Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

38 reviews

May, 2013

Positive
Portability (19)
Lens (13)
Design (13)
Image quality (12)
Build quality (7)

Negative
Value for money (19)
Performance (8)
Battery (7)
Focus (6)
Low-light (4)

General overview
Price comparison
Product Specifications

alaTest has collected and analyzed 37 reviews from magazines and websites. People really like the sensor and image quality. The design and lens are also mentioned favorably. The usability and exposure get mixed comments. There are some less positive views about the viewfinder and focus.

portability, lens, design, image quality, sensor

value for money, performance, battery, focus, viewfinder

We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Digital Compact Cameras the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 98/100 = Excellent quality.

See all Sony Digital Compact Cameras

Review analysis

(Based on 38 reviews)

Expert Reviews

User Reviews

Review Ratings

(19% of reviews)
Show all 5 star reviews (76% of reviews)
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Features

Value for money
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Portability
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Responsiveness
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Lens
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Design
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More features

Showing 21 review(s)

Expert Reviews User Reviews

Showing 1 - 10 of 21 Show Reviews: in English | in other languages (17)

Expert review by: Lori Grunin (cnet.com)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

Is the full-frame Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 a great camera? Sure it is. But that's almost beside the point; at about $2,800, the real question becomes "is it $1,500 better than its APS-C competitors"? Despite the squirming of my inner budgeteer, I have...

Great photo and good video quality in a camera with a nicely functional and fluid shooting design are the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 's highlights.

It lacks a viewfinder, has sluggish autofocus, and there's no focus peaking in video mode.

With a terrific lens and a great full-frame sensor, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 delivers the best photos we've seen from a fixed-lens camera. But that doesn't come cheap.

Mar, 2013

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Expert review by: Dan Seifert (theverge.com)

Sony RX1 review: shooting like a pro with a pocket-sized camera

It's hard to shoot pictures in the dark. You typically have the choice of either taking a blurry, dim photo, or using a flash and ruining the ambiance. So you buy a DSLR and an appropriately bright lens, but then you're toting around a big, clunky, and...

Amazing image quality ; Compact, sturdy build quality ; Lots of manual contols

Expensive with expensive accessories ; Poor battery life ; Inconsistent, slow autofocus ; No ability to zoom or change lenses

The RX1 is a photographer's camera — a really wealthy photographer's camera

Mar, 2013

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dpreview.com - GOLD AWARD

Expert review by: Richard Butler with additional material by Lars Re (dpreview.com)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

We were surprised (and delighted) when Sony decided to create the RX100 - its first compact camera for serious photographers, but that's nothing compared to our surprise when we were told about the RX1. This isn't just Sony's most serious compact...

Excellent image quality in both JPEG and Raw ; Full frame in a compact, well-built body ; Dedicated aperture and exposure compensation controls ; Exceptional build-quality - solid feeling without being too heavy ; Superb high ISO output in both JPEG...

Autofocus speed not fast enough for moving subjects ; Autofocus struggles in low light ; Significant vignetting (as with similar lenses), corrections 'baked into' Raw files ; Multiple button presses required to move AF point ; No built-in viewfinder...

The RX1 is a small camera capable of astonishing image quality. Its handling marries classic camera ergonomics with a couple of cyber-shot quirks but it's still a lovely camera to shoot with. If a fixed 35mm lens will fulfill any of your shooting...

Feb, 2013

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Expert review by: (digitalcamerareview.com)

Sony RX1 Review

Full-frame cameras are trending lately but Sony took the photographic world by surprise when they introduced the RX1--the first compact camera with a full-frame sensor. The camera's $2800 price tag may be out of reach for many people but even so, it's...

excellent image quality and lens sharpness ; solid feature set ; manual aperture ring

LCD difficult to use in bright light ; movie record button awkwardly placed ; autofocus somewhat sluggish in low light ; relatively short battery life ; expensive ; fussy manual focus

All technical and pricing issues aside, one of the things I love about the RX1 is that, in this digital world, it brings me back to thinking before I shoot, much like the Leica M9 does. Sure, there are faster and more clever digital cameras than the...

May, 2013

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Expert review by: TJ Donegan (reviewed.com)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1

Is $2,800 too much to pay for professional quality in your pocket?

Fantastic sharpness from fixed 35mm f/2 lens; Superb dynamic range on par with full-frame DSLRs

Contrast-based focus system is slow and inconsistent; Short battery life made worse by lack of external charger

Having shot with the Sony Cyber-shot RX1 (MSRP $2,799.99) for several weeks, I find myself wondering just how the first digital full-frame compact came to be. Did a hapless Sony engineer knock a boiling vat of full-frame sensors into a batch of RX100s?...

Mar, 2013

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Expert review by: dcworld (digitalcameraworld.com)

Sony RX1 review

In our Sony RX1 review video, Amy Davies tests whether Sony's small full-frame camera offers the image quality it promises.

Jan, 2013

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Expert review by: Eric Reagan (photographybay.com)

Sony RX1

While “hands-on” might be a bit of a stretch for this article, I wanted to pass along my thoughts from actually putting my hands on the Sony RX1 at PhotoPlus 2012 today – even though the camera didn't have a battery in it because Sony didn't want to...

Oct, 2012

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Consumer review by: RobertMobileMania (cnet.com)

"Absolutely Phenomenal"

I went from a P&S to the APS-C sensor NEX C3 to the full frame sensor RX1 in the span of a year. Quite an ambitious upgrade path, and one without any mention of a traditional DSLR. Light, unintimidating, and easily portable are critical factors...

Low light performance is absolutely astounding

Autofocus is a bit lacking in low light

Apr, 2013

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Consumer review by: Gadgetkingz (cnet.com)

"My favorite camera."

This camera is my favorite I own. It is a fixed 35mm camera that takes Professional full frame pictures it has a built in digital zoom which give it some more distance. It is best used for street photography.Great travel camera. Spectacular Image...

Full Frame Sensor

price. would like a firmware update soon.

Feb, 2013

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Consumer review by: TGoldmanPhotography (beachcamera.com)

A Wonderful Camera to Grow Into

I bought this camera because it's small and light, and has a top sensor and lens. I wanted a camera that I could never criticize for poor images. It provides a great challenge for my growth... A fixed lens has pros and cons. But I think that 35MM is a...

Ease of Use ; High Quality Build ; Image Quality

Auto Focus

Apr, 2013