I'd still want to see a comparison with the Sigma DP2 Merrill. I know I have gone on about how good the DP2M is on another thread, but it really is shockingly, mind alteringly good - at Low ISO. Love the look of the Sony, but the lens and overal performance are going to have to be something else to justify the price. Probably will have stellar high ISO performance, which would be a bonus. Odd camera though for that money. and as for the lens - well Sigma have produced a belter on the DP2 Merril, just because it has Zeiss in the name does not necessarily mean the RX1 lens will be any better.
Probably stellar high iso performance? I think that's a given
A bonus? A necessity for some of us who do low light available work.
The DP2M lens is better? How do we know this already? The RX1 lens is F2.0, one full stop faster. Would be interesting to compare at F2.8 (which is what the Sigma has) including bokeh/fringing. I finally used the DP2M this weekend, and I agree the lens in the DP2M is superb. But I don't know why the Sony lens is already known to be less than that, without the camera out.
The DR of the Sony will sure be better (the K-5 DR is definitively better than the DP2M's by a notable margin). I noticed the DP2M has rather poor shadow recovery- you get color casts fast and a lot of monochromatic detail (which is a good strategy to do vs giving you full color constancy). This from ISO 100/200 recoveries- the K-5 has none of those problems. The RX1 sensor will perform even better than the K-5- one of the things Sony mentions in their brochure is better DR by a significant amount over the A900s sensor.
Even at ISO 200 I saw a couple of issues and for some reason the files don't convert as easy as the DP2. The hyper detail has to be treated with care- like people who do HDR or the photograph is not as good due to the super pointilization of detail "calling attention" in a way that looks very digital, not like film. But that can be dealt with, with care and varies per subject.
On the usability, the RX1 will respond faster, focus faster (particularly lower light), longer battery (1 sony battery will be like 3-4 Sigma batteries!). Those little details can add up depending what you are shooting.
It seems to me that while the DP2M will operate superb in the ISO 100/200 full spectrum light situations, the RX1 will operate superb in a far wider range of conditions. After all you can also print walls of a landscape if you want from 24 MP, even if the DP2M would still allow you to print that extra inch or two. While the Sony will allow you to take a full wedding from daylight to reception in the dark at night without much problem.
I am not even touching video here, but the ever growing interest in professional photographers that have clients that want video, could also see a benefit here.
Of course, the RX1 is much more expensive, which puts a nice (wide) gap between the two. If the Rx1 was even $300 more expensive than the DP2M, I would see the DP2M a hard sell, except for the day landscape photographers.
- Raist