Small yet Powerful - First Impression and Tips on Sony RX1

Soon after I got my RX1, I went on a short trip to Thailand. Along the way I have taken some photos with the new toy. I have to say that the outcome is very impressive. The camera comes with good control design and the photo quality is definitely outstanding. Before I post the photos, here are some tips I find that may be useful for other fellow users.

1. As many review sites already stated, the lens distortion correction is not set as on by default, so make sure you turn on that in the menu when you got the camera.

2. JPEG image quality is set default as FINE, but you can set it as EXTRA FINE if you want. The image size is about 15-20 mb per photo. But I haven't done any comparison to see how much more details are retained in the extra fine option.

3. You can switch audio signal to off so that the camera will be muted. It's very good for street photography and most people would think it's just a compact PnS camera and the shutter sound is so light that nobody would notice it.

4. UV filter is important. As the lens cap is made of solid metal which I don't want to get lost or dented, I usually keep the lens cap in my bag while taking photos. Then the UV filter becomes very essential to protect the lens. I have put on the filter only for a few days, the filter itself is already with some water marks on. I planned to get a lens hood as well, but haven't managed to find one yet. 

5. An extra battery may be important to many of the users. Based on my experience, one full charge can last around 150-200 photos, depending on the usage. Therefore for the shutterbugs it may not be enough. However, personally I feel it's good for one day with my using habit.

6. You may want to consider buying a leather case. I feel that the camera body could be easily scratched - so far it has not happened to me but considering the price tag of the camera, it's worth the investment.

Here are some photos I have taken on the trip. JPEG straight out of camera and only resizing is done.

 

The details are well preserved (especially in the uncompressed photos) and highlights and shadows are rendered in a nice way. The camera tends to underexpose in most shots so I have to put a compensation of +0.7 to 1 EV to make the picture look more pleasing. In addition, I love the JPEG colours and in the standard setting, I set all the options as +1 so I don't have to do much post process in the Lightroom.

Hope you have enjoyed the photos and I'll post more pros and cons when I get to use the camera more. Happy new year 2013!

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