Sony RX2 Speculation and wish list

El Guapo

Regular
As this forum is a little slow, I thought I'd ask what you would like to see in a RX2 and speculate on if ever there will be one and what it might include.

For me I'd like to see the same level of optical clarity and character that the existing lens has but if there is a curved sensor, I hope this translates to a thinner package. A OVF integrated would be great. It does not have to be a X100 style EVF combo, just a OVF with some data like ISO/Aperture/TV and a focus/lock indicator. More MP? Maybe not. How about a 12Mpixel FF sensor ala the A7S in a RX2 body. Maybe two versions a 12 and 36Mp version.

Oh, and weather sealed. Doesn't have to be waterproof but sealed that we are not afraid to use it in the rain or desert.

I'd like the lens to stay at 35mm or thereabouts.

Your thoughts?
 
Any changes I would want would be out of character with other Sony cameras.

If I'm to be realistic, I could go for a tilty screen. They'll never make it weather sealed, and I don't think the design lends itself to an OVF with data.

Frankly, I don't see a need for an RX2. Especially since it would be twice the price of a well sourced minty RX1.

I guess I'd like a drive mode switch, but that's a seriously minor niggle.
 
There was some comments flying about the webs that the curved sensor would mean a simpler lens design and that in turn should bring the cost down.
Likely more a hope than fact.

Tilt screen often a nice one.
 
I'm not in the market, but...

1. Minimum shutter speed control in auto ISO.
2. Sticky manual focus distance.
3. Longer battery life.

#1 is non-negotiable make or break.
#2 & 3 would be nice.
No other changes would matter to me...
 
1. Minimum shutter speed control in auto ISO.
I'm not in the market either and don't have much to add to what has already been said but in my book that's the second most useful and trouble free automation that has come up in the last 50 years - right behind aperture priority.
 
I'm not in the market, but...

1. Minimum shutter speed control in auto ISO.
2. Sticky manual focus distance.
3. Longer battery life.

I agree with these, and would add faster start-up, faster AF, better flash implementation (for fill flash), lossless raw compression, built-in EVF, and a more effective way to select AF points. The critical one is minimum shutter speed control in auto ISO. It's baffling to me that this isn't a feature on every digital camera made today. How hard can it be to implement? All they would have to do is tweak the firmware.

I don't see a need to change the lens or megapixels. If they do change the lens, a 35/1.4 would be great, assuming no loss in optical quality.

As for whether there will be a successor to the RX1, I don't think it will happen. But if it does, it would have to be a very compelling improvement for me to upgrade.
 
I'm not in the market either and don't have much to add to what has already been said but in my book that's the second most useful and trouble free automation that has come up in the last 50 years - right behind aperture priority.
Since I first started shooting with a camera that had this feature implemented well, I'm completely spoiled by it and won't buy another camera that doesn't do it and provide for a pretty fast min shutter speed (so you can use for long lenses, action, etc). It seems like an absolute no-brainer feature to offer given the incredible range of today's sensors. It's essentially a fully automatic mode that lets you set the parameters such that it makes decisions EXACTLY how you'd make them if doing it all manually, but it doesn't make you think about it from shot to shot. It wouldn't have been very useful with the sensors from even five years ago, but with today's, any camera with a sensor of 1" or larger has enough ISO range to really benefit from this feature.

Nikon and Samsung do it right, Fuji does it pretty well in their high end ILC models (but not the X100 series), Ricoh has it but the min shutter speed only goes up to 1/250, Canon does it but doesn't offer as much control as it should, Pentax I'm not sure about, Olympus doesn't do it but offers a semi-workaround that lets you do it to a minimum extent, Panasonic and Sony don't do it at all. Which is a drag, because Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic are making some great stuff otherwise, but I won't go there without this functionality anymore...

-Ray
 
I would appreciate an integrated EVF (while retaining some kind of built-in flash) on my RX1. A tilt-screen would also come in handy occasionally. Incremental improvements in focus speed, menu options, etc., to bring it up to the level of the current A7 cameras, would be nice.
* I am pretty sure the price of the RX2 and resale value of my RX1 will keep me from being a potential buyer of the new camera. :drinks:
 
I'd like to see in order of preference:

Built in EVF
Nikon-styled shutter speed/ISO control
Metering and drive mode dials
Flippy screen

The RX1 is a wonderful camera and i still miss it dearly but I don't see an RX2 any time soon, atleast not one which is significantly different to the '1'. If a '2' was released with the same gorgeous sensor/lens relationship and the changes I have listed above it would certainly be a very very pricey unit (and justifiably so). Also certain is that I would use the high release price to convince myself that I just do not 'need' it....only to cave in quite predictably 6 months after initial release!

