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Anything is possible in digital camera design as Sony proves by mating a 35mm-sized sensor with a Zeiss prime lens and putting both in a compact camera body. Report by Paul Burrows.

SONYCYBER-SHOT DSC-RX1

THE LITTLE CAMERA THAT COULD

camera body with a 35mm-sized sensor and a bespoke 35mm f2.0 Sonnar prime lens – and it starts to look more like pretty good value.

DOWN SIZEDCrucially, one of the reasons the RX1 is so small is that it doesn’t have any sort of built-in eyelevel viewfi nder. However, an optional optical fi nder is available, and the hotshoe is actually Sony’s clever ‘Multi Interface’ connector – as already seen on the NEX-6 and SLT-A99 – so it’s also possible to fi t an EVF (the standalone version of the excellent OLED panel used in the NEX-6, NEX-7, A77 and A99). It’s hard to see anybody attracted by the RX1’s traditional values, not wanting an eyelevel viewfi nder of some type which will add to the total outlay, but is really an essential part of what this camera is all about.

The sensor is a version of the 24.7 megapixels ‘Exmor’ 3:2 aspect CMOS used in the A99 and it has an imaging area of 35.8x23.9 mm. The effective pixel is 24.3 megapixels, giving a maximum image size of 6000x4000 pixels with either 14-bit RAW capture or JPEGs recorded at one of three compression levels – Extra Fine, Fine or Standard – and two smaller sizes, corresponding to 10.0 and 4.6 megapixels. RAW+JPEG capture is possible, but limited to a large/fi ne JPEG only.

Like Sony’s D-SLRs and CSCs, the RX1 has a dual-format memory card slot which accepts either SD types (including SDXC and UHS-I speed) or the Memory Stick PRO/PRO HG Duo types. Of course, SD now pretty well reigns supreme across the entire spectrum of digital cameras, but Sony continues to keep faith with the existing users of its proprietary format which is commendable.

The sensor’s sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 25,600 with a one-stop ‘pull’ down to ISO 50 in one-third EV increments. With the ‘Multi-Frame Noise Reduction’ function, the maximum ISO setting climbs to 102,400 which is made possible by fi ring off six frames in rapid succession and then combining them to give increased brightness without the attendant noise. ‘Multi Frame NR’ lurks in the ISO settings and can be run with either auto ISO adjustment or a manually selected setting. This is one of the many image processing functions overseen by the RX1’s ‘Bionz’ processor which also enables continuous shooting at 5.0 fps with the full resolution,

T here can’t be a camera maker on the planet that hasn’t

closely studied Fujifi lm’s success with the X100 and the subsequent X-series cameras. It was a classic ‘thinking outside the square’ exercise and it has revived Fujifi lm’s fortunes in both the enthusiast and professional camera sectors. With the DSC-RX1 Sony is doing ‘an X100’. It came totally out of left fi eld, it’s instantly gained cult status and it’s a completely fresh idea… who’d have thought it would be Sony that dreamt up the idea of a fi xed lens compact camera with a 35mm-sized sensor? It should have been a Canon or a Nikon, shouldn’t it? Well, we said the same thing about the X100…

Like the Fujifi lm camera, the Sony RX1 is a lovely thing to both look at and to hold. There’s the nicely solid ‘heft’ of a classic all-metal bodyshell and it’s adorned by some classic dials with a chromed shutter release that also has a socket for connecting a cable release. Although the body itself is smaller than that of the X100/X100S, the bigger sensor means a bigger lens… big enough, in fact, to have a screwthread fi lter fi tting of 49 mm. It also has all-metal casings and a manual aperture collar which, very nicely, is click-stopped in one-third EV increments.

So why not make the RX1 a compact system camera with interchangeable lenses? Well, for starters, like Fujifi lm, Sony is working on the principle of matching the lens and the sensor for optimum performance and, secondly, installing a lens mount would make the RX1 a very different camera, not to mention a much bigger one. We wouldn’t put it past Sony to have an NEX-series model with a 35mm-sized sensor at some point in the future – perhaps to compete with Fujifi lm’s X-Pro1 – and it’ll be aimed at a different audience.

