On the Apple Watch

Since Junior High, I’ve been an astronomy,  watch, and time nerd. I’ve owned a varied selection of watches, from cheap Casio’s to high end quartz chronometers, the Yes Watch, and an old school Omega “Great White” GMT I’ve had for ten years.

Originally, I wasn’t that impressed with the Apple Watch. In this bog, I’ve expressed my doubts. I pointed out that it’s UI was not intuitive and it lacked a “killer app.”

While waiting for my son to pick up his new iPhone at the Apple Store I got to demo the Apple Watch. It changed my mind. I finally broke down and bought one.

What changed my mind

This time the Apple Watch UI seemed much more intuitive and less clunky. Perhaps it’s the new Watch OS 2, or I finally grokked how it works. Most iPhone apps now have companion apps on the Apple Watch.

The black stainless version I liked is now available with the black fluoroelastomer band for about half the price of the watch with the black stainless band.

Impressions

Now I’ve had it for a while I’m beginning to form an impression.

Fit and finish are second to none. The crystal is sapphire and I haven’t scratched it yet. The black stainless finish has also held up with no visible wear or scratches yet. The only thing showing wear is the Fluoroelastomer band, which is showing a bit of rubbing on the outer surface. I expect I’ll end up replacing it with a non-Apple stainless band.

I typically have around 60% of battery life left at the end of the day. Since I charge overnight, it’s not a problem. I can’t see running low over the course of even a busy day.

Tons of apps on my phone have Apple Watch apps. I can look at live radar, charging status of my Model S, and flight info on the United app. The primary watch face is very customizable and can show a ton of information at a glance. Besides the time and date, I usually have icons for moon phase, temperature, sunrise/sunset, and live stock quotes. There are many options between analog and digital watch faces. There’s even Micky Mouse!

Notifications come across from my phone to the Apple Watch. Email, text, Twitter, breaking news, and alarms. A quick glance at the watch lets me see if it’s an important notification or not without having to take my iPhone out. It’s much quicker and less disruptive in social settings.

Cool Features

If I’ve been sitting for more than an hour, the Apple Watch vibrates and reminds me it’s time to stand up and move around a bit. It tracks movement and exercise and helps me set goals. I’m not a fitness buff, but I can see it’s appeal.

Selecting Airplane mode on the Apple Watch also puts my iPhone into airplane mode. You have to turn airplane mode off separately on both devices as they’re not talking to each other.

I can “ping” my iPhone from the Apple Watch. The Apple Watch can tell the iPhone to emit a tone, which makes it easy to find if misplaced and within Bluetooth range.

Siri works very well on the Apple Watch. Holding down the crown brings her up and Siri works as well as on the iPhone.

You can answer calls on the Apple Watch. But the speaker isn’t very loud and I think I look silly talking to my watch.

Answering a text is quick and easy. There is quick access to canned replies. You have the option to speak your answer and have it translated into text, but here’s no way to type a response.

Not so Much

There are times when the constant reminders of Emails and events becomes a drag. Sometimes it’s good to be quiet and uninterrupted. Granted, you can turn off notifications or simply take the Apple Watch off.

A few things are missing, I’d like to see a GMT option–it’s not available for the Apple Watch.

The charging cable is 6 feet long. Too long for me, but I guess not everyone’s nightstand is next to a power outlet. It’s awkward to coil up and pack away for travel. They do sell a 3 foot version.

Like the iPhone, the Apple Watch screen shows fingerprints and smudges. I’m always buffing it off with whatever cloth is handy.

There are still times I feel like wearing my Omega GMT. It’s a classic and I admire its mechanical precision and quality. I know that I’ll still have the Omega ten years from now when this Apple Watch is long obsolete. The Apple Watch will never be an heirloom, the technology changes too fast. Eventually it  will end up in my junk drawer.

That leads to the crux of the matter of the Apple Watch.

Is it essential? 

While it’s nice to have, and genuinely useful, I feel the Apple Watch is still looking for it’s “killer app.” It does a lot of things well, but there’s no one thing that makes it absolutely essential for everyone.

If you’re in the market for a new watch, the Apple Watch is a good buy–if you have an iPhone and love all things Apple. It’s well made and durable. The Apple Watch is on the leading edge of tech. If you’re an early adopter you’ll love it.

If you’re a well heeled tech loving person, the Apple Watch is a fun toy and nice to have.

If you’re not so well heeled and already have a nice watch, skip the Apple Watch and enjoy your classic heirloom.

