SONY RX1R II hard review

Sony are back with the sequel to 2012s surprise hits, the RX1 and RX1R. The new RX1R II still packs a full frame sensor into a barely-larger-than-a-compact body, but this time it’s the same sensor from their spectacular A7R II.

The original RX1R impressed people with its performance and stunning image quality, but for many its stunningly expensive price tag limited its appeal.
With the RX1R II Sony have looked to upgrade over their original in every way… including the price. I’ve put it through its paces in a wide range of real-world scenarios to see how it stacks up and if it’s worth the money. I own a Fuji X100S myself so I’m partial to f/2, 35mm focal length small cameras — I’m sure I’ll compare the two from time to time in this review.

specification

Sensor

Sensor Type

35 mm full frame (35.9 x 24.0 mm), Exmor R® CMOS sensor, aspect ratio 3:2

Number of Pixels (Gross)

Approx. 43.6 MP

Number of Pixels (Effective)

Approx. 42.4 MP

Approx. 43.6 MP

Lens

Lens type

ZEISS® Sonnar T*, 8 elements in 7 groups (3 aspherical elements including AA lens)

Max. Magnification (Standard/Macro)

0.15x/0.26x (By Macro Switching Ring)

F-number (Maximum Aperture)

F2

Aperture Type

Iris diaphragm (9 blades)

Focal length (f=)

f=35 mm: [Still image 3:2] f=35 mm, [Still image 16:9] f=37 mm, [Still image 1:1] f=44 mm, [Still image 4:3] f=38 mm,[Movie 16:9] f=44 mm (SteadyShot On), f=37 mm (SteadyShot Off)

Focus Range (From the Front of the Lens)

Approx. 24 cm to infinity (Normal mode), approx. 14 cm to 29 cm (Macro mode)

Focus Range (From the Focal Plane)

Approx. 30 cm to infinity (Normal mode), approx. 20 cm to 35 cm (Macro mode)

Optical Variable Low-Pass Filter

Yes

Clear Image Zoom

[Still Image] 2x, [Movie] 2x

Digital Zoom

[Still Image] 42M approx. 4x/18M approx. 6.2x/11M approx. 8x, [Movie] Approx. 4x

Digital Zoom (Still Image)

Up to 8x

Filter Diameter

49 mm

Screen

Screen Type

2.95" (3.0 type) (4:3) / 1,228,800 dots / Xtra Fine / TFT LCD

Brightness Control

Auto/Manual (5 steps)/Sunny Weather mode

Adjustable Angle

Up approx. 109 degrees, down approx. 41 degrees, at max.

Display Selector (Finder/Lcd)

Auto / EVF / Monitor

MS Assist Magnification

5.0x, 12.5x

Viewfinder

0.39-type electronic viewfinder (OLED)

Screen Type/Number of Dots

0.39-type electronic viewfinder (OLED), 2,359,296 dots

Brightness Control

Auto, Manual (5 steps)

Field Coverage

100%

Magnification

Approx. 0.74x (with 50 mm lens equiv. at infinity, -1m-1)

Eye Point

Approx. 19 mm from the eyepiece lens, 18.4 mm from the eyepiece frame at -1m-1 (CIPA standard)

Diopter Adjustment

-4.0 to +3.0m-1

Camera

Image Processor

BIONZ X™

Steadyshot

Electronic type (for movies)

Focus Type

Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)

Focus Mode

Single-shot AF (AF-S) / Continuous AF (AF-C) / Direct Manual Focus (DMF) / Manual Focus

Focus Area

Wide (399 points for phase-detection AF/25 points for contrast-detection AF) / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L) / Expand Flexible Spot / Lock-on AF (Wide / Center / Flexible Spot [S/M/L] / Expand Flexible Spot)

Auto Image Rotation

Yes

AF Illuminator

Auto / Off

Metering Type

1200-zone evaluative metering

Light Metering Mode

Multi Pattern / Center-Weighted / Spot

Exposure Compensation

+/-5.0 EV (in 1/3 EV steps), with exposure compensation dial: +/-3.0 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)

ISO Sensitivity (Still Image)

ISO 100-25600 (1/3 EV step) (expandable to ISO 50/64/80/32000/40000/51200/64000/80000/102400), AUTO (ISO 100-102400, selectable upper/lower limit), Multi-Frame NR: ISO 100-102400 (1 EV step), AUTO (ISO 100-102400, selectable upper/lower limit) ²

ISO Sensitivity (Movie)

ISO 100-25600

Minimum Illumination

Auto:1.5 lux (Shutter Speed 1/30")

