RX10 m4 long term reliability?

[Alban88]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

 

[mepaca]

The thing is as tough as nails. I have had one since the release. I fell on the rocks in Maine and bloodied all of my appendages The camera only had a scratch in the sun shade. It also fell out of the back seat of my car onto the asphalt driveway with no damage. I use the camera most every day.

 

[PGH423]

The thing is as tough as nails. I have had one since the release. I fell on the rocks in Maine and bloodied all of my appendages The camera only had a scratch in the sun shade. It also fell out of the back seat of my car onto the asphalt driveway with no damage. I use the camera most every day.

Yeah I got mine used 2 years ago and have probably taken about 50K pictures with it. There are no guarantees with any equipment but I wouldn’t worry about reliability.

 

[Paul Richman]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. After reading Ken Rockwell’s review, I’ve had the same worry.

I just talked to a friend in California who has had this camera since it came out in 2017. He has only had one problem with the camera. He’s had trouble getting the SD card out of the slot and apparently had worked pretty hard. Eventually it broke and had to send it in for a $400 repair.

I explained to him that the card slot has an excellent spring. If you push in on the card and then release quickly, the card will literally pop out completely.

 

[RBEmerson]

My Mk IV's sneaking up on its fourth birthday. It's been rained on (tried to protect it but...), dropped, gone from sea to sea, from valleys low to mountains high, snowy days to dust storms. So far, it hasn't walked off in a huff, although it did get a little cranky about getting soaked.

There's enough nonsense loose in the world without adding to the list. Take worrying about the zoom drive off your to-do list.

 

[BertIverson]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

I have had mine since release date > 5 years ago with no problems. I use a wrist strap to prevent dropping it and it has not been rained on. If it failed tomorrow, I would repair it or buy another.

Bert

 

[tbcass]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

My RX10IV will be 5 years old in April and shows no signs of slowing down. It's my most used camera, goes everywhere with me, and still looks brand new. Since I photograph sports, the zoom gets used constantly.

 

[tbcass]

I explained to him that the card slot has an excellent spring. If you push in on the card and then release quickly, the card will literally pop out completely.

Yes, that's the trick. Release the card quickly. It took me a couple of weeks to figure that out when I first bought the camera.

 

[Alban88]

Great to read all good comments about the camera. Not gonna lie, I feel much better now that I know the camera can work for many years under quite hard conditions, according to all of you, and still goes strong!

I guess I will use the zoom as much as needed from now on

Mine is just 3 weeks old, so plenty of time to play with it and take tons of pictures. I really LOVE the camera so far!!

The only little weird things I have experienced with it is that, sometimes, when the zoom is more or less extended (can't precise more), if I turn off the camera, it might take a few seconds to start retracting the barrel and I hear the shutter like when taking a picture. Also, on one occasion, the zoom activated without me pressing the zoom lever nor turning the zoom ring until I touched the lever and then it stopped.

Btw, little off topic but, where can I share my pictures here in the forums? I haven't seen a post for doing that and don't want to open thread for this.

thanks guys!

 

[Rambow]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. After reading Ken Rockwell’s review, I’ve had the same worry.

KR was referring to the obvious fact that these cameras will not last 40-50 years, like a film camera would. They're not cheap either. The problem nowadays is that nothing lasts anymore as much as it used to, the solution would be to buy old stuff or buy less new stuff. But the sony RX cameras definitely won't make it to their 20th anniversary without some prayers and really careful handling. That's just statistics(most film cameras have the same fate but end up in a landfill in perfect working order).

I explained to him that the card slot has an excellent spring. If you push in on the card and then release quickly, the card will literally pop out completely.

Either we are discussing about a man who never had a digital camera in his life, or that spring failed on his camera. Sometimes the memory card rubs against the side walls so the spring can't do its job.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. After reading Ken Rockwell’s review, I’ve had the same worry.

KR was referring to the obvious fact that these cameras will not last 40-50 years, like a film camera would. They're not cheap either.

I explained to him that the card slot has an excellent spring. If you push in on the card and then release quickly, the card will literally pop out completely.

Either we are discussing about a man who never had a digital camera in his life,

Not all digital cameras use SD cards. For example, CF cards are removed in a different way.

or that spring failed on his camera. Sometimes the memory card rubs against the side walls so the spring can't do its job.

That shouldn't happen.

 

[Rambow]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

My RX10IV will be 5 years old in April and shows no signs of slowing down. It's my most used camera, goes everywhere with me, and still looks brand new. Since I photograph sports, the zoom gets used constantly.

So the question is not whether they last, but how much. How long should a camera last?

Normally i would say that any product that costs $1500 should last a lifetime whether we are discussing electronics, furniture or a watch. But since this is the 21st century and things are designed to fail, i'd say these cameras are meant to last a couple of years past their extended warranty period. So way less than a lifetime and no more than 5-10 years. Some will survive for twice as long but statistically speaking most units will fail sooner than that.

Back in the day people would buy a camera and after they were gone, their kids would inherit said camera, still in functioning order. Can anyone image inheriting a working RX camera decades after it was originally bought? We all know the answer to that one.

 

[tbcass]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

My RX10IV will be 5 years old in April and shows no signs of slowing down. It's my most used camera, goes everywhere with me, and still looks brand new. Since I photograph sports, the zoom gets used constantly.

So the question is not whether they last, but how much. How long should a camera last?

Normally i would say that any product that costs $1500 should last a lifetime whether we are discussing electronics, furniture or a watch.

Where did you get that idea? Cars cost tens of thousands of dollars and few last more than 20 years, most less than that.

