Disappointed & annoyed with Rx100... (just venting)

[jky]

So I'm here in Barcelona... while in a fitting room, the camera slips out of my bag & drops onto the floor (about 40cm). I look down, pick it up, hold it up to the light & see 2 small dents on the top left housing & on the flash. No big deal I thought - I'm not worried about cosmetic blemishes... so I turn it on & the lens extends.

Great!

Well... not quite...

...the lens extended & then starts moving erratically as if I'm zooming in & out. It stops. I press the shutter &... NOTHING. I look at the rear display & it says something like "turn the the camera off"...

So, I try again.... same as above.

Yes, I know I should have secured it more (actually I thought I did, but there was enough room for it to find its way through the flap), but BUSTED after approximately a 1 ft drop?!?

C'mon!

My cameras are never abused, but they're not babied either, but really... 40cm?

The only camera that was even close to looking inoperable is my LX3 - this I had slammed onto rocks hard in order to keep myself from falling into the Singapore River. Dented with something rattling inside it still works flawlessly! *Anecdotal I know*

...unfortunately, it's enough to sway me away from any Sony p&s out there...

Bites.

[back alley]

stone floor?

sorry to hear your troubles...

[digitalintrigue]

Unfortunately, they aren't designed to be dropped onto stone from any height. Hard to blame Sony on this...

[Pioneer]

Oh, please don't tell me I can't drop my cameras anymore.

I have been dropping cameras for 40 years and now you tell me this!! Oh great!!

[willie_901]

Bad luck... what a disappointment.

Maybe Sony can help you out.

[kshapero]

Kind of a universal law: If you drop your camera, it may break. Best way to prevent this is, is to not drop your camera. works every time. sorry in any case.

[wogg]

Certainly, the case design of this camera doesn't make it bouncy in the way that the robust GRD body is. I use it for the IQ, because it is such a huge leap from GRD, but I pray that Ricoh will do something with this sensor. You know the GRD4 would have come up smiling from that fall.

RX100 software/button ergonomics aren't bad, surprisingly good for the real estate. But the physical ergonomics and shell design are too dainty and weak for 650$. Mine's got scratches and worn paint on the edges, and I baby it like crazy. Must be that the sensor and lens cost 600$ (which performance would attest), because the machining is worth less than 50$.

I sold the Fuji X10 for this camera for reasons of slight IQ edge and much better pocketability, but the X10 could win a boxing match with the Rx100 with one arm tied back.

[digitalintrigue]

Interesting. Most reviewers think the build quality of the RX100 is top notch. It certainly isn't plastic.

[jsrockit]

It's is not new in the digital age. I had a contax t2 that I dropped twice and each time it stopped working. Compacts don't take falls well. The good thing is that you should be able to get it repaired for around $200 or so I would think.

[Thardy]

"Turn the camera off". I've seen that message before.

[jky]

Originally Posted by digitalintrigue

Unfortunately, they aren't designed to be dropped onto stone from any height. Hard to blame Sony on this...

Nope wasn't blaming Sony. Pure user error I know. just surprised at how fragile this things is...
I'm not a chronic camera dropper, but I will admit to having p&s slip out of pants, etc while it's laying on a bed or sofa.
Next time, I'll make sure to bring a patch of carpet around with me to soften the blow.

[gavinlg]

Welcome to the world of retractable lenses. Every single retractable lens camera I've ever owned has broken in some way. Last one was a ricoh GRD. Didn't drop it, didn't mistreat it, just stopped extending and focussing properly. Retractable lenses are a bad design compromise.

[jky]

Originally Posted by aperture64

Sony isn't the only brand that wouldn't make it through this scenario.

Don't quite agree with this... my lx3 & lx5 have gotten dinged here & there - ie: slipping out of clothing, running after my kids and having it swing & hit something. They've both come out operable.

A friend had a couple GRDs over the years & those are incredibly tough cameras by his account.

[BMacW]

I used my rx100 in the rain with no problem. Although I just realized that the flash hinges are are rusted now (so I won't do it again) but the camera is still rocking hard.

