Sony RX1R II 42mp fixed lens full frame with leaf shutter

introduction

Sony created a world 1st with their Sony RX1 fixed lens full frame with leaf shutter in 2012, then Leica produced their take, the Leica Q with a 28mm f/1.7 lens
Sony in Oct 2015 announced this new camera to up the ante and utilise the new sensor and image processing of their new Sony a7R II full frame mirrorless camera
unfortunately this camera does not have an image stabiliser and has no weathersealing but it does sport a lot of nice features and substantial improvements over the similar sized and priced Sony RX1 fixed lens full frame with leaf shutter
to make the most of the 42mp sensor, you need to shoot at fast shutter speeds, with flash or on a tripod, but it would make an awesome adjunct to a fashion/wedding/product photographer kit, especially with the moire reduction option and fast flash sync capabilities
its compact size makes it great for family/social events and for street photography
the lens and image quality makes it good for astrophotographic landscapes of the Milky Way although the field of view is a bit limiting and one would need to do panoramic stitches

42mp full frame compact announced Oct 2015 (same sensor and BIONZ X processor as the Sony a7R II full frame mirrorless camera)
35mm f/2 Carl Zeiss Sonnar lens
- 8 elements in 7 groups, 3 aspherical elements, 9 aperture blades
- close focus 30cm normally, and down to 20cm in macro mode
- leaf shutter giving flash sync to 1/2000th sec allows possibilities of over-powering the sun
- 49mm filter
improved 399-point hybrid AF system
new pop-up 2,359,296 dot OLED TRU-finder EVF with 0.74x magnification, a 19mm eyepoint and a -4.0 to +3.0 diopter adjustment
rear LCD now tilts but still no touch control
no built-in flash
optical variable low-pass filter - user can set degree of filter to reduce moiré including turn it off to give maximum details
ISO 50 - 102,400, 5fps burst with AF between each frame - so C-AF at last
shutter only to 1/4000th sec
no image stabiliser apparently
focus peaking
support for 14-bit uncompressed raw files
can now define a minimum shutter speed for the Auto ISO sensitivity option
50Mbps XAVC S movie mode at 1080 full HD at 24, 25, 30, 50 or 60fps
WiFi, NFC, smartphone remote control
113 x 65 x 72 mm (4.5 x 2.6 x 2.8 in)
507g w. battery (17.9oz) giving 200-220 shots
$US3300

imaging resource test of sony rx1 - but same lens
- 1EV vignetting wide open corrected in camera
- 0.7% barrel distortion reduced to 0.1% in camera
- wide open, corners are a little soft with some lateral CA but very good for a full frame lens
- “very little coma distortion” so perhaps it may be good for astrophotographic landscapes of the Milky Way although field of view is limited
DxOMark test of RX1 - but same lens
- more lateral CA and distortion than a Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM but sharper across the frame

both have similar sizes and weight (although the Olympus is a touch larger and heavier - 556g for Olympus kit vs 507g for the Sony)
the Olympus is a 1/3rd the price and gives you:
- the most incredible image stabiliser out there
- weather sealing of body but not this lens
- touch control on the LCD screen which also swivels not just tilts
- mechanical shutter to 1/8000th sec not just 1/4000th sec
- interchangeable lenses
- 40mp HiRes mode without moire for static subjects with camera on tripod
- 77mbps HD video with incredible image stabiliser
- PC sync port
the Sony gives:
- 42mp detail if tripod mounted or fast shutter speed instead of 16mp but may get moire depending upon mode selection
- leaf shutter and the flash sync to 1/2000th sec although in reality most flashes require 1/500th sec duration for maximum flash output and this is almost achievable on the Olympus if you don't need the full frame illuminated by the flash - see flash sync
- 399 AF points not just 81 points although the Olympus does have very fast AF
- full frame sensor for shallower depth of field (DOF) and better high ISO performance