard to look beyond the class-leading performance of the RX10 III’s Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens.

This lens performs extremely well throughout its zoom range; details are perhaps not quite as crisp as from the Mk II’s, but given the far greater reach of this lens, that’s not surprising. At most focal lengths the lens is remarkably sharp wide open. At its wider end we did notice softness at the far left side of the frame. However, at telephoto focal lengths, the image is impressively detailed across the frame, right up to the maximum zoom of 600mm.

We were certainly impressed by the quality of the RX10 III’s JPEGs, even at higher ISO settings. Colors are punchy and pleasing, with plenty of options for customization, and resolution and dynamic range are both very good. Using noise reduction at its lowest setting gave a good compromise between detail and noise, with files very clean and detailed up to ISO 1600; the raw files do have more detail, but the difference is surprisingly small.

Autofocus is something of a mixed bag, though. At wider focal lengths the AF is pretty snappy, working well for both still and moving subjects. At the longer end of its range, however, AF is really very slow, even with still subjects; it’s accurate once it’s found its target, but the lens is prone to hunting.

Meanwhile, video enthusiasts won’t be disappointed with an excellent range of filming options, with 4K and HD modes and the ability to extract 8MP stills from 4K movies. The High Frame Rate feature is a great option, enabling you to create slow-motion videos – and we were also very impressed with the camera’s ability to handle both mixed and contrasty light when shooting movies.

the bottom line. There’s class-leading image quality on offer here, and its 4K and HD video functionality is also superb. It’s a large, relatively heavy, and expensive camera, though, and is let down by its disappointing autofocus performance in some situations. Lizzie Shepherd