Sony Well.... my membership in the RX1R owners group didn't last long. :-/

I returned it after 2 weeks and 600-700 images. The resolution and low-light capabilities are truly BREATHTAKING. Period. The fact that it's so compact and light makes it downright miraculous. And the craftsmanship oozes quality and class.

But in the end, the disappointing jpeg engine and the focusing issues doomed this camera for me... given the price. With the EFV, external charger, lens hood (Non-Sony), 2 extra batteries and grip the $3500 price tag just didn't seem compatible with the jpeg output and the focusing issues.

And as silly as it sounds... the pitiful packaging and owners manual along with being robbed at gunpoint for all the accessories lead to a case of buyer's remorse.

While it's not even REMOTELY in the price range of Leica gear, it's a DARNED expensive piece of kit by any measure and instead of feeling like Sony rewarded me as a premium customer buying a luxury camera I felt nickel-and-dimed to death-- as if they'd cut every corner short of just shipping the camera in a brown paper bag. I think it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth that prejudiced me a bit against the whole enterprise from the moment I opened the box and frowned.

So while I would *LOVE* to be able to afford to keep it purely for the stunning resolution and low-light abilities it just wasn't a "satisfying purchase" for lack of a better phrase. I know that sounds kine of dumb, but there it is.

For $3500 I want to feel goosebumps and oohs and aahs and be "appreciated" by Sony for my investment. Instead, every time I picked up the camera I felt a nagging sense of disappointment.

I will miss the RX1R's capabilities, but $3500 will go a long ways toward something else: Perhaps an A7 or A7R w/ Zeiss glass or, who knows?

I'll STILL look in on the RX1 form from time to time just to drool over the wonderful images you folks produce with this amazing camera!! I wish you all the very best and appreciate the wisdom you shared.

Moving along...

Steve
 
Really? Some of the prices I've been seeing for the RX1 seem quite low. I'd love to have one, I think a FF DOF would be hard for me personally, at least in a small camera format.
 
Well, to each his or her own, but if I returned every product that didn't make me feel "appreciated" by the manufacturer, I'd have a real damn empty house! If the way the camera focussed had bothered me, OTOH, I might not have kept it either, but I find the focus to be real good, just not the fastest in the world. But for what and how I shoot with the RX1, it's never been even a slight issue. The jpegs are a non-issue for me, but if you want great jpegs, save your money and get the X100 or X100s instead...

I was personally happy with the various tradeoffs presented by the RX1 and it remains my favorite camera by a pretty wide margin. To eliminate feeling like I was being held up at gunpoint on the accessories, I just bought everything I wanted/needed from non-Sony sources when at all possible. I wanted the EVF, so I ponied up for that one, but the hood, the battery charger, the extra batteries, and the case are all from sources other than Sony. All for considerably less than the Sony alternatives. Well, except for the case, but for a Luigi you are gonna pay (and they actually DO make me feel appreciated).

I don't generally care about being appreciated, but if a company is gonna nickel and dime me, I'm not gonna reward them by buying their overpriced accessories where alternatives existed. But nobody was making a more reasonably priced RX1 or EVF, so I happily kept those...

Good luck finding what you want and hopefully from one of the vanishingly small number of manufacturers that still includes a battery charger with the camera...

-Ray
 
I've never understood the packaging thing. I must be a pretty insensitive kinda guy. The only thing I do with packaging is carefully put it away so that if and when I sell the kit I can pack it up nicely for the next owner.

Here is something I am surprised about. The extent to which packaging can impact the quality of your photography. I must be missing something.

I think I am going to go down into the cellar and hug a few cardboard boxes. Then I'll go out and see if it improves my photography.

LouisB
 
I'm keeping mine regardless of the money I paid up for the evf, spare batteries, hood and filters. I don't even remember the packaging! I bought a third party charger that's perfectly adequate. My Leica M arrived a la Leica in the usual huge box with drawers and magnetised flaps but I have to say if it had arrived in the same box as the Sony RX1 it would have made no difference to me.
 
the less packaging the better to me! its less i feel the need to hoard on the offchance i actually sell something when i upgrade! i have a shelf of boxes that i WISH were brown paper bags. lol!

but yeah, all the extras cost a fortune, and some of them shouldnt be EXTRAS to begin with, lol

jpg issue?! i love the jpgs! but im a 1024xwhatevs peeper, not a pixel peeper... mebbe thats where my satisfaction comes from :D
 
In camera jpegs and goosebumps, really? That`s like complaining that the Ferrari you drove in second gear only would not go faster than 90mph.
 
yeah, i agree. i'm still forming my opinion, and while it has nothing to do with packaging, i am pissed sbout the jpeg engine and a couple other things. i came in with a healthy dislike for sony, and honestly, if giving 'love' or even respect to your client base was a requirement, leica would be the first outta business (remember selling the m8 for $5000 and not telling anyone the camera couldnt render black??), followed by canon and nikon. but there are 'nontechnical' details that effect our experience and/or our ability to bond, and thats all subjective. imo no one has to justify what they like, what they dont and how much money theyll spend on either. we still live in a (kinda) free country. sorry it didnt work out, but theres tons of great equipmemt out there.

one suggestion, given this experience and the exact 'whys and wherefores' of your distaste, immediately take the A7/R off your 'maybe next' list. buying another sony, esp one with the same or similar sensor from the same co. that treated you so shabbily, is way past counter-intuitive.
 
