Sony RX1R III Review: Is This Little Camera Worth $5,100?

The Sony RX1R III (aka the DSC-RX1RM3) is a compact, fixed-lens digital camera with a secret: a full-frame, 60.2 megapixel sensor. Normally massive, high-res picture sensors solely are available massive, interchangeable lens our bodies. The RX1R III is nearer in measurement to compact cameras just like the Ricoh GR IV and Panasonic Z99, each of which have smaller picture sensors and decrease decision. 

Utilizing the RX1R III appears like utilizing another point-and-shoot camera. You should use it on full auto to get spectacular outcomes direct from the digital camera, or dial down into the settings to get the precise aesthetic you need. Image high quality is spectacular, far past what’s potential with any telephone and most different compact cameras.

The RX1R III’s greatest drawback, for those who can name it that, is the worth. At $5,100 it is far more costly than extra versatile mirrorless cameras and far more than smaller, extra compact cameras. It is an actual oddball of a product however for a really particular individual it is perhaps good.  

The RX1R III is smaller but heavier than you’d anticipate. Most footage make it look like it is a small mirrorless digital camera, however that is positively extra point-and-shoot sized. Its metallic physique (magnesium) feels fairly strong. All the varied dials have a satisfying click on to them. Even the lens cap feels weighty and substantial. This appears like a premium digital camera, which is sweet as a result of it’s. The scale and weight do not make for a very comfy digital camera to carry, however I by no means felt like I used to be going to drop it.

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The lens barrel has three rings. The outermost is for handbook focus, the center permits a macro-focusing mode (as shut as 0.2m/7.9in), and the innermost ring is for aperture. That is overridden in modes that robotically set it. On high of the physique there are dials for mode and publicity, plus one in every of 3 user-programmable buttons. The “multi interface shoe” on high has a digital audio interface.

The touchscreen, sadly, would not pivot or tilt out, a helpful characteristic many cheaper cameras have. There’s an OLED viewfinder that robotically prompts if you carry the digital camera near your face. It is contrasty and detailed. Along with the opposite programmable buttons, there is a scroll wheel, which makes navigating the numerous menus fairly simple. 

One notable characteristic that is surprisingly lacking is picture stabilization. Many different cameras use optical or sensor stabilization to assist scale back picture blur when taking pictures hand-held with lengthy shutter speeds. That it is lacking right here, particularly for the worth, is odd. The quick lens and nice picture sensor carry out fairly properly collectively, so I suppose Sony did not assume it was mandatory. Nonetheless, it is a unusual factor to lack in 2025 and past. 

Additionally a bit unusual are the mediocre video capabilities. Sony clearly intends this digital camera for photographs, not video. Whereas 4K30 is “effective” in that it is higher than HD, there are various extra reasonably priced cameras that may do way more. Even your telephone can possible do 4K60. With a major “zoomed in” crop issue and solely marginally-effective digital picture stabilization (greater than what photographs get, to be honest) you most likely would not need to shoot a lot video with it anyway.

Sony’s Creators’ App linked to my Pixel 9 Professional on the primary strive. This is among the higher digital camera apps I’ve used, letting you management the digital camera, price and choose photographs and movies to obtain or add to the cloud, delete undesirable photographs in bulk, save settings to the telephone or cloud. The distant digital camera management, with a reside view, helps you to alter the digital camera’s varied settings.  

Usability and picture high quality

Regardless of the worth and spectacular specs, the RX1R III works identical to another compact fixed-lens digital camera. There’s an Auto mode that does a superb job setting publicity and shutter velocity to the scene. The autofocus works rapidly and well. If you wish to dial in any particular settings, there are a number of dials proper close to your fingers to take action. 

Having a 60.2-megapixel sensor is wild. My massive Canon R6 makes do with “simply” 20.1, and my Fujifilm X100VI has what I believed was a formidable 40.2. Decision is only one side of picture high quality, and for those who’re posting on social media, even 20.1 megapixels is lots. Nevertheless, the additional decision is not nearly added element however how a lot you may crop a picture. You basically do not want a telephoto lens when taking pictures with the RX1R III. You’ll be able to crop up to now into a picture that it seems such as you’ve obtained an enormous zoom lens, regardless that it is a fastened 35mm. 

The 35mm Zeiss lens is implausible. At f2, it presents some spectacular light-gathering efficiency and a few beautiful easy bokeh. It is also sharp and creates pleasing starbursts when stopped down and taking pictures right into a vibrant gentle supply just like the solar. The close-focusing mode, plus the excessive decision, helps you to seize impressively shut macro photographs. 

That decision does include a draw back: large file sizes. JPEGs are about 14 megabytes and their accompanying uncooked recordsdata are round 64MB. These recordsdata switch pretty rapidly to your telephone however it’s value conserving in thoughts for those who shoot lots. Massive SD playing cards and an additional arduous drive are a should, as is an honest laptop to course of them with out bogging down. Then once more, for the kind of folks I think about have an interest within the RX1R, they possible have already got all of that.

My solely actual grievance is the ergonomics. It is a heavy digital camera for its measurement, and there is not any thumb relaxation and solely the smallest of entrance grips on your fingers. It makes the RX1R somewhat awkward to carry, particularly for any size of time. There are many aftermarket equipment to deal with this challenge, so this is not an issue per se, simply one thing to bear in mind. And to be clear, this can be a small digital camera that is lighter than a lot of its high-end contemporaries. The Leica Q3, for instance, which makes use of the identical picture sensor, is nearly 50% heavier. 

Largely, although, the RX1R is a versatile and forgiving digital camera. It feels very simple to take very high-quality, great-looking photographs in a wide range of lighting conditions. The sensor’s excessive dynamic vary helps you to expose for highlights and get impressively low-noise shadows you may brighten in submit. Colours are deep and lifelike. It is all very confidence-inspiring that you’ll get some nice photographs with minimal fuss. Or, if you wish to fuss, get one thing particular.

$84.72 per megapixel

The RX1R III is, as I’ve stated already, wild. In the event you take worth out of the equation, it is a sensible little digital camera: nice lens, spectacular sensor, small measurement and straightforward to make use of. That is the actual world, nonetheless, so worth must be part of the equation… I assume? I imply, does a Porsche driver care that their Boxster is costlier than a Mazda MX-5 however equally enjoyable? Are there folks wanting to save lots of up for months to get the RX1R III? I’ve to imagine a giant share of individuals trying to purchase this digital camera already produce other cameras, and $5,100 is not a giant deal.

Does the RX1R III provide sufficient efficiency to justify its important premium over different compact cameras? For most individuals, no. You can purchase the smaller, easily-pocketable Ricoh GR IV and the quirky Fujifilm X100VI and nonetheless manage to pay for to fly to Japan and use them each for 2 weeks. There are small, full-frame mirrorless cameras that may do every part the RX1R III and extra for lots much less cash. That appears past the purpose of this digital camera, although. 

There are, nonetheless, individuals who need and/or want greater than what the Ricoh and Fuji and their APS-C-sized sensors can present. In my thoughts, the RX1R III is perhaps good for knowledgeable photographer, particularly somebody who shoots weddings and occasions, who desires one thing quick and straightforward that may match the standard of their massive, major cameras. Some extent-and-shoot digital camera with an important lens and sensor that creates photographs you may’t inform had been taken by a point-and-shoot digital camera. So for these folks, or I assume anybody who would not flinch on the concept of a $5,100 gadget, the RX1R III is spectacular and suits right into a tiny area of interest all its personal.