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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 Offers Full Frame Power in Your Palm (Update)

By Joy Hou - on 15 Nov 2012, 5:00pm

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 Offers Full Frame Power in Your Palm

Image source: Sony

At 482g light (including battery and memory card), the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 packs a 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor and wide aperture F2 fixed-focal lens into a body compact enough to fit easily into the palm of your hand. The 24.3-megapixel camera has the ability to resolve the finest image details and subtle textures, as well as capture natural, low noise handheld images in near-dark conditions without requiring flash.

By integrating the Pixel Super Resolution Technology, magnification of image size without sacrificing pixel count is possible. The Smart Teleconverter function crops a central portion of the image sensor, boosting magnification by 1.4x or 2x. Additionally, the RX1 can capture high-quality, low-noise Full HD movie footage at a choice of 50/60p or 25/24p (progressive) frame rates. There's also 13 Creative Styles along with a wide range of 'PC-free' Picture Effect treatments, so you can fine-tune your images. It comes preloaded with PlayMemories Home (Lite Edition) software, allowing for easy image transfers to a PC for managing, editing, and printing.

The Cyber-shot RX1 full-frame digital compact camera will be available in APAC from October 2012. It comes with a range of dedicated optional accessories including (but not limited to) the exclusive Jacket Case (LCJ-RXB), Lens Hood (LHP-1), and a Thumb Grip (TGA-1) for comfortable handling.

**Update: The Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 will be available from 12 December 2012 at S$3,999.

Read on for the full press release.


(ASIA PACIFIC, 12 September 2012) – You’d never have believed it was possible. Now photo enthusiasts can explore the creative possibilities of full-frame imaging with a compact digital camera that fits easily in the palm of your hand.

The extraordinary new Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 from Sony realises the dream of photographers everywhere. Just 482g (with battery and memory card), it packs a 35mm full-frame sensor and wide aperture F2 fixed-focal lens into a camera body that’s perfectly proportioned for travel and street photography as well as portraits and day-to-day shooting.

Far smaller and lighter than any full-frame DSLR, the Cyber-shot RX1 offers superb imaging quality that’s previously been the domain of high-end professional DSLR cameras. The unified lens/body design assures razor-sharp alignment of the sensor and optical components. This brings out the full potential of the lens to deliver unprecedented image quality, right to the very edges of each frame. Full manual control options are complemented by effortlessly intuitive operation, making it easy for enthusiasts to realise their creative vision without sacrificing portability or operating comfort.

In a world first for digital compact cameras, the Cyber-shot RX1 features a 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor. With an effective resolution of 24.3 megapixels, it’s more than two times larger than the APS-C sensors inside much bulkier DSLR cameras. Capable of resolving the finest image details and subtle textures, the full-frame sensor assures absolute fidelity, rich colours and an impressively broad dynamic range.

The large sensor size also helps boost the camera’s sensitivity range to a generous ISO 100 – 25600. Sensitivity can be adjusted as low as ISO 50 in expanded mode. Similarly, ISO settings as high as 102400 can be achieved using Multi Frame Noise Reduction. This allows the Cyber-shot RX1 to capture natural, low noise handheld images in near-dark conditions without needing flash.

Complementing the full-frame sensor is a fast, bright Carl Zeiss Sonnar T lens with a fixed focal length of 35mm – a versatile choice for portraits, street photography and everyday shooting. Derived from the German word “Sonne” (“sun”), the Sonnar name reflects the ability of the lens to capture as much light as possible. This premium lens features newly designed optics including an Advanced Aspherical (AA) glass element. This contributes to the camera’s extremely compact palm-sized dimensions while keeping extremely high performance of the lens.

The lens’s wide F2 maximum aperture and 9-bladed circular aperture enable beautiful ‘bokeh’ (defocus) effects to rival professional-class DSLR camera lenses. A Macro switching ring on the lens barrel instantly shortens minimum focusing distance to just 20cm (from image plane), making the Cyber-shot RX1 ideal for capturing small close-up subjects with exquisite detail.

Data from the Exmor CMOS sensor is handled by the evolved BIONZ engine that also powerfull-resolution burst shooting at up to 5 frames per second. The BIONZ processor can output image data in 14-bit RAW format, giving advanced users immense freedom over developing, post-processing and managing RAW files to match their personal creative vision. Despite the camera’s extraordinarily compact dimensions, photographers are offered a virtually limitless palette of options for creative expression. The Cyber-shot RX1 offers a full range of manual control modes, just as you’d expect from a no-compromise DSLR camera.

Dedicated lens rings allow fingertip control of focus and aperture, while a DSLR-style Focus mode dial on the front of the camera allows easy switching between focus modes. Top-mounted exposure compensation and mode dials are ergonomically placed for easy operation, while custom function and AEL buttons fall comfortably to hand without interrupting your creative flow.

Accessed via the camera’s pro-style control dial and cross keys, Quick Navi mode allows fast, intuitive adjustment of camera settings: it’s ideal when using the camera with an optional viewfinder. As a further enthusiast-oriented touch, there’s a memory recall (MR) mode that allows storage and instant recall of up to three sets of camera settings.

Other refinements include a MF Assist function that magnifies a portion of your image to simplify fine focus adjustments. There’s also a pro-style Peaking function that highlights sharply-focused areas of the image on screen. Adding the optional FDA-EV1MK electronic viewfinder kit allows even greater manual focusing precision.

By Pixel Super Resolution Technology allows magnification of image size without sacrificing pixel count – maintaining far higher quality than achievable with conventional digital zoom.

There’s also a Smart Teleconverter function that crops a central portion of the image sensor, boosting effective magnification by 1.4x or 2x. Thanks to the full-frame sensor’s extremely high pixel count, even zoomed and cropped images maintain generous amounts of fine detail when blown up at large print sizes.

In addition to flawless stills, the Cyber-shot RX1 can capture high-quality, low-noise Full HD movie footage at a choice of 50p/60p or 25p/24p (progressive) frame rates. 24p recording enables the Cyber-shot RX1 to transform everyday scenes into film-like movies. It’s easy to record beautifully atmospheric video in very low lighting, such as at dusk. There’s a full complement of PASM exposure modes to give photographers absolute creative flexibility during video shooting.

Artistically ambitious photographers can fine-tune images with a choice of 13 Creative Styles, plus a wide range of inspiring ‘PC-free’ Picture Effect treatments.

Even wider compositional possibilities are offered by Auto HDR and D-Range Optimiser, bracket shooting (Exposure, DRO or White Balance) and Auto HDR shooting modes. There’s also a Digital Level Gauge that indicates camera pitch and camera roll on the LCD screen for straight, even horizons and architectural shots.

The Cyber-shot RX1 is accompanied with a range of dedicated optional accessories to enhance the camera experience. The Optical Viewfinder (FDA-V1K) adds functionality with Zeiss optics. Also available are an Electronic Viewfinder (FDA-EV1MK), exclusive Jacket Case (LCJ-RXB), Lens Hood (LHP-1) and a Thumb Grip (TGA-1) for sure, comfortable handling.

Shooting possibilities for stills and video are further broadened by the camera’s Multi Interface Shoe3 that accepts a growing range of accessories Options include a powerful flash(HVL-F60M), clip-on LCD monitor (CLM-V55) and many more.

The Cyber-shot RX1 comes preinstalled with PlayMemories Home (Lite Edition) software, allowing easy image transfers to a PC for managing, editing and printing. Available for free download, a full version of PlayMemories Home adds movie editing and disc burning.

The new Cyber-shot RX1 full-frame digital compact camera from Sony is available in Asia Pacific from October 2012.

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