p.3 #1 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Glad I just picked up a used A7cR. Was waiting for this, but figured it was too far out so bit the bullet late last week. So glad I did. I'd rather have the 100rf over this.
p.3 #2 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
I am personally not surprised or bothered by the small electronic view finder or sensor. I am delighted they kept the lens and relatively tiny footprint. I would’ve wished for some type of IBIS, though I can understand that as a size reduction measure.
What really surprises me is going backwards and having a fixed LCD. That is a real deal pain in the ass. The fixed on the RX1 OG was a big differentiator from the RX1R2.
To me, the single largest concern was easily the battery life which has been addressed. I am curious if the long-term build quality has been improved on this version at all. Lots of use copies had manual and auto focus problems. A couple times of which I experienced. I think I owned nine RX1x bodies over the years. Still in my opinion, one of the greatest digital cameras.
My guess for why the price is so high is because this body never sold enough copies and generated enough revenue at a lower price point—without enough volume, you need higher margins. That’s why I also think you see quite a few refreshed features rather than something groundbreaking. It’s a lot of R&D for a body that isn’t gonna be a big profit margin.
I don’t think Sony wanted to charge seven grand or whatever like Leica. Interesting decision and gamble. In the back of my mind, I thought if they ever did release a version three, it would use the ZX1 35mm.
p.3 #3 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
I've truly used both. The problem isn't the specs, it's the price. If the EVF was better, had a tilt screen and IBIS they could probably justify that price better. Don't think anyone said they don't want one based on the specs.
gordec wrote:
I'm not sure how many here truly used RX1 or RX1Rii. The MKii was an amazing camera for it's purpose. Full frame in such a small package, and it's not just any lens. That Sonnar is legendary. The 3 biggest issues most MKii users had are:
1. Horrible battery life. This should be fixed because it's a new larger capacity battery.
2. Popup EVF. Looks like this is fixed. No one expects a A7 size EVF. You just need to see your composition in sun light.
3. Weather sealing. Basically all Rx1Rs eventually get sensor dust. I'm not sure if this is fixed. There is a comment in the description which says: "Robust magnesium alloy body offers a durable profile and incorporates dust and moisture seals to protect against harsh environments." I assume this is weather sealed. Q2 and Q3 almost have not sensor dust issue due to excellent weather seal....Show more →
p.3 #4 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
I've spent a lot of time with the RX1R and RX1RII. The main reason I do not shoot those cameras, anymore, is that I have been spoiled by IBIS and the ability to shoot in low-light and in the night - conditions I often experience when traveling. The second reason is the horrible battery life, which, seemingly, has been solved by the Version III.
I'm not totally crazy about the A7CR that I now use for travel, but it has great IBIS, and gets the job done; and, nowadays, there are a lot of choices for small/light relatively fast lenses.
Sony, you just saved me $5,000 by omitting stabilization; otherwise, I might have been compelled to pre-order. Thanks!!
Also, I shot the Leica Q3 for awhile, and the lens OS worked nearly as good as IBIS. Of course, I do not know if Sony still has a design relationship with Zeiss to be able to modify the 35mm f2 lens design to accommodate such, if even possible.
Finally, I wonder how that old Sony/Zeiss 35mm f2 holds-up to 61mp and the cropping typically used for fixed FL cameras(?).
p.3 #5 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Oh wow, I just realized the tilt screen is gone! That is a bummer, I use it constantly when trying to get photos of kids from down low.
I am a little sad they went with the NP-FW50 and not the NP-FZ100, but ¯_(ツ_/¯, what can you do when you have such a small box to stuff things inside of.
p.3 #6 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Fred Miranda wrote:
It's likely using the same sensor as the A7CR, and the EVF specs seem to match as well. I shoot with the A7CR, and while the EVF is its weak point, the 0.7x magnification is a big improvement over the original A7C. I've learned to live with it since portability is the main priority with both the A7CR and the new RX1R III.
