OG sent us this picture that shows how far Sony went with the camera miniaturization. The Full Frame RX1 body is as small as the Panasonic GX1 body which uses a much smaller Four Thirds sensor. Of course the RX1 is not an interchangeable system camera like the Panasonic but I guess a RX1 alike NEX camera is on the horizon as well!
30 Responses
Moving the market forward! Good times, well done Sony!
This is a Panaonic GX1 much largar than the GF5….
First off, it’s awesome that they could include the EV dial in there as well.
BUT… Is this really a fair comparison? How much space is saved by fixing the lens to the camera? My understanding is that the very nature of a interchangeable-lens camera requires more space than a fixed-lens camera. Thus, it’s much easier to make a smaller fixed-lens camera.
Sony, as a true measure of ingenuity, we’re waiting on you to develop a full frame, interchangeable-lens camera… at the size of the GX1, and at a price consistent to the rumored full frame Nikon D600 ($1,500-$2,000)… If you can build that, you will OWN the market, and my money will be as good as yours!
To me, the RX1 is a concept camera, a test by Sony. The purpose is a) develop a small FF camera, b) how will it be recieved on the market.
Fixed,prime lens makes a lot of things easier and less costly to develop. Compare with the Fuji X100 introduced before the X-Pro1
Lastly: Anyone know if there is a EVF? If not, very few will buy this camera.
Sony take industry forward (thanks to Fuji X100 and X-Pro1/X-E1) and provide compact size.
Great news! 🙂
Compact system cameras are defined by their lenses and not their sensors.
All of these systems have 1 compact pancake lens, usually with a focal length close to the sensor diameter, and that’s it. Once you put a tele or UWA lens on it, it becomes obvious how silly these APS-C or even FF systems are. What’s the point of a interchangeable lens system, if you can’t put a tele or UWA on it?
Sony knows this and have fixed the lens, which I think is a smart move. This is effectively a FF camera in the size of an EOS M. This is obviously aimed at people who own a FF DSLR and want a compact companion camera.
However, this comparison to Micro Four Thirds is really not fair, considering that Panasonic camera will happily take tele and UWA angle lenses that are much smaller and lighter than APS-C equivalents. At least for me, the ability to mount a tele lens is the #1 reason to use an interchangeable lens camera over a G1X or RX100.
Size preview compared to others :
http://imageshack.us/f/832/rx1size.jpg/
It is nice to see that Nokia has kicked the whole camera industry on the move. They are all now busy to achieve somehow the same image quality as Nokia 808 Pureview.
I personally dream about interchangeable lens camera (with active lens adapter for Canon lenses) with Nokia Pureview software and Full Frame! That would be The Last Camera! The end of camera development. Or would it? Of course It would have the capability to edit photos and video, and upload them to the internet, as well as receive phone calls and software updates etc.
The NEXs have a very good grip, why didn’t they put one on the RX1? I tried the RX100 and I couldn’t hold it firmly, I hope it will be better with the RX1.
Fixed lens camera can be very small, because the lens can be very small due to the custom micro lens design.
being so small lets just hope it doesn’t overheat in video mode SONY!
Given who this is aimed at it should have a shutter speed dial instead of the mode dial, more like the Fuji x100. Also the lack of built in vf of some kind is a mistake, IMO. It’s not all about size.
Digital Rev had this on their website, so this camera is coming for sure.
http://www.digitalrev.com/article/sony-rx1-full-frame-compact/NDA0MzI2NDk_A
This could be a brilliant product if it has a good AF system, responsive controls and an electronic first curtain shutter for a fast flash sync.
It’s basically a Leica X2 but superior in every possible way minus the lack of the red dot.
Pretty amazing.