Sony RX10Mk4 Ergonomic score 15 January 2018

Surf race start. RX10M4 at 600mm equivalent.

This ergonomic evaluation follows my usual protocol which you can read about here.

The RX10 Mk4  has a  high level of specifications, features, picture quality and performance but is let down somewhat by mediocre ergonomics which could be greatly improved with relatively minor modifications to design details.

Setup Phase of use

Here the user encounters Sony’s interpretation of the menu system. Sony does appear to be improving its menus with successive models but still has some considerable way to go in the quest for a decently pleasing user experience.

There has been progress with grouping items together. So for instance we have AF1, AF2, Exposure 1, Exposure 2, Quality/Image size 1, Quality/Image size 2, and so forth. This is a step in the right direction.

But movie items are still grouped in with stills items and even after considerable use I find myself having to trawl through many items to find the one which I seek.

There are way too many cryptic and mystery items. Unfortunately the in camera menu guide (which can be allocated to a  button) is often just as cryptic and of little help.

There is a well implemented My Menu which is a good place to gather frequently accessed items.

There is an on line Help Guide available through Sony national websites. There is a link in the Help Guide to a downloadable PDF version of the same guide.

This (593 page !) guide is essential reading for the user wanting to understand how the RX10M4 works. Unfortunately despite its many pages there are still some functions which I found difficult to understand and which I thought were not well explained by the help guide.

One of the biggest problems with the menus is that there are so many items, many of which it seems to me are of unclear value. I will post a series on setting up the RX10M4 soon in an attempt to clarify some of the more confusing features.

Setup score 9/15

Prepare Phase of use

This is the few minutes one takes to reconfigure the camera for a new photographic situation. This could be moving from outdoors to indoors or from landscape to sport/action and so forth.

The RX10Mk4 mostly manages this quite well.

There are 9 buttons with user assignable function plus the Mode Dial, rotary focus mode switch and rear dial.

In addition there are two memory recall functions, one reached via the MR position on the mode dial the other assignable to one of the buttons. These can be confusing to set up as they each work in a different way and have a different set of user assignable functions. But once set up they do work.

The focus mode rotary switch is badly placed on the front of the body where it is invisible in normal use and it is also very difficult to set by feel.

I rate the LCD panel as useless and a waste of valuable camera top plate real estate.

Prepare Phase score 14/15

Capture Phase, Holding

The handle and thumb support are serviceable but could easily have been  much improved if the designers had allowed the body to be a bit wider. This would allow a fatter, taller, more anatomical handle and a wider thumb support.

Holding score 12/20

Capture Phase, Viewing

Viewing arrangements are generally good. The EVF and monitor are both of high quality with a fast refresh rate particularly with continuous high speed shooting. Both use the desirable  “viewfinder” style with key camera data outside the image area. The font style of the data could be fatter for better readability.

The EVF eyecup is serviceable but could be larger and softer to advantage.

The monitor is of the swing up/down type. It is not fully articulated.

Viewing score 16/20

Capture Phase, Operating

The great saving grace of the RX10M4 is that once set up it can be operated mainly in P Mode due to the excellent [ISO Auto Min. SS] algorithm. Thus adjustment of focus and exposure parameters is not often required during a shooting session.

Which is a good thing because making those adjustments is nowhere near as smooth and efficient as it should be.

I identify along list of sub-optimal controls which could easily have been designed better at no cost.

The LCD panel pushes the Mode Dial off to the left where it in turn pushes to Drive Mode dial off the hard dials altogether and the Focus Mode switch down to the bottom front of the body where is effectively invisible.

There is no top/front dial and no top/rear dial, an incredible omission on a flagship camera at this price point. The upper/rear dial provided is awkward to operate and feels mushy.

All the buttons are small, flat and recessed. I put a dab of epoxy resin on the AEL and C3 buttons to make them easier to locate by feel.

The Exposure Compensation dial cannot be repurposed and is stiff.

The presence of an aperture ring on a modern electronic camera with a variable aperture zoom is a clumsy anachronism. A standard Canon style top/front dial behind the shutter button is a much more effective way to control aperture using fewer, less complex actions than are required by the aperture ring.

Operating score 16/25

Review Phase

The RX10Mk4 manages this phase well. One flick of the zoom lever brings up the review image at 100% at the focussed point. Scrolling between frames at the same point and level of enlargement is easy.  The camera provides for many user specified options in Review Phase but I find most of them un-necessary.

Review score 5/5

Total score 72/100

Comment

For a high performance flagship type model this is a rather low score. Even the humble little Panasonic FZ300 manages better with 82.

But the RX10M4 makes better pictures so these days I take out the RX10M4 and leave the FZ300 at home.

Sony can and should do much better ergonomically.