Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 RII Digital Still Camera

Update 2016-09-04 :It's been 5 months since I purchased this camera and I must say that I love it even more. I'm constantly blown away by the beautiful images this little camera can produce.I've purchased 4 extra batteries and an additional travel charger since so running out of juice isn't a worry for me now. A note on the battery life - while I see some places state its rated battery life as 220 shots. I usually get between 50-150 from a battery. I also bought a Pelican 1150 case to store everything; the camera, batteries, chargers and a couple filters as well. The case is really small and it's pretty light loaded up (approx. 5lbs) with everything so I'd recommend it for anyone who's interested in a tough little case to keep their RX1/R/II protected. The case has been in my backpack on two trips and two hikes and it's been great. It even spent 10-15 minutes submerged in water as I swam up a river and to my delight my stuff inside the case were still completely dry.While there may have been a few moments where I would have been better off with a different focal length (both wider and longer), I've been content sticking with 35mm. My old A6000 and 10-18 + 18-105 lenses are collecting dust right now. Seems I may have to sell them soon as this RX1RII has rendered them obsolete. I've attached more pictures, hope you enjoy.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Original Review:While I 've never written a product review before, after purchasing this camera from Amazon and using it for a short while I feel like I must share the joy I felt after using it; please excuse me if the review seems a bit rushed. I received this camera just a couple of days ago (April 1st 2016) and I must say that I've been mind blown by it's portability and performance! I upgraded to this from a Sony A6000 and being my first full frame camera I'm amazed with the massive difference in performance.I was initially torn between purchasing this camera or going with it's big brother i.e. the A7RII but I decided on the RX simply because of how much smaller it is than the A7 and I figured that I'd more likely carry it out with me on random strolls. I know the 35mm fixed lens may be constructing for some but I've had some experience using the Zeiss 24 F1.8 (which is roughly 35mm equivalent on a crop camera) on the A6000 and I never felt like I needed a wider lens while out shooting. Add to the fact that the 35mm lens on the RX1 is one of of the best 35mm lenses available I'm sure that I'd have no complaints. Also note that the cost of getting an A7RII and an FE 35mm lens would bring the cost of it to quite a bit more than the RX1 so it's not really overpriced if you consider that.I haven't had done much shooting with it as yet so I can't comment too much about it but the MOST important thing piece of information I can share to buyers is to make sure and buy extra batteries! This camera really likes to chew through them. The camera does come with a neat usb to micro usb charger so I purchased two extra batteries and a portable battery so that I can easily swap batteries and get the depleted one recharged on the fly! I did find the right side of the camera quite cramped (the price you pay for cramming so much features in a tiny camera I suppose?) and it made gripping it quite awkward. Luckily I also purchased the Gariz Half Case which helped immensely IMO, while also adding a bit of protection and some more aesthetic appeal. Because of the high MP sensor I did notice that I had to use high shutter speeds (1/125) while handheld to get tack sharp shots though I don't have the sturdiest hands. I'm sure the IBIS from the A7RII would have aided in that, but it would have inevitably added to the RX1's size; fingers crossed that Sony can implement it in the RX1RIII! I also noticed that this camera lacks an IR sensor which was definitely a let down as it'd be a problem when trying to get group shots with my family or friends. It should be noted though that Sony does have a Remote Control app available which will allow you to use most smartphones as a remote trigger.While the out of camera JPEG's are simply beautiful and would please most users, the real magic of this camera shows when you shoot RAW and post process. Simply put, the dynamic range of this camera is amazing and the its RAW files can really take abuse in Light Room. I've actually only been shooting RAW for about a year now and have much still to learn but I should shoutout to those who haven't yet to try it out. If you rather not spend money on a editing software that's fine as there's Capture One available for free for Sony users.I attended a Star Party the day after receiving it and as you can see from the two shots attached this camera is quite capable of astrophotography despite its 35mm focal length. I personally didn't have much trouble with composing shots; though I did have to walk quite a bit! I actually walked with my A6000 along with a Rokinon 12mm F2.0 thinking I'd use it just in case the 35mm focal length of the RX1 proved to be too restrictive but I ended up leaving it packed in my bag through the entire night! There was quite a bit of light pollution from the city down below so I wasn't able to get a great exposure for the Milky Way but it was still awesome to see how capable this camera was. As mentioned before, this camera has no IR sensor for remote trigger, which would normally be a pain for such shooting but I must say it didn't cause me much problems. I simply used the 5 second timer for taking shots. I also tried out the Touchless Shutter app (which is available as a free download) and it worked great as well!In conclusion, while my time with the camera has been short I can already say that it's been money well spent for me and I look forward to getting many great shots with this camera. My biggest headache now will be deciding what to do with my A6000 and all those crop lenses I purchased as it feels impossible to go back to it after seeing the performance of the RX1. I figure that I'd try to sell my primes and simply keep the telephoto lenses for when I need such pictures. Thanks for reading, hope my review helps your decision.

