elverket
Member
A few weeks ago I sold my M8.2 and 35mm cron v4 to fund the RX1, which I picked up a few days ago. In case anyone is considering something similar, here are my initial thoughts:
- Getting rid of the Leica felt strange, it was harder than I'd thought, but necessary: I've been missing way too many shots the last months due to the iso limitations on the M8.2 and lack of autofocus. When I get old, wise and rich with plenty of time to spare, I'll pick up a Leica again.🙂
- Coming from a Leica, the body of the RX1 feels small - too small. I have fairy large hands, and to me the Leica both gave me a better grip and was far better balanced in the hand. It seems to me that Sony went out of their way to make the camera as small as possible, and this combined with the relatively large lens makes it kind of difficult to hold in a comfortable way. Personally I'd take a bigger body with an integrated viewfinder any day; due to the size of the lens the RX1 is hardly pocketable, and as long as it's not a few centimeters here and there would just add to the usability.
That sead, the thing feels like it's built like a tank with the same kind of "heavy metal" feeling as the M.
- The lens renders very nice on the RX1, although can surely see that it has a very different character than my old cron v4. The cron had a kind of softer more creamy bokeh, but the zeiss looks just as sharp. I'll need more time to examine this further, but for now I'd say I'm fairly impressed even though I loved the cron.
- In use, the lens feels ok, but I miss the size and the overall feeling of the cron. The Leica is so small, the focusing is so smooth and the rings turn so precisely that there really is nothing like it. If you're used to Canikon gear I'm sure you'll be impressed by the aperture clicks on the RX1, but after the cron I'd go with "OK".
- When it comes to the manual focusing, though, I'm VERY impressed. I'd never been able to focus so quickly and easily with an LCD and there is no fuss and uneccesary distractions. Very nice.
- Menus: In general, I loved the simplicity of the Leica user interface: Simplicity in an almost minimalist way. The RX1 is not like that (of course), but it's better than I feared. You can customize just about any button and there is not too much rubbish in the menus. As long as I can set up the camera the way I want it I don't have to care too much about menus later anyway. I'll say well done Sony in this regard. Coming from the Leica everything naturally also feels instantaneous; no more waiting for the camera to zoom in one step further (on that useless screen..)
- Speaking of screen, the RX1 screen totally puts the Leica screen to shame, but we all knew that already.🙂
- Image quality and IQ: The concept of the Leica rangefinders always appealed to me. No "scene modes", no video, no uneccesary distractions, just setting the parameters and taking the picture. Simplicity. As a handsome bonus i find the Leica M a product that is beatiful to look at with a superb quality feel.
That last part made it hard for me to part with it, but regarding the simplicity, I found a paradox: The simplicity of the M made it too hard to take good pictures. Before I was done light metering, focusing, setting shutter, ISO and aperture the moment was too often gone and too often I didn't set everything right and missed anyway. In light of this I have a tremendous respect for those of you who focus by feel and see the right parameters to set before they happen. I'm sure everything is possible with lots of practice, but for me life is - at least at the moment - too short.
What I wanted from the RX1 was a different kind of simplicity, because I just wanted to take pictures without caring too much if I had enough avaliable light to manage without the tripod. You make the shot or you don't. In this regard I think the RX1 has truly delivered so far. Pick just about any scene, almost no matter how dark and the camera will give you something that is often suprisingly close to what you see with the naked eye. White balance and metering is very impressive, and ISO 6400 is still great for my use. As many have pointed out the AF could be better, though: In low light it often struggles quite a bit, but for me coming from a camera with no AF it's still a whole lot more comfortable.🙂 In addition, as stated above, the MF is surprisingly easy to use.
So I guess some may be thinking: "You're using €3000 on a point and shoot, are you out of your mind?" To me, the RX1 is the first true P&S I've shot with in medium to low light, and that's a great thing. Pick up the camera, frame the shot and fire away. As long as focus is on, the camera captures what you imagine it will in almost any light condition. To me, that's a great feature, and in that regard i think the RX1 should carry its P&S label with pride. It's all about simplicity.
