The Sony RX0 II arrived in 2019 and three years later it’s nonetheless an excellent, nigh-invulnerable, motion cam that produces glorious 4K video and stills. Though I lack in motion worthy of filming, I took the RX0 II for a spin in my yard, then for a stroll, and let it do its factor.
The one distinctive function I instantly fell in love with is the pullout LCD display that may tilt as much as 180 levels to be used as a selfie cam, which if you already know me, is kind of necessary to assuage my apparent vainness. The Eye Autofocus can be impressively responsive for a digicam that’s been in the marketplace for 3 years.
Sony wins main factors for the way indestructible the RX0 II feels, because it’s IPX8 waterproof (as much as ten meters) and the construct high quality is excellent It looks like one of many little black containers they placed on airplanes. The ultra-durable steel construct stays one of many strongest within the class.
How it could examine to the newest DJI Motion 2 (opens in new tab), or the GoPro Hero 10 (opens in new tab) is one thing we are going to talk about down the highway as soon as we assessment these newer competitor cameras. For now, let’s leap into this Sony RX0 II motion cam that obtained me off the sofa and into the outside.
Sony RX0 II Motion Digital camera value and compatibility
The RX0 II is on the market at retailers for $698 which locations the three-year-old motion and vlogging cam in an area all its personal. The GoPro Hero 10 is priced at $399.99, practically half the price of the Sony nevertheless, with its plastic housing it’s not practically as indestructible because the RX0 II. The DJI Motion 2 additionally begins at $399, however the dual-screen combo that features a second display to make use of for selfies bumps it as much as $519.
he Sony RX0 II can join wirelessly to iOS or Android gadgets. It’s additionally Home windows and macOS appropriate so you possibly can obtain your footage and pictures to just about any gadget. Controlling the digicam with both an iPhone or Android telephone makes issues simpler as you possibly can set it up on the included tripod and begin filming or set off it hands-free through the app in case you’re going full motion cam and have it strapped to a helmet.
Sony RX0 II Motion Digital camera design
The construct high quality and heft of the all-metal Sony RX0 II make it stand out in opposition to its opponents and you may really feel the distinction in your hand that this little digicam can take a pounding. Its opponents just like the GoPro Hero 10 and DJI Motion 2 digicam have plastic housings which, though rugged and difficult, don’t provide you with that feeling of invincibility that the RX0 II has. Nonetheless, I’ll chorus from full judgment of these different models till I assessment them.
The digicam has an IPX8 waterproof certification for submersion all the way down to 33 ft (10 meters), shockproof as much as 6.5 ft, and crushproof as much as 440 foot-pounds of pressure. Whenever you add that every one up provides content material creators the boldness to movie utilizing the motion cam in any form of climate or state of affairs with out worry of dropping it or getting it moist.
Measuring 2.4 x 1.6 x 1.3 inches, the RX0 II is analogous in measurement to the GoPro Hero 10 (opens in new tab) (2.8 x 2.0 x 1.3), however each are bigger than the positively puny DJI Motion 2 (opens in new tab) (1.5 x 1.5 x 0.9 inches). The opposite factor that stands out is that the Sony’s Zeiss lens is totally protected behind a hardened plastic casing.
On the prime of the digicam, we discover recessed energy and shutter buttons to energy the unit on and provoke the seize of images and movies.
On the rear of the digicam is a 1.5-inch non-touch LCD 180-degree flip display with six small buttons alongside the underside and proper aspect that management the completely different capabilities and modify settings.
The RX0’s flip display is a pleasant contact that separates it from the Hero 10 with its skill to be flipped 180 levels for taking selfies or for vlogging. In contrast to the Hero 10’s small entrance show, the RX0 II’s will be prolonged and angled whenever you’re behind the digicam and wish to take low photographs and have higher viewing angles throughout on-the-go filming.