The concept behind the RX1 is to provide the performance advantages of a 35mm-sized sensor in a truly compact package. It’s not quite pocket-sized – although it’ll probably fi t in most jacket pockets – and it weighs just a shade under 500 grams, but it’s still easily the smallest camera in this class when compared to any of the D-SLRs or Leica’s M-series digital rangefi nder models. Which brings us neatly to the price tag… $3000 looks like a lot to pay for a digital compact, but consider it as separate components – i.e. a high-end

“The RX1 isn’t quite pocket-sized, but it’s still easily the smallest camera in this class when compared to any of the D-SLRs or Leica’s M-series digital rangefinder models.”

albeit with the focus and exposure locked to the fi rst frame. This is with the RX1’s ‘Speed Priority Continuous’ mode, otherwise the maximum shooting speed is 3.0 fps with adjustment of the AF and AE for each frame. There is no image stabilisation, either optical or sensor-based for shooting stills – probably not such a major omission given the lens’s shortish focal length – while electronic shifting is available when shooting video (as the sensor is now cropped).

The RX1’s operation centres around its main mode dial and rear input wheel plus the control rings on the lens.

The lens barrel has a manual aperture collar and focusing ring. However, both are fly-by-wire rather than mechanical.

The built-in flash is small, but enough for fill-in purposes and it also serves as the commander for a wireless TTL set-up.

As on the X100, exposure compensation is set via a conventional dial. Note the cable release socket set into the shutter release.

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of 30-1/4000 second plus a ‘bulb’ timer. Not only is the leaf shutter almost completely silent in its operation, it allows fl ash sync at all speed and the built-in fl ash fully retracts into the camera’s top plate when not in use. It’s tiny, but still handy for fi ll-in purposes and, usefully, Sony allows for it to be used as the commander in a wireless TTL set-up. The other fl ash modes include slow-speed sync and second curtain sync.

SEEING THE LIGHTThe RX1’s metering is, of course, also sensor-based and employs 1200 points to give multi-zone, centre-weighted average or spot measurements. A standard set of ‘PASM’ exposure control settings is supplemented by seven subject/scene modes which includes one called ‘Hand-Held Twilight’. This is essentially a variation on ‘Multi Frame NR’ and captures multiple frames which are subsequently merged in-camera to boost the exposure, allowing hand-held shooting in very low light conditions while also reducing noise levels. The other scene modes are for Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene and Night Portrait, and are selected automatically in the camera’s ‘Intelligent Auto’ mode.

There’s also a ‘Superior Auto’ mode which also performs automatic scene selection, but combines it with multi-frame capture to reduce either noise or subject motion. These full auto modes also include the option of face detection and recognition, a ‘Smile Shutter’ auto trigger, ‘Soft Skin Effect’ on-the-fl y retouching and auto portrait framing (with single-shot capture). Just whether the typical RX1 user will ever go near any of these is debatable, but the manual exposure overrides compromise program shift, up to +/-3.0 EV of compensation (set via a dial), an AE lock and auto bracketing over three frames with an adjustment of up to +/-3.0 EV or over fi ve frames at either +/-0.3 or +/- 0.7 EV. Auto bracketing is also available for white balance and the dynamic range expansion processing.

The RX1 offers a full suite of white balance control options, comprising auto correction, a set of nine presets – three for different types of fl uoro lighting – provisions for storing three custom measurements, fi ne-tuning and manual control temperature setting over a range of 2500 to 9900

there’s the choice of automatic exposure variation (again based on the brightness range in the scene) or manually-set adjustments of between +/-1.0 EV to +/-6.0 EV. These frames are subsequently processed to combine the underexposed highlights with the overexposed shadows and the correctly exposed mid-tones.

TAKING EFFECTBorrowed straight from Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras is a choice of ‘Creative Style’ picture presets, 13 in all, including B&W and Sepia. The colour presets are adjustable for contrast, sharpness and colour saturation and up to six user-defi ned ‘Creative Styles’ can be created.

