Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II photo samples

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II delivers excellent JPEG quality through ISO 400, with just a little bit of detail degradation by ISO 800.

You can see artifacts at ISO 1600 in shadow areas (look at the text in the shadow under the bill), but properly illuminated areas still look pretty good.

The RX100 II renders cleaner JPEGs at all ISO sensitivities than the RX100.

At ISO 1600 you can see a significant improvement in image quality over the RX100.

ISO 100 is in the expanded range for the RX100 II, but the image quality looks about the same as ISO 200.

(1/80 sec, f6.3, multi metering, AWB, ISO 100, 40mm)

Images look pretty natural, with no oversharpening problems.

(1/80 sec, f4.5, multi metering, AWB, ISO 200, 28mm)

The camera delivers excellent detail resolution at ISO 400.

(1/50 sec, f2.8, center metering, AWB, ISO 400, 28mm)

You can start seeing a little mushiness in ISO 800 JPEG shots, but there isn't much you can do to clean them up in the raw file without exchanging softness for grain. You do gain back some detail using raw, though.

(1/40 sec, f3.2, center metering, AWB, ISO 800, 28mm)

Depending upon scene content, ISO 1600 can be quite usable. You can see some artifacts around the text edges and the texture of the pattern is lost in places, but it's still quite acceptable.

(1/60 sec, f3.5, center metering, AWB, ISO 1600, 28mm)

At ISO 3200, large areas look fine but you lose a lot of detail.

(1/60 sec, f4, spot metering, AWB, ISO 3200, 62mm)

ISO 3200 JPEGs are fine for viewing scaled down.

(1/60 sec, f4, spot metering, AWB, ISO 3200, 62mm)

The camera delivers attractive and only slightly oversaturated colors. It lacks a neutral option, which at this price I really expect to have.

I still think Sony has some of the nicest in-camera effects. Shown here: Illustration (left) and Watercolor (right).

The tilting flash is invaluable for quickly controlling intensity and direction. On the left is the normal straight-on flash; on the right, flash tilted up.

(1/60 sec, f1.8, spot metering, AWB, ISO 1600, 28mm)