Sony RX1 Review By Ron Martinsen
Thanks Joe.
Sony’s little full frame wonder gets another entirely positive review. Ron Martinsen felt the beat of the Sony RX1 (price & specs) in a comprehensive review with lot of sample images. He writes:
Let’s just cut to the chance so I can answer the question that everyone wants to know about – is this camera really as good as a full frame DSLR? From an image quality perspective, the answer is without question – YES! The sensor on the RX1 is fantastic and the lens is on par with my best L lenses on my Canon gear. It’s got gorgeous color, dreamy bokeh at f/2.0, and creates sharp images even when examined in RAW. It’s high ISO performance is on par with most of today’s DSLR’s.
He found a small back focusing issue and discusses more RX1 issues, but for the rest the RX1 once more proves that Sony got it right and made a truly awesome camera. Check the high ISO samples! About the sensor Ron writes:
The colors are excellent, the detail is very good and the performance across the full spectrum of ISO’s from 100 to 25,600 is on par with the best DSLR’s on the market.
Ok, the fixed 35mm lens was felt as a limitation, on the other hand this is what characterizes the RX1. Check also the cool Gariz leather cases for the RX1 (click here).
Sony RX1 price check: Amazon, B&H, Adorama, J&R, eBay
[via ronmartblog]
Joe
5 months ago |I know Ron personally and he is reasonably fair in his reviewing. He’s also a very technical person as his day job is in software engineering.
derek
5 months ago |I have to agree with him too, good start Sony and keep trying to do better and I have feeling they will just like Fuji did.
derek
Neo NiGHTS ®
5 months ago |Backfocusing? But isn’t CDAF back/front-focusing proof?
lionheart_se
5 months ago |Good point, that’s what I thought too!
Denis
5 months ago |It may be focus shift: lens is focused wide open, then it is stopped down — the latter can introduce focus shifts.
John Maverick
5 months ago |My assumption was that the NEX did stop-down metering. Eg. Unlike a DSLR, which stops down before firing the shutter, and requires a DOF preview button.
tesilab
5 months ago |It isn’t backfocusing in the technical sense at all, but it is a tendency to focus further back. The RX1 lens has no focus shift problem at different apertures if I read the diglloyd.com review correctly. There is an opposite problem that the lens despite lack of shift performs its focus at the shooting aperture, which is great for full time DOF preview and metering, but not as good for nailing critical focus.
In Lloyd’s case he cited small high contrast details in a minority of the focus box as responsible. In other words, since the high contrast details, even though they make up a tiny percent of the total box are capable of producing the highest contrast match, the focus will gravitate towards that rather than a lower contrast portion which uses the majority of the focus target.
However in *this* reviewers report, he is saying it is just focusing further back, period. I don’t know of anything that can explain that, other than a (wild and irresponsible) guess that for the lens is not holding its focus position at the time of the shutter release, or that he is able to release the shutter without actually acquiring a focus lock altogether.
Neo NiGHTS ®
5 months ago |So, if I understood well what you said, it was simply the case of the camera’s AF being fooled by something else (in this case a more contrast point around the frame).
Homer
5 months ago |agood camera NO ONE is going to buy excpet richies and pretentious wankers.
sean lancaster
5 months ago |I wonder what causes a person to contribute an ignorant and worthless comment like what Homer has done. Hmmm.
GreyOwl
5 months ago |Also has been active on 43 Rumors, and rude as well.
Marlon Richardson
5 months ago |I was able to snag one of these for about 2k via an employee discount. I think if you take what kind of photographer Ron is when reading his review you will notice that it’s a very positive one. He is not a prime shooter and would rather have a zoom lens. That isn’t negative it’s just a preference. He would likely like the Rx100 better.
Even though I have 2 zoom lenses I use my primes 90% of the time. Shooting with a fixed 35 or 50 is just fine for me on a compact design because I’ve shoot this way with film camera’s for many years and it suits my style of shooting. I found the RX1 to be excellent and suitable for professional portrait and street photography. Depending on the light and variation of subject matter the focusing system is quite good. Unfortunately, if you leave it on just one AF method for all shooting scenarios it could hunt or back focus. The tracking AF point and multi point is particularly impressive for street photography.
Personally, I’ve found that the Rx1 is definitely a niche camera that will really appeal to photographers who might still primarily shoot film or those who value a compact design over some flexibility. Although it is stellar I do feel that it is priced too high for the masses and could do very well at 2k or 3k with all the options included. As someone who shoots a Leica M6 and has tried the M9, I can tell you that it definitely quenches my thirst for a compact full frame digital. I am use to sacrificing some flexibility for a compact design so most of the gripes about this camera don’t affect me. I hope Sony makes a line of these camera’s with a 24/2, 35/2, and 50/1.4 and possibly a collapsible 24-70/4 for those who want a zoom instead.
