Digital Home Thoughts: Sony Announces the DSC-RX100, or the Canon Powershot S100-killer

Oh my. Sony has announced a pretty interesting camera, the DSC-RX100. It is a pocket-sized metal-bodied camera that in many ways is similar to the Canon S90/95/100 series, right down to the lens control ring and fast (on the wide end) lens; in this case, it is an optically stabilised 3.6x 28-100mm equivalent f/1.8-4.8 zoom lens. What sets it apart, is the sensor: Unlike many other premium compacts which use a 1/1.7" sensor, this uses a much larger 1" sensor similar in size to the Nikon 1 CX format, and packs 20 megapixels. The camera has a 3" VGA LCD that uses a new array that packs white pixels on top of the usual RGB trio which promises a brighter screen, full manual controls, 1080p video at 60 FPS that can take 16:9 stills while capturing video, 10 FPS continuous stills shooting, electronic horizon level, and the always popular Sweep Panorama feature. I suspect for those who can afford the US$650 asking price, this will be the compact camera of choice, as it combines a faster lens than the Canon S100 with a much larger sensor. Only downside is the 28mm equivalent starting point, instead of 24mm like the Canon. Ships in July. Check the link for DPReview's hands-on preview!