When Sony unveiled its DSC-RX1 Cyber-shot camera at Photokina 2012 last September it created a frisson of excitement. Here at last was a compact camera with a 24-megapixel ‘full-frame’ sensor. And it was built like a ‘real’ (traditional) camera, to boot. Measuring 113.3 mm wide, 65.4 mm high and 69.6 mm thick and weighing just under half a kilogram with battery and memory card installed, the RX1 drew covetous eyes from far and wide.
So, is this the pocket-sized, ‘serious’ camera we’ve all been waiting for? Maybe ““ and maybe not. Its price tag (AU$2999 or US$2800) will be a major deterrent for many. But there are other factors that will take the RX1 off the ‘must have’ lists for many photographers. The table below lists the pros and cons we’ve uncovered since receiving a review camera.
| Who’s It For? If you’re planning to fork out almost $3000 for a compact, fixed lens camera, you need to be sure you’re making the right investment. So, let’s look at how well the RX1 is suited to specific tasks serious photographers might use it for.1. Landscape photography: The 35mm angle of view may not be wide enough to provide the dramatic coverage some landscape photographers desire. However, it’s close to ideal for using vertically to capture a series of shots for panoramic stitching because it shouldn’t introduce excessive distortions. A lens hood is a must for most landscape work. 2. Portraits: Wide enough for environmental portraits but too short for head-and-shoulders shots. Too short, as well, for candids. 3. Sports and Action: Only if you can get close enough and, even then, focusing may not be fast enough and using flash will be difficult on the small camera body. 4. Close-ups and Macro: Close focusing limits make the camera unsuitable for both applications. 5. Photojournalism and Street Photography: Maybe. The camera is small enough to be inconspicuous and the manual controls are easy to adjust on-the-fly. The threaded shutter release allows use of a cable to trigger the camera’s shutter inconspicuously. Superior low light performance allows high ISO settings to be used in poorly-lit situations but the lack of stabilisation may present problems. 6. Indoor Photography: Depends on the subject and the photographer’s approach. The 35mm lens may not be wide enough for cramped situations but the camera’s low-light capabilities are a big plus. 7. Architecture: Inherent barrel distortion and vignetting could present problems, although in-camera corrections are available. How Does it Handle? The design and control layout of the RX1 is reminiscent of traditional rangefinder styling, with the front panel is dominated by the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 35mm f/2 lens. The only other features are a focus mode selector switch on the lower left hand corner, an AF-assist LED between the lens and the RX1 name plate and the leather-clad grip moulding. The Sonnar lens design dates back to 1929 and is renowned for its simplicity, relatively light weight and fast maximum aperture. Because it has a short back focus, it is well suited to the RX1, where roughly 20% of the lens is contained within the relatively slim camera body. The lens has eight elements arranged in seven groups. Three elements have aspherical surfaces, one of them with an ‘advanced’ design. The iris diaphragm has nine blades, which close to a circular aperture. This lens has a normal focusing range of 25 cm to infinity but can focus to about 20 cm with the macro shooting mode. It’s great to have a ring on the lens for adjusting aperture settings. Unfortunately, there’s no auto setting on the aperture ring so the aperture ring is disabled when the camera is set to the Full Auto or S modes. The position of the sensor is indicated by a ‘Plimsol’ line on the top panel just left of the hot shoe. The top panel carries two dial controls: one for selecting the shooting modes and the other for exposure compensation. Between them sits the shutter button, which is threaded to accept a traditional cable release and surrounded by the power switch. A customisable ‘C’ button is located just in front of the exposure compensation dial. A hinged, pop-up flash (similar to the one on the RX100) is recessed into the left hand side of the top panel. Between it and the mode dial is a Sony multi-interface hot shoe, which is mechanically compatible with Sony’s flashguns but doesn’t give the camera control over most third-party flashes. There’s no built-in viewfinder so you’re forced to use the monitor for everything. Sony offers two add-on viewfinders as accessories but neither was supplied with the review camera so we can only provide basic information about them. The FDA-V1K is an optical finder that sells in Australia for $599. The FDA-EV1MK is an OLED electronic viewfinder with a resolution of 2,359,000 dots. It has an RRP of $499. Both attach to the multi-interface shoe, which means the FDA-V1K will suffer from parallax error due to its position with respect to the lens. The FDA-EV1MK will display the same view as the image sensor. The rear panel monitor is a 3-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1,228,800 dots. To its right of the monitor lie two dial controls and five buttons. The flash pop-up switch and playback button are located just above the monitor. The main control dial, which is used to adjust a selected function, is near the top of the rear panel. A second control wheel surrounds the arrow pad, which has a central selection button and four directional ‘buttons’. Users can assign different function to the left, right, up and down buttons using settings on page 3 of the set-up menu. The top button below the main control dial handles the AE Lock function in shooting mode as well as the playback zoom function. Below it is the Function button, which can be programmed to access one of 19 settings in the shooting mode and also handles image index views in playback mode. The RX1 must rate as one of the most customisable cameras on the market. In addition to the three user-programmable memories accessed via the mode dial (C1, C2 and C3), 25 functions can be assigned to the rear panel buttons. The ‘C’ button on the top panel and the other arrow pad buttons can each have a single function assigned to them. But you’ll have to remember which one adjusts the drive modes, ISO, white balance or whatever function you’ve assigned to it. Sadly, there are no labels on the arrow pad’s directional buttons to help you remember how you’ve set them up, save for the DISP label just above the ‘up’ button and the AEL (auto exposure lock) button. To some degree this can be overcome by using the ‘Fn’ button on the rear panel to access a ‘quick’ function menu, which displays the most frequently-used camera settings overlaid on the scene shown on the monitor. The Quick Navi display, which is accessed via the DISP button, shows the same adjustments without an overlay ““ and adds a few settings that aren’t provided by the screen overlay. It also makes it easy to set image size and quality and displays a level indicator and brightness histogram. Pressing the ‘Fn’ button in this mode allows you to navigate around the screen and adjust 16 functions, rather than 13 supported by simply pressing the ‘Fn’ button on its own. The interface ports are tucked away under a lift-up cover on the left hand side of the camera. Here you’ll find a Micro USB connector, an HDMI micro jack and a 3.5mm microphone jack for external microphones. On the opposite side of the camera, just back from the right hand strap lug is the movie record button. It’s positioned just to the right of the thumb grip moulding and, while not in the ideal spot for triggering and stopping recordings, is usable in most situations. The battery and memory card share a compartment in the base of the camera. And it is here we have our first ‘beef’ with the RX1: the battery has to be charged in the camera via a USB cable and AC adaptor (both supplied). You can also charge the battery directly from a computer via the USB cable ““ but it’s VERY slow. The problem with this system is that the camera becomes unusable while the battery is being recharged. You can buy a ‘travel charger’ (the BC-TRX) for AU$69 and spare batteries cost AU$69 each. But we feel the charger should have been included in the overall camera price. The user manual supplied with the RX1 is designed for Cyber-shot cameras and almost totally useless for serious photographers. The index omits many key functions, making it difficult to locate the meagre information provided.
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In summaryGood for: Not so good for: Rating
RRP: AU$2999, US$2800 (MSRP) Buy
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