Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 is a New Compact Camera Using the Nikon 1 Series Sensor Format

The Sony Cybershot RX100 has leaked on the Japanese website Digicame-info.  The camera looks very much like a compact point and shoot camera; however, one key difference (based on rumored specifications) is the presence of a much larger image sensor in the RX100.

The CMOS imager is rumored to be 13.2mm x 8.8mm, which is the same size as the Nikon 1 Series cameras (or CX format sensor / 2.7x crop).  Of course, this makes a lot of sense – given that Nikon has sourced larger image sensors from Sony for years now.  It looks like Sony will be making use of its own manufacturing efficiencies for this format.

Check out the chart below for a comparison of how the Sony RX100 sensor stacks up against other mirrorless and DSLR cameras.

As you can see from the above images, the RX100 sports 20.2MP of resolution via that somewhat larger image sensor.  (I wonder if we’ll see a 20.2MP Nikon 1 Series camera around the bend…)  To me, this looks like a Sony HX9V on steroids, which could prove to be a very good thing.

The HX9V was a real surprise hit and was quite hard to find for some time due to the overwhelming demand that resulted from the solid image and stunning video quality.  The RX100 should come with a 30-108mm equivalent lens, which we know can be done rather compactly in this format since Nikon produces a 30-110mm VR lens for its 1 Series cameras.

The Sony RX100 is rumored to be coming in the next few weeks, so hopefully we’ll see it before vacation season is over this Summer.

Additional, machine translated specs are below.

• 13.2X8.8Mm Exmor CMOS sensor type 1.0 effective number of pixels 20.2 million pixels
• Monitors – LCD (4:3), 3.0-inch, 1,229,000 dots
• Lens Vario-Sonnar T * is
• The focal length is 30-108mm (4:3) equivalent 35mm, 29mm-105mm (16:9)
• The brightness of the lens is F1.8-4.9
• Minimum focusing distance is 5cm, wide-tele 55cm at the end
• The standard number of shots (conforming to CIPA) 330 sheets / min – 165
• 30-valve second shutter speed is 1/2000 in the manual
• ISO sensitivity (100 and 80 in the expansion), NR ISO125-6400 by Auto: Auto ISO125-25600 in the
• Second continuous shooting is 10 frames / second 2.5 frames / continuous shooting in priority mode in normal mode –
• Still images JPEG, RAW
• 1920×1080 60p AVCHD video 28M
• Size 58.1X101.6X35.9Mm
• The weight (including battery and Memory Stick Duo) 240 g
• Color: Black

[via Photo Rumors]