On the video on top Steve Huff talks about the camera of the year, the Sony RX1.
Steve Huff picked up the RX1 as camera of the year 2012. And also posted the second part of his ongoing RX1 review. Too bad he compares it with cameras having small APS-C and MFT sensors. Can’t wait to see a comparison with the $7,000 Leica M!
Whatdigitalcamera posted the full Sony RX1 review. The camera got an impressive score of 92%: “With a superb build, excellent detail retention at low and high sensitivities and competent metering and auto white balance systems on hand, it’s unquestionably one of the finest digital cameras we’ve seen yet.”
SLRclub also posted the full RX1 review. I guess 99% of you will not be able to read Korean but you can still look at these nice pictures!
Pascal: “Hi Andrea,quick word to let you know there is a brief preview of the RX-1 on Dear Susans”
Olivier: “I’ve setup a new tumblr with the most beautiful Sony RX1 photos & videos. Maybe you want to share this with your fine audience? http://rx1files.tumblr.com“
Reminder: We told you last week that no new FF model form Sony will be announced within the next 8-10 months. It also means that we have to wait a bit before Sony will release an interchangeable FF mirrorless system. What I really like about the RX1 concept is the fact that the sensor-camera and lens have been designed to match perfectly. That (along the size) is what really intruiges me about this camera. But the price difference between the US and Europe really p… me off! 🙂
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Click these links to check price and in Stock status: Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, Wex UK ,Wex Germany, Sonystore DE–UK–FR–IT–ES–NL–SE–FI–CH and more links at Alphacameradeals. Save $170 by simply purchasing the $7 cheap chinese metal hood ([shoplink 15410 ebay]there is one here on eBay[/shoplink]) instead of the original expensive Sony hood.
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The RX1 accessories are shipping in Japan (on eBay via Slidoo).
25 Responses
“Reminder: We told you last week that no new FF model form Sony will be announced within the next 8-10 months. It also means that we have to wait a bit before Sony will release an interchangeable FF mirrorless system.”
Not a problem! 🙂 I will wait for 2 years if I have to. 🙂
And an other two years for a couple of FF e-mount lenses
Not me.:)
I am not using E mount lenses that much why would I wait for FF lenses?!
Can the box have a sensor with a decent shutter, EVF, and a hotshoe? That is the question. WiFi, apps and all such nonsense is between Sony and Samsung to slug it out.
You are the reason why there won’t be any FF mirrorless. what is the point for sony to build a camera that no one will buy her lens? just because you don’t want to pay for leica M?
I have E mount lenses but also have better ones in manual focus ones to use and they are not necessarily Leica lenses and they are the ones I turn to.
To your surprise, there are people that would pay just for a SONY NEX FF just because they know their sensors perform well and have the basics for using the body with other lenses not necessarily for Sony cameras (Leica, Canon, Olympus, you mention it, they might want to use that lens on it).
In my camera bag I have more MF lenses than Sony lenses and I would gladly pay for a Sony NEX Full Frame camera just for the ability to use many MF FF lenses. I have some lenses already waiting to provide me more DOF =) bRING IT ON SONY! NEX FF (body style just like NEX-6/7) NEXT YEAR EVEN IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO RELEASE LENSES FOR IT AT LAUNCH..!
Umm, the RX1 that is the subject of this article, is a new camera that’s been released where noone is forced to buy extra lenses.
For nikon and canon lenses make money because of the volume of sales. For SONY making extra lenses is a pain in the arse that costs time, money and engineering effort. That is why they have been slow to release lenses.
The key point is that there are actually a number of demographics that would be happy with a full frame ILC with no or very few lenses. Why? Because nothing similar on the market. On that basis SONY profit by charging a premium.
I believe when i see it. I don’t think the market you mentioned exist at all and even if it does, the volume is too small to a point that doesn’t make sense for Sony to do it. Let’s see how well the RX1 does profit wise for sony compare with the RX100. I doubt there will be a RX2 in the future. At the same time, J1 is selling very well for Nikon and contributing lots of profit for the financial year. IMO, it makes sense for Sony to focus her limited resource on NEX system, before she goes bankrupt.
Just played with the RX1 at the Sony store. The AF on this thing hunts back and forth, though quickly, is not as snappy as a $2800 camera should be. Similarly the Nex 6 isn’t any faster than the previous gen NEX cameras.
This video from Steve Huff-n-puff sounds like a desperate plea to justify the price of Sony’s RX3000. Good thing Steve paid for the camera himself and doesn’t troll for Sony, right? He’s unbiased for sure.
Andrea, I live in switzerland and the price annoncend for the RX1 is 3800 CHF (3800$). However I saw that they offer 4-year warranty on the RX100, which is also slightly more expensive than everywhere else. I will contact Sony CH to see if they will offer 4 year on the RX1 too, that would justify the price difference (and somehow match the US pricing if purchased with extended warranty). For such an expensive fixed lens camera that would be a good thing I guess.
3’800 CHF is actually 4’100 USD.
This is a 34% difference (take out 8% MWsT, sales tax) and the difference is 26%.
This is outrageous!