 

 

 

A Brave New MacBook World

After a while longer with the New MacBook, I’ve got a few more thoughts.

In my previous post The New MacBook, First Impressions I never mentioned the single USB C port. A lot of reviewers have lamented the New MacBook’s lack of ports. The lone USB C port does double duty providing both recharging power and connectivity. USB C is the future of USB, it provides power, USB connectivity and video out. The problem for “power users” is that you can only do one thing at a time. You have to choose between charging or using the port to connect to a USB hard drive.

So, is the lack of wired connectivity a deal breaker?

There are workarounds involving adapters and USB hubs and over time, there will be more cables and accessories. USB C is the new standard for all manufacturers. I have an adapter for conventional USB, but to date I’ve only connected the power cord.

Apple designed the New MacBook to connect to the world wirelessly. This was also the reasoning behind the original MacBook Air. The first version of the Air only had a single USB port. It must have been a little ahead of it’s time, as newer versions shipped with more than one port.

So how has this brave new wireless world worked for me so far?

I set up the computer as a new Mac and wirelessly synched it up with iCloud. My Calendar, Contacts, Safari Bookmarks, Photos, and iTunes Music came over without a hitch. My apps downloaded wirelessly from the Mac App Store and the internet. All my DropBox files came over from the cloud and copied themselves to my MacBook’s drive. I was using a Thunderbolt/USB drive as a Time Machine backup for my MacBook Pro, I’ll probably hook it up when I want to turn on time Machine or need to find an old photo that isn’t in my online library. I’m not in a rush. My wireless world is looking pretty good, so far.

The New MacBook, First Impressions.

After a five week wait, my New MacBook has finally arrived!

After seeing it at my Apple Watch try-on, I was more impressed by the New MacBook than the Apple Watch. See my post about the Apple Watch here.

Being a person who travels for a living, portability is important to me. I’ve been hauling around my 15 inch MacBook Pro for three years, and it’s getting heavier over time. In the past I’ve used the MacBook Air as my primary computer, and in many ways it’s been my all time favorite. I went with the 15 inch MacBook Pro mostly for it’s Retina Display. The MacBook Air still doesn’t have one.

Enter the New MacBook with it’s Retina Display. The New MacBook is barely larger than an iPad and weighs just 2 pounds. Could it fit my needs?

Online reviews of the New MacBook have been all over the map. Everybody loves the size, trackpad, and screen. The keyboard and single USB C port are getting more negative marks. The performance of the new Intel Core M chip is optimized for low power rather than processing speed. Performance lags when using high demand apps compared to faster more power hungry processors.

The question becomes, then, just what kind of computer user am I? Am I a true “Power User” who needs the absolute highest performance, do I really need all this performance potential? Let’s see. I don’t edit HD videos. I haven’t opened Photoshop in six months, or Light Room for that matter. These days I take most of my photos on my iPhone 6+. I use my laptop mostly for web browsing, Email, and listening to music. And I do write the occasional Blog post.

First Impressions

Wow! This thing is small and light. With it’s case closed it could be mistaken for an iPad. It’s only 1/2 inch thick and weighs a fraction over two pounds, 2.03 lbs to be exact. Somehow, they’ve engineered it so that the bottom stays down when opening the case using the cutout below the trackpad. Yet the display stays put when adjusted. Apple must engineer the drag on the hinges  to an insane tolerance. That, and the general fit and finish give the impression of quality and attention to detail. In my opinion, this computer sets a new high mark for Apple’s industrial design and execution.

The Retina Display is gorgeous with bright saturated colors. Contrast seems better than my old Retina MacBook Pro with blacker blacks and brighter highlights. Being an Apple Retina Display, the native resolution of 2304 x 1440 is down sampled to a variety of settings. I’m using the “more space” setting which “looks like 1440 x 900.” This is the highest resolution available and text, while small, is readable. Native resolution is not available, and would probably be too small on the 12 inch screen. Regardless of choice, images open in the native resolution on a Retina Display when viewing or editing.

The keyboard has gotten a lot of attention in online reviews. Not everyone likes it. The travel of the keys is reduced by about half compared to previous Apple keyboards. It’s noticeable, but not a big deal, to me, and I can type just as fast as on my old MacBook Pro. In a day or two I can’t imagine it making any difference. Each key has it’s own separate LED backlight so there’s a lot less spill of light between the keys.

