Using light in photography

This is a quick test of the RX100 in low light. This isn't so much a photo of a bottle, it's more a test of how well I can potentially capture a scene using a small, point and shoot sized camera.

To expose this photo properly my small Sony camera needed 3200iso at 1/25th @ f1.8. The results of which were fine but I would of needed higher ISO if anything was moving. At which point poster sized prints might be slightly mushy. Having a 1inch sensor on the rx100 means the noise control is pretty good but still not up there with the x100s or OMD Em5. Direct fill in flash on small compacts is the next option when you have hit the cameras acceptable ISO limit. However for the most part I do not like direct fill in flash. So this wasn't an option.

However, the main purpose of this blip is to document how great the built-in flash is on the RX100. I can adjust it to bounce it off ceilings and walls, and the whole self-contained camera fits in my trousers pocket! Never before have I been so impressed with what a point and shoot sized camera can achieve.

This was shot at iso800 (to give the bounce flash more power off my white ceiling) and the higher ISO brings in more of the ambient lighting. Overall this produced a pretty clean and balanced exposure. Which considering the light levels in my living room is quite something, especially when considering the size of the camera!