p.58 #1 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Auto ISO is indeed a real lifesaver when shooting socially. I can't even count the number of times I've mistakenly preset the ISO from earlier in the day and just wasn't paying attention to the SS as it got darker, only to find subject blur and camera shake creeping into images. Being able to basically just set it to high ISO and always know I'm going to get perfectly clean files will be quite nice as a change of pace from the DP2m where you always want to be as base ISO, or the RX100, which will pretty good for its size at higher ISO, still is the type of camera you want to try to limit around 800 or so. 6400 or even 12800 (for smaller snapshot type prints) just should be surreal.
Sounds like the focus peaking is pretty well sorted for real low light shooting. Is the MF mechanical or is it a focus by wire ? I can live with FBW if its better than the X100 was ie; what feels like about 50 rotations to rack the focus a few feet lol, but having a proper and well dampened mechanical focus would just be pretty awesome. I just always loved the feeling of quality and precision it gave my Zeiss and Leica M mount glass.
Buying the OVF as well, Voigtlander, because it looks cool and I think it should prove useful for social shooting, snapshots etc. EVF is kind of pricey and I'm not really a huge fan of them, just feels so disconnected from the reality of the scene when your looking at a little tv screen. I had the NEX7 which I believe uses the same finder and resoluiton was quite nice, but just didn't really take to it.
Ignoring parallax issues have you had much luck using center point AF with the OVF ?
p.58 #2 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Tariq Gibran wrote:
Congrats! Having owned and used both the DP1 and DP2 Merrills before my RX1 purchase, I found the Merrill's actually provided nothing I could not get from the RX1 - and that includes ultimate detail and IQ at base ISO with landscape type stuff. That finding actually surprised me. What I found was that RX1 images, with proper processing and sharpening (and RX1 images will take a lot of sharpening), actually contains a little more detail and can be re-sized and printed to larger sizes than what I could get out of the Merrill's. Both my Merrill's have been sold since getting the RX1. ...Show more →
Interesting, the Zeiss pop certainly helps a bit with perceived detail in a scene too I'm sure.
Do you find any issues with field curvature on distant subjects though ?
One thing I really like about the Merrill's is how they can render distant fine detail that most CMOS sensors just seem to blur. I don't know if having the different layers of pixels helps cut haze or what, but its the only camera I've got that can make leaves on foreground trees as finely detailed as ones on a distant hilltop.
Thinking maybe switching the 2 for the 3 could be an interesting combo, as it would be a 35/70mm combo which is pretty handy, plus the DP3m can do some decent macro shooting too, plus could make some nice stitched pano's.
Guess will just have to spend some time with the RX1 and see how it fares. If it could help replace another camera that is always a plus, as the RX1 isn't cheap and selling a DP2m would certainly offset it
Then again, the new monochrome mode in SPP is producing some pretty stellar tonality and detail from the favoen files
p.58 #3 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Ryan - great set, last one my favourite with beautiful pop and blues.
tulaev - very good architectural images with great detail. Last one my fav.
Helena - beautiful light and greens in the trees and field.
Bob - strange popping letters!
Jonas - I don´t thing I would have taken my camera out in those conditions, great shot!
One from today, more or less straight out of the camera:
p.58 #4 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
millsart wrote:
Interesting, the Zeiss pop certainly helps a bit with perceived detail in a scene too I'm sure.
Do you find any issues with field curvature on distant subjects though ?
One thing I really like about the Merrill's is how they can render distant fine detail that most CMOS sensors just seem to blur. I don't know if having the different layers of pixels helps cut haze or what, but its the only camera I've got that can make leaves on foreground trees as finely detailed as ones on a distant hilltop.
Thinking maybe switching the 2 for the 3 could be an interesting combo, as it would be a 35/70mm combo which is pretty handy, plus the DP3m can do some decent macro shooting too, plus could make some nice stitched pano's.
Guess will just have to spend some time with the RX1 and see how it fares. If it could help replace another camera that is always a plus, as the RX1 isn't cheap and selling a DP2m would certainly offset it
Then again, the new monochrome mode in SPP is producing some pretty stellar tonality and detail from the favoen files...Show more →
The only issue with the RX1 and landscape with regard to detail that I have encountered is that if one applies lens correction for distortion, there is a loss of fine detail in the extreme corners. I did a landscape test with trees and foliage which fell in this extreme area and the raw conversion in which I did not apply lens correction had noticeably better detail. Often, of course, there will be sky or an element which is not so critical in the corner. The other work-a-round is to just not automatically use lens correction (and some subjects don't require it to begin with).
As far as actual field curvature (where the point of focus/ sharpness changes within the frame with distance), I have not noticed any with the RX1 lens. It seems consistently sharp in the center and corners at infinity.
I know some don't agree but my sense is that a lot of the perceived detail and sharpness evident in Merrill images is the result of processing. If you use something like either the Topaz Clarity plug in for PS/ Lightroom or the "Detail" slider in PhotoNinja, you can get an RX1 image to look just like an image from the Merrills, except you will actually end up with more detail. I suggest everyone should try that experiment. I owned all three cameras at the same time (RX1, DP1 and DP2 Merrill) and tested this for myself. Beforehand, I completely thought the Merrill's were producing more actual resolution than the RX1. I did not find that to be the case.
p.58 #5 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
millsart wrote:
Buying the OVF as well, Voigtlander, because it looks cool and I think it should prove useful for social shooting, snapshots etc. EVF is kind of pricey and I'm not really a huge fan of them, just feels so disconnected from the reality of the scene when your looking at a little tv screen. I had the NEX7 which I believe uses the same finder and resoluiton was quite nice, but just didn't really take to it.
