Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

Last Thursday FedEx delivered a rented Sony RX1r ii from LensRentals.com, along with an extra battery, a charger, and a carrying case. I'm not the least bit disappointed with LensRentals, but the camera was a "mixed bag." Friday afternoon through early Monday morning I made images in Yosemite Valley.

Over the next several days, I'll be processing the images and videos I've made, and I may post some of the results here when that happens as a follow-up to this post. Here are my pros and cons:
PROS:
1. The camera is easy to handle except for making videos.
2. Once I went through the entire menu and set the camera up the way I wanted, I found the menu system to be different but learnable.
3. I loved the eye level finder. I didn't use the provided eye cup - it was overcast and raining most of the time, so both displays were easy to use.
4. Having the option to screw in a traditional cable release was a nice bonus to the configuration of the camera.
5. Being light weight, I found the camera easy to maneuver on my recently purchased AmazonBasics carbon fiber travel tripod. (I liked the tripod, and that may well be the subject of a future review.
CONS:
1. The display wheel and button were clumsy to use, even with my fingers being slender and skilled with six decades of playing the piano.
2. On the second day, the main LCD display would show all the camera's settings when I turned it on, and it was hard to get it to go away. My solution was to revert to the eyepiece as much as possible.
3. When I got an opportunity to do some landscape astrophotography under a new moon, the main display was practically worthless. Even when using auto ISO with a maximum of 50k, the camera was much more difficult to use than anticipated. With the Nikon D800e I rented 18 months ago, I did not have nearly the difficulty shooting under starlight.

After I process the images, I'll add to this topic.

bedgmon Loc: Burleson, Texas

I am curious with your findings. I am afraid to jump ship from Canon.

mary boo Loc: Grand Lake, Presque Isle, michigan

like

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

Everything I read indicated it's a terrific camera, but as much as I personally like shooting with a fast 35mm lens, having a camera of that quality, and at that price, without the ability to change lenses, seems extremely limiting to me.

It becomes a very expensive niche camera. It may be a great choice for someone who's main interest is Street photography and indoor low light photography such as in a museum, but not for general use. You didn't mention the focal length as one of the limitations.

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

With respect to the night shooting, under a new moon, no less, do I understand you are comparing a point-and-shoot to a DSLR? It's not really a fair comparison, like apples and oranges, though the Sony is an amazing camera. It would be like driving a Tesla on a safari. Shooting at night is a big reason I will eventually buy a DSLR and resurrect my old Nikkor lenses. Some find the same true for the other extreme, shooting in very bright light, especially back-lit scenes.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I agree that the Sony Menu is different, and whenever I use mine, I have to play around with it to get what I want. Controls can also be tricky. Many people complain about the red button for video being too easy to hit by mistake - on various Sony models. If you used the camera regularly, everything would fall into place. I prefer shooting with my Nikon DSLR, but when I use a smaller camera for a period of time, it becomes second nature.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

If you were a Pro, you wouldn't be afraid...' you would be TERRIFIED!!!
SS

tdekany Loc: Oregon

Retina, the camera in question is a full frame camera in a P&S package. Re read the model number again.

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

Re 2. You didn't understand the menu and/or controls.

What technique did you use for "landscape astrophotography"? I've shot at night with and without moonlight with no problem using an A7Rii (same sensor).

Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

I promised to share images from my trip, and here they are. All were shot bracketed +-3 stops. It was overcast 90% of the time and frequently raining. Shots were processed with Photomatix, and then I did minor camera angle corrections with Photoshop Essentials. One of these is a stitch, and I used Microsoft ICE to do the stitching after I processed the images with Photomatix. I have reduced the image sizes because the resolution is so huge.

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Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

Not wanting star trails, my exposure was to be f/2 for 10 seconds, on auto ISO. What I saw in the viewfinder was nothing but noise, and the "image" recorded was useless. I've told LensRentals.com about it, and when they check it out and confirm it, they'll probably give me at least a partial refund. I believe it was a firmware problem, but of course anything is possible. In December of 2013 I used a Nikon D800e with a Zeiss 15mm f/2.8, shooting f/2.8 for 20 seconds at 3200 ISO. I got very pleasing results after post processing. I know that the Sony RX1Rii is capable of images equally good if not better. I was simply very disappointed.

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

It would have been interesting to use the exact same ISO, f-stop, and exposure times on both cameras. Could it be the auto-ISO gave you a setting that was at the camera's uppermost ISO limit where it was amplifying everything right at the noise floor? A preset ISO of 3200 might have given much more useful images. Just curious, but were you able to see the skyfield clearly enough on the LCD panel as compared to using the pentaprism of the Nikon?

Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

That did not occcur to me, Retina. I could have stopped down to f/2.8 and gone for 20 seconds at ISO 3200, but based upon what I was seeing in the viewfinder, I don't think it would have made a difference. I am expecting to hear from LensRentals as to what they find when the camera is tested. Perhaps I'll get an email either today or Monday.

Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC

The viewfinder image under those conditions are probably the result of whatever settings the engineers decided are needed just to see an image for composing and would not be a predictor of an image made with photo settings that were known to work for another capable camera. I would expect the photos would be very comparable to the SLR's if not better. With night scenes using a point-and-shoot, I would use your knowledge of photography or even scene modes, though I was told the Sony you rented is too high class a camera to have consumer-type pre-programmed modes. (I did not check as I never use scene modes.) You could certainly make amazing night shots with that camera by just knowing what manual settings are appropriate. The problem I have with electronic cameras vs SLRs is focusing with very dark scenes that require long exposures. It seems to never be an issue with all-glass viewers but is always more of a challenge with electronic viewers. At least that is my limited experience. (But then, someone will tell me I either don't know enough or use the wrong brand of camera.) My point is I can't think of a reason why the rented camera shouldn't perform as well as your SLR given its specs if it is properly set up. I would give it another chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Preachdude Loc: Geneva, OH

Today I got an email from tech support at LensRentals. Evidently, my difficulty with the LCD display was my own fault, not understanding the menu system sufficiently, and not perceiving how the "joystick" on the rear affects the display. Furthermore, I was told that the live view display did not accurately reveal the scene in an extremely low light situation such as that of a new moon. The faults were mine.