Amazing camera - however I specifically purchased a NEW camera - what arrived was a used camera - everything camera and accessories had been removed from the original packaging, viewfinder ring was missing.. and no documentation at all. Asking new price for a used camera is a bit cheeky.

These are some of the highlights from a full review I published on my blog. But I think the most relevant bits to an Amazon buyer.I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about getting a mind-boggling puny camera. Seriously, a couple boxes of 120 takes up more space in my bag. I mean, look at my current line-up. A Pentax 67 medium format, a monster by any measure that comes with its own gym membership and the Chamonix 45n-2 large format camera that simply dwarfs the Pentax. How would this Sony, which could easily pass as a hot shoe accessory for the Pentax 67, measure up?I feared a Napoleon complex.Like an ankle-biting Jack Russel Terrier, it acts like it's the size of a respect-demanding Irish Wolfhound. Sure, it's a small package, even by compact camera standards. But not unmanageably so. It's pretty comfortable in my hands, though I may add the ThumbsUp grip like I had on the Leica M-E to make it even more so; as of this writing, $138 is tough to swallow. The build is solid - metal all around. Pick up any Zeiss lens and you get the idea - this is basically that with a small grip.ZEISS SONNAR T*Now, I need to spend some time on this lens as really, it's why I wanted this camera in the first place. Aside from the published stats (above) I am unable to find a great deal of information on this specific build. I reached out to my friends at Zeiss and they told me Sony handles all the data and PR propaganda on this lens, so they have very little on it in regards to promo material, cut aways, etc. Hey, I tried.The lens has three rings on it. First is the aperture ring which has a nice threaded grooves. Stops from 2-22 are clearly marked with 1/3 stops ticked. Second on this lens is a macro-ring. This adjusts from standard use of 0.3m-∞ to the macro setting of 0.2m-0.35m. When in macro mode, the lens extends a smidgen (technical term) and is noted on the display. You can see an image of the battery a few paragraphs below taken with the macro-mode of the lens. Nice thin depth at 0.2m away.The rings both have nice satisfying clicks to lock in your stops.Third is the manual focus ring at the end of the barrel. Enabled in full manual or DMF mode (Dynamic Manual Focus - which I use) this ring feels very nice and smooth. There are no stops on the focus ring.One thing to note is there's barrel distortion that can be seen in the edges of your photos, especially with close-up focusing if you frame up some straight lines next to an edge. You can see this detail below where I posted some RAWs - especially the portrait of Mike as well as the photo with the signs indoors. Look to the left edge in both of these. Pretty easy to fix in post, but be aware it is there.SONY RX1R II - SENSORI can't review this camera without at least talking about the sensor. As the other camera I was considering at the time was the Leica Q, I added (for what it's worth) the DxOMark score on the two. You can see a detailed breakdown on the DxOMark website if that floats your boat. Honestly, these stats weren't what swayed me either way - but as these are the two titans right now, I thought I would include this for shits and grins.The RX1R II has a 42.4-megapixel back-illuminated 35mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor powered by the BIONZ X image processing engine to support 14-bit uncompressed RAW images. Technically, getting an ISO range of 50-102,400 but realistically using ISO 100-25,600. Even more realistically for my style is ISO 100-6400.Also to mention here is the variable low-pass filter. From Sony: You can choose from three optical variable low-pass filter effect settings: Off (to prioritize image resolution), Hi (to reduce moiré and color artifacts) and Standard (to balance those priorities). In my testing, I have left the LPF off and have not noticed any issue with moiré nor color artifacts.---------Full review on my blog if you want details. Just Google my name and RX1R II---------

The title says it all. What I ordered was a new camera. What arrived was anything but. Astounded how this keeps happening. Guess I shouldn’t be.

BUT my copy I received was missing focus. This product is almost 10 years old. Hope Sony makes new revision.