Sony RX1R II

[chuasam]

I've played with one for a couple of days now.
This is a fascinating camera.
The only compact camera I have used that can thoroughly beat my Nikon D810.
It's not that compact, fairly bulky as far as compact cameras go.

Image quality is out of this world.

my dog

200% crop on the eye

my friend Charles (ISO 5000)

200% crop on the eye.

ISO 6400 at f/2

Macro is a bit rubbish

Dinner (next to no DOF)

Appies...

full of lines

The Good:
Image Quality and Lens (Those closest camera to touch it in terms of image quality is a 50MP Hasseblad, it will soundly beat a Pentax 645D)
The Size - fairly pocketable
Bokeh is ...like a trip to triple-creme land.
Chromatic aberration is amazing for a 35mm f/2 (much much better than a Leica)
Microcontrast is spot on

The Bad:
Battery Life (average under 200 photos a charge)
Slow! The RAW files are 85MB and you can't display till they're done writing (1000x SD Card in there)
The Ergonomics - did they hire monkeys to design the menu system
no VR

and the Elephant in the room:
the utterly eyewatering price
We're talking about a compact camera from Sony that costs more than you would dare to imagine.

 

[fmw]

That is impressive.

 

[chuasam]

In the end, it is still a toy. A very nice toy. But it costs more than this watch I'd rather buy.
It'll be hard to make money with it. Sure it has amazing image quality but clients tend to be upset if you show up with a small compact camera.

 

[beagle100]

I've played with one for a couple of days now.
This is a fascinating camera.
The only compact camera I have used that can thoroughly beat my Nikon D810.
It's not that compact, fairly bulky as far as compact cameras go.
the utterly eyewatering price
We're talking about a compact camera from Sony that costs more than you would dare to imagine.

looks like it also has some exposure issues
enjoy your new camera

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[chuasam]

I've played with one for a couple of days now.
This is a fascinating camera.
The only compact camera I have used that can thoroughly beat my Nikon D810.
It's not that compact, fairly bulky as far as compact cameras go.
the utterly eyewatering price
We're talking about a compact camera from Sony that costs more than you would dare to imagine.

looks like it also has some exposure issues
enjoy your new camera

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

Nah it's just super harsh sunny summer day

 

[goodguy]

35mm prime on FF sensor, talking about limiting yourself.
Sorry but I just cant see myself stuck with such a setup no matter how good it is, try doing head shots with a 35mm lens on FF, yack
Its a pure street camera that can do ok landscape too, I rather have the A7RII, I would even want the A7II over it

 

[DarkShadow]

Even for half that price I wouldn't buy one but thanks for sharing.

 

[chuasam]

35mm prime on FF sensor, talking about limiting yourself.
Sorry but I just cant see myself stuck with such a setup no matter how good it is, try doing head shots with a 35mm lens on FF, yack
Its a pure street camera that can do ok landscape too, I rather have the A7RII, I would even want the A7II over it

It's a compact camera. It's along the likes of the Leica Q or fuji x100t. Yeah it's bad for headshots but it's also easy to carry around when travelling.
Cost wise, I would rather buy a Tudor North Flag and use my phone for pictures.

 

[goodguy]

35mm prime on FF sensor, talking about limiting yourself.
Sorry but I just cant see myself stuck with such a setup no matter how good it is, try doing head shots with a 35mm lens on FF, yack
Its a pure street camera that can do ok landscape too, I rather have the A7RII, I would even want the A7II over it

It's a compact camera. It's along the likes of the Leica Q or fuji x100t. Yeah it's bad for headshots but it's also easy to carry around when travelling.
Cost wise, I would rather buy a Tudor North Flag and use my phone for pictures.

Ah the Tudor is nice
Had my eye on an Omega Seamaster Chronograph which is close to covering this camera, I too would take the cell and Omega for a trip instead of this Sony LOL

 

[chuasam]

35mm prime on FF sensor, talking about limiting yourself.
Sorry but I just cant see myself stuck with such a setup no matter how good it is, try doing head shots with a 35mm lens on FF, yack
Its a pure street camera that can do ok landscape too, I rather have the A7RII, I would even want the A7II over it

It's a compact camera. It's along the likes of the Leica Q or fuji x100t. Yeah it's bad for headshots but it's also easy to carry around when travelling.
Cost wise, I would rather buy a Tudor North Flag and use my phone for pictures.

Ah the Tudor is nice
Had my eye on an Omega Seamaster Chronograph which is close to covering this camera, I too would take the cell and Omega for a trip instead of this Sony LOL

The Sony is a long term loaner. My other job is to find nice homes for expensive cameras so Sony wanted to make sure I was well acquainted with the RX1R II.
I do like it. If I had tons and oodles of money I would get it. The battery life is a bit of a pain though.
But if it's my money: Tudor Black Bay 36 with cash to spare for a Lumix LX100 for travel.

my "beater" watch also photographed with the RX1RII

 

[beagle100]

35mm prime on FF sensor, talking about limiting yourself.
Sorry but I just cant see myself stuck with such a setup no matter how good it is, try doing head shots with a 35mm lens on FF, yack
Its a pure street camera that can do ok landscape too, I rather have the A7RII, I would even want the A7II over it

It's a compact camera. It's along the likes of the Leica Q or fuji x100t. Yeah it's bad for headshots but it's also easy to carry around when travelling.
Cost wise, I would rather buy a Tudor North Flag and use my phone for pictures.

Ah the Tudor is nice
Had my eye on an Omega Seamaster Chronograph which is close to covering this camera, I too would take the cell and Omega for a trip instead of this Sony LOL

The Sony is a long term loaner. My other job is to find nice homes for expensive cameras so Sony wanted to make sure I was well acquainted with the RX1R II.
I do like it. If I had tons and oodles of money I would get it. The battery life is a bit of a pain though.
But if it's my money: Tudor Black Bay 36 with cash to spare for a Lumix LX100 for travel.
my "beater" watch also photographed with the RX1RII

OK, a nice job
looks like another harsh summer day
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[fmw]

I've played with one for a couple of days now.
This is a fascinating camera.
The only compact camera I have used that can thoroughly beat my Nikon D810.
It's not that compact, fairly bulky as far as compact cameras go.
the utterly eyewatering price
We're talking about a compact camera from Sony that costs more than you would dare to imagine.

looks like it also has some exposure issues
enjoy your new camera

www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

Nah it's just super harsh sunny summer day

It is a pretty seriously overexposed image on a harsh sunny day.

 

[chuasam]

Let's check out the low light performance.

very low noise at ISO 3200. Bokeh is amazing at f/2

ISO 51,200 the grain is pleasant and the bokeh is rendered well

 

[chuasam]

Just to wrap up. I returned the camera to Sony.
I quite liked it. The image quality is outstanding (easily on par or better than my D810). The ergonomics is stupid...like playing a PSP with ovengloves stupid.

Would I buy one?
CAD 4,800 ...no.
if it was CAD 2,000 I might be sorely tempted.

Who is it for? uncompromising travelers with deeeeeep pockets.