White Balance Modes

Auto / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Incandescent / Fluor.: Warm White / Fluor.: Cool White / Fluor.: Day White / Fluor.: Daylight / Flash / C.Temp. / Filter / Custom

WB Micro Adjustment

Yes (G7 to M7 [57 steps], A7 to B7 [29 steps])

Shutter Speed

Program Auto (30"-1/4000* s) / Aperture Priority (30"-1/4000* s) / Shutter Priority (30"-1/4000* s) / Manual Exposure (Bulb, 30"-1/4000* s) / iAuto (4"-1/4000* s) *At F5.6 or greater aperture value. Fastest limit at F2 is 1/2000 s

Aperture

F2-22

Raw Output

14 bit

Uncompressed RAW

Yes

Image Control

Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, Creative Style, Color Space (sRGB/Adobe® RGB), Quality (RAW/RAW & JPEG/Extra fine/Fine/Standard)

Noise Reduction

Long exposure NR: On/Off, available of shutter speeds longer than 1 s, High ISO NR: Normal / Low / Off, Multi Frame NR: Auto / ISO 100-102400

Dynamic Range Functions

Off, Dynamic Range Optimizer (Auto/Level 1-5), Auto High Dynamic Range: Off, Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure difference level (1.0-6.0 EV, 1.0 EV step)

Shooting Mode

AUTO (Intelligent Auto/Superior Auto), Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, Manual Exposure, MR (Memory Recall) 1,2,3, Movie Mode (Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, Manual Exposure), Panorama, Scene Selection

Scene Selection

Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Handheld Twilight, Night Portrait, Anti-Motion Blur

Continuous Shooting Speed (Maximum) (Maximum Number of Recording Pixels)

Speed priority continuous shooting: approx. 5fps, Continuous shooting: approx. 2.5fps (AF-S) ^{3 4}

Self-Timer

10 s/5 s/2 s/3 or 5 consecutive shots with 10 s, 5 s, or 2 s delay selectable/Bracketing shots with 10 s, 5 s, or 2 s delay selectable

Drive Modes

Single, Continuous shooting, Speed priority continuous shooting, Self-timer, Self-timer (cont.), Cont.-bracketing ⁵ , Single-bracketing ⁵ , White balance bracketing ⁵ , DRO bracketing ⁵ , LPF bracketing ⁵

Picture Effect

[Still Image] Toy camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono., Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Richtone Monochrome, Miniature, Watercolor, Illustration, [Movie] Toy camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono.

Creative Style

Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves, Black & White, Sepia, Style Box

Number of Recognized Scenes

[Still Image] Superior Auto: 44, Intelligent Auto: 33, [Movie] 33

Flash Mode

Flash Off / Autoflash / Fill-flash / Slow Sync. / Rear Sync. / Wireless (with optional compliant flash)

Built-in Flash Red-Eye Correction

On / Off

Recording

Compatible Recording Media

Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo™, Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (High Speed), Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™, Memory Stick Micro™ ⁶ , Memory Stick Micro™ (Mark 2) ⁶ , SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card, microSD Memory Card ⁶ , microSDHC Memory Card ⁶ , microSDXC Memory Card ^{6 7}

Recording Format

[Still Image]: JPEG (DCF Ver.2.0, Exif Ver.2.3, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format), [Movie]: XAVC S, AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compatible, MP4

Recording Format (Movie Audio)

XAVC S: LPCM 2ch/AVCHD: Dolby® Digital (AC-3) 2ch (Dolby® Digital Stereo Creator)/MP4: MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2ch

Color Space (Still)

sRGB, Adobe® RGB

Number of Recorded pixels (Image Size) during Movie

[3:2] L: 42M (7,952 x 5,304) / M: 18M (5,168 x 3,448) / S: 11M (3,984 x 2,656), [4:3] L: 38M (7,072 x 5,304) / M: 16M (4,592 x 3,448) / S: 9.4M (3,536 x 2,656), [16:9] L: 36M (7,952 x 4,472) / M: 15M (5,168 x 2,912) / S: 8.9M (3,984 x 2,240), [1:1] L: 28M (5,296 x 5,296) / M: 12M (3,440 x 3,440) / S: 7.1M (2,656 x 2,656), [Sweep Panorama] Standard (3,872 x 2,160/8,192 x 1,856) / Wide (5,536 x 2,160/12,416 x 1,856)

Movie Recording Mode (NTSC)

