Meet the Sony RX1R II, the compact camera with a 42.4MP full-frame sensor
It’s also the first ever camera to offer a variable optical low-pass filter, dontchaknow?
If you thought Sony’s 2013-released RX1 compact – which had a 24.3MP full-frame sensor and £2,600 price tag – was a tad OTT, its replacement is absolutely bonkers.
The RX1R II looks very similar to its predecessor, right down to the weighty Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens, but it’s packing innards that push the envelope even further. There’s a new sensor – the same back-illuminated 42.4MP full-frame number that debuted on the A7R II – as well as a new autofocus system, a wider ISO range and a retractable OLED viewfinder.
Sony says the autofocus speed has been boosted by 30 percent, while the ISO now goes from 50 to 102400, suggesting stellar low-light performance. The viewfinder, meanwhile, means that unlike the RX1, you won’t have to use the rear LCD screen to compose and review your photos and videos.
The RX1R II is also the world’s first camera to offer an optical low-pass filter that can either be turned on or off. With other cameras, you either have to choose between having a low-pass filter (which eliminates the moiré effect in your images at the cost of some detail) or going without – but Sony has made it an option. It’s something that enthusiast photographers are likely to be, well, enthusiastic about.
The camera can’t capture 4K video, which might raise a few eyebrows in light of other recent high-end Sony cameras including it, but will record in up to 1080p quality at up to 60fps.
As you might imagine, the price for all this high-end wizardry in such a compact device is high. We don’t yet have UK details, but Sony says the R1XR II will cost around €3,500, which currently converts to about £2,585. So we’d expect something in the region of £2,600 when it arrives here in December. Better start saving those pennies.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor 
