Sony RX1 and RX1R have accompanied the photographers for
over two years. Now Sony releases the next generation of its cameras, but
instead of releasing two cameras at the same time as before, Sony prefers to
announce one mainstay camera, Sony RX1R II.
Sony RX1R II is still called as the world's smallest
full-frame camera, and now RX1R II also borrows the 42.4 megapixel full-frame
sensor of Sony A7R II. The ISO range is about 50-102400 and it's accompanied
with the 35 mm f/2 fixed lens from Zeiss.
Sony RX1R II is also equipped with exciting innovation which
also becomes the reason why Sony only releases one mainstay camera. Right in
front of the full-frame sensor of RX1R II, there is optical variable low-pass
filter. The key is in the word "variable", which means that this
camera can be used with or without the low-pass filter.
When you really need a maximum details and resolution, you
can disable the low-pass filter, but when the moiré potentially damages the
beauty of the captured images, you can simply activate the low-pass filter to
make it disappear. Therefore, one camera alone can take double roles of its
predecessors; the RX1 which has a low-pass filter and RX1R which is not
equipped with a low-pass filter.
Not much has changed from the design of the camera, except
the LED flash on the top of the camera's left side that has been replaced by a
pop-up viewfinder - Sony seems pretty confident with the performance of its
low-light camera so that the LED flash is 'sacrificed'. The electronic
viewfinder (EVF) has 2.4 million dot resolution and 0,74x magnification ratio -
quite roomy if compared to the majority of mirrorless cameras.
Accompanying the EVF is the 3-inch LCD with 1.2 million dot
resolution. This screen can be tilted up to 109 degrees - not enough for selfie,
and it's not a touch screen. Its video recording option is limited in 1080p 60
fps, not 4K.
However, Sony claims that RX1R II can capture the focus
faster than its two predecessors. The 399 phase detection AF points are now
ready to follow wherever the object moves - especially when its combined with 5
fps burst shooting performance - and overall the speed of focus lock increases
up to 30 percent.
Sony RX1R II will be released in November for $ 3,300. If
you want to see the images produced by this camera, you can visit the official website of Sony.