The Sony RX10 (Alex's camera!)

[SWriverstone]

I don't doubt Alex's photography skills—that said, the camera he has (the Sony RX10 IV) is one of the most awesome all-around cameras ever made. And for some idiotic reason Sony discontinued it (and didn't replace it with anything). They (and many manufacturers) clearly think photographers want to haul around mirrorless cameras with multiple lenses, which I think is a royal pain in the a$$ if you're doing active outdoor activities.

I really want to get one...but despite costing well under $2,000 when they were still being made, these cameras can now only be found on places like eBay and they're routinely selling for over $3,000! (Because they're so awesome.)

So I've set my sights on the previous model, the RX10 III. This one can still be found used for far less ($1200-1500), and from what I've read, the 3rd generation is identical to the 4th in every way but the autofocus—with the 4th gen having far faster autofocus (which can obviously be valuable if, like Alex, you want to photograph fast-moving targets like birds).

I tend to shoot mostly "slower" scenes like landscapes, architecture, flowers, etc. so for me, the faster autofocus isn't a must-have. (And the 3rd-gen autofocus isn't "slow," it's just not as fast.)

Alex, you've never mentioned having issues with the camera...so given all the abuse it experiences on your paddling trips (LOL–no criticism intended!) it seems like an incredibly rugged camera! (By "abuse" I just mean getting washed overboard in a dry bag, exposure to damp salty air, etc.)

 

[alexsidles]

Thanks, Scott. I've never had any major problems with the RX10.

I don't think the RX10 is any more rugged than any typical non-waterproof camera. Saltwater exposure is slowly eating away at the camera. Rust and corrosion are visible on some of the screws on the ventral surface of the camera, which probably doesn't bode well for its future.

About one time in two hundred, the camera will refuse to recognize the memory card on start-up. That problem is fixed by taking the memory card out and re-inserting it. For a while, the camera was displaying an error message that an unrecognized accessory was connected, even when no accessory was connected at all. That error message mysteriously stopped appearing after a week but it was annoying while it lasted. The error message caused me to miss some shots because the camera would overlay the error message on top of the viewfinder.

The lightning-fast autofocus of the Mk 4 is important for wildlife. My previous superzoom, a Nikon P900, was much too slow with the autofocus. I'm not sure how fast the autofocus is on the Mk 3.

I agree with you that US$2,000 is too much to pay for a used Mk 4. I bought mine used on Ebay in 2021 for US$1,000, and that included ten batteries and two battery chargers. It's ridiculous that the price of a used camera, with nine-year-old technology, would double in price in five years. That's a 15 percent annual growth rate. Used cameras are supposed to depreciate in value, but apparently they actually offer higher returns than the stock market!

Seriously, though, don't pay US$2,000 for a used Mk 4. Just yesterday, Sony announced the long-awaited Mk 5, the first update to this camera since 2017. You can pre-order a brand-new Mk 5 for US$2,300, so it is absolute madness to pay US$2,000 for a used Mk 4.

Even back in 2021 when I bought my camera, people on Ebay were trying to gouge. I monitored sales of the Mk 4 for about a month and a half before I finally spotted that one for US$1,000. Everyone else was charging way more, even back then. If you are patient, you can still find good deals, even on Ebay. For example, I see a brand-new listing for a used Mk 4 at US1,685 "or best offer." Factoring in inflation, that's only 26 percent more than I paid in 2021. You might be able to use the "best offer" option to get that guy down further, or you might wait for an even better deal to pop up. I would expect yesterday's announcement of the new Mk 5 to depress prices for a used Mk 4, so maybe give it a couple weeks and see what you can find.

In light of the ever-increasing age of the Mk 4 and the recent announcement of the new Mk 5, I would say a good deal on a used Mk 4 would be about US$1,250, depending on how many extra goodies the seller throws in.

Alex

 

[SWriverstone]

Thanks @alexsidles - good information. And WOW! Sony actually didn't kill off the RX10 line forever! (I thought they had.) That's really great news to me, not only because (as you pointed out) it might result in prices for Mk 4's to drop...but it means that as a class of cameras, superzoom bridge cameras aren't completely dead.

Possibly one of the other best superzoom/bridge cameras (now discontinued) was the Panasonic Lumix FZ2500. For photography this camera was inferior (though perhaps not by much) to the RX10. (The FZ2500 has a 1" sensor.) But it was fantastic for 4K video production. (I think you can still buy this one new from remaining stock.)