The new Haptic Trackpad feels exactly like the older Mac trackpads with a noticeable click when pressed. The trackpad doesn’t move at all, the “click” is synthetic. It’s provided by a “Haptic” transducer. A harder press gives a “Force Click” which gives additional trackpad gestures. Force Click a word in a document and the dictionary pops up defining the word. In Safari a Force Click opens a preview of a link. The Haptic Trackpad is starting to pop up on other Mac models now and will soon become the standard.

So far, the battery life seems very good. It goes down less than ten percent per hour browsing the web and writing this post. Inside the case it’s mostly battery, the circuit board is tiny. The Intel Core M processor is designed to maximize battery life.

Having had my MacBook for less than a day, these are just my initial impressions. Time will tell and I’ll update my review after a few road trips.

 

On the Apple Watch

Today Karen and I tried on the Apple Watch at the Apple store in Tampa. I made an appointment and we were called right on time. It was very crowded in the store with people lining up to try out the Apple Watch and see the new MacBooks.

Fit and finish on the Apple Watch was very good. We tried the stainless, leather, Milanese Loop, and sport bands. All fit well and were comfortable. The sport band, surprisingly, did not feel cheap. There is enough of a selection to make just about anyone happy.

The try on is very scripted and was more about choosing a watchband than an intro into the user interface.

After the try-on we were directed to another spot with working demo models to get some hands on. These demo watches were locked down in a stand and could not be worn.

I wish I could say that the user interface felt Apple like, but it didn’t. It felt like going back in time—way back to a time before the iPhone.

The main limitation to touch interaction is the small size of the display. To overcome this Apple added a scrolling “crown” and a pushbutton on the side. I’m sure that after a while their operation would become intuitive. But, to me, the button and scroll wheel seemed to get in the way of making things happen. It felt to me like one button (or scroll wheel) too many. They’re openings in the case which are hard to waterproof. And they’re potential points of mechanical failure.

I get that this as much about fashion as it is tech. I get that the scroll wheel is an homage to the crown on a conventional watch. What would Steve Jobs say about that? What would he say about the microscopic app icons vomited up on screen without any sense of order? Couldn’t you have made it cleaner?

Maybe it’s time for Apple to do a watch, everyone else is.

The Apple Watch comes with the following apps: Messages, Phone, Mail, Calendar, Activity, Workout, Maps, Passbook, Siri, Music, Camera Remote, Remote, Weather, Stocks, Photos, Alarm, Stopwatch, Timer, World Clock, and Settings. There are probably a thousand apps ready and waiting in the App Store. Oh, and it tells the time.

Apple, historically has been about what it’s products didn’t do. They purposely left out features and reduced the thing to the absolute core. They did one thing, and they did that one thing very very well. The Apple Watch doesn’t feel like that. It feels like it’s trying to do too many things at once, it feels unfocused—like it’s still looking for that “killer app.”

I won’t be buying the Apple Watch.

On the plus side, I got to get my hands on the new MacBook. The thing is thin, light, and has a gorgeous retina display. It’s the future of the laptop. I’m very impressed, and I will be buying one in Space Grey.

Lytro Illum

The Lytro Illum

The Illum is Lytro’s second generation Light Field camera. Their first generation camera was about the size of a stick of butter. It had a tiny one inch LCD touchscreen on one end and the lens on the other. The first generation Lytro camera was fun and proved the concept. But images were low res and ergonomics were not it’s strong point.

The new Illum is larger, about the size of an entry level DSLR. Most of the bulk is in the large lens barrel. The lens is a 30 to 250 mm equivalent zoom at a constant f2 aperture. That’s an amazing spec, there aren’t many f2 zooms on the market by any manufacturer for any price.

The overall design of the Lytro Illum is impressive. The most striking design element is the pronounced forward slant of the back. The camera has a modern minimalist style.

The body of the Illum is Aluminum and Magnesium, it feels dense and well put together. The focus and zoom rings on the lens are grippy rubber. The focus and zoom are fly by wire, not mechanical. Their action can be reversed in the settings.

There is no viewfinder. The large four inch touchscreen swings out from the body to the vertical and up to the horizontal. The screen is bright, but can be hard to see in bright daylight.

The lens barrel is big and fat. There’s a comfortable grip on the right side of the body.

Unlike the first generation camera, the Illum has a removable battery. Battery life seems pretty good, I haven’t pushed it hard though. The battery is unique to Lytro and spares go for $59.

The Lytro Illum is not cheap, it retails for $1500. And that’s the rub. The Lytro Illum is a specialized camera.

The Lytro Illum is not a DSLR or general purpose digital camera. It’s images are designed to be viewed online–they’re not for printing. Images from the Lytro Illum are limited to only 5 MegaPixels when converted to jpeg.

