Sony announces new RX100 VI with 24-200mm equivalent optical zoom

On the outside, Sony has stuck to a proven formula. The new Sony RX100 VI looks identical to the RX100 V. The only difference is the number printed on it. Where things change though, is when you turn it on. The most noticeable difference is that the lens can come out a lot more. Upgrading the 24-70mm equivalent field of view of the RX100 V, the new RX100 VI boasts a massive 70-200mm equivalent range.

Announced in October 2016 along with the Sony A6500, the RX100 V was already rather impressive. And other than the lens it appears that very little has changed in the Mark VI refresh. The LCD, while the same size, appears to be lower resolution. The Mark V contained a 3.0″ 1.23m-Dot 180° tilting LCD. The Mark VI’s LCD is a 3.0″ 921.6k-Dot tilting LCD.

Of course, the new Mark VI’s LCD is touchscreen, too – which was one of the RX100 V’s biggest downfalls vs the Canon G7X II. But now it’s caught up. S-Log2 for 4K30p video has also been updated to S-Log3 and the built-in flash has a little more power, but just about everything else remains the same.

• Sensor: 20.1MP Exmor RS BSI CMOS Sensor
• Resolution: 20MP (5472 x 3648)
• Aspect ratio: 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9
• Image stabilisation: Optical
• Lens: Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 9-72mm (24-200mm 35mm equivalent field of view)
• Aperture: f/2.8-4.5
• Zoom: 8.33x (optical) / 16x (Clear Image Zoom) / 32x (Digital)
• ISO: 125-12800 (extended 80-12800)
• LCD: 3.0″ 921.6k-Dot 180° tilting touchscreen LCD
• Flash: Built-in
• Video: 4K UHD 24/25/30fps, 1080p 24/25/30/50/60/240/480/960fps
• Microphone: Built-in

The only thing that lets this camera down for me is the same thing that let the RX100 V down. No external microphone input. A lot of people still love the RX100 V as a vlogging camera despite this flaw, but for me, it’s a dealbreaker. And it will be with the RX100 VI, too.

If that’s not an issue, then on paper, it looks like a great little camera, because the RX100 V was otherwise a great little camera. And Manny’s brief demonstration of the zoom in the video above looks very capable.

I expected the price to be a little lower, though. At launch, the RX100 V was $998, and it’s only dropped down to $948 now (not a massive drop in 20 months). The RX100 VI, on the other hand, comes in at a pretty ridiculous $1,198. Call me crazy, but that’s a lot of money for a fancy point & shoot, no matter how fancy it may be.

But, if you’re not deterred, you can pre-order yours now, with orders expecting to ship on 7th June.