Anyone returning their RX-1?

If so... what lead you to this conclusion?

Not a chance..I love mine more each day....I shoot in manual mode a lot and with auto ISO it works beautifully.

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Dave http://www.pbase.com/dsg2/daves_pictures http://www.pbase.com/image/22632338/original.small jpg

Nope.

You could say I am the first apostle of the church of manual-auto-iso. At least I preach it everywhere. A little experience is enough to choose the widest small-enough aperture, and the slowest fast-enough shutter speed for the subject, and let auto-iso and exposure comp do the rest.

It would be really helpful though if Sony offered a live preview of the selected iso, instead of only showing it with a half shutter button press.

Did you?  And why?

Nope... haven't returned it, since it doesn't arrive until this afternoon.

And I'm unlikely to return it as I do have a need for a High ISO / large aperture camera.

After using the RX1 and seeing the results in lower light (e.g., like 98% of the shots I shoot in my house where we don't even use overhead lights), I was sold. But that got me thinking that I wanted FF for all focal lengths and I started to seriously consider the A99. I had previously ruled out the D600, but the huge sale on it made me reconsider. But yesterday I went into a camera shop and held and tested the D600. The stuff that I thought would be too limiting for me ended up being too limiting and I didn't like using the D600 around the shop. I then tried the A99 and I loved the articulating LCD. But, the size of these 2 cameras just seemed enormous. I know I used to leave my Nikon D70 at home in favor of a point and shoot, but that was before I got into photography. I thought maybe it would be different . . . but I am just sure I couldn't take one of those big cameras everywhere I want to go and I'd end up leaving the big camera at home even when it could produce better shots. So, I've come full circle and I think I'll be keeping the RX1. I just need a baseplate and better grip to get released and I'll be good.

EDIT: That being said, I've been taking a lot of pictures with the RX1 and then taking the same photos with my NEX 5N and Zeiss 24. I think I have about 70 now to sit down and analyze. Most are lower light situations. I plan to post comparison review at some point over the holidays. I also did a little shoot last night where I took 8 pictures in our family room with one camera and then 8 with the other trying to get the same scene and same angles (I even asked family members to hold still - heh). I just wanted to see what kind of percentage of sharp shots I'd get and compare noise, etc. I hope I have time Friday morning to really pixel peep.

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60 of my favorite shots from 2012

Thanks Sean.  I too, am strongly influenced by size and weight.  Years ago, I though nothing of carrying a Hasselblad 501 with 3 lenses and a couple of backs.  But now, the thought of even a DSLR is too much to consider.  I'd rather enjoy the moment and take pictures as an afterthought than to have the camera influencing the whole day.

By the way... how did your comparison tests between the Zeiss 24 on the NEX and the RX-1 go?

Michael

I'm also playing with the Fuji XE-1 and prefering the AF on the Fuji. Also fuji's built in EVF and bounce able pop up flash.  Fuji is also easier to hold in my bigger hands.

Time will tell.

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" All you need is love"

no. thinking of selling my m9, though i'd be keeping my summilux 50 and 90mm macro-elmar in the hopes of hitting the lottery and being able to buy a monochrom or the m240 in the next life.:-)

Still working on it, but I was in a coffee shop earlier today and a guy was working on the roasting machine (they make coffee to sell) and I took a shot focusing on the back of the guy working. The shots were a few seconds apart and the guy was moving but largely staying in the same place. I managed to get his head in relatively the same position so I can more easily compare. For example, here is a 100% crop of both (RX1 on the left). RX1 at f/2, 1/80, and 320 ISO; Zeiss 24 at f/1.8, 1/60, and 500 ISO. On my screen, the RX1 has better detail and less noise.

But I have much more to analyze and most shots are almost exactly the same - my kids and I'd ask them not to move.

Hello,

Wouldn't your NEX5N or DLSR kits be more versatile for your professional paid assignments because of interchangeable lenses whereas the RX1 would be limited because it's a fixed lens camera?

Or do you tend to carry more than one camera with you?  So carrying a combo of either NEX5N, DSLR, and/or  the RX1 would seem to cover all your bases.

Regards.

If you are planning to do us all a service and make some comparison shots (gee, thanks Sean!), I would recommend that you use identical aperture (say f/2 for both), identical shutter speed (probably a bit faster to rule out shake), and identical ISO. Assuming the lighting hasn't changed, of course. Then perform compensation in lightroom to get the same apparent exposure.