To the left of the display, we discover a detachable, weather-sealed door that securely hides a micro HDMI port, a microSD card slot, and a microUSB port for charging or connecting to a pc or tv. There’s additionally a 3.5mm microphone jack to attach an exterior mic if you’d like cleaner audio than the onboard mic provides.
There’s a second door on the proper aspect and behind it, you can see the 700mAh lithium-ion battery.
Lastly, on the underside, we discover a 1/4″-20 feminine tripod mounting thread.
Sony RX0 II Motion Digital camera video and audio high quality
Now thoughts you that is an motion digicam and I’m about as energetic on most days as mud rabbits in an outdated, deserted home. So I took the RX0 II into my yard and shot some video of me speaking to the digicam first vlog type after which from a brief distance. The video high quality impressed; the readability and the colours had been fantastically saturated as my brown tanned pores and skin tone appeared pretty, I virtually felt fairly.
I discovered myself equally impressed with the microphones on the RX0 II, because it recorded my voice very warmly, with stellar readability regardless of some background noise. I discovered that the standard of the audio I recorded was persistently glorious, so kudos to Sony for getting the microphones tuning good. The unit additionally has a wind noise discount perform that labored surprisingly properly. I discovered most occasions that audio recording was strong from as much as twenty ft away, however greatest inside 10 ft or so.
On daily basis I sit in my yard and watch the native birds feed and frolic in my neighbor’s fowl feeder and tub. I filmed them and the digicam caught all of the motion with standout outcomes. I examined the tremendous gradual movement modes and the outcomes had been strong with passable picture readability. Nonetheless, as a lot as I admire slow-motion filming for its dramatic enchantment, tremendous slow-mo looks as if overkill, nevertheless it’s a extremely enjoyable to play with.
From there, I walked round my neighborhood merely holding the unit by the tripod that Sony provides to check the stabilization. It was strong, however not on a par with the newest cameras from its opponents because it was generally laggy, with movement blur that made a few of the footage unusable for skilled work.
Once more, I’ll level out that though there have been a number of firmware updates through the years, the Sony RX0 II is three years outdated. However it nonetheless holds up very properly compared to its rivals in total video and picture high quality.
Sony RX0 II Motion Digital camera software program
Let’s simply get to it, the wonderful thing about the RX0 II is it’s extraordinarily plug and play and nice for run-and-gun filming. Seize it, exit and shoot and whenever you whip out your laptop computer or get again to your modifying station, simply plug it in and drag the photographs and movies into whichever modifying software program you utilize and that’s it. It may possibly’t get any less complicated than that.
There’s additionally the free Imaging Edge software which you’ll obtain from the Google Play Retailer or from Apple’s App Retailer. With Imaging Edge you possibly can join your telephone to the RX0 II and obtain your media or remotely management it and modify the settings.Connecting it to your telephone through the app makes the consumer expertise far more gratifying and I discovered it will increase the general performance of the Sony RX0 II motion cam.
The Imaging Edge app is one of the simplest ways to make use of this digicam. Though the shutter button on the prime of the unit really makes it simple to only begin capturing, I discover that Sony’s on digicam UI generally is a bit a lot. It would gradual issues down as it’s important to use the tiny buttons on the again of the digicam to thumb via what looks like an countless quantity of settings pages to get to the capabilities you want to modify and alter. So, when you get it arrange and linked to your telephone, use Imaging Edge as a result of it is sooner and simpler to navigate.
Backside Line
Whereas the Sony RX0 II’s practically $700 value level could flip off these trying strictly for an motion digicam. It truly is a nigh-indestructible choice that skilled videographers will take pleasure in as its many assorted settings will grant them a substantial amount of management over issues like publicity, and picture high quality. If you already know your work will contain tough climate, diving into the water, or different dangerous endeavors, it’s good for you and definitely worth the expense, as a result of it’s a content-producing tank.
Nonetheless, in case you’re looking for one thing much less invulnerable, however useless easy to fireplace up and begin capturing images and video, the GoPro Hero 10 or DJI Motion 2 are extra inexpensive alternate options.
