Sony RX1 Performance

Generally good performance.

Startup time is much slower than most DSLRs, but not bad for a "compact" camera. Buffer clearing times are pretty slow, though, even with a very fast 95MB/s card. We don't believe the Sony RX1 takes advantage of faster UHS cards.

Mode switching times are fairly good.

The Sony RX1's autofocus and shutter lag times are surprisingly quick. Full autofocus shutter lag is about 0.27 second in both Single-area (center) and Multi-area AF modes. That's a bit slower than most DSLRs, but quite fast for a camera using contrast-detect AF. With the flash enabled, the RX1's full AF shutter lag increases to 0.38s to account for the preflash metering, but that's still quite good. The Sony RX1 does not offer a Continuous AF mode for still capture.

When manually focused, the Sony RX1's shutter lag drops to only 0.038 second, which is very fast. The RX1's prefocused shutter lag is only 0.016 second, much faster than any DSLR or Compact System Camera we've tested, though some point & shoot cameras we've tested were a bit faster. Still, excellent shutter lag.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance.

Single-shot cycle times are good for a compact camera at about 0.9 second for JPEGs or RAW files, and just over a second for RAW+JPEG, but that's quite a bit slower than most DSLRs.

In standard Continuous mode, the RX1 captures Large/Extra Fine JPEGs at about 2.5 frames per second. Speed Priority Continuous mode bumps that to just over 5 frames per second. Neither mode seems to adjust exposure or focus during a burst as far as we can tell (even with "Tracking Focus" engaged), and there are no restrictions to aperture.

Buffer depth for Large/Extra Fine JPEGs is pretty good at 18 frames in our test. You may be able to do better with typical subjects (our target for this test is designed to be difficult to compress), and buffer depth with Fine JPEGs should be even better. When shooting in Speed Priority Continuous mode, buffer depth for JPEG or RAW files drops a bit to 15 frames, but that's still pretty good given the file sizes. When shooting RAW+JPEG, buffer depth drops again to 12 frames, also not bad. Buffer clearing is however rather sluggish, even with one of the fastest UHS-I compliant SDHC cards available. We don't believe the Sony RX1 takes advantage of the faster UHS interface mode these cards offer.

The built-in flash takes a rather long 8.2 seconds on average to recycle after a full discharge.

Download speeds are pretty fast, quick enough that you likely won't feel the need for a separate card reader, even with large memory cards. (Note that this test was performed with a SanDisk Pro 95MB/sec UHS-1 card: Slower cards would likely show slower transfer times.)

Bottom line, the Sony RX1's performance is generally pretty good. Startup time won't compete with most DSLRs, but is pretty good compared to most Compact System Cameras and digicams, though there's no zoom to extend. Full autofocus is only slightly slower than most consumer SLRs but competitive with the average CSC, and faster than most compacts. Single-shot cycle times again aren't as fast as a DSLR, but are comparable to CSCs and faster than most compacts. Speed Priority Continuous mode is not bad for the resolution, however buffer clearing is rather slow, as is flash recycling. The lack of a Continuous AF mode also makes the RX1 unsuitable for most sports or action photography, but given the camera's nature and wide-angle lens, that's no real surprise.

Battery Life
Somewhat short battery life.

The Sony RX1 uses a custom NP-BX1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack for power, and comes with both a single battery and a USB charger for in-camera charging. The battery is rated for 220 shots per charge with LCD Quality set to High using the CIPA standard, which includes 50% flash shots with the built-in flash. Setting LCD Quality to Standard increases battery life to 270 shots per charge. That's pretty good given the size of the camera and sensor, but quite short compared to DSLRs and most CSCs. We strongly recommend getting a second battery for your RX1 if you plan any extended outings.

The table above shows the number of shots the camera is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))