I don't do professional assignments; just a hobby I have done every day since 2010. But I do plan to keep my 5N and I'll probably have the SEL 50/1.8 or a fisheye lens attached and then have the RX1 with me as well. When I need to go lighter then I can just take one or the other depending on my needs. And when I have no restrictions then I'll carry a larger backpack with both cameras and 3 or 4 lenses for the NEX-5N.

tesilab, when the light is lower, I like to maximize the lower ISO I can with each camera so that means opening them both up. But I have taken some shots where I try and match the aperture (e.g., f/4 on the 5N and f/5.6 on the RX1). I am not promising to have a nice scientific test, but I am trying to make a test for how I use my cameras and that typically has involved trying to keep the ISO as low as I can (at the expense of extra depth of field and/or shutter speed when I can keep it steady - perhaps down to 1/30). I also like bokeh so I probably do more shots trying to get subject separation than another person. I'll try some shots as you suggest, though.

Greetings,

Thank you for your suggestion to do the service.

Besides the process you recommend, would you think the need that the comparo be made with both cameras locked down on a sturdy tripod, manual focus, and using a self-timer/remote release?

Or would those additional process not be needed?

Or just their usability handheld?

Regards.

Thanks.

You have a great combo of camera kits.

Looking forward to further evaluation from you on your  RX1 vs. 5N.

Regarsd.

No, and yes - sort of. This week, shocking myself in the process, I decided not to take delivery of a unit I had on order.

My dealer in Portland, Oregon (no state sales tax, a good dealer I've bought cameras from in the past), finally got their stock - I've asked them to give up the product reserved for me to the next person waiting in line.

Almost 100% attributable to Nervous Nellyism.

While following the discussions here and in other forums about certain RX1 issues I decided that I did not want to purchase the camera from a remote retailer in the U.S. in case my unit happened to suffer from lens de-centering or other issues that have been reported.

This year we've seen Canon and Nikon and Sony all have issues with their newer full frame cameras. Is that a sign of the growing complexity of these cameras or of something else?
While I always consider the out of country warranty hassle factor when buying from a remote retailer and am usually willing to live with that potential, when reports started surfacing of a few RX1 problems here and there it seemed the risk of potential warranty return was rising and for that reason alone it felt prudent to me to hold off a bit.  Had I left my original mid-September order live with Sony Canada, I'm quite sure I would have taken delivery regardless - it's just the cross-border warranty return hassle factor that weighed on me.
For now I'm going to sit on my hands and perhaps order from a local dealer or Sony Canada depending on what the issue picture looks like after the holidays.
What I've seen of the camera from photographers I know who have received theirs and are busy doing good work, I love. Some of the user experiences reported here have highlighted minor things that might annoy me too, but on balance, the camera capability and output is just outstanding. 
While I'm sitting on my hands I'm going to continue to pay attention to the RX1 but also am having a another hard look at my other equipment, how I've been using it, and what I'd like to do going forward. I'm wanting to see if I come to the same conclusions now that I don't have a commitment to purchase the RX1 in the back of my mind. So far the only firm conclusion that I've come to is that I'm not wholly satisfied with the tool I use the most.

Can I be the second apostle of Manual-Auto-ISO??

Please?

I did return it.

And then...

I woke up in a frantic sweat...but alas - there it was. On the bedside cabinet. My prrrrrecious...

Yes, I returned the RX1 after a few days when it was clear that my wife and I preferred the Fuji X-E1 and X100. I am not a professional photographer and really just take family pictures, many of which are indoors in natural light. My main reasons for preferring the Fuji cameras were warmer and more pleasant skintones indoors (red/yellow push rather than blue/green), a higher percentage of sharply focused photos (presumably from camera shake though I am not sure, I generally keep shutter speed at 125), and better ergonomics for me.

I usually use JPEGs and then do some minor processing in Lightroom. I did try using RAW photos from the Sony to see if I could adjust the skintones to my liking but I was unsuccessful at that. I was disappointed as I was hoping to love the Sony for indoor natural lighting photos. It made me realize just how important skintone rendering is for me. That's not to say that the Fuji cameras are more accurate but they consistently provide photos with more lifelike and pleasant skintones to us. I showed my wife quite a few comparable photos of our girls with the Sony and the Fuji X100, and she always felt the Fuji colors were more accurate. She felt the Sony skintones had a bluish push to them versus the warm push of the Fuji. Even though I noticed the smoother high ISO images from the Sony versus the Fuji cameras, she did not comment on it. The color was the focus for her. I did not manually white balance any of the cameras but did try the auto versus incandescent settings. That's how I tend to shoot most photos so that was how I compared the cameras.

The lack of pinpoint focus from the Sony camera was only really visible when I zoomed the photos and looked at the eyes on a portrait. A fairly high percentage of photos lacked sharp focus whereas the Fuji cameras usually had sharp focus. Because some of the photos with the Sony were sharply focused, I believe this was probably due to camera shake even though I kept the shutter at 125 just like the Fujis. I am able to hold the Fuji cameras still at that shutter speed consistently but apparently not the Sony. That's probably because it is smaller.

I think the next camera for me will probably be another Fuji when they improve their sensor technology again. I also use an Olympus OMD and enjoy the colors from that as well. It has faster focusing than the Fuji cameras, and that comes in very handy at times.