I primarily shoot with an a7CII now myself, and I've certainly learned to live with it, because I love the portability/form factor myself, but I didn't spend $5K on the a7CII. I wouldn't necessarily call the low-resolution EVF a deal-breaker, but at this price point I do think it's a disappointment.
p.3 #9 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Judging by the negative reaction to the EVF, lack of IBIS and price, who.. exactly.. what demographic is Sony marketing to? Should we now expect the A7Rvi to be wildly more expensive and less capable? Is R&D dead at Sony, or has it moved on to a different product line? Perhaps this is over-reacting, but such a disappointing successor to the ii. Perhaps this is a marketing push to sell more A7Cr cameras, but to be fair, it is smaller than the A7Cr with the smallest lens.
p.3 #10 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
bwcolor wrote:
Judging by the negative reaction to the EVF, lack of IBIS and price, who.. exactly.. what demographic is Sony marketing to? Should we now expect the A7Rvi to be wildly more expensive and less capable? Is R&D dead at Sony, or has it moved on to a different product line? Perhaps this is over-reacting, but such a disappointing successor to the ii.
you should have seen all the whining about the og rx1 and just what demographic sony was targeting then.
sony has obviously moved on to a different product line, this is the first refresh in 10 years. mostly just a refresh to modern AF and sensor to give the small number of folks who loved the old rx1 something new to buy imo.
as one of those people, i'm mostly happy. if they had updated the lens or increased it's size, i wouldn't be interested. i am sad they lost the tilt lcd and the price is certainly high.
p.3 #11 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Yes I agree. One of the bests. I've bought and sold the RX1 and RX1r several times though out the years. My favorite 35mm ever made. The original came out 13 years ago. The Olympus OM-D was camera of the year back then lol. It's crazy how the image quality of the original RX-1 has held up.
nehemiahphoto wrote:
I am personally not surprised or bothered by the small electronic view finder or sensor. I am delighted they kept the lens and relatively tiny footprint. I would’ve wished for some type of IBIS, though I can understand that as a size reduction measure.
What really surprises me is going backwards and having a fixed LCD. That is a real deal pain in the ass. The fixed on the RX1 OG was a big differentiator from the RX1R2.
To me, the single largest concern was easily the battery life which has been addressed. I am curious if the long-term build quality has been improved on this version at all. Lots of use copies had manual and auto focus problems. A couple times of which I experienced. I think I owned nine RX1x bodies over the years. Still in my opinion, one of the greatest digital cameras.
My guess for why the price is so high is because this body never sold enough copies and generated enough revenue at a lower price point—without enough volume, you need higher margins. That’s why I also think you see quite a few refreshed features rather than something groundbreaking. It’s a lot of R&D for a body that isn’t gonna be a big profit margin.
I don’t think Sony wanted to charge seven grand or whatever like Leica. Interesting decision and gamble. In the back of my mind, I thought if they ever did release a version three, it would use the ZX1 35mm. ...Show more →
p.3 #13 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
henk.sijgers wrote:
I primarily shoot with an a7CII now myself, and I've certainly learned to live with it, because I love the portability/form factor myself, but I didn't spend $5K on the a7CII. I wouldn't necessarily call the low-resolution EVF a deal-breaker, but at this price point I do think it's a disappointment.
I think it's fair to connect EVF specs with the price, but there is a clear size constraint at play here. Let's also remember that the RX1R II came out nearly 10 years ago at $3,300, and the price quickly climbed to almost $4,000. I remember well because I bought one.
The reality is that there just is not enough space to fit a better EVF, or if it were possible, Sony likely decided it was not cost effective. A more advanced EVF to fit that tiny space would have raised the price even further, which would likely result in fewer sales. They want this camera to sell, and I think this is the best they could do considering the space limitations and pricing goals. The same applies to the EVFs in the A7C II and A7CR.
The goal of the RX1 series is to create the smallest possible full-frame camera with a built-in high-performing lens. In the same way, the Ricoh GR series follows a similar philosophy, but with an APS-C sensor. That camera takes portability even further and does not offer an EVF at all.
