Gear Review: Sony RX100IV Camera
Sony's new pocket cam will make you a better ski photographer. (But don't quit your day job yet.)
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Fat skis made throngs of intermediates good enough to chew up all the pow. And now Sony’s new “cheater” point-and-shoot threatens to turn anybody with a ripping friend and an Instagram account into a ski photographer.
The pocket-friendly RX100IV has the fastest electric shutter of any camera its size, which means you can freeze action without blur and distortion. As for video, it can record at 4K resolution, but only five minutes’ worth at a time (regular HD recording capabilities are limited only by memory and battery life). It also has a new super slo-mo mode, which can capture up to 960 frames per second—most cams and smartphones top out at 240. (However, during slo-mo the quality of the picture de- clines.) Other fancy stuff: It shoots in bursts at 16 frames per second; the high-quality Zeiss records well in low light (read: when it’s snowing); and built-in wi-fi means you can upload to your computer without plugging in, and control it remotely through smart devices. What it won’t do? Convince your friends to sit through your slideshows. That, of course, is why they make beer.