The RX1 also gets a set of ‘Picture Effects’, again numbering 13 and which includes the ‘staples’ such as Toy Camera, Retro Photo, Miniature and Soft Focus, but also some exotica such as Partial Colour, HDR Painting, Watercolour and Illustration. These are applied at-capture, but of course can be previewed, and some have adjustable effects. However, Watercolour and Illustration are both also available as post-capture editing functions.

The RX1’s ‘Sweep Panorama’ mode creates a real panorama rather than a cropping a normal frame... so the maximum image size is 12,416x1856 pixels in the wide mode. The function can be set up for left, right, up or down sweeping or panning (i.e. the latter two for when the camera is held vertically) and then it’s just a case of keeping the shutter pressed and panning until shooting stops. The stitching is subsequently performed in-camera and, as we noted with the A99, appears to be virtually seamless. Exposure control is fully automatic, but compensation can be preset and the white balance adjusted.

Full HD resolution video footage can be recorded at 50 frames progressive scan – representing 28 Mbps – or at 50 frames interlaced, giving 24 Mbps. It’s also possible to record at 25 fps progressive scan at two quality levels (giving 24 Mbps or 17 Mbps). Stereo microphones are located either side of the ‘Multi Interface’ shoe and there’s a stereo audio input for connecting an external device. Audio levels aren’t manually adjustable, but there is a wind-cut fi lter. Full HD video is recorded in the AVCHD Version 2.0 format, but it’s also possible to

“One of the first things to get used to when shooting with the RX1 in its high speed continuous mode is that it doesn’t make any noise… well, only the faintest of clicking sounds.”

NICE ZEISSThe third member of the RX1’s image triumvirate is, of course, the lens which is courtesy of Carl Zeiss and specifi cally engineered to work with the 35mm-sized sensor at an extremely short distance. It’s made by Sony, but all the design work was done by Zeiss which also oversees the quality control. It employs eight glass elements and seven groups and three of these elements are aspherical types – one is what Sony calls an ‘Advanced Aspheric’ (AA) – to correct for distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We’ve already mentioned the aperture collar, but there are two other controls incorporated into the lens barrel – one switches between the normal and macro focusing ranges, and the other is a manual focusing ring. This is a ‘fl y-by-wire’ control rather than a traditional mechanical drive (as, incidentally, is the aperture control), but it doesn’t feel quite as disconnected or vague as some. The minimum focusing distance is 30 cm, but this reduces to 20 cm in the camera’s macro mode. These are the distances from the sensor’s surface so, from the front of the lens, they become 24 and 14 cm respectively. Focusing is, of course, via contrast-detection measurements and employs 25 points with the option of automatic or manual selection, a fi xed centre point, auto tracking and face detection.

In the style of a D-SLR, the AF mode is selected by a switch on the camera’s front panel. Manual focusing is assisted by a magnifi ed image (adjustable from 5.9x to 11.7x and with the option of a timer) and a focus peaking display that’s available in three colours (red, yellow or white) and three levels (low, mid and high). This is a feature borrowed directly from Sony’s higher-end CSCs, and it indicates the plane of sharpest focus by highlighting the areas of maximum contrast. Curiously though, it only works with the magnifi ed view and not a normal image. Nevertheless, it’s still a very effective way of focusing both precisely and quickly. The RX1 also has Sony’s ‘Direct Manual Focus’ (DMF) which allows for manual fi ne-tuning to be used along with the autofocusing.

There’s built-in lens corrections for distortion, shading (i.e. vignetting) and lateral chromatic aberrations, but with JPEG capture only.

The RX1’s lens incorporates a leaf shutter with a speed range

degrees Kelvin. These settings can be combined with a set of CC fi lters; seven steps each for blue, amber, magenta and green. They can be combined as desired and, like the fi ne-tuning, are set via a colour square graphic.

