Sony DSC-RX1R III review

88%

Overall score

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The Sony DSC-RX1R III is the company’s fourth full-frame compact camera with the same Zeiss-branded 35mm F2 lens. The latest version uses a 60.2MP sensor and Sony’s latest processors.

Key specifications

• 60.2MP BSI CMOS sensor
• 35mm F2 Zeiss-branded lens
• 2.36M dot (1024 x 768px) EVF with 0.7x magnification
• 2.36M dot (1024 x 768px) fixed LCD touchscreen
• NP-FW50 battery, rated to 300 shots per charge
• 4K video up to 30p with 10-bit 4:2:2 options, Log and S-Cinetone
• Range of color modes including 3 ‘Film’ modes

The RX1R III is available now, at a recommended price of $5099, £4200, €4900. There are also a series of rather expensive accessories available, including an add-on thumb rest, a lens hood and a leather half-case.

The US price is notably higher, in comparison to the European and UK prices, than is typical for Sony products. We have to assume the approximately 10% higher pricing is a result of the tariffs imposed by the US government.

Index:

• What’s new
• How does it compare?
• Body and handling
• Image quality
• Autofocus
• Video
• Conclusion
• Sample gallery
• Specifications

What’s new

The RX1R III is a surprisingly subtle update of the Mark II, given the near 10 years gap between models, but the changes that have been made are significant.

The most obvious is the move to the 60.2MP BSI CMOS sensor from the a7R V and a7CR, and also the Leica Q3 models that most directly compete with the Sony. The lens remains unchanged, but that turns out to be less of an issue than many people predicted. Gone is the unique ‘cancellable’ anti-aliasing filter, with the higher resolution sensor needing it less, especially behind a lens that’s a touch soft at wide apertures.

Another big upgrade is the addition of Sony’s latest ‘Bionz XR’ processor with accompanying ‘AI Processing Unit,’ a dedicated processor for crunching the complex, chewy algorithms produced by machine learning. Collectively, these promise much improved AF tracking both for recognized and unrecognized subjects.

Beyond that there’s a fixed viewfinder, rather than the RX1R II’s pop-up unit. It’s the highest-resolution 2.36M dot (1024 x 768px) unit that’s available in the smallest panel size, but this means the spec and the 0.7x magnification optics are shared with the much less expensive Sony a7CR. The rear screen is now fixed, which feels like a step backward: taken to keep the body size down.

Finally, the camera gains a new battery. The NP-FW50 isn’t especially large (it was one of our least favorite features of most of Sony’s APS-C mirrorless cameras), but it’s a big step forward from the old camera, both in terms of capacity and voltage. Sony has managed to fit it into a body that isn’t much wider than the battery itself, and it addresses one of the biggest criticisms of the existing models.

With the boost in resolution, Sony has added a “step crop” feature that lets you crop in to a 50mm or 70mm equivalent region of the sensor. If you’re shooting Raw, it continues to record the full image but includes crop metadata that your software may or may not choose to honor. As with the GFX100RF these modes can be handy but be aware you’re effectively paying a high price for a smaller sensor camera when you use them.

How does it compare?

Like most prime lens compacts, the Sony is priced higher than the otherwise similarly specced Mirrorless model elsewhere in the range. We include the a7CR for reference, but its most direct competitors are the Leica Q3 43, which is conceptually most similar, and Fujifilm’s X100VI, which is essentially an APS-C attempt at the same prime-lens photographers’ compact concept.

The lack of stabilization and the low-res viewfinder are the most glaring omissions from the RX1R III. Its video specs are also relatively modest but this isn’t a camera we’d particularly look to for video shooting. For the RX1R III, the key specs (and two we don’t give best/worst ratings for) are the size and weight. Despite its larger sensor and the lens that comes with that, it’s the lightest camera here and also the smallest full-frame camera currently on the market. If that isn’t right near the top of your list of priorities, there are plenty of less expensive alternatives out there.

Body and handling

The RX1R III is small and feels very solidly built. It does a good job of minimizing weight without feeling too light and a good job of being small without negatively impacting handling.

The camera puts the aperture ring exactly where your left hand is likely to hold the camera, the exposure comp dial under your thumb, with the rear command dial and AF-On buttons a short movement away. A custom button next to the shutter button is easy to reach and there’s another hiding on the right flank, where the (REC) button used to be on the RX1R II.

The viewfinder cup screws into place on the top left of the camera, adding to the size of the body but significantly increasing comfort and usability, both compared with using the camera without one, and with the pop-up finder on the predecessor.

Despite the camera’s features being fairly stripped back (the lack of stabilization means it lacks the a7R models’ multi-shot high res mode), the RX1R III’s menus are pretty dense and complex. They definitely feel like a hollowed-out version of a still-more complex menu structure: the contrast with the ruthless focus of Leica’s current menus is stark. Quite a high proportion of the menu options appear to be for limiting the number of options available, elsewhere, whether that be in terms of AF area modes, subjects to detect or drive modes.