Nice to hear various opinions. And you may be right about the A7R having a similar jpeg engine- the reviews don't look too promising on that and I don't have the time or patience to spend hours in PP except to save the occasional "special" image that needs some significant recovery. In that sense, Fuji has spoiled me silly with their jpegs- my X-E2 and X100S both produce beautiful jpegs out of the camera- but of course can't BEGIN to compare with the RX1R for resolution!

And the packaging/attitude issues would have been of little or no consequence had I not been frustrated with the jpegs and (some) focusing issues in lower light. It was just kind of an "irritant" that irked me a little.

No grudges and thankful for the opportunity to see what the future holds: TINY full frame cameras with stunning resolution. This particular one just wasn't the right fit for me and I appreciate those who are willing to acknowledge that.

My complaints were NOT intended to be "This camera sucks" comments- but rather "this camera just didn't quite meet my expectations GIVEN the price!" Nothing more and nothing less.

I STILL admire the resolution and am awed by the portfolio of images in this forum that y'all have created. BEAUTIFUL!
 
I dunno, I always shoot jpeg, I had a Xm1 Fuji for a bit, and in my eyes, the Rx1 jpegs are easily better. Easily. I found the Fuji like I do all other cameras, when I looked at its files I wondered how much nicer would they have been had I of used the Rx1....

Here are a few recent Rx1 Jpegs, and my ex-Fuji xm1 couldn't give me this..


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Anyhow, I agree with the OP's decision, if the camera isn't for you for whatever reason, move on...... find one that is...
For me, the Rx1 is magic, so much so, I think I am getting a 2nd body, as I will just be devastated if/when my 1st one fails....
 
PP is not for everyone, some files require minimal work to shine and others much more. I find that RAWs from the Sony RX1 are pretty easily pepped up, by way of contrast, the Leica M's files seem to take a lot more patience but the results are usually worth the effort :)
 
I dunno, I always shoot jpeg, I had a Xm1 Fuji for a bit, and in my eyes, the Rx1 jpegs are easily better. Easily. I found the Fuji like I do all other cameras, when I looked at its files I wondered how much nicer would they have been had I of used the Rx1....

Here are a few recent Rx1 Jpegs, and my ex-Fuji xm1 couldn't give me this..

Anyhow, I agree with the OP's decision, if the camera isn't for you for whatever reason, move on...... find one that is...
For me, the Rx1 is magic, so much so, I think I am getting a 2nd body, as I will just be devastated if/when my 1st one fails....

Are those SOOC jpegs or did you do anything to them? Because if I read the OP correctly they want to do about 0 PP at all. Those are great shots btw, I particularly like the 2nd shot.
 
Evaluation of JPEG's is ultimately a very subjective thing. A lot depends on your tolerance for noise reduction, which I personally have little.

I absolutely love Fuji JPEG's, they are perfect to my taste with minimal sharpening and NR artifacts. Sony JPEG's I find tolerable, I don't understand why they don't offer greater user control over NR when they have some of the best sensors around. For example, the NEX-5N sensor is so good it's hard to totally screw up it's JPEG's (compared to other APS-C cameras at the time.) Then there are companies like Samsung who think weird blotchy digital artifacts and reduced detail are better than some fine luminance grain. Fuji isn't perfect either, if you look at debates about the X20 vs. X10 (I loved the X10, never owned an X20.)

Of course RAW mitigates all of this. But I keep my photos on my notebook hard drive, and I don't have that much space, plus I only have so many hours unfortunately and would prefer to do less PP all else being equal. All of these cameras are great, but it's nice to have one that just gives you the results you want.

If there's some company whose JPEG output you really really like (and you predominantly shoot JPEG), it's probably best to stick with that maker (whichever it is.) I don't think an A7 or A7R is going to be much different for OP than the RX1R. Of course at this level, we're really talking pixel-peeping stuff, but if this is a hobby then you want to enjoy it.
 
no, there wont be much difference to OP or anyone in IQ among the new sonys, but there will be between those and any fujis. not that theres anything wrong with fuji output, but on a pure IQ basis its apples and oranges. ive had both, ive shot an xp1, and i still have an x100 and an rx1. apples and oranges.

i am forming the opinion that ones particular post processor may have an equally large impact on the final i age. thats why im so curious to know what lucilles processor is for her rx1.
 
I don't know photoshop or lightroom very much, my images have minimal pp, I mess with contrast and sometimes vibrance, and also brightness as I tend to underexpose just a tad, I find the colors to be richer with some slight underexposing.....I am maybe 2 - 3 minutes in PP on my images using CS6... I am just blown away by the Rx1, I have a Sony A7 with the Sony 35mm f/2.8, and quite frankly, the Rx1 and its Zeiss f/2.0 kicks it to the curb....

The Rx1 or Rx1r at 35mm against anything out there is tough to beat, atleast to me.... I have just absolutely bonded with this camera..... Here is a OOC Jpeg with only resizing done in post. I shot this this past Saturday night.


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