Is this a G1X killer?

[Bennymiata]

This is sure to drive down the price of the G1X.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/photography/hands-reviews/hands-review-sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100

Maybe I should have waited a while before i bought my G1X.

 

[moreorless]

Its launching at $650 with as sensor considerabley smaller than the G1X, not sure its going to have much impact on its price beyond the natural reduction you'd expect.

 

[mws]

I like the design, looks sexy. Thats bout it.

 

[Jan]

It'll rather be a S100 killer... depending on the real price of course...
I really like that the companies FINALLY come to larger sensors in small cameras. That's what I've been waiting for since 2006. No, wait, I decided to buy the 400D back then...

 

[Dylan777]

I like the chassis

 

[FunPhotons]

The G series bodies are rather large and bulky, unlike the S100 which I can wear on my belt. So I believe this guy is a competitor to the S100.

However, as much as I like the idea of large sensor small cameras (and may be buying one), I'm not sure I get the point. They'll never be as good as the DSLR, and the DLSRs will never be as small and lightweight as a pocket cam.

I love my S100 for the small file size, good enough shots, GPS, quick and easy movies, metal body and ease of use. Would I pay twice as much for twice the sensor size? Not sure.

 

[crasher8]

+1 about it being an S100 killer except on price point.

 

[distant.star]

.
While this provides an alternative to the Canon S100, it's hardly an S100 "killer." And as for the G1X, I was in a Best Buy store last week and asked in the photo department to see a G1X -- they don't't even know what it is. Never heard of it. I think it has hardly any relevance to this Sony product.

As the dpreview piece points out, this is aimed at DSLR users who want/need a not-so-good alternative they can realistically put in a pocket. We in the Canon DSLR world have just that in the S95/S100 product line. I don't know the Nikon line well enough to know if they have such a product; if not, this may be aimed more at that segment.

The one real advance I see over the S100 is the memorized custom settings. You can set up to three sets of variables (just like on a better DSLR) and instantly recall for a particular shooting situation. I'd guess this will force Canon to provide that option in future S100 type products. I'd love to see that. Making changes through the menu system can be pretty tedious.

While dpreview had no RAW files the JPGs did not impress. That seems odd since I've seen and used Sonys and the image quality has always been good. Have to wait for the RAWS to really make any judgement about that.

Well, the train is coming. Off to make new images!

 

[kapanak]

Anything this pocketable ...

If there is one advantage the RX100 has over any other large sensor compact, it is the size ...

And my personal favourite:

Just for the sake of portability, this is the camera I'd like to have on the side of my backpack or in my pocket wherever I go, where my upcoming 5DIII (sold my 5DII two months ago) or my current NEX-5N cannot go.

One other reason this appeals to me is the fact that I do not need to carry a lens cap.

On the other hand, the disappointing part about this camera is the lack of a "Smart Accessory Terminal", which is what Sony uses for their NEX accessory attachments, like the EVF and such.

I do not care for a hotshoe on a portable compact camera, what's the point ...

 

[drjlo]

Is cramming 20.9 MP into a 1" sensor a good idea? The DPReview sample photos look very mediocre, especially the couple of indoor shots.



Sensor-Sizes by drjlo1, on Flickr

 

[wickidwombat]

I still think the fuji x10 kicks its ass

- fuji manual zoom ring >>>>>>>> poxy electronic zoom
- fuji optical VF
- fuji f2-f2.8 on the zoom (28-112) >>>>>> f1.8 - f4.9 thats pretty awefull at the long end (28-100)

 

[kapanak]

I still think the fuji x10 kicks its ass

- fuji manual zoom ring >>>>>>>> poxy electronic zoom
- fuji optical VF
- fuji f2-f2.8 on the zoom (28-112) >>>>>> f1.8 - f4.9 thats pretty awefull at the long end (28-100)

The optical viewfinder is not that great. There is no manual focus like the Sony RX100.

The Fuji X10 cannot fit in my jeans or pants pocket or even jacket pockets.

The Fuji X10 needs a lens cap to be carried with it ... easily lost.

The Fuji X10 is not made by Sony, does not use Sony sensors and does not have Zeiss glass.

