Tronhard
Member
IMHO still the best Bridge Super Zoom camera around after 7 years. Although there are rumors that the unit is going to be discontinued, I am hopeful that this will not be the case - it has an almost unique place with its fabulous Zeiss optic, long focal range, Stacked/BSI 20MP sensor, in a compact package that still offers all the controls of a MILC but without the bulk. However, the controls have always been a challenge for me because:
1. The menu system is very complex and disjointed, especially compared to that of my Canon, Nikon, and Olympus cameras. The manual was not a huge help, so I got a third-party book: Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC-RX10 IV by Alexander S White. That was a fountain of information.
2. I was frustrated by the lack of a the lack of buttons on the back for both AEL and BBF, which are my long-established methods of getting both. While I realize there is a focus hold button on the base of the lens I just don't like it and in the heat of shooting wildlife want something that will be more compatible with my muscle memory from my other cameras.
I was actually on the Canon support forum when a couple from the US asked about gear for going on Safari for the first time. When asked what their priorities were, they said that a very small and light camera was much preferred and definitely did not want the Canon FF and ASP-C bodies with big, heavy tele zooms. That brought me to recommend the RX-10. Canon did actually make, and for a while I owned, a camera with a similar zoom range, the PowerShot RXIII, but it honestly a bit of f dog, especially since it came with no built-in viewfinder (IMHO absolutely critical in a lens with an equivalent FL of 600mm, and the add-on EVF unit was bulky, easily knocked, expensive, and used up the hot shoe. It was also slow to focus. Anyway, by this time it was no long being sold.
So began a journey to conquer the menus and controls to bend them to my will and needs as these folks decided to get 2 of them. I taught them the principles of metering, exposure control, and composition over about 8 hours via Skype. While they were digesting all that, I was going through the menu system in absolute detail with the reference materials in hand. I finally came up with a configuration that allows me to use the AEL button as the BBF button, and re-assigns AEL to the SET button, disabled focus from the trigger button and set the camera up for spot focus and spot metering, with animal eye tracking. All of that required a rejigging of a bunch of menu items, plus I reconfigured the options in the Fn menu. I went out and tried it myself, making a few modifications, and came up with a configuration that works well for the conditions I experienced, and expected them to encounter. In particular, being able to select and focus on a specific animal's face or eye: either in a group, or behind a lot of clutter - such as branches. Similarly, I wanted to be able to select a point of mid-reflectance in an area where there might be a lot of contrast. Certainly, there is no guarantee that the subject will offer an 18% reflectance.
I also set up custom configurations that could be recorded to deal with completely different scenarios, and had one with the default settings as an alternative to a camera reset
I wrote down the changes I made in every page and published them as an assistance for those who expressed similar needs: Customizing the RX-10IV for wildlife Feel free to use it as is, or as the basis of your own set of modifications if you are so inclined.
The following images were part of that test series and the subjects specifically selected for those challenges I mentioned: low or highly contrasting light, and locking the eye focus within a cluttered environment. They are not meant to be considered as works of art per se.
All images shot in RAW, brought into PS (which seems to have done some AI stuff on import), modified exposure and noise settings as required - note: I have very limited skills in PS, so I don't do layers, for example. Finally, significantly downsized for publishing.
This first image is of a native wood pigeon, the Kereru, taken before the sun had reached the area in which it was sitting, so it was actually rather dim, and there was some back-lighting, and a lot of clutter. I deliberately chose this images because it demonstrated that the spot focus lock still managed to get the almost obscured eye of the bird. I spot metered on the mid-toned leaves.
This next image I chose because it provided a different challenge in terms of lighting. Had I used area or evaluative metering the background would have been brighter and the bird's plumage would have been blown out. So, in order:
I metered and locked on the shadow of the bird's cheek, locked spot focused on its eye, recomposed and shot.
Conclusion:
Overall, I am happy with this configuration for my needs and I just got a letter back from my folks who are still on their safari:
"We actually really love the camera and feel that the settings you helped us with are just great. Any issues have been all related to human error and lack of experience. Honestly I think the excitement of seeing the first animals and the urgency we felt to capture the moment made the first pictures more difficult to take, but now that we are seeing all the animals for a second and third time we are calmer and that allows us to think on how we should take the picture and get better results."