In addition to the RX10 Mk 5, I also just noticed that Panasonic updated an older superzoom (2017) called the FZ80. The new one is the FZ80D...and it has a staggering 20-1200mm optical zoom lens (60x!) Alas, it's only a 1/2.3" sensor, so I'm sure quality is far less than either the RX10 or the FZ2500. Still...I have to admit I'm tempted by this camera: having that kind of optical zoom range (with good image stabilization for those 600-1200mm shots) plus a high-res electronic viewfinder for only $449? Kinda makes me wonder if the superior quality of the RX10 is worth another $800+?

I've always believed the superzoom/bridge cameras were/are a fantastic option for people either not "professional" enough to need a mirrorless with several good lenses...but who want more than a point-and-shoot for their photography. So it never made sense to me that this category of camera would just die off completely. I'm glad to see Sony agrees! (And maybe they were motivated by the ridiculous increase in prices for used RX10 Mk 4's?)

 

[alexsidles]

Here’s a RX10 Mk 4, new in box, currently at US$1,450. That’s getting closer to where it should be, though I still think there’s room to go lower. I wouldn't jump on that one at that price, but it should give you reason for optimism that you'll eventually be able to find one for under US$1,300.

My first superzoom was a Nikon P900 with similar specs to that FZ80D you mentioned: the 1/2.3 sensor, the insane magnification, etc. The focus and zoom were both excruciatingly slow, and the image quality from that small sensor left a lot to be desired. Still, in good light, with a sufficiently slow-moving subject, it could take really good pictures. Below are a coyote and a northern rough-winged swallow, both shot handheld with the P900. In the end, it wasn't the camera for me, but it could still do some cool stuff. There are times, even now, when I miss that enormous magnification. And Nikon produces better color than Sony, at least down here at the cheap end of the range.

Alex

 

[SWriverstone]

Agreed! In those conditions that P900 was great!

I'm regularly stunned by the pics you get Alex with the RX10. That said, I guess for me (these days anyway) it's less about getting the absolute sharpest, noise-free pics possible (at any zoom range)...and more about just having something versatile, compact (but bigger than a point-and-shoot), and takes better pics than my iPhone. LOL (Because my iPhone is all I use these days. Which of course stinks in all but wide, well-lit daylight scenes.

A cemra like the FZ80D might be plenty good enough for my purposes at a mere $450 or so. Still, I'm awfully tempted to go for the RX10 for that quality boost.

You may be more selective, but I literally have (no exaggeration) over 50,000 images in Google Photos now, almost all shot with an iPhone. And I have thousands more 35mm slides in boxes in a closet.

So I often roll my eyes at myself and think, "These are all just wasted disk space, because I'll likely never even see 90% of those images again." I mean, even for a professional photographer, what use are 50,000 images if you don't know every one, have them all carefully tagged, and browse them all regularly?

Increasingly, I find photos are more for immediate gratfication right after the fact—texting a few good ones to friends and family, posting a few on trip reports online and social media. Then for all practical purposes, they're gone.

But...I hold onto this somewhat sad scenario of being 90 years old, unable to do much of anything but sit in a rocking chair...with hours of time on my hands...and then I imagine entertaining myself for days on end reliving my life in photos, going through all 50,000 of them—one at a time.

 

[CPS]

...I hold onto this somewhat sad scenario of being 90 years old, unable to do much of anything but sit in a rocking chair...with hours of time on my hands...and then I imagine entertaining myself for days on end reliving my life in photos, going through all 50,000 of them—one at a time.

I keep meaning to go through all my photos (and thus relive trips) alongside my girlfriend as she does the same, all in the pursuit of a few nice ones to frame up on the wall.

 

[alexsidles]

Here is a brand-new listing for a used RX10 Mk4 with five batteries and three chargers starting at US$1,049.99. That's a good deal. This listing has no bids yet, so if I were you, I would (quickly) make an offer at US$1,049.99 to see if the seller will go for it. If you get a counteroffer for anything in the neighborhood of US$1,200 I would take it.

Alex

 

[SWriverstone]

I keep meaning to go through all my photos (and thus relive trips) alongside my girlfriend as she does the same, all in the pursuit of a few nice ones to frame up on the wall.

It'll never happen! I've been wanting to do that for years–go through my "small" collection of 50,000 images and narrow down a few for big canvas prints to hang up. I've started a few times, but I never seem able to get farther than the past year or two! LOL