SONY RX1R / SHOOTING REPORT

The first-class lens and the imager that fully captures the depiction.

As I mentioned in the last RX100II report, I became a RX1R owner. In for a penny, in for a pound. My only curiosity is to what extent this camera resolves. So, even though I have no problem with the RX1, I went out of my way to purchase the RX1R. I'm a native camera otaku, or I'm in an occupational disease. So, I went to Nikko where I thought resolution power becomes crucial. As an owner of the two cameras, I can say that, without doubt, the RX1R resolves better. Click the thumbnail on the right and you will find the RX1 doesn't resolve minutely to this extent. This is simply overwhelming. However, the absence of the lowpass filter makes it a little hard to handle. Even with the perfect Sonnar 35mm F2, I notice some aberration in close up shots and it has become more prone to handshake. In other words, the RX1R faithfully captures what the RX1's lowpass filter had been falsifying nicely. So, I should call the RX1R "the naked RX1."

I personally want to take the lowpass filter off as long as I don't need it. The RX1 with the lowpass filter, or the RX1R without it. The choice just depends on the purpose and we're fortunate that we can make the choice. Again, for general purposes, the RX1 is more than good enough because it takes excellent pictures to the extent you don't even care about the lowpass filter. If you ask for the ultimate, go for the RX1R.

Sigma's FOVEON sensor is different from other sensors. Because 1 sensor directly corresponds to 1 pixel, it generates very natural and high fidelity images. So, once you know the best results from the camera, I'm sure you'll be fascinated. However, because the FOVEON sensor uses a structure like color-film, there're some handling difficulties. I think the company finds it difficult to produce and control. Concurrently, the end users need a wide range of knowledge to develop the image files in order to get the best results. The RX1/RX1R, on the other hand, have a Bayer-type image sensor that bundles or thins out the data from each sensor to compose one pixel. Yet, because it has the supreme lens, it generates fine-tuned pictures. Once you fire the shutter, you can let the camera demonstrate its potential performance relatively easily and get stunning results. Whenever I use the RX1/RX1R, I'm amazed by the picture quality even though they have the Bayer-type sensor. I guess this is because of the fine-tuning and balancing of every component. The RX1/RX1R just make me go out for some serious shooting. I know I'm a freak... Anyway, I expressly bought this RX1R, so I'll get back to you with another report. I know the sample images were very dark this time, so the next report should include brighter images. Until then!