I think if an RX2 is ever made, it'll boast some relatively humble and incremental sensor and performance improvements and maybe a flippy screen, and not much else.
 
Sony/m43 ignores the min shutter ctrl... However RX1 has sticky mf distance as sb found by error:
Tale of a broken RX1...
I'm not in the market, but...
1. Minimum shutter speed control in auto ISO.
2. Sticky manual focus distance.

I prefer the RX1 size, so RX100 III evf should be a good match... Otherwise you can buy an A7 with Sony 28mm f2 with faster focus, evf, tilt screen, IBIS and all the ctrls...
 
I wouldn't mind an RX-x with a 50mm f1.8 or thereabouts. Not really as a replacement, more to complement the current 35mm version. There's a heap of great options out there at the moment with a fixed 35mm or wider, but nothing really solid with a 50mm.
 
Sony/m43 ignores the min shutter ctrl... However RX1 has sticky mf distance as sb found by error:
Tale of a broken RX1...
That's kind of interesting. I'm having trouble visualizing it, but if I still had the camera, I'd surely check it out. But I never found the "non-sticky" focus distance as troublesome as the lack of auto ISO - shutter speed control. It's pretty easy to get in the habit of turning the focus ring a quarter turn when you flip the camera on, but there's no real substitute for the min shutter speed functionality. Shooting in manual mode with auto ISO works, as does A mode with manual ISO, but either way you still have to constantly monitor the ISO and shutter speed balance, which you don't once you've set up a max ISO and min SS...

-Ray
 
That's kind of interesting. I'm having trouble visualizing it, but if I still had the camera, I'd surely check it out. But I never found the "non-sticky" focus distance as troublesome as the lack of auto ISO - shutter speed control. It's pretty easy to get in the habit of turning the focus ring a quarter turn when you flip the camera on, but there's no real substitute for the min shutter speed functionality. Shooting in manual mode with auto ISO works, as does A mode with manual ISO, but either way you still have to constantly monitor the ISO and shutter speed balance, which you don't once you've set up a max ISO and min SS...

-Ray
The macro-ring focusing trick is pretty cool. Basically, you can manually focus using the macro ring, and the focus will stay approximately where you set it even after the camera is turned off. You can even engage focus assist (magnification and peaking) while focusing. After focusing with the macro ring, you can AF at closer distances but not farther distances. If you do refocus, the original macro-focus setting is lost. And, of course, you have to remember to disengage the macro focus if you wish to return to normal AF.
 
rx2 needs a 16mp CUrvED sensor somewhere between the a7s and a7 sensors... tilty screen, built in viewfinder, touch screen, ability to shoot in funky modes while in raw+jpg, everything ray said, and an 85/90mm option. i need 4 rx2 cameras, really... a 16/35/85/135
all with a6000 focus speeds
and the viewfinder should be xt1 like
and the a7ii grip
and electronic silent shutter
and still a leaf shutter
and hoocaps for each version of the lens
and direct connect to wifi networks for direct upload to social media
and the lens should be mechanical focus, not focus by wire
and a focus tab, cause those look fun!
and dedicated shutter and iso dials


i suppose i could settle for that :)
 
It looks like we'll have a new Leica instead of RX2... Mirrorless rumor site is reporting June 10 Leica announcement. Per lavidaleica, it is Leica Q (Type 116) Hemingway, a 24MP FF camera with 28mm 1.7 lens. It has same size as RX1. The price will be around 4000 Euro ~ $4500...
 
It looks like we'll have a new Leica instead of RX2... Mirrorless rumor site is reporting June 10 Leica announcement. Per lavidaleica, it is Leica Q (Type 116) Hemingway, a 24MP FF camera with 28mm 1.7 lens. It has same size as RX1. The price will be around 4000 Euro ~ $4500...
That could be seriously interesting if it was a couple of grand less expensive. And if they do the controls the way I like 'em (pretty unlikely). That price puts it in a league I don't play in though... A full frame 28mm at the size of the RX1 would probably cause some amount of involuntary reflexive action on the part of my salivary glands though, no doubt...

-Ray
 
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