Sony has been killing it with its A7 mirrorless camera systems and now all the benefits of its full-frame sensor technology is trickling down to a new RX1-RII compact camera.
Advertisement
The camera is powered by a BIONZ X image processor, of which it provides an ISO range of 100 to 25,600, which can be expanded to 50 to 102,400. There’s also a variable optical low-pass filter, something few would be able to identify but is nonetheless a valuable feature for serious shooters. (Even with many ILCs we’ve been testing, we prefer to use quality prime lenses than ones with zoom.) But the fixed lens design in the RX1R II has an advantage over interchangeable glass: It’s built into the camera and the sensor is mounted onto the lens structure, with an alignment precision down to the micron level and allows the lens to maximize the most out of the sensor. Among its offerings is a back-illuminated full-frame sensor, a 35mm F2 ZEISS Sonnar T sensor, and a high 42.4 megapixels resolution. Low-pass filter bracketing is also available and can be used to compare the effects of different settings. This is the first of its kind and can be set to “off”, “standard” or “high” and allows users to balance their desire for resolution with the removal of moiré or color artifacts. Sony also has added an uncompressed 14-bit RAW format. The camera’s sensor features 399 focal-plane phase-detection AF points that cover about 45 percent of the image area, making for “the world’s widest AF coverage on a full-frame sensor”, Sony said. Sony says the camera is designed with traditional photography in mind, although you can shoot movies if you want to (although Sony didn’t show off any videos shot with the camera, so quality remains to be seen). The camera also features improved subject tracking as well as Eye AF for ensuring the eyes of a subject are sharp in a portrait. It also inherits a similar pop-up EVF to the RX100 range of cameras, as well as having a 1.2-million-dot rear tilting LCD.
Despite packing all of this tech, the RX1R II only measures 113 x 65 x 72 mm (4.4 x 2.6 x 2.8 in) and weighs 507 g (17.8 oz) when loaded with a battery and memory card.
Advertisement
The Sony RX1R II full-frame compact camera will be available in November for about $3300 at a variety of Sony authorized dealers in both countries. It also supports NFC and Wi-fi for image transfer and remote shooting.