So what does the Lytro Illum do that justifies it’s high price?

First you need to understand the concept of the Light Field.

Light Field cameras capture more data than a conventional digital camera. Conventional cameras only capture brightness and color information for each pixel. Light Field cameras also capture the direction of the incoming light rays and are able to capture depth information, or how far away each pixel is from the lens. Light field cameras also capture multiple planes of focus. The image can be refocused in software after the image is captured.

Lytro Illum images come alive online or in the Lytro Desktop software. When viewing an image online you can select focus points and even give the image a slight 3D wiggle. Images can be converted to movies for an impressive 3 dimensional Ken Burns effect.

For best results using the Illum, images need to have a lot of depth. You should have something in the foreground to contrast against the background. Ideally, images should have multiple planes of interest. Landscapes with everything at infinity are not good.

The camera can focus as close as the surface of the lens. This means the Lytro Illum excels at macrophotography.

When shooting with the Lytro Illum you can call up a Depth Histogram. Using the focus and zoom rings you try to spread the Depth Histogram across the camera’s range of focus. This maximizes the refocus ability and 3 dimensionality.

Lytro has an excellent series of videos explaining how to best use the camera here.

Is the Lytro Illum a one trick pony?

I don’t think so.

Images from the camera are much better than the first generation. The new software makes it easy to create high quality immersive and captivating images.

I think the Lytro Illum is ahead of its time. It points to the future of photography.

A future where software trumps hardware.

A future where we share images online instead of printing them on paper. (most people do this already)

A future where still images come alive with shifting focus and 3 dimensionality.

More of my Lytro images can be found here.

EV Pledge, our New Website

We’ve just put up a new webpage, EV Pledge.

I’m going to try and see how many people I can get to pledge to buy an EV or Plug In for their next vehicle.

I’d like you to help out by taking the pledge. If you already own an EV, take the pledge to never go back!

No, we won’t hold you to it. Only you can do that. But we don’t want anyone to take the pledge lightly. We plan on adding links to help persuade you to take up the pledge.

EV Pledge is a work in progress, be patient. We’d like for it to grow into something big.

Yes Watch Review

 

As a long haul international pilot, I routinely cross multiple time zones. I think in terms of “Universal Time,” or “GMT.” A watch which keeps track of time zones and is easy to change is essential. I’ve used a bunch of digital and analog watches in my career. One of my favorites is the Yes Watch.

Yes Watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yes Watch is a unique digital analog hybrid watch. It is the perfect watch for someone who travels a lot and deals with time zones.

 

The Yes Watch is also ideal for someone who is interested in the astronomical cycles of the sun and moon. The Yes Watch displays sunrise, sunset, and the length of the day on the LCD. Moonrise, moonset and the phase of the moon are also displayed. The Yes Watch has a single analog hand which rotates once every 24 hours. I have two bezels with a 24 hour scale on my watch. The outer bezel rotates in either direction without click stops. I set it so the inner bezel shows local time and turn the outer bezel to show GMT.

 

The Yes Watch can be programmed with two time zones “home” and “away.” The zones can be flipped easily. The desired location can be picked quickly from a list of 600 cities. The watch is programmed with all of the current worldwide Daylight Savings Time rules.

 

The Yes Watch case and metal band are brushed titanium. The crystal is sapphire and the case it water resistant to 10 atmospheres~300 feet. It’s a very large watch, but it’s not heavy thanks to the titanium case.

 

Yes Watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yes Watch comes in a hardwood presentation box with a link adjustment tool, a rubber bracelet, and a leather  bracelet. While not cheap, it’s quite a value for it’s price. There is no other watch like the Yes Watch available for any price.

 

The user interface on most digital watches is usually horrible, I’m lost without a manual. The Yes Watch’s interface and is the best of the bunch. Four buttons are used to set the digital functions. While not as intuitive as an Apple product, the button logic is consistent and easy to remember. Frequently used functions such as switching “Home” and “Away” are quick and easy.

 

This is my second Yes Watch. I bought a first generation watch eight or nine years ago. I wore it all the time until our former President changed the rules for DST in the United States. Since then I’ve mostly worn an old school Omega GMT mechanical watch. The Omega is at the repair center getting a much needed Clean, Lube and Adjust. I started wearing my old Yes Watch again. Hey, I kind of missed this thing. Checking the interwebs, I saw Yes Watch had a Father’s Day sale with very good prices. I decided to get an updated version.