Considering they had never actually used a dedicated camera before we engaged and they had only about a month to learn, I am encouraged by their feedback.
1. The menu system is very complex and disjointed, especially compared to that of my Canon, Nikon, and Olympus cameras. The manual was not a huge help, so I got a third-party book: Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC-RX10 IV by Alexander S White. That was a fountain of information.
2. I was frustrated by the lack of a the lack of buttons on the back for both AEL and BBF, which are my long-established methods of getting both. While I realize there is a focus hold button on the base of the lens I just don't like it and in the heat of shooting wildlife want something that will be more compatible with my muscle memory from my other cameras.
I was actually on the Canon support forum when a couple from the US asked about gear for going on Safari for the first time. When asked what their priorities were, they said that a very small and light camera was much preferred and definitely did not want the Canon FF and ASP-C bodies with big, heavy tele zooms. That brought me to recommend the RX-10. Canon did actually make, and for a while I owned, a camera with a similar zoom range, the PowerShot RXIII, but it honestly a bit of f dog, especially since it came with no built-in viewfinder (IMHO absolutely critical in a lens with an equivalent FL of 600mm, and the add-on EVF unit was bulky, easily knocked, expensive, and used up the hot shoe. It was also slow to focus. Anyway, by this time it was no long being sold.
So began a journey to conquer the menus and controls to bend them to my will and needs as these folks decided to get 2 of them. I taught them the principles of metering, exposure control, and composition over about 8 hours via Skype. While they were digesting all that, I was going through the menu system in absolute detail with the reference materials in hand. I finally came up with a configuration that allows me to use the AEL button as the BBF button, and re-assigns AEL to the SET button, disabled focus from the trigger button and set the camera up for spot focus and spot metering, with animal eye tracking. All of that required a rejigging of a bunch of menu items, plus I reconfigured the options in the Fn menu. I went out and tried it myself, making a few modifications, and came up with a configuration that works well for the conditions I experienced, and expected them to encounter. In particular, being able to select and focus on a specific animal's face or eye: either in a group, or behind a lot of clutter - such as branches. Similarly, I wanted to be able to select a point of mid-reflectance in an area where there might be a lot of contrast. Certainly, there is no guarantee that the subject will offer an 18% reflectance.
I also set up custom configurations that could be recorded to deal with completely different scenarios, and had one with the default settings as an alternative to a camera reset
I wrote down the changes I made in every page and published them as an assistance for those who expressed similar needs: Customizing the RX-10IV for wildlife Feel free to use it as is, or as the basis of your own set of modifications if you are so inclined.
The following images were part of that test series and the subjects specifically selected for those challenges I mentioned: low or highly contrasting light, and locking the eye focus within a cluttered environment. They are not meant to be considered as works of art per se.
All images shot in RAW, brought into PS (which seems to have done some AI stuff on import), modified exposure and noise settings as required - note: I have very limited skills in PS, so I don't do layers, for example. Finally, significantly downsized for publishing.
This first image is of a native wood pigeon, the Kereru, taken before the sun had reached the area in which it was sitting, so it was actually rather dim, and there was some back-lighting, and a lot of clutter. I deliberately chose this images because it demonstrated that the spot focus lock still managed to get the almost obscured eye of the bird. I spot metered on the mid-toned leaves.
This next image I chose because it provided a different challenge in terms of lighting. Had I used area or evaluative metering the background would have been brighter and the bird's plumage would have been blown out. So, in order:
I metered and locked on the shadow of the bird's cheek, locked spot focused on its eye, recomposed and shot.
Conclusion:
Overall, I am happy with this configuration for my needs and I just got a letter back from my folks who are still on their safari:
"We actually really love the camera and feel that the settings you helped us with are just great. Any issues have been all related to human error and lack of experience. Honestly I think the excitement of seeing the first animals and the urgency we felt to capture the moment made the first pictures more difficult to take, but now that we are seeing all the animals for a second and third time we are calmer and that allows us to think on how we should take the picture and get better results."
Considering they had never actually used a dedicated camera before we engaged and they had only about a month to learn, I am encouraged by their feedback.
Last edited:
