The Sony RX100 Mark VI is a good video camera, but doesn’t advance the series

posted Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 4:00 PM EDT

Click here to read about the Sony RX100 VI's Video Features & Analysis

It's hard to say that there is anything specifically wrong with the Sony RX100 VI because the primary difference between it and the Mark V is basically just the lens. But given its hefty $1200 price tag, it's hard to find a lot to truly love about this camera in late 2018. It does plenty right, since its predecessors already set the stage in many categories, but fails to further advance the series in any meaningful way. The internals of this popular point-and-shoot have not seen much advancement in several years, with Sony opting to add features like a touchscreen, more frames per second and an enhanced autofocus system in the last few iterations, the simple addition of a longer zoom lens with less versatility in low light as the only selling point of the Mark VI led me to often question why this camera was worth as much or more than its older iterations.

It could be argued that the powerhouse video functionality of the RX100 Mark VI makes it a great vlogging camera. And it's true, there are a ton of video features packed into this tiny body. With an absolute ton of frame rate and 4K/HD/SD video recording options as well as the ability to capture in S-Log, this tiny point-and-shoot has as many options for the burgeoning videographer as the higher end Alpha cameras like the A7 or the A7R series. However, because it lacks sensor stabilization, and the optical stabilization doesn't do enough to diffuse normal movements, capturing even simple vlogging footage appears jostled, shakey and a bit sickening to watch. The RX100 VI performs best on a tripod. Further, the UHD recording is limited to just 5 minutes max, as the tiny body cannot properly dissipate the heat generated from recording 4K for longer clips.