Sony It's Official: Sony RX1 is the World's First 35mm Format Digital Serious Compact

Amin

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Screenshot from below video

Meet the Sony RX1:

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The good:

-Smallest, lightest 35mm format digital camera ever (close to the size of a Panasonic GX1)

-Near silent (leaf) shutter

-35mm f/2 Zeiss lens which Sony boasts offers both superior edge to edge sharpness and pleasing bokeh

-Dedicated lens rings for focus and aperture

-Focus range switch on the lens

-Exposure compensation dial

-Optional external EVF and OVF available

-Premium build


The less good:

-Camera will cost $2800 (US)

-EVF and OVF will be $600 and $450 respectively

-$179 for the lens hood and $249 for thumb grip

-No image stabilization

-No shutter speed dial

-Max shutter speed 1/2000s


The unknown:

-Autofocus performance


Full coverage at 1001 Noisy Cameras


Pre-order links:

-B&H: Pre-order

-Amazon: Pre-order


Anyone here getting one?
 
Wow, they kind of get you with the options. :eek: Still, looks pretty awesome. Hope this will drive some other FF releases in the near future!

I can't believe that Amazon is DISCOUNTING it already.....and it's not even out yet!

List Price: $2,799.99
Price: $2,798.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $1.99 :eek:

:dash2: Those Amazon "discounts" are sometimes hilarious.
 
I can't believe that Amazon is DISCOUNTING it already.....and it's not even out yet!

List Price: $2,799.99
Price: $2,798.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $1.99 :eek:

Christ... I'll have to hurry before the discount is over, thanks a lot :D

And to answer Amin's question if I'm getting it? :daz: I dunno, dépends on real world advantages, difficult to justify the spending for a mono purpose Camera.

I had the same dilemna for the Leica X2 and decided to get a sony zeiss 24/1.8 along with a bargain nex5n body. A useful combo on which I can use the nokton lenses also in my prefered shooting position looking down at the viewfinder.

So the rx1 will have to be a hell of a lot better. The nex5n is what prevented me from getting the m9 also apart from the x2, same dynamic and tonal range with easier to handle files. So I'll see when I start seeing real world pictures...
 
That $450 for the OVF strikes me as a bit gauche. But I guess if you get the whole she-bang, it only accounts for around %10 of the cost for the whole enchilada.

Doesn't seem like much to hold onto either.....I wonder how well it bounces? Richard Franiec should charge a premium when he makes his inevitable grip for this. I'd also love to see this little thing in one of Luigi's beautiful half cases. I think a nice cowhide that looks like an old catcher's mitt would really soften the modern black digital toy feel.

Armando should get this and bring his mug back around here.
 
Looks pretty awesome to me. $450 for the OVF seems steep, but is in line with the cost of other Zeiss OVFs. You could always go for the Voigtlander metal 35mm finder, which looks quite nice, at $209.

I´m not buying the RX1, but if someone gave one to me as a gift, I would not send it back! I think exciting times lie ahead.

Cheers,

Antonio
 
That $450 for the OVF strikes me as a bit gauche.

It's right in line with the pricing of other optical viewfinders from Zeiss, but I agree that it seems like a lot. It's also quite large and protuberant. Fortunately the camera uses a standard hot shoe, so many alternative OVFs can be used.

Edit: Antonio beat me too it.
 
Well, have fun, ya'll. I will not pay 3k for a camera that doesn't allow me to swap in a longer lens.

It's obviously not for everyone. And it's beyond my reach (unless I decide to do that bank job today), but that fact that it's a single focal length doesn't bother me a single bit. The X100 showed me how using a single focal length can actually help one "see" better photographically. (That's not to say I actually started getting better photos, but I was "seeing" better.)

I still think that my photography will eventually lead me back to a single focal length.
 
Actually I would love to have this camera, but for the price of the camera and the viewfinder you can get a Nikon D800. It would be awfully hard for me to justify it (much less afford it).
 
I´m not buying the RX1, but if someone gave one to me as a gift, I would not send it back! I think exciting times lie ahead.

I'm in the same boat. Someone outside Leica had to start the whole FF in a compact camera thing. The real move for me will be something with interchangeable lenses.

What I also have to think about is the final output. Part of me suspects this move is not as exciting as it would have been 3 - 4 years ago. Smaller frame sensor have improved markedly, while more and more of the output has been to the web rather than print. So outside of a few creative advantages, I wonder what the real selling point of such cameras will be?
 
My answer to that last question? I'd guess that it'll be - for some - walking into the store and saying 'I want the best camera' ...
 
If it was within budget for me (would have to sell a whole lot of stuff to justify), I would be a bit paranoid over maintenance, given the price point. I could get by without switching lenses, but it is somehow comforting to know that you can access the sensor, if you get a bit of stubborn dust on there, etc. Then, if you get damage the nice big front element (e.g., because you had no other children to sell to pay for the lens hood), you have to send the whole kit off for repair.
 
I guess I'm just not very wowed about this camera. I am more interested in the technology, a ff compact, and I hope other mfg's get on the bandwagon with something more realistically priced and with interchangeable compact lenses. I can see people saying "The full kit is only half of an M9, this is a great deal!" Uhh.. no. Just can't justify the elite prices on some of this gear. A great cure for GAS though. It's less of a can't have it and more of a don't want it. I can pay 500$ for a steak dinner or 50$ for a soda pop too but that doesn't mean either are worth it. Yea advertising, yea consumerism. Insert eyeroll. LOL rant over.
 
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