 

Old vs New

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compared to the first generation Yes Watch, the new version has a much larger and easier to read digital time display. The new version also added the outer Moon rise/set ring. The original watch’s case was much heavier being made of stainless steel. The original has a mineral glass crystal vs the newer version’s sapphire. All in all, the new version is a much better watch.

Check out their website here:  http://www.yeswatch.com

Shooting Tulips with the RX1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playing around shooting tulips with the RX1 in our kitchen.

I can’t get over the creamy “bokeh” of the background, particularly in the first image. That’s what a fast Zeiss lens will do on a full frame sensor!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both shots in the RX1’s macro mode at iso 100, 1/125, and f2. The raw files were cropped and tweaked in LightRoom. Daylight illumination only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last shot in Macro mode at iso 250, 1/80, f2.8.  Shot later in the day with a mix of daylight and artificial light. A bit more depth of field at f2.8.

 

Sony RX1 Electronic Viewfinder

RX1 with EVF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sony Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) finally arrived for my RX1. After using it for a short time I’m convinced it’s an essential accessory for the Sony RX1. It transforms the RX1 from a high end point and shoot into a serious camera.

The EVF fits into the RX1’s hot shoe. It snaps into place, and while there is no positive lock, it feels secure to me. It does stick out a bit and has the potential of catching on things. Perhaps the lack of a positive lock allows it to “break away” to prevent damage upon impact. It feels quite sturdy and well made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sony RX1 EVF has an OLED screen of 2.3 megapixels resolution, roughly twice that of the LCD rear display. The information displayed with the image preview is highly configurable in the menus. There’s a proximity detector which automatically turns the EVF on and rear display off when it’s brought up to the eye. The EVF tilts upward 90 degrees.

EVF tilted up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking through the EVF, the image is sharp and bright. It’s easy to tell if the focus and color balance are “off.” From f2 through f8 the depth of field is accurate in the viewfinder. Beyond f8 to f22 the camera opens up to f8 for focusing. Among other options, there is the ability to show a live histogram while shooting. It’s easy to tweak exposure with the exposure compensation dial and see immediate results on the histogram and in the preview. Compared to a DSLR, I really like seeing what the sensor sees!

Using the camera with a viewfinder brings me “into” the image and gives a much more stable platform than holding the camera at arm’s length. It truly transforms the RX1, I can’t see owning the camera now without the EVF.

The only downside to the RX1’s EVF is it’s price. Like the RX1 itself, it’s expensive! Clearly, the RX1 is not aimed at the point and shoot market segment, I think they’re going after the high end of the market like Leica or the full frame DSLR user.

Sony RX1 Full Frame Digital Camera

I’ve been considering a new digital camera for some time now. My Nikon D300S spends more time with my son than it does with me. It’s become, effectively, his camera. He’s taken it to Europe and shot many more exposures with it than I have. He’s become a very good photographer with it.

The main reason I let the D300S go is that while it takes great pictures–it’s not easy to travel with. The Nikon is a heavy beast to lug around. The camera and f2.8 zoom lens weigh over 4 pounds. My shoulder aches after carrying it around for a few hours. There’s nothing stealthy about it either. Point it at someone and they know you’re taking a photo. It’s hard to be inconspicuous. And I’m a big believer in traveling light.

I also think that the DSLR concept will come to be seen as obsolete technology. Do we need the mechanical complication of a mirror which moves up and down inside the camera to see through the lens? Why not look through an electronic viewfinder and see what the sensor sees? Good things like live histogram overlays and focus peaking are possible with electronic viewfinders.

So it looks like a DSLR is pretty much out for my kind of photography.

If I had an unlimited budget, my first choice would be a Leica M9 and some fast Leica primes.  The full frame Leica cameras are all manual focus rangefinders. Made in Germany, they have some of the highest quality lenses ever made. Definitely old school! However, they’re very, very expensive! A Leica 35mm f2 lens, for example, costs over $3,000 new! Leica full frame digital bodies start at $5,400.

I’ve been following some of the mirror-less APS C sized cameras from Fuji and Sony but none of them did it for me. I want a full frame camera for maximum image quality and “bokeh.”

About a month ago I started reading about a new full frame compact mirror-less from Sony called the RX1. Reviews were good, very good.

To make a long story short, I made a trip to the Tampa Sony Store and took an RX1 home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first impression you get is the RX1’s size, it’s really small. You think “They couldn’t have possibly have put a full frame sensor in there!” But they did, it’s the exact same full frame sensor that’s in the Nikon D600.

