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Fun with the RX-1

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Jorgen, I don't think anything comes close to m43 for value :)
I agree. I mentioned it more to illustrate that adding those items doesn't cost much for the maker. Sometimes, I get the feeling that they ommit things for political reasons rather than financial. One of the great things with m4/3 is that they have skipped politics. The tiny E-PL5 offers the same image quality as the OM-D and the GH3 apparently offers video quality that is superior to some of their video camera that cost more. The RX-1 is more like a Leica: You pay a lot to get a marginal improvement in image quality. Hopefully, that image quality is a bit like from a Leica as well :)
 

Brian Mosley

New member
Reminds me of the E-P1, clunky ground breaker... but it's 2012 and as Jorgen says - you could consider the image quality to be only a marginal improvement.

I need to see more enthusiast samples, love the cat shots, but I could stand back a bit with a 45mm f1.8 or back a bit further with the 57mm f1.2, or 75mm f1.8 and get shallow dof plus (imho) nicer colour signature.

Still not writing it off! want to try the RX-1 in person - I loved the E-P1, slow focus and all... maybe this will be a nostalgic experience? :D

Cheers

Brian
 

pophoto

New member
Well I wouldn't exactly say marginal improvements in image quality, I know full frames offers a lot more just from owning my canon solutions and my OMD EM5, and I find the RX1 definitely closer to canon offerings in this regard! Although certainly m43 offers a lot from a Bang for Buck perspective, as it certainly in its infancy but agree there needs to be more enthusiast examples!

Keep them coming Matt and John... As I certainly prefer images doing the talking!
 

lambert

New member
Thanks, Mike. This cameras detail rivals the Dp2M and I haven't seen any other camera besides the D800 that could do that. However the DP2M lacks the bokeh this camera and lens produce as well as the incredibly clean high ISO images.
I would be interested to see how well the RX1 retains detail on distant landscapes with lots of fine foliage, particularly at infinity focus.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
i have only had my RX1 briefly but it is everything Steve Huff said and more. The IQ is truly amazing. I have been working with the RAW files in C1 and it works well but it is a preliminary version of the conversion and they don't yet offer the lens profile for correction. Nonetheless, this camera amazes me.

Here is a comparison of a shot taken with the DP2M and the RX1 at 100% crop in C1 (The RX1 is to the left, both shot with flash followed by a comparison of the RX1 v DP2M where RX1 was shot without flash but DP2M used flash):
Much appreciated, John. :)

The DP2M looks every bit it is as Quentin and many others here have been saying! :)
 

barjohn

New member
For exceptional sharpness and fine detail the DPxMs are really excellent cameras. They lack the high ISO capability, the dynamic range and the bokeh of the RX1 but they also cost a lot less.
 

Mike Hatam

Senior Subscriber Member
John - there was some mention in Steve Huff's log about the lens being optimized for close focus. I have this camera on order, and would be using it as a travel landscape camera, so like lambert, I am interested in the detail at f8 and distant focus.

If you get a chance to shoot some distant detail with at f8 with the camera tripod mounted or carefully positioned, that would be great.

I really love the flower shots above - has my very excited about the close-focus look from the RX1.
 

barjohn

New member
Mike,
I live in San Clemente near the beach. Tomorrow, from my roof deck I will shoot some distant subjects at various f-stops using a tripod. I have done a few of the shots with the DP2M which manages incredible detail on distant objects, trees, etc. so I too am interested to see how this camera compares. RAW images do require sharpening, much more than the DPxMs but the detail is certainly there on the closer shots. Colors appear to be very accurate in what I am seeing early on but I need more time with different conditions to verify this. I haven't tried the Sony RAW converter but Capture One v7 does a very nice job. LR will only process the RAW files if you fool it by cahnging the EXIF data into thinking it is a A99 image (same sensor).
 

barjohn

New member
Jorgen, I don't think anything comes close to m43 for value :)
In general I would have to agree with that statement in that you get very good IQ in a relatively small package with a good selection of quality lenses that are affordable. However, even with the EM-5 which produces as good an image as I have seen from any m43 and as good or better than many APS-C, I still can see the noise, even at low ISO and it takes away some detail that I want in my images.

If IQ is the only measure and you can live with ISO under 800, I don't think there is any camera that can beat the Sigma Merrills as the images have a crispness and clarity with tons of detail that you won't find in any camera short of the RX1. The RX1 just about matches it and the D800 exceeds it. At least these are my observations.
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Reminds me of the E-P1, clunky ground breaker... but it's 2012 and as Jorgen says - you could consider the image quality to be only a marginal improvement.

I need to see more enthusiast samples, love the cat shots, but I could stand back a bit with a 45mm f1.8 or back a bit further with the 57mm f1.2, or 75mm f1.8 and get shallow dof plus (imho) nicer colour signature.

Still not writing it off! want to try the RX-1 in person - I loved the E-P1, slow focus and all... maybe this will be a nostalgic experience? :D

Cheers

Brian
Guess what my RX1 is replacing? For a long time, the image quality from model to model was an incremental improvement, and I am really referring to high ISO, and so I just kept my E-P1 and enjoyed using it. I think the OM-D was a jump. I think the RX1 is going to be better than my E-P1.
 

kuau

Workshop Member
6x6, the Nex-6 and Nex-7 have an EVF positioned exactly as you described. By trying to make the RX-1 as small as possible, I think Sony missed the boat in not including a similar, built-in EVF (they should have also included the tilt-up LCD, IMO.)
Couldn't agree more Douglas....
 

barjohn

New member
I promised some shots taken at f8/11 with foliage in the distance. While these weren't taken at the same time and are not scaled to match, they will give you some idea of the RX1 capability. The first shot is the RX1 crop shot, the DP2M crops shot and the EM-5 crop shot. The last shot is to show the distance to the clock tower and the foliage near by. All except the DP2M were from RAW and all have had sharpening applied though the DP2M had very little.
 

barjohn

New member
Quentin,
The DP2M shot, despite being a JPG shows very high level of detail. The tif might have been slightly better (I can't seem to find it now) but the day it was shot was very bright and clear, hence you can see all the way to the bluffs at Dana Point Harbor about 8 miles away. This morning, when I took the RX1 shots, the sun was just starting to break through the morning marine layer so it is still hazy in the distance. The point of including it was that I consider the DP2M a tough benchmark in resolution and clarity. The EM-5 can't approach it and it is an excellent camera. The RX1 is very close and can be hard to distinguish once sharpened.

Taylor,
These are converted to JPGs and reduced to 1200 pixels in width, nonetheless, the amount of detail present is impressive to me. Maybe you have some other camera in mind that exceeds that, other than the D800/E I haven't seen one.
 
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