Sony RX10 Image Quality

This is an interesting lead-off to be sure. The T5i DSLR has a much larger APS-C sensor, while the RX10 has roughly two megapixels more resolution. Surprisingly, it's a very close race here overall, with the RX10 managing a bit more fine detail in the mosaic tiles and both fabric swatches, despite its apparent limitations.

The E-M1 is the most expensive camera in these comparisons, and the only camera body priced higher than the RX10. Add in excellent lenses covering the same focal length and aperture range, and the Olympus mirrorless system camera could cost twice or three times as much as the Sony. In this direct comparison at base ISOs, the E-M1 fares slightly better with detail in the mosaic tiles and the pink fabric swatch, but the RX10 is a bit better in the red fabric swatch.

At first blush, the FZ200 may seem like the closest approximation to the RX10. After all, it's a fixed-lens zoom with a constant f/2.8 max aperture. However, the FZ200's sensor is considerably smaller, and the camera costs about a third as much as the RX10. As is obvious in these comparison crops, the RX10 outperforms the FZ200 in terms of image quality across the board at base ISO. In a moment, we'll see if it fares even better as sensitivity rises.

Flipping the scales, the GX7 compact system camera sports a larger Micro Four Thirds sensor than the RX10, and about four fewer megapixels in resolution. However, the two cameras stand quite close to each other in price, once you add on the cost of a decent zoom lens to the GX7 (although once again f/2.8 zooms covering the same range would be much more expensive.) Here, at base ISO, image quality between the two is very similar, although the RX10 does a slightly better job at resolving detail in the fabric swatches. Read on below to see if higher ISOs alter the playing field in this comparison.

We saved the best comparison for last (if only for alphabetical reasons), as many of you will want to know just how this new big brother compares to the highly touted RX100 II, given that each camera sports the same sensor. Here at base ISO, each performs quite admirably in the first two crops, while the RX10 does a much better job at resolving detail in the fabrics. (Is this camera made for interior decorators, or what?)

Given the much larger APS-C sensor of the T5i, it's remarkable that the RX10 holds up as well as it does at a higher sensitivity. The T5i wins the battle for fine detail in the bottle crop and mosaic, but it's a lot closer race than we would have predicted based on sensor size alone. Perhaps with the RX10 you can finally get a fixed-lens zoom camera that delivers the performance of a decent DSLR, but without having to buy multiple lenses?

Though the E-M1 is rather aggressive with its default sharpening algorithms, those combined with its larger sensor produce superior images at ISO 1600, compared to the smaller-sensored RX10. Expect this separation to increase as sensitivity climbs.

This is where the RX10 shows the world that it stands in its own class, as the FZ200 just doesn't have enough sensor area to compete at higher sensitivities. The RX10 with its 1-inch backlit illuminated sensor produces far superior results at ISO 1600. (The FZ200's much lower price point does deserve mentioning here again, though.)

As expected, the larger Micro Four Thirds sensor on the GX7 holds down noise levels, which in turn allows for much less aggressive noise reduction processing. The result is better resolving of subtle detail in the bottle label, and lower image noise in the background shadows.

The sibling rivalry continues here. The results here are almost identical, save for minor variations in detail and noise. Not unexpected, given that the RX10 and RX100 II both use the same sensor, but the processor in the RX10 is much more powerful. It'll be interesting to see how this difference plays out at even higher ISOs.

The RX10 pulls off a bit of a magic act here, coming very close to performing like an APS-C camera shot with a sharp reference lens at ISO 3200. Yes, the T5i again does somewhat better with fine detail and lower noise in the background, but the difference isn't nearly what we'd expect, considering the difference in sensor size. The Sony RX10's noise reduction and JPEG processing is simply exceptional.

Here again, fairly aggressive sharpening is apparent in the E-M1 at its default noise reduction settings, but even with the sharpening artifacts, it still produces noticeably better image quality here.

With a 1/2.3-inch sensor, the FZ200 simply can't match the RX10's results, with the differences here at ISO 3200 even more profound than before. The FZ200 loses the ability to produce even a decently detailed image at this relatively high ISO, again making the RX10 a more interesting proposition for those looking for the best all-in-one camera, and having the budget to afford the RX10.

The GX7 continues to outperform the RX10 in resolving fine detail as ISO rises. Remember, though, that even though the GX7 body costs a few hundred dollars less than the RX10, the Sony still gives you something that will cost a ton more to add to the Panasonic -- a sharp, bright 24-200mm equivalent f/2.8 zoom lens.

Once again these two siblings go stride for stride in most respects, although the RX100 II does demonstrate quite a bit less noise in our bottle crop than the RX10. We're frankly surprised by this result. We'd really been expecting to see the RX10 pull ahead, thanks to its more powerful BIONZ X processor. However as it turns out, raw data from the RX10's sensor appears to be a little noisier.