E-m5 vs. Sony Rx1

tjdean01 wrote:

1. It's "Sony People." I sell and know a lot about TVs and there is not any price category where Sony makes the best TV (Panasonic is best). Yet I see uninformed people coming in all the time informing me as if I don't know everything about TVs that Sony is the best. Now I'm not an idiot so I make commision selling them their beloved TVs but there is one thing about these people that I see relevant to this camera. You see, most are semi-informed (at least they're not buying cheap Vizio TVs), yet they are pretty adament about certain things. So while all people hate 3D on their TVs (which is the equivalent of getting a chrome muffler when you opt for the V8 or pet smile detection on your pro DSLR), many want certain things that may or may not matter. So, a 120hz TV is usually sufficent, but the better ones are 240hz. Sony customers are the ones who let themselves be convinced that 480hz actually makes a difference (it doesn't) and will pay extra because the number is higher. Bottom line: YOU WILL NOT SELL THIS MARKET SEGMENT A CAMERA LACKS ZOOM. RX100 maybe.

2. It's Sony. So, do I need to buy a new memory card? Do I need a Sony polarizer? Do I need buy new products that actually fit in the hot shoe? Do it operate on a different frequency than Blu-tooth does? Do I need to buy Firewire because it doesn't have HDMI? Will the charger work or do I have to move into a house built by Sony? I know I'm being ridiculous here but I think you can all see my point: people either love or hate Sony. Those who hate it hate that SONY IS OFTEN INCOMPATIBLE with other products, whether or not this particular camera is or not.

3. Image quality. I looked on Dpreview and I wasn't impressed. Is it beating other $3000 cameras? No. Is it beating the OMD? Some guy who has it say yes so maybe but I'm not convinced. Looks like it would need PP to be great. I'm sure it's good but...

4. Size. This camera is not small. When I look at the size of a camera I have to INCLUDE PROTRUSIONS because camera cases are pretty much made square. So this lens sticks out pretty darn far. Meaning, volume-wise, it's larger than every single camera listed inDpreview's Compact Zoom Roundup. Also, let's pop a 14mm or 20 mm Panasonic pancake on an Olympus EM2. The EM2 is much smaller; probably even if you pop on the non-pancake Olympus 17 mm 1.8 prime. Even then you're still around $1000.

5. Sigma. Hellooo!? You can buy both the 28 mm DP1 and 50 mm DP2 Merrill cameras and still have nearly $1000 left over!

6. Price. This is a biggie. I can see that the RX1 is a good camera and you could win the argument by saying that this is the best camera at its size because yes, it's the only full-frame sensor at this size. I'm sure the lens is quality. I'm sure Sigma has enough quirks to win that argument as well (though in bright light I haven't seen anything that can do what those Sigma Merrills can!). And I didn't make this list to say whether or not the RX1 is a good camera (it's obviously a good camera), rather, I'm wondering how well it will do in sales and how many people are picking up what it's putting down. So, you can get smaller for cheaper. You can get a whole PEN system for less. You can probably get a Nikon D800 with a 35 mm prime for $3000. You can get same or better IQ for less. Can you get ALL for less? Depends on how you like the PM2's IQ vs the Sony's. Either way, the RX1's Amazon price is $2700. 'Nuff said!