Review: Sony Cyber-shot RX1

Near-breathless anticipation is pretty much how you'd describe the mood when Sony announced plans for what, on paper, looked to be the most advanced compact camera ever. So magnificently crafted is the RX1, a pro-level shooter with a full-frame sensor and a fixed lens wrapped in a pocket-size body, even the $2,800 price tag couldn't stymie the buzz. The high sticker probably even made it more desirable – for that money, hotness is all but guaranteed.

Straight from the box, the Cyber-shot RX1 looks and feels professional. It has the heft, feel and "boxiness" of a Leica. It also resembles its older kin, the RX100. Owing to the camera's 17-ounce build and the rubber inlays on the right side of the body, steady one-handed shooting is incredibly easy and a healthy workout, if you do a lot of it.

Let's troll the specs. It has a 24-megapixel full-frame compact camera with a fixed 35mm leaf-shutter f/2 Zeiss lens that'll sync to shutter speeds of up to 1/2000 of a second. The camera is aimed at hyper-enthusiasts and working photographers who want, need, or just plain lust for a camera that'll fit in the fist and still deliver full-fledged DSLR image quality. That's a tall order for any manufacturer – especially Sony, whose fortunes have been tarnished recently by innovation lassitude. In spite of the bloom being off Sony's rose in other areas, the company has been marching headlong toward taking back some serious market share in photography, notably in image sensor development both for itself and for other brands. So, to say there's a lot riding on the performance of the RX1 is mildly understating the obvious.

The layout and controls have been kept simple, much like the RX100. To the right of the ridiculously crisp "WhiteMagic" LCD are the auto exposure lock, Function, Menu and Trash buttons, and a 4-way control dial with a set button in the center. Above the AEL button is a rotating dial for adjusting shutter speed in M-mode and S-mode. This dial also operates the program shift when the camera is in P mode. Playback and pop-up flash are operated by small buttons just above the LCD. At the top of the body, you'll find the mode dial with options for custom settings, the power switch, the exposure value adjustment dial (+/- 3EV) and a tiny button with a "C" on it. The little "C" packs a wallop, enabling you to customize it for up to 27 functions.

Sony made the right choice by going with the Zeiss lens and CMOS sensor combo. With its eight elements, three of which are aspheric and one advanced aspheric, the leaf-shuttered f/2 glass is both very sharp and quiet. It features an f-stop ring on the lens barrel, and has a close-focus switch for subjects as close as 9.5 inches. Wide open, the Zeiss is remarkably clear and the RX1's 24-megapixel sensor can certainly take equal credit for the image clarity. An adaptation of the full-frame sensor spec'd in its DSLR cousin, the SLT A99, this sensor produces rich, dense color from edge to edge. The only drawback to this Zeiss lens is a touch of vignetting when it's wide open, but that can be mitigated by an on-board algorithm if you like.

Contrast-detection focusing systems in compact cameras notoriously struggle with moving subjects and low light, and in spite of all its tech and $2,800 price point, the RX1 is no different. Even with that known limitation, when the RX1 is locked on focus, the images can be stunning, with lovely color rendition, contrast and creamy bokeh. Compact cameras also typically labor in burst mode, especially when shooting in RAW. The RX1 does better than most, performing its best continuous and speed priority "burst" and "buffer" work with "fine" JPEGs yielding as many as you can shoot in continuous, and 35 frames in speed priority mode.

Topping out at 1080p and 60fps, Sony offers up nine different flavors of video recording in two formats: AVCHD and MPEG-4. Despite the build-up from the quality of the stills, the promise of equally fantastic moving images out of the RX1 goes largely unfulfilled for a number of reasons. First, the autofocus can be a bit ponderous, taking its time and occasionally toggling back and forth to confirm focus. Second, the manual focus function is hamstrung by the lack of a distance indicator and magnified live view, meaning manual focus is left to the eye of the auteur. Third, the SteadyShot mode crops the field of view down from the native 16:9 aspect ratio. And finally, Sony's video filing system amalgamates all the video into seemingly one "clip", so it's a bit of pain to edit in the camera. (This was a problem on the RX100, as well.)

Even though the video performance let me down, I have to applaud Sony for taking some risks with the RX1. It's by no means a speedy sports shooter, and only time (and sales) will tell if this format will be in winner for the former TV titan. But if you've got the bread, the RX1 hits the mark as an artist's and journalist's camera capable of pro-quality stills in a palm-sized package.

WIRED Sharp, beautiful still images. Gorgeous bokeh. Solid build. External f-stop ring on lens. Crisp and bright LCD. Very low noise at high ISOs. Shoots RAW, RAW + JPEG and JPEG.

TIRED Slowish focus performance, especially in low light. Detachable electronic viewfinder is mostly unnecessary. Disappointing video performance. A fixed lens is "a fixed" lens and offers few options. Average output from pop-up flash.