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Recording Features
Play And Print Functions
Battery Information
Supplied Software

Recording Features

Overview: The Sony DSC-RX1 is a compact digital camera with high-end features. It has a 35mm full frame, 24 mega-pixel image sensor, and a bright F2.0 Carl Zeiss fixed focal length lens. The BIONZ image processor allows you to take full resolution photos at up to 5 frames per second.

Full Frame Image Sensor: The DSC-RX1 features a 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS image sensor (35.8 x 23.9mm). It has approximately 24.7-million total pixels and 24.3-million effective pixels.

Carl Zeiss Lens: The camera is equipped with a Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* (T-star) 35mm F2.0 lens. This large-diameter lens delivers refined background defocusing (bokeh) and macro capabilities. The multi-layered T* coating dramatically reduces ghosting and flare, caused by reflecting light.

3" LCD Screen: The RX1 uses a 3" Xtra Fine LCD screen with 1,228,800 dots. You can easily scroll through menus and preview live Picture Effects. WhiteMagic technology increases visibility in bright daylight. The large display delivers brilliant still images and movies, and lets to you obtain sharp focus.

Optional Viewfinders: Several accessories have been created exclusively for the RX1, including two optional viewfinders. The FDA-V1K is an optical viewfinder kit, and the FDA-EV1MK is an OLED electronic viewfinder kit. These optional viewfinders mount to the top of the camera using the Multi Interface Shoe.

Display Options: You can choose how much information appears in the viewfinder and LCD monitor. There are five options: Graphic Display, Display all information, No display information, Digital Level Gauge, and Histogram. The digital level gauge indicates whether the camera is level in both horizontal and front-to-back directions. The indicators turn green when the camera is level in one of the directions. The histogram displays the luminance distribution that shows how many pixels of a particular brightness exist in the picture.

Live View: The RX1's Live View displays the effect of a function, such as exposure compensation, on the screen before you shoot.

Lens Ring Controls: The lens has three manual control rings that allow you to make adjustments without taking your eye off the subject. You can manually set the aperture between F2.0 and F22 in 1/3-stop increments with the inner (aperture) ring, set the macro function with the middle ring, and manually adjust focus with the outer ring.

Custom Button: In the menu, you can assign a frequently-used function to the top-mounted Custom Button (C-button). Some of the functions that can be assigned to the button include: Drive Mode, Flash Mode, Autofocus Area, Soft Skin Effect, Smile/Face Detection, Auto Portrait Framing, ISO, Metering Mode, Flash Compensation, White Balance, Auto HDR, Creative Style, Picture Effect, Image Size, Aspect Ratio, and Image Quality.

Control Dial: The Control Dial on the back panel can be used for multiple functions, depending upon the set mode. In Shutter Priority and Manual modes, you can adjust the shutter speed by using the control dial. In playback mode, you can select an image by turning the dial. When using the Quick Navi Screen, you can make adjustments to the function selected.

Quick Navi Screen: The Quick Navi Screen enhances control of your favorite functions by displaying camera settings on the same screen, and allowing you to adjust them without having to search for dedicated menus.

Still Image Recording Formats: Still images are recorded in JPEG file format in Standard, Fine, and ExtraFine compression rates. You can choose to shoot in 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratio, and in large, medium, and small image sizes. You can also record still images using the RAW format, which is uncompressed with no processing performed in the camera. RAW images must be transferred to a computer for processing, editing, and printing using the built-in Image Data Converter software. You can select the following image sizes:

Panoramic Photos: The Sweep Panorama mode lets you record panoramic images by holding down the shutter button as you pan across the scene. You can sweep left-to-right, right-to-left, top-to-bottom, or bottom-to-top. Panoramic photos can be taken in several different resolution settings:

• Wide:
  • Horizontal: 12416 x 1856 (23M)
  • Vertical: 5536 x 2160 (12M)
• Standard:
  • Horizontal: 8192 x 1856 (15M)
  • Vertical: 3872 x 2160 (8.4M)

Movie Recording Formats: The RX1 can record 16:9 Full High Definition movies in AVCHD 2.0 with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video and 2-channel Dolby Digital audio. Movies can also be recorded in MP4 mode with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video and MPEG-4 AAC-LC 2-channel audio. You can select from the following bit rates/image quality:

Dual Media Options: The RX1 camera has a single slot for a digital media card, which accepts two types of media for capturing still images and movies. The camera will accept Memory Stick PRO Duo (including Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo) and SD, SDHC, and SDXC Memory Cards.

