Sony RX10 III becomes official with 25x optical zoom lens

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Sony has unveiled a new RX-series fixed-lens camera in the body of the RX10 III, which comes packed with a new 25x optical zoom Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens.

The middle of 2015 has brought us the RX10 II and RX100 IV cameras. Sony introduced them as the first 1-inch-type fixed-lens cameras to feature a stacked image sensor. The megapixel count of the sensor reached 20.1MP and it now makes a return into the brand new Sony RX10 III.

This new shooter has been added to the RX line-up with similar specs, but with a major difference compared to the RX10 II: a 25x optical zoom lens. Although it sounds like a replacement to the RX10 II, the RX10 III will co-exist with its forerunner and will compete against superzoom cameras from Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic among others.

Sony RX10 III bridge camera announced with a 25x zoom lens

As stated above, the biggest change in the Sony RX10 III compared to previous addition in its category is the lens. The Japanese manufacturer has added a 25x optical zoom unit into the shooter, which offers a full-frame focal length equivalent of 24-600mm.

sony-rx10-iii Sony RX10 III becomes official with 25x optical zoom lens News and Reviews

Sony’s new RX10 III camera features a 20.1-megapixel sensor and 24-600mm lens.

The RX10 II used to offer a 24-200mm lens with a constant maximum aperture of f/2.8 throughout the focal range, whereas the new unit sports a maximum aperture of a f/2.4-4. Sony has added rings to set the aperture and control the zoom and focus directly from the lens, while a button to hold the focus is available, too.

This lens has five Extra Low Dispersion elements, one Super ED element, and two aspherical ED elements that will reduce chromatic aberration and other flaws. Additionally, image quality is increased by Zeiss’ T* coating that cuts down both ghosting and flare.

Sony says that the minimum focusing distance of the lens stands at 72 centimeters at the 600mm telephoto end. Since it extends so much, the company has added an Optical SteadyShot technology, which offers up to 4-stops of stabilization.

4K recording will keep videographers using Sony RX10 III happy

Sony’s bride-styled camera boasts a 20.1-megapixel 1-inch-type stacked CMOS image sensor with DRAM chip and BIONZ X image processor. They will provide high image quality, quick speeds, and a variety of features.

The RX10 III supports 40x Super Slow Motion video recording, an Anti-Distortion Electronic Shutter with a top speed of 1/32000th of a second, 4K movie capture, and a continuous shooting speed of up to 14fps.

The native ISO sensitivity ranges between 125 and 12800, while the extended ISO range sits between 64 and 25600. A 25-point autofocus system is available in the camera and it supports a focusing speed of only 0.09 seconds.

Videography fans will find full-pixel readout without binning in the device along with XAVC S codec. The bitrate can reach 100Mbps when shooting 4K videos and 50Mbps when capturing full HD movies.

Availability details confirmed: $1,500 this May

On the back, users can make use of a 3-inch tilting LCD to frame their photos. Moreover, a 2.36-million-dot OLED viewfinder can do the same thing. In dark environments, photographers can illuminate their subjects courtesy of a built-in pop-up flash.

WiFi and NFC are present in almost all Sony cameras released in recent years, so the RX10 III could not have missed these features. Other useful features include microphone and headphone ports for videographers, who also get S-Log2 / S-Gamut and Time Code support.

This bridge shooter is weathersealed, so it is resistant to both dust and moisture. It weighs about 1,051 grams / 2.32 lbs, while measuring 133 x 04 x 127mm / 5.24 x 2.7 x 5 inches.

Sony RX10 III has a battery life of 420 shots on a single charge and will be released on the market by the end of May 2016 for a price of $1,500.

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