Barely a week in use . . . I like it. Powerful pocket camera . . . and complex to pack all of that into a small form factor. Does most of what my full frame DSLR does. Have used lesser pocket cameras before. Looking forward to learning and using all the advanced features.

While it’s probably the best travel compact on the market, you have to really want a compact camera to spend almost £1200/$1200 on it. The RX100 VI has a heck of a lot going for it, but it’s probably quite hard to justify the cost.

There are so many great things about the Sony RX100 VI, but before you go into a dizzying spell of lust where it seems like nothing will become between you and the thing you so much desire, let’s talk about its flaws. The lack of mic port is an oversight, especially considering all the great video features. And with the aperture now starting at f/2.8 as opposed to f/1.8, it’s not going to perform wonderfully in low light. What’s more, it’s not even slightly weather-proof. However, not only does it hit the right design notes, it shoots a staggering 24 fps at full resolution and has an AF faster than you can blink. The tilting screen makes it mega handy for taking subtle close-up street scenes, and it’ll be just as good at sweeping landscapes, making it truly an all-rounder. And one last but crucial point is that honking great big zoom, which is truly a modern marvel for something so teeny. It’s the camera that you can find space for, not matter how much stuff you’re carrying. It’ll do so much of the grunt work with its demonly fast autofocusing, so you can enjoy your holiday and just take great photos. Photos that will look head, shoulders, knees and toes better than anything you’ll shoot from your smartphone.

Stunning image quality ; Lovely build ; Excellent AF ;

Battery drains quite quickly ; It's so expensive;

Stunning image quality ; Lovely build ; Excellent AF ;

Battery drains quite quickly ; It’s so expensive;

The RX100 IV takes superbly vivid, crisp and striking images that can match up to and in some cases surpass even high end DSLRs. It shoots real 4K video and is the world's first camera to have a 1.0-type stacked CMOS image sensor.

4K video shooting up to 960 fps; Super slow and super-speed shooting; Great bright condition & low light condition shooting; High speed continuous shooting at 16 fps; 180 degrees tiltable LCD Screen

Poor auto-focus system due to lack of touchscreen; Poor battery life; Unable to shoot in raw in certain camera settings

Sony keeps upping the ante with their RX100-series of premium compact cameras. Now on its fourth-generation model, the Sony RX100 IV introduces a host of performance-oriented improvements and new features, including 4K video capture, 16fps continuous burst shooting and a very fun high frame rate...

Vastly improved burst speeds with deep buffer; Great performance with very fast autofocus; Very high resolution gives lots of detail in good light; High ISO noise levels much better than most pocket camera rivals; High-quality 4K video with uncompressed HDMI out; Super-fast High Frame Rate video;...

Pricey for a compact camera; JPEGs can look over-processed at higher ISOs; Lens doesn't offer as much telephoto reach; Battery life not as good as predecessor; 24-70mm-equivalent lens can feel limiting, Lens doesn't offer as much telephoto reach, Macro performance not quite as good as some...

The Sony RX100 IV is the fourth instalment in what has become our favourite compact camera series. Since its beginnings in 2012, it's given us pocket-friendly models that offer image quality good enough to satisfy high-end DSLR-wielders on those days when taking out a large camera just isn't on the...

Pocketable size; Excellent shooting speed; Versatile video; Great image quality at lower ISOs

Intimidating price

It may seem that I've picked up on quite a few negatives here, but the RX100 IV is an excellent compact camera – and, crucially, it produces excellent images. And it would be easier to let those smaller niggles slide with a product which didn't come with such a high asking price, but they disappoint...

High-resolution viewfinder; Tilting screen; Large sensor; 4K video

High price; No touchscreen; Limited raw functionality

It's 2015 and there's an argument that the compact camera is obsolete in the face of advancing smartphones. The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV is the absolute antithesis to that; a high-end, pocketable compact with large 1-inch sensor and 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 equivalent lens.

The pocketable compact to beat; Excellent image quality; Built-in electronic viewfinder; Fast aperture lens; Customisable control ring

Hugely expensive; Autofocus performance could be yet faster; Still no touchscreen; Limited bump over third-gen predecessor

Back in 2012 Sony redefined expectations for small cameras by fitting a large, high resolution 20.1-million-pixel 1-in sensor into the pocket-sized RX100. Every year since then, it has taken its advanced point-and-shoot compact and improved it for the better.

+ Impressive resolution for a camera so small; + Advanced video capabilities including 4K and slow motion recording; + 16fps continuous shooting; + Electronic shutter (allowing shutter speeds of up to 1/32000sec to be used; + Built-in Wi-Fi & NFC connectivity; + USB charging

Reduced battery life (280 shots; No touchscreen functionality; No rubberised handgrip; Small buttons