Ignoring parallax issues have you had much luck using center point AF with the OVF ?
I did the same, and I'm finding myself using the Voigtlander OVF the majority of the time, so I returned the EVF yesterday. Granted, it should be mentioned that the RX1's EVF is a step up from the NEX-7's, despite being the same in the stats column. Sony seems to have improved the contrast and refresh, or something.
The reason I'm using the OVF so much is because the regular center point AF works incredibly well with it. Since it only has vertical parallax, you can spend a little time practicing where to visualize the AF point as the subject gets closer (the closer the subject, the lower the AF point in the OVF,) and I think you'll find it reliable. You may not want to rely on it if you have a single, thin tree branch against a busy background, or something like that, but I find it generally reliable.
I also turned off AEL/w shutter, so the camera doesn't meter with the shutter half-pressed, but, rather, waits until you fire, so focus and recompose doesn't screw up metering. The camera's meter is so good that I've made few exposure mistakes, despite the dumb finder, although I've only had the camera a week or so.
p.58 #7 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Tariq Gibran wrote:
I know some don't agree but my sense is that a lot of the perceived detail and sharpness evident in Merrill images is the result of processing. If you use something like either the Topaz Clarity plug in for PS/ Lightroom or the "Detail" slider in PhotoNinja, you can get an RX1 image to look just like an image from the Merrills, except you will actually end up with more detail. I suggest everyone should try that experiment. I owned all three cameras at the same time (RX1, DP1 and DP2 Merrill) and tested this for myself. Beforehand, I completely thought the Merrill's were producing more actual resolution than the RX1. I did not find that to be the case. ...Show more →
I've found similar playing a bit with Topaz Adjust as well. The SPP fill light seems to be based around the same processing concept.
I think the Sigma lens though, on the DP2m accounts for a bit of it though. Never seen a lens so consistent from corner to corner. They really did do a nice job matching that lens to sensor, and I think the sensor would readily show any lesser len's flaws.
Will be fun to play around a bit with the two cameras and see how the RX1 can measure up. I'd wager that every other way than base ISO IQ and resolution the RX1 easily beats the Merrill. Better AF, better battery life, better buffer size, better LCD, better feature set, better high ISO etc etc
p.58 #8 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Tariq, thank you for your thoughts on detail and post. Agree on all counts, distortion correction trades off some detail, most noticeable at maximum stretch points.
theSuede showed a carefully but strongly sharpened Bayer image in one of the Merrill threads to show the level of deetail still lurking in these modern sensors - it (sharpness of detail) is becoming a matter of taste to some degree.
Photo Ninja is very interesting, esp in a post ACR/LR world, with CS6 for finishing. It apparently is very strong in recovery and detail and of course noise, can even work with PS to some extent. The rate Sony is releasing cameras, many will fall foul of the dark cloud very soon. Thanks for the recommend.
p.58 #9 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
millsart wrote:
Will be fun to play around a bit with the two cameras and see how the RX1 can measure up. I'd wager that every other way than base ISO IQ and resolution the RX1 easily beats the Merrill. Better AF, better battery life, better buffer size, better LCD, better feature set, better high ISO etc etc
Yes, the RX1 might be just a *bit* better at ISO 6400
Sean Reid just did a black and white comparison that included these two, if you subscribe to his site.
I'm torn on this one, personally. Much as I like the RX1, the price just doesn't seem justifiable to me. Here we are, comparing it to an $800 camera.
p.58 #10 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
I was so happy to get my RX1 back that I let Roger, the camera salesman, sell me the Sony EVF. The picture of him was me doing some testing. I like it!
p.58 #12 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
Thank you all for commenting on the red umbrella/rain/couple walking -image. It was nice of them bringing a red umbrella but they didn't take directions... I wanted them to to turn around and walk towards me but they didn't get the point in doing so.
And yes, the camera with the EVF on it got wet. It's not sealed but I tried not to worry too much, the gear has to take some abuse from time to time. Maybe the rubber band added some protection.
rji2goleez: I think the salesman should look happier - he did after all manage to sell a 26 gram viewfinder for hundreds of dollars... I like the viewfinder. Now I have used electronic viewfinders for several years so I don't mind them. These are good devices and being able to tilt them is great.
p.58 #20 · Sony RX1, RX1R, RX1R II and RX1R III Image Thread
tulaev, really like your castle set! Beautiful.
twoeye, that's very nice. Good composition and colors.
joanlvh, even though I'm not into fishing that photo makes me want to be there. Looks so relaxing.
Bob, great series of the post office! I especially like the first.
millsart, congratulations! Hope you'll be happy with it.
Yesterday I discovered this spot (on a new walking bridge over the central railway station) and will definitely have to go back some other time and do more experimenting. My umbrella broke down, so I had to leave in a hurry.
I have some more from the same area, but will post them separately.
