Sony RX10 w/ 1" sensor & 24-200 f/2.8 zoom

This has got to be one of the best "bridge" cameras going, or so it seems to me. All reports are saying the lens is truly a notch above the rx100, build quality is top notch,lots of features for video
[video=vimeo;80134787]
 
This could be a superb camera for a run and gun shooter like myself. While I am totally in love with my GH3 and assorted m43 lenses, the benefits of having 24-200mm coupled with a 1" sensor, and 1080p video subsampled from 5K output could be immense. Depending on how well the footage can be matched with the GH3, and how the 'look' and dynamic range are, it could be very impressive, indeed. I'm really looking forward to Andrew Reid's comparisons between the RX10 and GH3.

Six long years ago, I went to China with my Canon G7, Fuji Natura Black and Casio Z750. I came back with some super photos, but missed the image quality of my Canon 30D. This is the kind of camera that would have been wonderful to have back then. Nowadays, my needs are very different, and I'd take a few cameras and lenses, but something like the RX10 could fit the spot if I was less demanding of image quality and shallow depth of field.
 
An excellent point. But that's one reason I hang onto my Pentax kit. That and my DA Limited primes. But that could change. If I sold off all my Pentax gear, the RX10 would become a possibility.

Thats what I thought... oh gawd... I'm finding it nearly impossible to let the Pentax gear go :(

[edit] I'm out. Part of my reasoning was to lose the weight of the Pentax gear. Just after I posted the above I went to look at that Korean site, and find that fully loaded its not much lighter than my K-5 with its lenses... self-defeating and expensive just to find out its not for me. Back to the drawing board, and the Stylus 1
 
<chuckles> I can see what you mean. WTF? How can they do that with such a tiny sensor?

LouisB

The sensor's not all that tiny is how... It's not as big as m43 and it's not as good as the current state of the art m43 sensors (although it's a good bit better than the old Panasonic 12mp sensors). And it's quite a bit bigger than the 2/3" used in Fuji's compacts and waaaay bigger than the 1/1.7" used in the Olympus Stylus and most other premium compacts. The sensor was awesome from the first time it showed up in the RX100 - just needed a better camera to be built around it. This is one approach to that and it looks very well done. Although I've stayed clear of DSLRs because I don't want to carry this big a camera and I sure don't want to carry this big of a bridge camera, if I wanted a bridge camera at all. I'm still thinking that at some point someone is gonna build something like an LX7 around this sensor, but in a slightly bigger body - something around the size of an X100. THAT might be a camera that would lure me back into a compact again... But I don't think Sony is ready to make this sensor available to it's competition just yet...

-Ray
 
Put this sensor into a Digilux 2 II and I`ll be all over it. Leica might even be able to ask XV prices for such a camera. If there was ever a brilliant zoom lens fixed to a camera body with the best analog controls than this would be it.
 
The sensor's not all that tiny is how... It's not as big as m43 and it's not as good as the current state of the art m43 sensors (although it's a good bit better than the old Panasonic 12mp sensors). And it's quite a bit bigger than the 2/3" used in Fuji's compacts and waaaay bigger than the 1/1.7" used in the Olympus Stylus and most other premium compacts. The sensor was awesome from the first time it showed up in the RX100 - just needed a better camera to be built around it. This is one approach to that and it looks very well done. Although I've stayed clear of DSLRs because I don't want to carry this big a camera and I sure don't want to carry this big of a bridge camera, if I wanted a bridge camera at all. I'm still thinking that at some point someone is gonna build something like an LX7 around this sensor, but in a slightly bigger body - something around the size of an X100. THAT might be a camera that would lure me back into a compact again... But I don't think Sony is ready to make this sensor available to it's competition just yet...

-Ray

Ray, are you sure it is not as good as current m43rds sensors? I only ask because I still have one foot into the m43 camp but have not been that impressed with what I have seen from the latest generation. Not trolling, genuinely interested in your views.

LouisB
 
^this sensor is made by Sony, and so is the sensor in the most recent m43 products. It's extremely unlikely that any differences in efficiency between the 2 sony sensors would be enough to make up for the very substantial difference in surface area.
 
Ray, are you sure it is not as good as current m43rds sensors? I only ask because I still have one foot into the m43 camp but have not been that impressed with what I have seen from the latest generation. Not trolling, genuinely interested in your views.

LouisB

Yeah, as Bart noted above. The good news is there's surprisingly little difference. It's good enough that if I liked the camera enough and if it covered all of the focal lengths I care about, I might go for it instead of m43. But I like ultra wide, rarely but sometimes like longer telephotos, and like shallower DOF than this will give, particularly for candid portrait shots. So m43 works for me in ways this doesn't. But I'm gonna recommend this camera to a number of people who's wants/needs are different than mine. I think it's gonna be great and will get a lot more out of that sensor than the RX100...
 
If the RX10 had an interchangeable mount and the Zeiss zoom sold separately it could be a serious contender. The RX10 body with the outstanding f1.2 32mm Nikon lens and equally excellent wide angle 6.7-13mm Nikkor zoom would be something to consider.
 
If the RX10 had an interchangeable mount and the Zeiss zoom sold separately it could be a serious contender. The RX10 body with the outstanding f1.2 32mm Nikon lens and equally excellent wide angle 6.7-13mm Nikkor zoom would be something to consider.

Or just that lens in a Nikon 1 mount.
 
Just looked at an RX-10 today at a camera store in Hong Kong (tough to find among all the Leica stores here). It has a nice quality feel, and perfect size for the weight, but obviously a bag-camera not a pocket one. Impression is that much of the weight is in the Zeiss zoom, which looks monster on that body. EVF seemed OK but not class leading, AF seemed a bit lazy indoors, and the power zoom on the lens is quite slow - that would annoy me since the point off this is to have instant zoom options all the time. My general impression is that if I wanted a travel zoom this size I'd do better going with an m43 combo, both in response speed and EQ. But, someone here is bound to try one and I will be curious to see the results.
 
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