The RX100 has long been Sony's flagship Cyber-shot compact. It's the leader in its point-and-shoot squad, gathering up cutting edge features and high-performance components and stuffing them neatly into a pocket-sized camera.

It's 2015 and there's an argument that the compact camera is obsolete in the face of advancing smartphones.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

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

The RX100 IV becomes one of the smallest traditional compacts with 4k video, and the slow motion modes from 4x to 40x are simply fantastic. Whether you're a film-maker, someone who analyses sports motion, or simply enjoys footage of your kids or pets running and splashing around, the RX100 IV...

Sony Cybershot RX100 IV review: Extensive manual controls, great imaging performance and good dynamic range makes it one of the best compact cameras, but the erroneous focusing system and the limited lens maybe a big disadvantage, for its price

Small; fits in trouser pockets; Good build; Excellent image quality; Good dynamic range; Extensive manual controls; WiFi connectivity; Excellent electronic viewfinder

Restricted range of lens; Autofocus mechanism does not work well; Weak battery stamina; No touch input; WiFi configuration is not the easiest

Like its predecessor, the RX100 IV is expensive, but it's also the best compact camera you can buy.

1-inch; 20.1MP "stacked" CMOS sensor; Outstanding photos and videos; 4K and super-slow-motion modes; Improved EVF

Even pricier than before; Limited focal range; Mediocre battery life

Packed with premium features and with a price tag to match, the Sony RX100 IV is a formidable compact camera.

It seems that Sony enjoys putting amazing technology in as many of its cameras as possible. It doesn't matter if it is a high-end or entry-level product, or if it is a professional interchangeable-lens camera or a compact camera. Sony likes to impress.

I did all the research the RX100M4 was rated best for pocket sized quality cameras. I purchased specifically for combination of size and quality for a 5 week trip to Fiji and New Zealand, purchased full accessories, etc. Took on the trip and the camera developed firmware problems after 6 days.

Small / Compact

Complicated Controls; Limited Zoom

The Sony RX100 IV is a high compact really extraordinary range. It enhances the experience of the previous incarnation, especially in terms of operating speed and video capabilities.