 

[Dylan777]

I'm willing to pay up to $1000 if Canon can apply APS-C sensor into current S100 chassis - zoom 24-70 or longer with aperture f2 or 2.8 through.

 

[wickidwombat]

The Fuji X10 is not made by Sony, does not use Sony sensors and does not have Zeiss glass.

How is this a disadvantage? Are Sony and Zeiss a new fetish? Are they going to replace Leica and the red dot?

there is real Zeiss glass and then there are the P&S camera phone zeiss
I think the similarities end with the brand name
agreed i dont see it being a disadvantage you can add them to my previous listed advantages

also the fuji EXR sensor is pretty sweet I think with a year we will see fuji unleash a full frame one of these animals hopefully they will iron out the bugs though before they release, they have been dropping the ball a bit with releasing buggy not right gear. however they have been fixing it, new firmware for the x10 is great and mine is in now getting its new sensor to fix the white orb issue.

I wouldn't expect a FF EXR sensor fuji to be cheap though however its going to flat out wipe the floor with the over priced leica 35mm digitals

 

[Flake]

The G series bodies are rather large and bulky, unlike the S100 which I can wear on my belt. So I believe this guy is a competitor to the S100.

However, as much as I like the idea of large sensor small cameras (and may be buying one), I'm not sure I get the point. They'll never be as good as the DSLR, and the DLSRs will never be as small and lightweight as a pocket cam.

I love my S100 for the small file size, good enough shots, GPS, quick and easy movies, metal body and ease of use. Would I pay twice as much for twice the sensor size? Not sure.

I think you need to take a look at the images comming from the G1X because they're every bit as good as a DSLR. In fact I hear people saying the images are better than the Nikon D700 & D3 with the 24 - 70mm f/2.8 and that's from two different sources.
Then there's the statement from Canon that their new compacts will have 'similar' image quality.
Large sensor compacts might not yet be as small as a true compact, but they're a fantastic development. Take a look at the 'is the DSLR becomming an endagered species' thread to see what other people think, and some amazing images taken on mirrorless cameras.

 

[alan_k]

I don't know about lowering the price of the G1-X, but personally I'd trade-off sensor size for macro capability. Add the smaller size and manual focus (and the price difference), and I think this Sony has some serious upside.
The S100 already seems entrenched as the king of the quality P&S, so I'm not actually sure this will hurt it's sales so much. My feeling is that $500 is sort of a psychological barrier for gadgets like this, with the S100 sitting at the extreme end of the "normal" cameras and the X10, G1-X, etc sitting in "high end" territory.

 

[Bennymiata]

I think you're right Flake.
The images from my wife's G1X, especially the RAW images, are amazingly good, and at least as good, if not better, than similar images from my 60D with L lenses.

 

[TheoBennett]

This is sure to drive down the price of the G1X.

No. It is a different and inferior camera.

Sensor size matters, as does lens quality, chassis, and impulse frequency capture.
Pixels are less important, but relative.

Pixels have become part of marketing hyperbole and sales sleaze. In truth, you'd need many
more pixels than are available in the best digital camera to equal true graphic print media
art scans used with film and transparency.

Sensors sizes in all digiwhizz cameras have been inhibited because of production costs.
So far.

- th

 

[moreorless]

I do think that camera is interesting in that its the first larger sensor prenium compact to try and push megapixels rather than ISO since the G10.

Maybe its just my own interest shining though but I'd thought for awhile that the landscape market wasnt being well catered to by compacts, you only had cheap cameras with tiny sensors that were noisy even at base ISO and probabley diffraction limated anwyay.

I'm guessing this Sony will fall apart in IQ pretty quickly as you raise the ISO but perhaps its going to be able to produce a pretty clean 20mp file at base levels? I think its easy to see a market for that as a holiday camera from people wanting the ability to make larger prints.

 

[briansquibb]

I'm willing to pay up to $1000 if Canon can apply APS-C sensor into current S100 chassis - zoom 24-70 or longer with aperture f2 or 2.8 through.

18mb APS-C in the S110 and G1X2 and the 1100D/650D. 22mp APS-H in the 70D/7D to pull them away from the entry level consumer kit