In keeping with recent Sony models, the RX1R III has a settings display page, one level deep in the menus, between the user-definable My Menu section and the main body of the menus themselves. Here more than ever, its presence and function is hard to fathom: it feels like a quick menu that’s got accidentally misplaced in the midst of a menu structure: not customizable, easy to inadvertently navigate away from, and with a menu system that defaults to opening on an empty page adjacent to it.

Thankfully, with its dedicated aperture ring, exposure comp dial, top-plate thumb dial and (if you need it), fiddly rear-plate dial, you have most of the camera’s key functions to hand, with eight custom buttons available to gain more.

By the time you’ve slimmed-down all the options you might want to use, and maybe amended some of the Fn menu options, it’s hard to see why you’d need to visit the menus at all.

The one instance that might require menu diving is if you want to shoot HLG HDR images, as you not only have to engage HEIF shooting and select the HDR mode but also disengage Raw shooting. So it requires some fairly involved button smashing to switch to and from HDR stills capture.

Image quality

Image quality offers no great surprises: we’ve seen this sensor often enough to know it’s excellent for stills.

Our test scene is designed to simulate a variety of textures, colors and detail types you’ll encounter in the real world. It also has two illumination modes to see the effect of different lighting conditions.

We’ll take a closer look at the lens in a separate test, but you can see the RX1R III’s sensor performs as you’d expect. It can’t quite match the Leica Q3 43 for detail but it’s capturing finer detail than the Mark II, with its 42MP sensor, could. Noise is comparable with the two other cameras with which it shares a sensor and with its predecessor, when compared at a common output size.

The JPEG engine does a good job of pulling out fine detail, and retains it to a reasonable degree at high ISO. Color rendition seems to be a match for recent Sony cameras, with perhaps slightly less bluey greens and greenish yellows than the RX1R II had.

Shooting the lens at a variety of apertures shows that it doesn’t sharpen up to yield the full resolution of the camera until something like F5.6. But portraits shot at the sorts of distances and apertures you might want to use look really good, without being excessively revealing, while more stopped-down images bristle with detail.

The combination of a large sensor, bright lens and good autofocus in a small package is more flexible than it might at first appear. Sony DSC-RX1R III | F4.0 | 1/125 sec | ISO 6400 Cropped and selectively warmed with Adobe Camera Raw Photo: Richard Butler

It feels odd to sound like we’re in the realms of ‘good enough’ in a camera costing this much money, but it’s more a case that it delivers what you might want it to, where needed. It doesn’t match the Leica Q3 43’s lens, in a test-chart shootout, but when you’re out shooting, you may find the difference matters less than test charts might make it might appear.

That said, it’s worth noting that as a means of ensuring maximum detail from the sensor, Sony has configured the Auto ISO’s default setting to maintain a minimum shutter speed of 1/125 sec (roughly 1/ four-times-focal-length). This means shooting in anything other than bright light may see the camera need to raise ISO earlier than expected, with the reduced exposure hitting image quality. Some degree of stabilization would have allowed higher IQ in these circumstances, for relatively static subjects.

Autofocus

The RX1R III’s autofocus system is essentially a match for recent Sony models, and it’s striking how much these things have improved since the last RX1R model.

The camera has something like twelve shapes and sizes of AF area, tracking versions of which become available in AF-C mode. There’s also an array of subject recognition modes, some of which can be selected as part of an ‘Auto’ subject detection mode. The camera only focuses on a recognized subject on or near your chosen AF area.

There are countless options for customizing and fine-tuning the AF system. You can set it to jump to a different preset location when you rotate the camera, or register an AF position and mode to be recalled at the press of a button. You can limit which subjects are listed in the recognition list and define, per-subject, how strictly the camera should honor your chosen AF point, when it recognizes a subject elsewhere.

The high resolution of the camera highlights when eye-detection puts focus closer to the eye-lashes, rather than the surface of the iris, but overall the system is impressively responsive and dependable. Sony RX1R III | F4 | 1/125 sec | ISO 100 Photo: Richard Butler

But for the most part, you don’t need to: we found we could set the camera to AF-C and a medium-sized tracking target, engage human detection and just shoot. It would focus on a human if we directed it to, or focus on something else if we chose not to.

You can set an AF point by tapping the rear screen or (if you engage the Touchpad function) by tapping or swiping on the screen while the camera is held up to your eye. The Touchpad area and behavior can be specified to avoid inadvertent operation.

The focus itself works unexpectedly well: improved algorithms (and, we suspect, an improvement in focus motor speed) make the RX1R III one of the fastest focusing large-sensor, prime lens cameras on the market. Eye detection doesn’t always put focus precisely on the iris, but it’s close enough, often enough, quickly enough that you’ll get the shot you’re going for.

Video

The RX1R III can shoot video, with the settings topping out at 4K/30 in 10-bit 4:2:2 precision with All-I encoding. But, to a large extent, that’s only because the software already exists. In the same way that the a7CR missed out on 8K capture for concerns of temperature, the RX1R III misses out on 4K/60, too.

