PHOTO QUALITY. This 20-megapixel advanced point-and-shoot camera captured images with very good quality. Pictures were very sharp, which means you can see even tiny details and very subtle patterns in the image. In low-light situations without a flash, pictures were not quite as sharp as those of most recommended models. We judged this model good for outdoor performance, such as shooting landscapes in the daytime; excellent for indoor performance, such as photographing a well-lit basketball game in a gym. And good for low-light performance without a flash, such as capturing a birthday party.
FLASH. The Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M2 captured flash shots that were very good. In our distance test, we found the camera's flash could illuminate subjects very well, both near and far. The flash also has very good, even coverage.
LENS. This camera includes a 3.6x zoom lens, a bit more zoom than a standard 3x. The lens also has wide-angle (28mm) capability that's useful for landscapes and group portraits, although you may notice a bit of distortion when you're shooting faces up close, for instance. The lens has a bright f/1.8 aperture (at its maximum), which gives you a shallower depth of field for producing more professional looking portraits and images.
IMAGE STABILIZATION. Although this model doesn't have an image stabilizer, it did a very good job of minimizing the effects of camera shake in our tests. In low-light settings, it performed very well and rarely produced blurry photos. Overall, the shake reduction results from our tests were very good.
SPEED. In terms of performance, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M2 powers up in a moderate amount of time. It has a short interval between shots, which can be important when shooting fast-moving or unpredictable subjects.
VIDEO. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100M2 takes very good video. It captures full HD video at 1920 x 1080 60p. As for sound, it captures very good audio in stereo.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS. Unlike most advanced point-and-shoot models, this camera does not include a viewfinder, which means you'll need to rely on the LCD to compose your photo or video. This advanced point-and-shoot is much smaller, thinner and lighter than most in its class.
