My first 'good' camera was an Olympus PEN E-P2. This made very good pictures, what you expect from a system camera
with a relatively large sensor and interchangeable lenses so can expect.
Despite the relatively compact dimensions (Camera + z. Ex. The Panasonic 20mm Pancake) ran it anyway again
it also carry the camera in a separate bag.
As has the highest priority for me image quality came the announcement of the RX100 at the right time.
It turned the simple question: Is it possible to achieve a convincing image quality at the level of a system camera
and still remain compact enough to accommodate such a camera in a pocket?
To make a long story short: Yes .. It worked. The RX100 is the proof.
Of course it will never be able to reach the flexibility in terms of focal lengths and the associated capabilities of system cameras. But, in terms of the pure quality of the images, in a comparable focal length range
keep these amazingly well with the next higher class of system cameras.
Images of RX100 have a 'clarity' .. whether in good or bad light so I know only from cameras with larger sensors. Especially in the 1: 1 view is very clear. Respect. the color representation and the contrast I respect.
JPEG photos directly from the camera sometimes a little disappointed. Especially the blues and greens, and the extreme light / dark contrast are often not so my thing. In my experience, but that is mostly a problem in images with strong sunshine and high contrast. The built-in and optional switchable 'Dynamic Range Optimizer "creates some help here. In addition, the camera tends to underexpose a little often. Exposure compensation is generally observed on + 0.3 is highly recommended.
Meanwhile I switched to RAW and developing the images via Lightroom itself. Thus, I can color reproduction and contrast, of course, adjust as they see fit. However, I would also not all about great expectations
stir. The correction possibilities that my EOS-M (APS-C sensor, 14 bit color depth per color channel) offers are far more extensive.
Unfortunately, the lens has (also dimmed) in certain high-contrast situations a strong sensitivity to chromatic aberration. These can but indeed completely remove via RAW are of course still a bit annoying.
So much for image quality.
Respect. the other characteristics of the camera, I would highlight the long battery life above all.
If I, here at the shockingly short operating time of my Canon S100, PEN E-P2, Panasonic LF1
Canon EOS-M, Sony A6000 think I am downright enthusiastic about it as long as by holding the RX100.
Finally, a word to the camera itself.
Yes, the camera is really compact. And yes, it is well made and still the ergonomics is very satisfying.
The keys are unnecessarily small and have poor pressure points (particularly the trigger and the four-way rocker).
But that is probably a compromise which you have to go into here.
Whether the just recently published, conceptually related, Canon G7 X is better here should be yet to prove themselves.
All in all, the camera for the price now called a clear recommendation.
Why only 4 stars? Unfortunately, I have to deduct one point for the poor ergonomics.