- Getting rid of the Leica felt strange, it was harder than I'd thought, but necessary: I've been missing way too many shots the last months due to the iso limitations on the M8.2 and lack of autofocus. When I get old, wise and rich with plenty of time to spare, I'll pick up a Leica again.🙂
- Coming from a Leica, the body of the RX1 feels small - too small. I have fairy large hands, and to me the Leica both gave me a better grip and was far better balanced in the hand. It seems to me that Sony went out of their way to make the camera as small as possible, and this combined with the relatively large lens makes it kind of difficult to hold in a comfortable way. Personally I'd take a bigger body with an integrated viewfinder any day; due to the size of the lens the RX1 is hardly pocketable, and as long as it's not a few centimeters here and there would just add to the usability.
That sead, the thing feels like it's built like a tank with the same kind of "heavy metal" feeling as the M.
- The lens renders very nice on the RX1, although can surely see that it has a very different character than my old cron v4. The cron had a kind of softer more creamy bokeh, but the zeiss looks just as sharp. I'll need more time to examine this further, but for now I'd say I'm fairly impressed even though I loved the cron.
- In use, the lens feels ok, but I miss the size and the overall feeling of the cron. The Leica is so small, the focusing is so smooth and the rings turn so precisely that there really is nothing like it. If you're used to Canikon gear I'm sure you'll be impressed by the aperture clicks on the RX1, but after the cron I'd go with "OK".
- When it comes to the manual focusing, though, I'm VERY impressed. I'd never been able to focus so quickly and easily with an LCD and there is no fuss and uneccesary distractions. Very nice.
- Menus: In general, I loved the simplicity of the Leica user interface: Simplicity in an almost minimalist way. The RX1 is not like that (of course), but it's better than I feared. You can customize just about any button and there is not too much rubbish in the menus. As long as I can set up the camera the way I want it I don't have to care too much about menus later anyway. I'll say well done Sony in this regard. Coming from the Leica everything naturally also feels instantaneous; no more waiting for the camera to zoom in one step further (on that useless screen..)
- Speaking of screen, the RX1 screen totally puts the Leica screen to shame, but we all knew that already.🙂
- Image quality and IQ: The concept of the Leica rangefinders always appealed to me. No "scene modes", no video, no uneccesary distractions, just setting the parameters and taking the picture. Simplicity. As a handsome bonus i find the Leica M a product that is beatiful to look at with a superb quality feel.
That last part made it hard for me to part with it, but regarding the simplicity, I found a paradox: The simplicity of the M made it too hard to take good pictures. Before I was done light metering, focusing, setting shutter, ISO and aperture the moment was too often gone and too often I didn't set everything right and missed anyway. In light of this I have a tremendous respect for those of you who focus by feel and see the right parameters to set before they happen. I'm sure everything is possible with lots of practice, but for me life is - at least at the moment - too short.
What I wanted from the RX1 was a different kind of simplicity, because I just wanted to take pictures without caring too much if I had enough avaliable light to manage without the tripod. You make the shot or you don't. In this regard I think the RX1 has truly delivered so far. Pick just about any scene, almost no matter how dark and the camera will give you something that is often suprisingly close to what you see with the naked eye. White balance and metering is very impressive, and ISO 6400 is still great for my use. As many have pointed out the AF could be better, though: In low light it often struggles quite a bit, but for me coming from a camera with no AF it's still a whole lot more comfortable.🙂 In addition, as stated above, the MF is surprisingly easy to use.
So I guess some may be thinking: "You're using €3000 on a point and shoot, are you out of your mind?" To me, the RX1 is the first true P&S I've shot with in medium to low light, and that's a great thing. Pick up the camera, frame the shot and fire away. As long as focus is on, the camera captures what you imagine it will in almost any light condition. To me, that's a great feature, and in that regard i think the RX1 should carry its P&S label with pride. It's all about simplicity.