But, while the RX1R can shoot video, it gives a series of hints that it’s not expected to be used much. So although the camera has the same option to upload LUTs for preview, embedding or application to footage, it’s worth noting that the camera has no headphone socket for monitoring audio. It has no movable screen, to allow operation in a steady fashion. And it’s lost its dedicated video record button.

The footage itself is subsampled, giving a decent balance between detail capture and rolling shutter (18.3ms). The only stabilization option is an ‘Enhanced’ electronic stabilization mode which applies a 1.3x crop and significantly lowers detail levels.

Then there’s the fact that camera will run through its battery in no time at all, once you start rolling. It’s not a camera we’d recommend if you’re expecting to shoot a lot of video, but it can do it if you just need some clips, here and there.

Conclusion

By Richard Butler

The RX1R III is an expensive camera that succeeds an expensive camera, following a decade with periods of relatively high inflation and, in the US, the imposition of arbitrary tariffs. It also arrives not too long after the launch of the a7CR, with which is shares many of its core components, and whose feature set it fails to match. All of which make it seem more extravagant than ever.

But, although the RX1R III is expensive (especially in the US), it’s usual to pay a premium for the niche appeal of a prime lens photographers’ camera. All the more so when they’re the smallest full-frame digital camera you can buy, which is what the RX1R III currently is.

If you like a small, prime-lens compact and you like the 35mm focal length, the RX1R III is an excellent camera. The autofocus is vastly improved, to the point that it’s probably the fastest and most usable camera of its type.

A key part of the RX1R III’s appeal is its size and weight. If that isn’t one of your top priorities, then the camera as a whole won’t make sense. But for those people who need a small, well-built and highly photo-focused camera, it’s an excellent, albeit expensive, option.

Lots of 35mm shooters don’t find tilting screens or image stabilization to be essential, but it’s hard to argue that their inclusion wouldn’t have significantly benefited the RX1R III. Of course, you have the option to buy the Leica Q3 (/43) if you consider them necessary for your shooting, but there’s a cost to be paid for that, both in terms of size and at the till.

Click here to read our experience of shooting with the Sony RX1R III

There are plenty of people that don’t see the appeal of Fujifilm’s X100 series, and yet they’ve continually found an audience among keen photographers. The RX1R III is a rarefied version of that same concept: a compact, photography-focused 35mm equiv camera, but boosted by the image quality benefits of a larger sensor. If you’re fed up of waiting for an X100VI, this is what a Super-X100 looks like.

The lens is a little softer at close distances and wide apertures. It’s up to you whether you think this is going to be a problem for your photography. Sony RX1R III | F2 | 1/800 sec | ISO 100 Photo: Richard Butler

While it is an excellent camera in its own right, the pincer-movement of the higher-specced a7CR below it and the larger, but image stabilized, Leica twins above, can’t help but further narrow its already niche appeal. But if you are the kind of photographer who wants top-notch image quality in a tiny package…

Ultimately, we can only review the camera that’s been released, not the one we think could or should have been made. With the RX1R III, Sony has addressed the focus and battery life concerns we have about the previous camera, and made what might be a future classic in the process. While the criticism that Sony could have done more seems reasonable, and the pricing (especially in the US) doesn’t, if you’re lucky enough to get the RX1R III in your hands, you’ll immediately recognize that it’s incredibly good at what it sets out to do.

Scoring

Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about what these numbers mean.

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Compared to its peers

Leica offers the Q3 and Q3 43 models, if you prefer a focal length slightly wider or narrower than 35mm. Both cameras share a sensor with the Sony and have excellent, bright lenses. The Sony has the edge in terms of autofocus reliability and usability, but the Leicas add both tilting screens and image stabilization. You’ll have to pay around a 30% premium for the German brand’s cameras, but you are getting something beyond just the name, for that upcharge. The Sony is appreciably smaller, but it’s never going to say Leica on the front, if that’s something that speaks to you.

The Fujifilm X100VI is, in many respects, the most similar camera to the Sony on the market. It’s a very photo-focused compact, built around a large sensor and a fixed 35mm equivalent lens. The distinction is the Fujifilm rocks a classic aesthetic and dedicated dials (along with programmable command dials) and its innovative hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder, whereas the Sony is more utilitarian. The most significant difference, though is the sensor size, with the RX1R III commanding a premium for having a sensor 2.3x larger, and the stop-and-a-bit IQ benefit this can bring. This, combined with the Sony’s faster, more reliable focus is what makes us see it as a ‘super-X100,’ but you’ve really got to want that extra capability to make the step up worthwhile.

The Sony a7CR is a very different camera. It’s undeniably better specced, with image stabilization, a bigger battery, flip-out screen and more extensive video capabilities, before you even get to the flexibility of being able to change lenses. But it’ll never be as small or focused as the RX1R III (which is most of the camera’s raison d’etre). In practice, even with the smallest lenses, you can’t fully recreate the RX1R III experience with a Mirrorless camera, so it comes down to a question of whether size and focus or spec and utility matter most to you: both conclusions are equally valid.

Sample Gallery

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