AVCHD: 28M PS (1,920 x 1,080/60p) / 24M FX (1,920 x 1,080/60i) / 17M FH (1,920 x 1,080/60i) / 24M FX (1,920 x 1,080/24p) / 17M FH (1,920 x 1,080/24p), XAVC S HD: 60p 50M (1,920 x 1,080/60p) / 30p 50M (1,920 x 1,080/30p) / 24p 50M (1,920 x 1,080/24p) / 120p 50M (1,280 x 720/120p), MP4: 28M (1,920 x 1,080/60p)/16M (1,920 x 1,080/30p)/6M (1,280 x 720/30p)

Movie Recording Mode (PAL)

AVCHD: 28M PS (1,920 x 1,080/50p) / 24M FX (1,920 x 1,080/50i) / 17M FH (1,920 x 1,080/50i) / 24M FX (1,920 x 1,080/25p) / 17M FH (1,920 x 1,080/25p), XAVC S HD: 50p 50M (1,920 x 1,080/50p) / 25p 50M (1,920 x 1,080/25p) / 100p 50M (1,280 x 720/100p), MP4: 28M (1,920 x 1,080/50p) / 16M (1,920 x 1,080/25p) / 6M (1,280 x 720/25p)

Print

Print

Exif Print, PRINT Image Matching (PIM3)

Interface

Input and Output Terminals

Multi/Micro USB Terminal ⁸ , Micro HDMI, Microphone (1/8" Stereo minijack), Multi Interface Shoe

NFC

NFC forum Type 3 Tag compatible, One-touch remote, One-touch sharing

Wireless Capabilities

Eye-Fi, NFC forum Type 3 Tag compatible, One-touch remote, One-touch sharing, Wi-Fi®®

WI-FI

Yes (IEEE802.11b/g/n [2.4 GHz band])

Power

Power Source

DC3.6 V (supplied battery) / DC5.0 V (supplied AC Adapter)

Battery System

Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1

Power Consumption (Camera Mode)

Approx. 2.5W with LCD monitor and approx. 2.7W with viewfinder (CIPA standard)

USB Charge/USB Power Supply

Yes (supplied AC adapter)

Battery Life (CIPA, Still Images)

[Still Images] ⁹: Monitor: Approx. 220 shots / Approx. 110 min., Viewfinder: Approx. 200 shots / Approx. 100 min., [Movies (actual shooting)] ^{10 11}: Monitor: Approx. 30 min., Viewfinder: Approx. 30 min. (In [MP4 28M] mode, max. continuous shooting time is approx. 20 min. and max. file size is 4 GB.), [Movies (continuous shooting)] ¹⁰: Monitor: Approx. 50 min., Viewfinder: Approx. 50 min. (In [MP4 28M] mode, max. continuous shooting time is approx. 20 min. and max. file size is 4 GB.) ¹²

Supplied Battery

Rechargeable battery pack NP-BX1

Others

PlayMemories Camera Apps

Yes

Shooting Functions

Smart Teleconverter (approx. 1.4x/2x) / Eye AF / Lock-on AF / Face Detection / Face Registration / Smile shutter / Grid Line / Quick Navi / Digital Level Gauge (pitch and roll) / Exposure Bracketing / White Balance Bracketing / DRO Bracketing / Flash Bracketing / LPF bracketing / MF Assist / Peaking / Zebra / Marker Display / Photographer Name & Copyright / ISO Auto Minimum Shutter Speed / PC Remote Control / Auto Object Framing

Playback Zoom

Depends on Image Size

Playback Functions

BRAVIA® Sync (Control for HDMI) / Single (with or without shooting information, RGB histogram & highlight/shadow warning) / 9/25-frame index view / Enlarged display mode / Auto Orientation / Slideshow / Panorama scrolling / Auto Review (10 s/5 s/2 s/off) / Forward / Rewind (Movie) / Delete / Protect / 4K still image playback

Index Playback

9 / 25 images

Operating Temperature

Approx. 0 °C to 40 °C (32 °F to 104 °F)

Size & Weight

Dimensions (W x H x D)

4.46 x 2.57 x 2.83 in

WEIGHT (CIPA COMPLIANT)

1 lb 0.9 oz (480 g)/1 lb 1.9 oz (507g) (With battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo™)

For your money you get the camera, battery, neck strap, various manuals and warranties and — best of all for a camera costing upwards of $3,300 — a battery charger! It’s a neat little USB-powered plastic case but does the job well enough and a refreshing change from Sony. A sturdy, metal-reinforced plastic lens cap is also provided.

The lens cap is less blurry in real life. The nooks and crannies did easily pick up dust and fluff from my camera bag as you can see too.