Although the RX1R III and A7CR share similar specs, the point of the RX1 series is to offer the smallest possible setup with a built-in, high-performing lens. In that sense, they are not really comparable.
p.3 #14 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Did anyone notice that the dimensions are a bit deeper? It went from 72mm to 87.5mm. Some of that may be the viewfinder sticking out the back, but it also appears the lens sticks out a bit further from the body than in the RX1R II.
p.3 #15 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
The battery life is such a ‘big’ jump from the previous version. But still using the same lens from over 10 years ago? It’s debatable whether it’s capable of this sensor.
p.3 #16 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Fred Miranda wrote:
I think it's fair to connect EVF specs with the price, but there is a clear size constraint at play here. Let's also remember that the RX1R II came out nearly 10 years ago at $3,300, and the price quickly climbed to almost $4,000. I remember well because I bought one.
The reality is that there just is not enough space to fit a better EVF, or if it were possible, Sony likely decided it was not cost effective. A more advanced EVF to fit that tiny space would have raised the price even further, which would likely result in fewer sales. They want this camera to sell, and I think this is the best they could do considering the space limitations and pricing goals. The same applies to the EVFs in the A7C II and A7CR.
The goal of the RX1 series is to create the smallest possible full-frame camera with a built-in high-performing lens. In the same way, the Ricoh GR series follows a similar philosophy, but with an APS-C sensor. That camera takes portability even further and does not offer an EVF at all....Show more →
The RX1 cameras are tiny for what they provide, which is why I gave this a pass for not having IBIS. Still, in this price range, I do wonder if (wish) they could've managed to engineer higher EVF resolution.
As a GRIIIx owner (who carries it everywhere) this definitely all resonates with me :-)
p.3 #19 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
I'm in the same boat as a lot of these other comments. Excited! Instant pre-order! oh, that price... hmmm, missing a few things for 2025 and $5000+.
I've wanted a iii version for years and joked the only way Sony would put one out was if I finally bought a used ii. Along with many others, all I wanted was better AF, battery life, and weather sealing. But...
-the price raises expectations. Hard to know how much of the pricing is due to the current environment but regardless, it changes expectations.
-ten years is a long time in technology. the a7cr didn't exist. aps-c sensors have gotten much better, IBIS has gotten ridiculously good. In 2015 or 2016, I bought the a7rii when it came out but was still mostly shooting my Canon 5dmkiii. A lot more people were lugging around dSLRs still. Also, since then, people who never shot jpegs now care about having a good ios app and nice film-sim for easy sharing. I download raws but spend as little extra time in front of a computer as possible; fast sharing of good jpegs with very little work is great... RAWs for printing later.
Despite only wanting those three improvements, now for the price and with ten years elapsed, I also want IBIS for a 60mp sensor. I get that everything has a trade-off whether that is size or price or both.
Also, I don't know where Sony is these days in terms of something like Leica Fotos or the fuji app or the dysfunctional app for the griii. (have an a7riii but rarely shoot it).
I've always loved compact fixed focal length cameras going back to small sensor ricohs and film before that. Currently have the GrIII, x100vi, and an x100v that I have neglected to put for sale yet. When I saw the announcement, without reading any specs, I planned to make the purchase. I'm guessing I am like a lot of people- will put in a pre-order and wait for more info and think about it.
p.3 #20 · Official: Sony RX1R III Digital Camera announced!
Omitting the tilt LCD may be a deal breaker for me too. I use it on the Q3 quite a bit even though it doesn't look as seamless as Q2. You got to have it for a compact travel camera. Nevertheless, I feel I'm eventually going to at least hold one. Got too much love for the RX1R series. Great memories captured with that Sonnar lens.
DSC-RX1RM235 mm f/2 lens35mmf/2.01/250s100 ISO0.0 EV
DSC-RX1RM235 mm f/2 lens35mmf/2.01/160s100 ISO0.0 EV
_/¯, what can you do when you have such a small box to stuff things inside of.
