Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
Price £1,399
Sony has produced some excellent bridge cameras in the past few years, with the RX10 III being an excellent example, sitting just above the older RX10 II (£999). The main difference between the two is that the RX10 II’s 8.3x optical zoom provides the 35mm equivalent of 24-200mm, whereas the RX10 III is equipped with a 25x optical zoom that provides 24- 600mm. And while the RX10 II’s zoom is able to maintain a fast f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout its range, the RX10 III is slightly faster wide open at f/2.4, but drops incrementally to f/4 by around 100mm. For a bridge camera with such a huge focal range, that’s still pretty impressive. Sony’s SteadyShot image-stabilisation technology is also on hand, providing up to 4.5 stops of shutter speed compensation.
The RX10 III is built around a 20.1MP backside-illuminated Exmor RS CMoS sensor that employs Sony’s proprietary stacked- circuit design for enhanced data throughput. This is combined with Sony’s powerful Bionz X processor and together they enable the RX10 III to process huge amounts of data at classleading speeds. This results in a maximum burst speed of 14fps.
While the RX10 III packs in a lot of features, it’s by no means a small camera. Indeed, in terms of size, it’s comparable to a mid-range DSLR. If you’re looking for something you can slip inside a coat pocket, you’re better off with a travel compact. If size isn’t an issue, though, and you’re specifically after a camera with a monstrously powerful zoom, then the RX10 III is about as good as it gets.
Key features
Price £1,399 1in, 20.1MP Exmor RS CMOS sensor 25x optical zoom (equivalent to 24-600mm) ISO 100-12,800 (expandable to ISO 64-25,600) 2.36-million-dot EVF 3in, 1.23-million-dot tiltable LCD