Sony pioneered dynamic range expansion processing – which it calls ‘Dynamic Range Optimiser’ or DRO – in D-SLRs and now it’s a standard feature on any camera designed for enthusiasts or professionals. The RX1’s DRO processing is available with automatic correction based on the brightness range present in the scene or can be set to one of fi ve preset levels. The next step up is multi-shot HDR capture and again

The Sony RX1 may be small, but it’s capable of a big performance. Test images captured as JPEG/large/extra fine files exhibit exceptional sharpness and definition, colour fidelity, dynamic range and smoothness of tonal gradations. Noise levels are negligible all the way up to ISO 6400.

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Incidentally, the ‘Quick Navi’ display – which is the only one that can’t be replicated in the EVF – also includes the histogram and the level indicator. Additionally, if fi tted, the EVF’s displays can be confi gured differently to those of the monitor screen.

The playback screens include a thumbnail accompanied by a full set of histograms plus highlight and shadow warnings (which can be a bit hard to see in such a small image). These warnings aren’t shown in the full image screen. The playback modes include either four or nine thumbnails pages (and it is really ‘either/or’, not ‘and’), zooming and a basic slide show function with adjustable display times.

The RX1’s menu system is essentially borrowed directly from the Sony D-SLRs, including the orange-and-black colour scheme and the arrangement of the chapters and pages. Continuous scrolling is available across the full set of seven chapters and 16 pages. It’s all fairly logical, except that accessing the sub-menus is by pressing the button in the centre of the navigator rather than via the more common right click.

SPEED AND PERFORMANCEOne of the fi rst things to get used to when shooting with the RX1 in its high speed continuous mode is that it doesn’t make any noise… well, only the faintest of clicking sounds which are only really audible when the camera is held up to the eye.

With our Panasonic 16 GB Class 10 UHS-I reference SDHC memory card loaded, the Sony fi red off a sequence of 25 JPEG/large/fi ne fi les in 5.151 seconds which represents a shooting speed of 4.85 fps. This is fractionally slower than the quoted speed, but then the burst length is much longer. Switching to the higher, ‘Extra Fine’ quality level we still managed a burst of 24 frames, this time captured in 7.310 seconds which represents a shooting speed of 3.2 fps. These fi les were around 9.8 MB in size.

Having already experienced what the A99 is capable of as far as image quality is concerned, we had an inkling of what to expect from the RX1, but it still came as a surprise that something so compact could deliver such a big performance. Noise just isn’t an issue at any sensitivity setting up to ISO 6400 and even here there’s only a very small amount of luminance noise and virtually no chroma noise that would otherwise reduce

record at 1440x1080 pixels and 25 fps in the MP4 format with MPEG 4 AVC/H.264 compression.

The level of video functionality is high and includes the availability of the ‘PASM’ exposure modes, autofocusing with tracking, DRO processing, the ‘Creative Style’ presets and the ‘Picture Effects’. Given the contrast-detection AF isn’t especially fast, manual focusing is still arguably a better option when shooting video except here the RX1 doesn’t provide the assists available when taking stills which is a pity. There’s a dedicated video start/stop button on the thumbrest.

IN THE HANDThe RX1’s control layout is largely straightforward thanks to having the traditional main mode dial, the second dial for exposure compensation, an input wheel and customisable fi ve buttons that can be assigned functions selected from a very long list. These comprise a dedicated multi-function button on the top panel marked ‘C’, the AEL button on the rear panel and the down/left/right operations of the navigator. The navigator is a dual four-way keypad and control wheel.

In the manual exposure mode, the rear input wheel changes shutter speeds while the aperture control obviously sets the f-stops (as it does in the aperture-priority auto mode). In the program and shutter-priority auto modes, this latter control is locked out. No surprises here then.

The high-resolution monitor doesn’t have any touch controls, but it does operate as an interactive control screen when the ‘Fn’ button is pressed. This brings up all the major capture-related functions (metering method, white balance, DRO/HDR, ‘Creative Styles’, ‘Picture Effects’, etc) superimposed over the live image and which are then selected via the navigator and then there’s the choice of selecting a dedicated sub-menu or scrolling through the settings on-screen. Alternatively, there’s a ‘Quick Navi’ display which is purely for showing info and making settings (i.e. no image), and primarily designed for use with one of the optional eye-level fi nders.