Usually electronics are not that expensive here, I don’t know what they’re thinking…
That’s why I will ask for extended warranty like the RX100, otherwise I’ll simply order it from BH or Adorama. That’ll end up at 3100 CHF taxes and shipping included. That might make them reconsider the price… hopefully…
Got it….. the long-standing belief that Sony would release a follow on camera to the a99 using the same (or basically the same) sensor as the Nikon D800 is dead or now delayed past the wow factor life of that sensor at least.
It had been long assumed that Sony would release a full-frame with that sensor within the year after Nikon, but by this time next year that sensor will be obsolete.
So, with Sony again abandoning any hope that for fanboys like me of seeing a high mega-pixel body anytime soon and at the other end of the full-frame price point not even trying for market share at the lower end like Nikon and Canon all we are left with is hope for a full-frame mirrorless in 2014.
Okay, Andrea now that we know about full-frame bodies what about full-frame optics?
Any news about the rumor last spring that Sony would “soon” update the 70-400G and the very next day the rumor of a pending replacement of the 2006 version of the 70-200/f2.8?
Any hope that this will happen in 2013?
Or what about the Zeiss 50/f1.4?
Many readers will remember how Sony dragged that big expensive zoom to tradeshows for several years before it started shipping the thing this spring……………is the same thing going to happen with the Zeiss 50?
Key points from the SLRClub review:
Image resolution in the center is uniformly high regardless of the aperture at 3249 lw/ph. (Lens resolution exceeds sensor resolution?)
There is a lot of “wobbling” movement of the lens when focusing. Focusing is slower than other compacts, attributable to the large lens size.
Image quality and feeling is similar to a99, if not a teeny bit better in high ISO performance.
The magnesium body is sturdy, if a bit heavy. Likely very protective of the innards.
Absence of tilt/flip on the LCD is regrettable.
Controls are close together, but not too bad.
Thanks for the brief summary of the SLRclub review J Shin.
“What I really like about the RX1 concept is the fact that the sensor-camera and lens have been designed to match perfectly. That (along the size) is what really intruiges me about this camera.”
Exactly! I’m really hoping Sony fills the RX10 spot in the line-up with a APS-C “poor-man’s” version of the RX1 with the same design focus.
Actually RX10 is already announced !!! And it has EVF!!! tilting screen!!! and interchangeable lens mount!!! and more cool name – NEX 🙂
Eh, I’d actually like to see something akin to the RX line that would be a bit more compact that a NEX camera with better performance by eschewing interchangeability. If they came out with something that landed between the size of the RX100 and the NEX-6 it’d be an ideal size for me. That said I am looking at the NEX line if nothing comes along next year.
I doubt a move to APS-C will reduce the price by much. The RX-1 appears to have top notch build and functionality. It also has a Zeiss lens and leaf shutter. The lens alone would probably sell for at least $1,500. Perhaps a version without leaf shutter and Zeiss will be more reasonable. However, I think Sony did the right thing by including the Zeiss and leaf shutter. For such a premium product, potential customers want utmost quality.
I love the concept of a fixed lens camera. I had the Fuji X100 and loved it, but it had too many operational flaws. The Sony seems like a better executed camera. If they shored up a few issues, like built-in EVF, more spacious layout for controls, and battery life, I would not balk at the $2700 price. It’s like buying a high quality zeiss lens with the FF sensor included. I mean, the Leica guys are spending more than this price just for a lens.
For those wanting to order.I called the following places
Adorama- No delivery until probably the new year
B&H- No guarantee that they will delivery before the new year
Amazon – Orders placed now will ship on December 24 or 26th.
Sony Canada has the RX1 in stock for $2999.99 Cdn.,Plus 13% HST (harmonized sale tax). Not a great deal for anyone in Canada eh?
I like this camera quite a bit. If it had a built-in EVF, I might have been looking at my inventory of equipment to sell some stuff to buy it. HOWEVER, I also bought a D800E this year and can’t justify a WANT camera after such a hefty purchase. Maybe I can pick up a used RX1 in the future. Or better yet, an RX2 with built-in EVF. Somehow, I don’t think an RX2 will ever get built. As sweet as this camera appears, I think sales will disappoint the brasses at Sony, most because of the price.
They’re deffinitely going to make RX2 or RX1 mk 2 or whatever you like to call it. This is just for testing waters. Why am I so sure? Because Sony want to recover all the R&D costs with several products using the same components over and over. For example, the 16MP sensor has been used on so many cameras that they wanted to make profit selling it to other manufacturers without being afraid of hurting their own sales. Look at the 24MP FF sensor for A99, VG900, RX1, D600. And that EVF, the same thing being used over and over again. Expect a successor coming with almost everything you want in the future, but not now because they want people to buy a half baked product and then buy again in some time with an upgraded model with almost everything people want.
DPReview RAW comparison page… RX1 lens does NOT look as sharp anywhere against a900 or a99. Almost looks to have motion blur compared to the other FF Sony’s. Noise comparison is negligible for print up to 3200iso for all of them.
RX1 will reincarnate as an interchangeable mount camera… hopefully with fully articulating LCD and vertical rotating EVF.
And Sony… Please put your best sensor in your own cameras. It’s embarrassing to let your competitor have the 36mp.
I keep googling for the RX-1 vs M9 with 35 cron review, please someone compare them 😉