Sony’s Pocket-sized Rx1r Camera Returns With Its First Update In 10 Years

The caller Sony RX1R III carries guardant nan past version’s fixed lens and 35mm sensor. | Image: Sony

After astir a decade, Sony has announced a caller type of its fixed-lens compact RX1R camera that was last updated successful 2015. The caller third procreation RX1R III arrives pinch nan aforesaid 35mm full-frame Exmor R sensor arsenic its predecessor, but pinch a bump from 42.4 to 61 megapixels. It besides benefits from Sony’s latest Bionz XR and AI image processors to present amended autofocus that tin way nan activity of quality bodies and much accurately attraction connected their heads and eyes.

The RX1R III will beryllium disposable sometime successful July for astir $5,099.99, according to Sony. That’s  considerably much costly than nan RX1R II, which launched successful 2015 for $3,300. The RX1R III’s  compact size and Zeiss Sonnar T 35mm F2 lens puts nan camera successful title pinch nan $4,899.95 mean format Fujifilm GFX100RF and nan $5,995 full-frame Leica Q3 – some of which besides characteristic fixed lenses.

To compensate for that lens limitation, nan RX1R III includes a Step Crop Shooting usability that allows photographers to move betwixt 35mm, 50mm, and 70mm focal lengths achieved done sensor cropping. The camera besides features a macro mode activated by a ringing connected nan lens that tin beryllium utilized to attraction connected subjects arsenic adjacent arsenic 20cm.

The camera has a assemblage made of magnesium alloy. To thief make nan RX1R III arsenic ray and portable arsenic possible, Sony is now utilizing a fixed surface connected nan backmost that tin nary longer beryllium tilted up and down. The alteration intends you whitethorn find yourself having to contort your assemblage erstwhile trying to seizure low-angle shots utilizing nan camera’s surface aliases 2.36 cardinal dot OLED physics position finder.

Sony is erstwhile again positioning this camera arsenic a precocious value shooter that’s acold little cumbersome to transportation than larger mirrorless options aliases DSLRs, and its capacity reflects that. Shooting speeds max retired astatine conscionable 5 frames per second, and nan RX1R III tin seizure 4K video astatine 30 fps aliases 1080p astatine up to 120 fps (the RX1R II maxed retired astatine 1080p) pinch nan action to usage Sony’s S-Cinetone image floor plan for a much cinematic look. 

The RX1R III besides includes 12 different speedy entree Creative Looks that tin beryllium customized and applied to some stills and video. And for illustration nan Sony A7R V, its autofocus strategy features 693 phase-detection points and is tin of search quality mobility to find wherever a subject’s eyes are expected to be, moreover if they’re not looking straight astatine nan camera aliases their look is obscured.

It seems for illustration a worthwhile upgrade complete nan past generation, but if you don’t mind a spot much bulk, location are much tin and affordable alternatives from Sony.