Additionally, the live view screen can be confi gured to show a real-time histogram, a dual-axis level display, a grid pattern or a set of aperture/speed scales which handily show both their relationship and effect (i.e. on depth-of-fi eld and the freezing/blurring of movement)

The design and function of the RX1’s menus are borrowed straight from the Alpha-series D-SLRs.

The interactive Function Menu provides direct access to all the major capture-related settings (metering method, white balance, DRO/HDR, ‘Creative Styles’, ‘Picture Effects’, etc).

The live view screen shown with the real-time histogram activated.

The live screen can be configured with one of three grid patterns (Nikon’s D5200 is starring as the subject here).

The live view screen shown with the function indicators activated.

Manual focusing is assisted by a focus peaking display that’s available in three colours, including red as shown here.

A dual-axis level display can also be shown in the live view screen.

The image replay screens include one which shows a thumbnail with a set of luminance and RGB histograms.

Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera.Lens: Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f2.0. 4.0x digital zoom. Minimum aperture is f22. No focal length magnification factor. Filter diam-eter is 49 mm.Focusing Type & Range: Contrast detection with 25 focusing points. 30 cm to infinity; macro focusing down to 20 cm. Subject tracking and face detection modes. Single-shot and continuous operation plus manual override. Low light assist via built-in illuminator. Manual focus assist via magnified image and focus peaking display.Shutter Type & Speeds: Electronically-controlled leaf, 30-1/4000 second plus ‘B’.Metering: Multi-zone (1200 points), centre-weighted average and spot. Metering range is EV 0 – 20 (ISO 100/f2.0).Exposure Control: Program, shutter- and aperture-priority AE, manual plus seven subject/scene modes with auto selection (‘Intelligent Auto’). Up to +/-3.0 EV compensation, an AE lock and auto bracketing.Sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12,800 and 25,600. ISO 50, 64 and 80 also available.Sensor: 35.8x23.9 mm ‘Exmor’ CMOS, 24.7 million pixels (24.3 MP effective). Image Size: 3:2 aspect ratio – 6000x4000, 3936x2624 and 2640x1760 pixels. 16:9 aspect ratio – 6000x3376, 3936x2216 and 2640x1488 pixels. 14-bit RAW files captured at 6000x4000 pixels. RAW+JPEG capture.Video Recording: : Full HD = 1920x1080 pixels at 50 fps, pro-gressive scan, 16:9 aspect ratio and AVCHD Version 2.0 format with MPEG 4 AVC/H.264 compres-sion (28 Mbps quality); or at 25 fps progressive scan (24 or 17 Mbps quality). Full HD = 1920x1080 pixels at 50 fps, interlaced, 16:9 aspect ratio (24 or 17 Mbps qual-ity) and AVCHD Version 2.0 format with MPEG 4 AVC/H.264 compres-sion. HD = 1440x1080 pixels at 25 fps, 16:9 aspect ratio and MP4 format with MPEG 4 AVC/H.264 compression. Clip length of up to 20 minutes in duration or 4.0 GB in file size. Built-in stereo micro-phones and 3.5 mm stereo audio input.Continuous Shooting: Up to 5.0 fps for a burst of 14 JPEG/large/fine frames or 12 RAW frames