When you pick it up it has a heft that matches it’s all metal construction. Everything you touch is metal, even the lens cap is aluminum. The camera feels dense and solid. The aperture ring has a satisfying click as it turns with detents every third of a stop. Having an aperture ring on the lens takes me back to the old days!

Along with the full frame sensor, the RX1’s standout feature is the lens. It’s a Zeiss 35mm f2 Sonnar of all metal construction. It has Zeiss’ very effective “T*” antireflective coating. The lens is not removable and it is optimized for the sensor and camera. It is a fixed focal length lens–not a zoom. If you mainly shoot cityscapes and people in the context of their surroundings, then 35mm is the ideal focal length. This camera harkens back to the days before the zoom lens when we employed what I refer to as “bipedal” zoom. Simply take a few steps forward or back to frame the image. A zoom can’t match the performance of a good fixed focal length lens. And the performance of this lens is astounding. Even wide open at f2 the lens is sharp as a razor. The fast f2 aperture matched with the full frame sensor make the RX1 unbeatable in low light.

Image shot at ISO 12,800, f2, 1/80.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noise in high ISO RX1 images is mainly luminance noise, it looks like film grain. There is very little chroma noise in high ISO images.

ISO 5000, f2, 1/80.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the default auto ISO setting, the RX1 tries to hold a shutter speed of 1/80 in low light and raises the ISO before increasing exposure time. At first, this seems wrong. But, you’re more likely to ruin an image in low light by blur from camera shake than with high ISO noise. You can set the highest ISO in the camera settings, or shoot with a fixed ISO if you wish.

f5.6, 8 sec, ISO 50.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long exposures at low ISO’s are clean and crisp. Exposure times of up to 30 seconds and Bulb are available in manual. The shutter button has a threaded hole for an old fashioned shutter release cable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operationally, the camera is well laid out. There’s no direct shutter speed dial, but there is an exposure compensation dial which is well placed and easy to use. The detents are firm enough that it is not likely to be changed by accident. I usually shoot in “A” aperture priority. I call up a histogram on the display and can easily change exposure with the compensation dial with my thumb. In manual mode, there is a thumbwheel on the back which controls shutter speed directly.

Manual focus is fly by wire, it feels natural. There is the option to bring up focus peaking when focusing manually. Moving the focus ring on the lens automatically brings up a magnified image on the display making it easier to fine tune. There’s a distance scale visible as well when manually focusing. Autofocus is pretty quick, but it does hunt a bit in low light or low contrast situations. The focus point can be moved around the screen via the 4 way jog dial on the back. There is automatic face detection as well.

Overall, the camera works pretty well and doesn’t get in the way of taking pictures.

My daughter's cat shot at f2, 1/80, iso 5000.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The biggest drawback of the RX1 is the lack of a built in viewfinder. All framing must be done on the rear display like a point and shoot. There is an optional electronic viewfinder that fits onto the hot shoe, but it’s expensive at $450! If only this had included with the camera. I’ve got one on order, but the EVF’s are hard to come by and I expect it will take some time to arrive.

Voightlander 35mm hot shoe viewfinder on RX1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sony sells a Zeiss 35mm  optical hot shoe viewfinder for the RX1, but it’s very expensive, at $600.  I chose the Voightlander 35mm viewfinder available online for 1/3 the price. When you look through the viewfinder you see a bright outline of the framing area projected on the scene. When using an optical viewfinder there is no confirmation of what the camera is focusing on. Focus will have to be manual at slow apertures for depth of field, or else rely on the automatic features of the camera and hope for the best. The Voightlander does give the camera a nice retro look.

Speaking of the list price. . .

Many people will see the RX1 as the world’s most expensive point and shoot camera, more of a fashion accessory than a serious camera. These people need interchangeable zoom lenses from 16 to 300 mm and can’t settle for a fixed 35mm focal length. They don’t mind lugging around a giant DSLR with a bag of lenses to cover any possible shot. Indeed, for a lot of photographers like sports shooters and birders the RX1 makes no sense.

I see the RX1 as an incredible bargain when compared to other full frame cameras like Leica’s M9. The combination of a state of the art full frame sensor and the incredible Zeiss lens make this camera unique and desirable. It’s low light performance is second to none. The incredible quality of the images it makes belie it’s small size.

There’s an old saying in photography, ” the best camera is the one that you have with you.” The RX1 is small enough to be that camera and good enough for me to grow into.

F2, 1/80, ISO 5000. Converted to B&W in Lightroom.