But since this is the 21st century and things are designed to fail, i'd say these cameras are meant to last a couple of years past their extended warranty period. So way less than a lifetime and no more than 5-10 years. Some will survive for twice as long but statistically speaking most units will fail sooner than that.

You are just guessing. Without data, you can't accurately make such a prediction. How well the product is cared for and how much it's used matter more than actual age.

--
Tom

 

[Rambow]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

thanks!

My RX10IV will be 5 years old in April and shows no signs of slowing down. It's my most used camera, goes everywhere with me, and still looks brand new. Since I photograph sports, the zoom gets used constantly.

So the question is not whether they last, but how much. How long should a camera last?

Normally i would say that any product that costs $1500 should last a lifetime whether we are discussing electronics, furniture or a watch.

Where did you get that idea? Cars cost tens of thousands of dollars and few last more than 20 years, most less than that.

But since this is the 21st century and things are designed to fail, i'd say these cameras are meant to last a couple of years past their extended warranty period. So way less than a lifetime and no more than 5-10 years. Some will survive for twice as long but statistically speaking most units will fail sooner than that.

You are just guessing. Without data, you can't accurately make such a prediction.

Sony has the data. But i don't think they will share it with you. There are also insurance companies that do yearly raports on the reliability of various consumer goods, like cameras. Square Trade is one, but there used to be others as well.

But only Sony has the exact figures for every model, they need the data to know how much they are spending on warranty repairs and things like that. Obviously, nobody wants to produce cameras that fail within the warranty period, that's a monetary loss as well as a damaging event for the company prestige.

 

[PGH423]

Great to read all good comments about the camera. Not gonna lie, I feel much better now that I know the camera can work for many years under quite hard conditions, according to all of you, and still goes strong!

I guess I will use the zoom as much as needed from now on

Mine is just 3 weeks old, so plenty of time to play with it and take tons of pictures. I really LOVE the camera so far!!

The only little weird things I have experienced with it is that, sometimes, when the zoom is more or less extended (can't precise more), if I turn off the camera, it might take a few seconds to start retracting the barrel and I hear the shutter like when taking a picture. Also, on one occasion, the zoom activated without me pressing the zoom lever nor turning the zoom ring until I touched the lever and then it stopped.

Btw, little off topic but, where can I share my pictures here in the forums? I haven't seen a post for doing that and don't want to open thread for this.

thanks guys!

I have occasionally had weird things like that happen. I have assumed that it’s better to retract the lens and then turn the camera off, though I have not officially seen this advice anywhere.

 

[Digital Nigel]

Great to read all good comments about the camera. Not gonna lie, I feel much better now that I know the camera can work for many years under quite hard conditions, according to all of you, and still goes strong!

I guess I will use the zoom as much as needed from now on

Mine is just 3 weeks old, so plenty of time to play with it and take tons of pictures. I really LOVE the camera so far!!

The only little weird things I have experienced with it is that, sometimes, when the zoom is more or less extended (can't precise more), if I turn off the camera, it might take a few seconds to start retracting the barrel and I hear the shutter like when taking a picture. Also, on one occasion, the zoom activated without me pressing the zoom lever nor turning the zoom ring until I touched the lever and then it stopped.

Btw, little off topic but, where can I share my pictures here in the forums? I haven't seen a post for doing that and don't want to open thread for this.

thanks guys!

I have occasionally had weird things like that happen. I have assumed that it’s better to retract the lens and then turn the camera off, though I have not officially seen this advice anywhere.

There's no need to do that. Just turn it off, and it will shut down in an orderly manner (which takes a few seconds).

 

[RBEmerson]

[/ snip]

Where did you get that idea? Cars cost tens of thousands of dollars and few last more than 20 years, most less than that.

[/ snip]

Um... maybe not... a quickie snapshot towards the end of a 12,000 miles (19300 km) trip across the US, and prior to another 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to Nova Scotia, Canada. The current mileage is 249,800+ (402,000 km). Our Westy will turn 30 this coming April.


1990 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Westfalia -Carolina Beach. North Carolina

--
Some days I amaze even me.
Some days I put my car keys in the fridge.

 

[tbcass]

There is an old saying that the exception does not make the rule. I said few cars last more than 20 years and I stand by that remark. My first digital camera was an all-plastic Olympus C4000Z which I bought in January 2003. It's still used occasionally by my grandchildren.

--
Tom

 

[PGH423]

There is an old saying that the exception does not make the rule. I said few cars last more than 20 years and I stand by that remark. My first digital camera was an all-plastic Olympus C4000Z which I bought in January 2003. It's still used occasionally by my grandchildren.

Also, I suspect that often when a car "lasts" this long, more money has been put in to maintaining and repairing it than buying a new car. You could keep an RX 10 IV going for many decades if you're willing to put extreme cost into maintenance and repair.

That car is impressive no doubt, but it is getting less use than the average 32 year old car, which would be approaching 500K miles. If you use your RX 10 IV A LOT (like many of us here), it might be more analogous to trying to squeeze 1 or 2 million miles out of a 32 year old car.

 

[Dak on cam]

Simply that, I wonder if you guys with long experience with the camera can comment about its reliability.

Since the camera has been out for quite some time now, I guess there might be something to say about if the camera is robust enough or not.

To me, the thing that worries me the most, is the electronic zoom motor, as I'm not sure if that will last long or not. Every time I use the zoom I feel a bit "bad" because I don't know how much am I weathering the system.

Well, you better use camera and zoom thoroughly enough to have it fail within the warranty period, then.

You may not be successful, but at least you'll get lots of great photographs in return for your money.