Nine years is a long time to wait. When Sony shipped the RX10 IV in 2017, it was the benchmark for bridge cameras — a 600mm reach, a 1-inch sensor, and a built-in lens that made it the everything-camera for wildlife, sports, and travel photographers who did not want to carry an interchangeable-lens kit. On July 9, 2026, Sony officially announced the RX10 V, and the generational gap is apparent in every spec.
The Lens Stays — Everything Else Has Changed
Sony retained the formula that made the RX10 work: a 1-inch stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor and the ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* 24–600mm f/2.4–4.0 lens with 25x optical zoom. At 600mm, macro focusing holds to about 72cm. At the wide end, 3cm macro gets genuinely close to small subjects.
Processing receives a real upgrade. The RX10 V runs Sony's BIONZ XR processor alongside the same AI processing unit found in the Alpha mirrorless lineup. That unit powers Real-time Recognition AF — the subject-tracking system that holds focus on birds in flight and athletes mid-stride on the A9 III — now available in a fixed-lens camera for the first time.
Speed and Video That Were Not Possible in 2017
The RX10 IV shot 24fps with blackout. The RX10 V shoots blackout-free at 30fps with continuous AF/AE tracking running at 60fps — a significant step forward for tracking fast, unpredictable subjects at 600mm.
Video gets a headline upgrade: the RX10 V records 4K 120p, enabling up to 5x slow-motion in 4K. The viewfinder jumps from a 2.36M-dot 0.39-type EVF to a 3.69M-dot 0.5-type OLED unit with 0.78x magnification — nearly double the dot count and noticeably more coverage.
Price and Availability
The RX10 V is available to pre-order now on Alpha Universe at $2,299.99 US / $2,899.99 CAD / £2,200 / €2,500. Physical availability starts in August 2026.
The price sits above the average mirrorless kit but is aimed squarely at photographers who want reach and flexibility in a sealed, all-in-one system without managing glass. If you have been holding onto an RX10 IV since 2017 waiting for Sony to update it — the wait is over.