(Speed Priority mode). Up to 3.0 fps in the standard continuous shooting mode.Formats: RAW, JPEG, AVCHD Ver. 2.0 and MP4. PictBridge and DPOF compatible.Flash: Built-in with auto, red-eye reduction, fill-in, slow sync, first/second curtain sync modes and wireless controller. Up to +/-3.0 EV flash exposure compensa-tion. Flash range = 75 cm to 21.7 metres (Auto ISO). Flash hotshoe provided for connecting external units. Flash bracketing.White Balance: TTL measurement auto/manual control; nine presets each with fine-tuning (magenta-to-green and amber-to-blue), one custom setting, manual colour temperature setting (2500 to 9900 degrees Kelvin) with magenta-to-green and amber-to-blue CC adjust-ments. White balance bracketing.Viewfinder: 7.62 cm LCD moni-tor screen (1.229 megapixels). Optional FDA-V1K optical eyelevel viewfinder available.Storage: One multi-format slot for SD/SDHC/SDXC cards (including UHS-I types) or Memory Stick PRO/PRO HG Duo cards.Interface: USB 2.0, micro HDMI output (Type D), 3.5 mm stereo audio input.Additional Features: Image stabili-sation via sensor shift, Adobe RGB and sRGB colour spaces, dual-axis level display, grid patterns (choice of three), dual-delay self-timer (two or ten seconds), ‘Smile Shutter’ function, 13 ‘Creative Style’ modes (Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Portrait, Landscape, Black & White, Clear, Deep, Light, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves and Sepia), ‘Creative Style’ parameter adjust-ments (contrast, sharpness and colour saturation), six user-defined ‘Creative Styles’, 13 ‘Picture Effects’ (Posterisation – Colour/B&W, Pop Colour, Toy Camera, Retro Photo, Soft High-Key, Partial Colour – red/yellow/blue/green, High Contrast Monochrome, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-Tone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolour, Illustration), ‘Sweep Panorama’ (Wide and Standard modes), ‘Auto HDR’ capture mode (Auto, 1-6 EV in one-stop steps), ‘Dynamic Range Optimiser’ (Auto, Levels 1-5), DRO bracketing, in-camera lens corrections (Shading, Chromatic Aberration, Distortion), highlight and shadow warnings, RGB histograms, long exposure noise reduction (On/Off), high ISO

noise reduction (Off, Normal, Low), adjustable image review time, 4/9 thumbnails display, slideshow with variable display time, playback zoom (up to 13.6x with JPEG/large images).Power: Rechargeable NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery pack.Dimensions (WxHxD): 113.3x65.4x69.6 mm.Weight: 453 grams (without bat-tery and memory card).Price: $2999.Distributor: Sony Australia, telephone 1300 720 071 or visit www.sony.com.au

colour saturation and contrast. This is mainly due to the way Sony is working the noise reduction processing.

Not surprisingly then, at the lower ISOs the level of detailing is stunning, resulting in exceptionally crisp-looking images, both the JPEGs and with RAW capture. The colour reproduction is excellent across the spectrum and the dynamic range is commendably wide, preserving more tonal variations in the highlights than we’ve seen with the A99, Canon’s EOS 6D or Nikon’s D600. Using the DRO processing, improves things in the shadows too. The metering is reliably accurate as is the autofocusing, although it can be a bit sluggish in low light conditions. However, the manual focusing assists are so good – and it feels quite natural to use the control collar – that some users may end up not using the AF at all.

THE VERDICTMaking the RX1 as small as it is had involved some compromises – most notably the fi xed monitor screen and the absence of a built-in EVF, but neither are really deal breakers, even if acquiring the latter does involve yet more expenditure. Its size combined with its big sensor performance is still what makes the RX1 so special… there is just nothing else in any category that gets close. The most obvious alternative would be the Leica M, but in comparison the RX1 looks fantastically affordable. In terms of pricing and, it has to be said, imaging performance, the Fujifi lm X-Pro1 is the more logical direct rival, but it’s not as compact.

Of course, the Sony has a fi xed lens, but the 35mm focal length is hugely fl exible, being wide-angle, but not so wide as to limit the range of applications. Now it has the X-Pro1’s sensor, Fujifi lm’s X100S is also a logical consideration for anybody contemplating buying the RX1, but the big sensor still wins out in terms of its inherently higher signal-to-noise ratio and all this means as far as the dynamic range, high ISO performance and resolution are concerned. Sony ices this cake very nicely with the RX1’s build quality, ergonomics, capabilities and sheer desirability.

Quite obviously, this isn’t a camera for everybody, but it is the only camera for anybody who wants the best possible imaging performance from the smallest possible package.

“Borrowed straight from Sony’s interchangeable lens cameras is a choice of ‘Creative Style’ picture presets, 13 in all, including B&W and Sepia.”

The rear panel real estate is mostly taken up by a fixed LCD monitors screen which had a resolution of 1.229 megapixels.

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