Sony RX1
Sony RX1 | 1/30 sec, f/2, ISO 6400
Got my hands on a brand spanking new Sony RX1 this evening! Despite the high price and the little time I’ve actually spent with this camera so far, I can already tell the RX1 is going to make some waves. It’s basically a point and shoot, and in practice it operates just like you’d expect a compact camera to operate. The fact that it’s packing a 35mm film-sized sensor, however, is just crazy considering how incredibly small the camera actually is.
Sony RX1 | 1/50 sec, f/2, ISO 800
Built into the RX1 is a nice chunk of Zeiss glass, a 35mm f/2 Sonnar. You won’t be swapping lenses with this thing, which actually doesn’t bother me too much since I’ve been shooting with my fixed-lens Fuji x100 for such a long time. What does bother me is that the RX1 costs more than double what I paid for the x100. Ouch.
Sony RX1 | 1/80 sec, f/2, ISO 3200
Sony RX1 | 1/40 sec, f/2, ISO 6400
I’ll need to wait until Adobe releases RAW support for the RX1′s files before I can post process the camera’s output myself. For now, the images in this post are all camera-processed JPEGs.
These images where shot hand-held at very high ISO. Pretty impressive performance low-light performance, which is not too surprising considering the big fat sensor Sony stuffed into this thing. More impressions to come on the RX1 as I evaluate it over the next week. Stay tuned!
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If only it had an optical viewfinder! What a crazy camera. Can’t wait to see more pictures from you soon
Annie
December 5, 2012 at 12:08 am
You can set the value of the exif tag: SonyModelId to SLT-A99V which will fool ACR or Lightroom into importing the files. There are other model tags within the file – they can remain unchanged as DSC-RX1.
With exiftool it’s easy enough to do:
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/
Download. On Windows (maybe on Mac – up to you to figure that out) you can create a drag and drop target by copying the exe file and renaming the copy to:
exiftool(-k -SonyModelId=SLT-A99V -overwrite_original_in_place -P).exe
Then you can drag and drop RX1 files on top of the newly renamed exe – it’ll process them, show a window with any messages, and that’s that.
Apparently LR4.3 will contain the RX1 additions and lens profiles – its not in the public beta but I have seen comments from people who have access to a verison of 4.3 beta with the RX1 additions.
Still waiting for mine to show up!
Mike
December 5, 2012 at 2:28 am
That’s Interesting. Maybe I’ll give that a try. Thanks for the tip!
Jonathan
December 6, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Nice shooting…this camera looks to have a rel future.
Jim Dell
December 5, 2012 at 4:49 am
Thanks for the write up! I’ve been wanting to hear what people were thinking if this camera!
Brett Higham
December 5, 2012 at 7:43 am
I cannot believe how sharp these photos are…what a cool little camera!
Bridget
December 5, 2012 at 9:59 am
I am just blown away by the ISOs you shot these at. I would’ve guessed they were shot on a tripod at ISO 100.
Kim
December 5, 2012 at 2:09 pm
thank you to you for this article, shooting up to the big, wait for the next there is a viewfinder
Alain Alexandre
December 5, 2012 at 11:21 pm
How is auto focusing during night time? And can it do long exposure shots? Lovely pics man!
John
December 6, 2012 at 4:05 am
Auto-focus in low light is decidedly compact camera-ish, or in other words, pretty slow. The RX1 certainly can do long exposures, and I’ll probably do some long exposure testing with the camera soon. Thanks for the comment!
Jonathan
December 6, 2012 at 12:30 pm
Nice to know. Would you say it’s faster or slower than the x100?
John
December 8, 2012 at 2:07 am
Fuji really improved the X100′s AF performance with their most recent firmware update. At least to me, my X100′s AF actually feels a tad faster than the RX1′s, at least when using single center point AF.
Jonathan
December 9, 2012 at 10:38 pm
It certainly is capable of great photos, but no viewfinder at that price? Are they nuts?
Mike
December 6, 2012 at 6:08 am
Definitely nuts. I really wish this thing had a built in EVF.
Jonathan
December 6, 2012 at 12:33 pm
Amazing technology. Can’t wait for a few more years when it gets more affordable to have full frame on smaller bodies.
howie221
December 7, 2012 at 12:26 pm
Congrats! The RX1 is definitely a game changer in 2012. I’m glad they pulled off the “impossible” so the competition can take notice. I got a sneaky suspicion Sony might have something up their sleeves in 2013. I loved the X100, but it felt too version 1.0 and it went back– I’m hoping there’s a Sony APS-C compact in the works. I have a Nikon V1, but would love to pair it up with a larger sensor compact.
Rich
December 7, 2012 at 4:01 pm
The NEX series not compact enough?
John
December 7, 2012 at 5:09 pm
I’d love an nex 6 form factor with a fixed 35mm eq. fixed lens much smaller than the zeiss 24mm 1.8.
Rich
December 7, 2012 at 10:10 pm
how do you compare the RX1 vs OMD w/oly prime 45mm re IQ, autofocus, feel, fun?
Bijan Sabet (@bijan)
December 19, 2012 at 9:59 am
Hmmm great question. I feel like the OM-D is quicker and more fun to shoot with in general. The the weather sealing, flip and tilt touch screen, great control dials, in-body stabilization, built-in EVF, and the access to the many excellent lenses available for the m4/3 mount are clear advantages. That being said, the RX1 produces some awesome files, and is built like a tank. =)
Jonathan
December 20, 2012 at 8:48 am