When the full frame NEX finally appears I think they should make the mount itself interchangeable for Sony mounts at least. This way A-Mount and E-Mount (APS-C + FF) will be served with native mount lens mount without the need of an adaptor. Adaptors can then be used on top of those mounts for using 3rd party lenses. Eventually they should build A-Mount camera’s in the same manner so that users can have access to all the lenses in the lineup and 3rd party use. Essentially only the body will separate A-Mount and E-Mount. The A-Mount will continue to have a more traditional design with a more rugged body design for rigorous use. They could perhaps go to a more Olympus style ruggedness at some point. For E-Mount they could continue to make compact and sleek bodies that sacrifice a bit of flexibility for size and transport.
YouForgot
5 months ago |It isn’t 100% positive as you stated.
He closed his review by saying:
“Overall I’d have to say this is a great beginning, but not something I’m interested in at this time. I loved the image quality and I commend Sony for using such a great lens. However, I need a zoom lens on a form factor like this and this is one camera that I’d actually consider buying if it had interchangeable lenses.
It’s just lame being stuck at 35mm only at this day and age, so at this price point it’s more of a proof of concept camera than something I desire to own. Hopefully Sony will respond to feedback like this and come up with an interchangeable lens version or one that has a decent 24-100mm zoom. Current lens physics dictate that a 24-100mm on any full frame camera at a decent aperture (like f/4) would be roughly the same size as Canon or Nikons 24-70 2.8mm lenses, so it’s no wonder Sony chose to go with a 35mm prime, but that just doesn’t fly with me. “
Jason
5 months ago |If you cant make it work at 35mm, you dont have any business with a $3k camera to begin with.
grant torres
5 months ago |I’ve read his review, and he says “I need a zoom lens on a form factor like this …”, and I respect his needs and shooting preferences, but he never forced his opinions on our throats.
Mars Observer
5 months ago |The problem for me is that no matter how good the bokeh is, it’s still ’35mm bokeh’
Now, if they made a 50mm f1.4 bokehlicious version of the RX1 I’d be tempted, but I don’t think such a thing would be possible in such a small form factor.
Of course, I guess if it’s bokeh you’re after then the RX-1 isn’t going to be your choice – so smart move by Sony for giving it a more photojournalistic 35mm lens.
John Maverick
5 months ago |A Zeiss 50mm/1.5 is pretty fast and compact on NEX. Same lens that Henri C. Bresson used for many years
http://imgur.com/7lhlb
Would be so much better on fullframe though
Mars Observer
5 months ago |And it actually doesn’t look that big (I’m surprised)! Maybe a RX FF with fast 50mm is ‘do-able’!!!
Max
5 months ago |If you already have an RX1 or have decided to buy one, you know what you have. A beautifully engineered compact camera with a state of the art 24mp sensor and a top quality 35mm lens. Fixed. Not interchangeable. Not a zoom.
So how about lookin at the possibilities.
When you need it you can use the ‘clear image zoom’ function to get 50mm and still get excellent jpg images.
Need RAW? Going back to the future, surely someone will market good quality wide and 2 x tele converters which would give roughly 18mm and 70mm options.
Mars Observer
5 months ago |I do like the idea of the ‘clear image zoom’ to get a 50MM FoV (and the sensor has enough pixels to spare). I think that’s a great feature!!
But by cropping by a 1.5 factor to create the 50mm FoV, the bokeh is more characteristic of a 50mm at F3.5. Still very, very nice – but of course not really comparable to a 50mm f1.4 or 1.8 that many people have today (let alone the 50mm f1.2 that some extremists have)
Still… it’s very usable… and how often do I really shoot at f 1.4. You’re tempting me d*mn it!
It's a steal
5 months ago |I think this is just a choice for people who wants a compact portable cam and still get advantage of a FF. if one wants an interchangeable lens cam to match their shooting taste, one can always shell out 2-3 grants for a FF dslr/ dslt and then another couple thousands for lenses. Don’t forget, this is a mirrorless FF with a CZ lens for gods sake. The CZ prime lens itself will cost you over a thousand already if for the dslr/dslt.
Jurka
5 months ago |RX1 autofocus is veeeeeery slow and unusable for moving (even slowly) subjects!
Kuba
5 months ago |How can we still talk about a lens having a gorgeous colour in the era of digital photography, WB, RAW and advanced coating technologies?