Sony RX100 V Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

Lori Grunin/CNET

Like the A6500 announced at the same time, the update to the Sony RX100 IV gets new internals for faster shooting, but the difference between the RX100 IV and RX100 V will be far more noticeable — because the performance bar set by the RX100 IV isn’t very high.

The RX100 V will be available this month for $1,000 — I’d watch for price drops on previous models, because the RX100 IV is currently the same price. It’s slated to ship in Europe in November for 1,200 euros, which directly converts to about £885. While it’s on the Sony Australia site, I can’t find price or availability details; the US price directly converts to about AU$1,320.

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The RX100M5 has the same body, internals and features as its predecessor: same 20.1-megapixel resolution and image processor, same popup viewfinder, same extensive set of 4K video capabilities and high frame rate (HFR) shooting modes.

But the new version of the 1-inch sensor includes phase-detection autofocus pixels, Sony’s Fast Hybrid autofocus system, in addition to the old, slow 25-area contrast autofocus. That should make a huge improvement in action shooting — locking focus and tracking subjects — as we’ve seen from other Sony cameras that have moved to the system. It’s supplemented by new processing hardware and a larger memory buffer, which Sony claims allows it to achieve 24 frames per second for continuous shooting, with autoexposure and autofocus, for 150 shots. That’s pretty impressive. And possibly overkill for most people.

The new silicon also enables Sony to double the maximum length of a high-frame-rate recording to about 7 seconds, for 1080/240p video. There are also some tweaks to settings for existing features.

Along with the camera, Sony announced an underwater housing for the entire RX100 line rated for 40 meters (130 feet). It’s expected to ship in the US in November for $350. (Directly converted, about £200 or AU$330.)

My take

Improved focusing? Count me in. Same goes for the longer HFR recording. How well the autofocus system really keeps up with the 24 fps burst remains to be seen: that includes focusing on what you want rather than what it can, as frequently happens. But if it can keep up at half that speed, it’ll serve most people well. And it will certainly help Sony stand out from the crowd of enthusiast compacts, at least for a while.