Usage and Handling

My first impression when picking up the camera was a sense of deja-vu… it felt an awful lot like Sony’s other super-compact, the RX100-IV. It’s larger of course, and heavier, but still very much a compact frame. In fact, the gripes I had with the RX100-IV’s small buttons and fiddly layout are absent in the RX1R II; the extra few millimeters in each dimension have definitely made a difference.
The controls are laid out in a very intuitive manner. Starting at the front and working backwards… the lens itself lets you manually set the aperture in 1/3 stop increments with smooth, distinct clicks between each stop. It’s satisfying to use, definitely more tactile and preferable to electronic aperture dials we normally get. The other ring lets you switch between the macro and normal focus modes. Although I agree with certain other people that it’s possible to accidentally switch between normal and macro modes it isn’t really a problem for grown ups — it’s pretty obvious actually, everything goes all blurry and a little “MACRO” icon flashes up in the viewfinder.
The top panel controls are mostly spot on. The clicky dials are good, especially the exposure compensation dial which is a lot more resitant to accidental changes than most other top-plate EV dials and definitely less flakey than the same dial on the X100S. The biggest niggle I have is with the combined power/shutter button and it’s the same gripe with the X100S, it’s just far too easy for it to get knocked in transit and drain the battery. An old-school screw in cable release port is built into the shutter button.

On the subject of the battery life it’s poor. Very poor in fact. Although the included charger offsets this slightly by letting us use one and charge another, this is an ever-present problem with small form factor camera bodies and with a large, power-hungry sensor like this it’s a chronic issue. For example, during a two hour model shoot I turned the camera on, full power, at the start, left it powered on in standby for most of the shoot and only took 15 images… and the camera was dead by the end. Not great and you’ll need at least one, probably two spare batteries. I averaged fewer than 200 shots before needing to recharge.

Sony continue to smash it with their EVFs. The RX100 IV and now the RX1R II are light years ahead with their pop-up EVF. It’s clear, responsive and doesn’t induce squint-migraines unlike the EVFs on some other cameras! The auto-orientation feature when you rotate from landscape to portrait is neat too. I must have used the EVF for at least 95% of the photos I took with the camera. 

The rear screen still isn’t touch sensitive. It is tiltable but it’s a shame they haven’t figured out a way of retaining the “tiltability” while adding in a touchscreen. For a camera that’s ideal for street photography work, if they could combine the two it’d be killer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a deal breaker but definitely a missed opportunity. It also wouldn’t be a Sony camera if it wasn’t possible to literally fill the rear screen with bewildering symbols, statuses and histograms.

The autofocus on the RX1R I was good but not great in all situations. Thankfully the RX1R II has improved on this and it performed very well in every situation I could throw at it, even low-light and night shooting. Although it slowed down noticeably once it got darker it was still plenty fast and accurate enough. A definite improvement. Manual focusing still feels clunky and the selector button on the front of the camera was a pain in the backside to use. If I want to focus manually it’s because the autofocus is having problems; I want to take over quickly and easily. The little focus dial on the front is not only hard to use instinctively, it’s also ugly and looks like a tacked on afterthought. Thankfully the autofocus is good enough that I didn’t need to go manual very often but when I did it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Personal preference will dictate whether you think the camera looks attractive or not. Although its small size does help you shoot discreetly and it doesn’t scream “pro camera”, to me it’s not particularly attractive. It’s function over form, a design ethos to get the job done first and looks come second. The RX1R II reminds me of a supercar, covered in brash spoilers and day-glo orange body stickers!
One final gripe was with the neck strap supplied with the camera. Although I hate the standard straps I always try them out and in this case the strap is a total failure — quite literally. The camera simply fell off the strap, luckily onto something soft, but I found the design of the neck strap was very poor. I always recommend using a 3rd party, sturdy strap and that advice is something I definitely reiterate here! The camera itself is sturdier than the RX100 IV, if you remember I went through two of those because of dubious resilience/build quality issues, but the RX1R II was more than capable of taking a knock or two inside a camera bag with no ill effects.
Sony still continue to produce needlessly complicated menus. I’m getting a little bored saying this but they are pointlessly detailed and the overwhelming majority of functions were left unused. I did try hunting around for a built-in timelapse mode to shoot the recent eclipse but sadly this feature was missing.
Shooting with the RX1R II is very enjoyable. It has a couple of flaws but when you are out there shooting it’s great. Very satisfying indeed. I would say the X100S still feels nicer to shoot with which is a fairly subjective opinion I know! The camera definitely passes unnoticed in a crowd and even when I bumped into other serious photographers out shooting no-one passed comment. This will be nice for some whereas others may prefer the styling and head-turning effect other similar cameras have.