[pkreyenhop]

Thanks for posting this! You have saved me a bundle. I was playing with a the rx100 today and thought: what a nice camera - it's a shame that the lens is retractable. Your post reminded me of all the problems I had with retractable lenses in the past...

[pvdhaar]

Originally Posted by aperture64

It's a point and shoot made out of plastic. Sony isn't the only brand that wouldn't make it through this scenario.

Some cameras are tougher than others..

My Nikon P5100 fell out of my jacket pocket when I swung the jacket over my shoulder. That was a drop on stone much worse than from 1ft. Body was gnashed and scratched, camera still worked without flaw.

[btgc]

Sorry mate, but I agree to simple wisdom "cameras, especially compacts, don't hold impact well".

For this reason I'm buying shock-and-water proof compact for my wife and kid as they aren't as careful with cameras as I can be. And even then I have dropped them. Sure this isn't reason to stop using hi-tech cameras which aren't made shock-proof, but then we all will die, so camera life also is finite.

[jky]

Originally Posted by btgc

Sorry mate, but I agree to simple wisdom "cameras, especially compacts, don't hold impact well".

For this reason I'm buying shock-and-water proof compact for my wife and kid as they aren't as careful with cameras as I can be. And even then I have dropped them. Sure this isn't reason to stop using hi-tech cameras which aren't made shock-proof, but then we all will die, so camera life also is finite.

Yes simple wisdom.

Perhaps my expectation for a $700 p&s was a little high?... (given I've had tougher point and shoots in the past)

That Oly TG1 is looking mighty fine now

[jarski]

I was chronic dropper of small gadgets like point and shoots or phones. solution was cases, and more robust gadgets still, some near-gravity-taking-over situations have happened, but only near. knocking wood..

[btgc]

Originally Posted by jky

Perhaps my expectation for a $700 p&s was a little high?

Well, rather oriented to wrong direction. You paid $700 for technology, lens and features not for durability.

It's like $30,000 car - you get more fuel economy than performance. Buy $300,000 and surprisingly, you'll get worse fuel efficiency (at first look).

The price don't reflect directly durability of camera unless it's designed being such. But then you get durable camera with slightly lower image IQ compared to regular camera of similar specs and price because of compromises in design. There's no free lunch, unfortunately.

[bigeye]

Great shots in your flickr set! Hope that you're not stranded without a camera in Barcelona (one of my favorite cities).

There is something important to build quality in this. Consumer products disguise their construction quite well and keep cost down, while keeping comparison shopping features up.

Unless you take them apart and know what they are made of, it's almost impossible to guess their quality and ruggedness. They're not all the same.

-Charlie

[jky]

Originally Posted by btgc

Well, rather oriented to wrong direction. You paid $700 for technology, lens and features not for durability.

It's like $30,000 car - you get more fuel economy than performance. Buy $300,000 and surprisingly, you'll get worse fuel efficiency (at first look).

The price don't reflect directly durability of camera unless it's designed being such. But then you get durable camera with slightly lower image IQ compared to regular camera of similar specs and price because of compromises in design. There's no free lunch, unfortunately.

Totally agree with this - "wrong direction". Nobody said it would withstand knocks and drops. What really disappointed me was the fragility of it however... it's hard to convey in cyberspace how soft of a drop it was (nope, not justifying dropping it either - totally my bad).

Oh well, out goes the LX5!

[Addy101]

It might drop once and fail, or it may drop a thousand times without ever malfunctioning. This is simply bad luck. It isn't evidence, it is not even anecdotal evidence....

Anyway, it is big bummer if it happens to you! Hope it can be repaired.

[lam]

Be happy it wasn't an RX-1

(FWIW I just returned my RX-100 locally, nice camera, nice photos, but I Cannot STAND zooms, delay, delay, READY!)

[Matus]

What should I tell you. The display on the Sony RX100 which I bought for my friends as a wedding present died during their honeymoon :-\ - some 2 weeks after it was bought. The camera went back to seller and now is the waiting time for the repair.

Anyhow - these cameras are (or so I guess) because of their high-end electronics (compact zoom, IS, etc... - everything as small as possible) in a compact body more prone to be damaged on impact as a manual SLR.

Try to contact Sony - maybe you will be lucky and they will grand you repair for free.