SteadyShot Image Stabilization: SteadyShot Image Stabilization can be turned on to help reduce the effects of camera shake while shooting movies.

Auto Portrait Framing: When taking a photo of a person's face, the Auto Portrait Framing feature analyzes the scene and saves another image of the face with a more impressive composition. Combining Face Detection and By Pixel Super Resolution technology, Auto Portrait Framing provides beautifully composed and appealingly balanced, full resolution portraits. This feature can be turned off, if desired.

AF Illuminator: When you press the shutter button halfway down a red illuminator is emitted until the focus is locked. Under dark lighting conditions or when you shoot a low contrast subject, the AF illuminator allows the camera to focus more easily on the subject.

Drive Modes: The camera offers the following shooting modes:

• Single Shooting: Default setting for standard picture taking.
• Continuous Shooting: When you press and hold the shutter button, the camera records full-resolution images continuously at approximately 2.5 fps.
• Speed-Priority Continuous: Same at above, but at a faster frame rate of approximately 5 fps.
• Self-Timer: You can set the camera to two different self-timers: 10 second for self photos, 2 second to reduce camera shake.
• Bracket: You can choose from four types of bracketing: Continuous, Single, White Balance, and DRO (Dynamic Range Optimizer).

Focusing Modes: The RX1 has 2 autofocus modes: single-shot AF (AF-S) and continuous AF (AF-C) which tracks moving objects. It also has Manual focus, using the focus ring on the lens, and Direct Manual Focus, which first uses autofocusing to focus on the subject, but let you use manual focusing for more precise focusing or when you wish to focus on something else in the frame.

Exposure Modes: Using the top-mounted Mode Dial, the camera offers the following exposure recording modes:

• Auto: This mode allows easy shooting with settings adjusted automatically.
• Program Auto: This mode allows you to shoot with the exposure adjusted automatically (both the shutter speed and the aperture value). The other settings can be adjusted manually.
• Aperture Priority: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the aperture value manually, letting the camera set the appropriate shutter speed.
• Shutter Speed Priority: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the shutter speed manually, letting the camera set the appropriate aperture.
• Manual Exposure: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the exposure (shutter speed and aperture) manually.
• 1, 2, 3: Lets you recall the three combinations of frequently-used modes and settings stored in Memory.
• Scene Selection: You can select an appropriate mode for the subject or the shooting conditions to allow you to shoot the image with a suitable setting for the subject. Choose from: Portrait, Sports Action, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Hand-held Twilight, or Night Portrait.
• Sweep Panorama: Shoots expansive scenery or high-rise buildings with dynamic composition.
• Movies: Recording movies in Full HD or standard definition in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio with exposure adjusted manually (shutter speed and aperture).

Exposure Compensation: Exposure compensation is used to alter the camera's standard exposure setting. You can make the image look lighter (increased exposure) or darker (decreased exposure). With the top-mounted exposure compensation dial you can set the amount of compensation up to +/-3.0 EV in 1/3-step increments.

White Balance: You can adjust the color tones according to the lighting conditions. You can choose from the following WB options, and adjust the +/- 3 to fine tune the colors:

• Auto WB: adjusts the white balance automatically.
• Daylight: adjusts for outdoors and sunlit subjects.
• Shade: adjusts for shady conditions on a clear day.
• Cloudy: adjusts for a cloudy sky.
• Incandescent: adjusts for incandescent lighting.
• Fluorescent: adjusts for florescent lighting (select Warm white, Cool white, Day white, or Daylight)
• Flash: adjusts for flash conditions
• Color Temperature: set for a specific color temperature
• Color Filter: Based on the set color temperature, you can compensate toward a green or magenta tint.
• Custom: In a scene where the ambient light consists of multiple types of light sources, use of the custom white balance is recommended in order to accurately reproduce the whiteness.

Image Processing (Creative Style): This camera is pre-programmed with image styles optimal for various scenes and purposes. For each setting, you can adjust the contrast, saturation, and sharpness. You can choose from the following settings: Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves, B & W, and Sepia.

Picture Effect: You can select the desired effect filter to achieve more impressive and artistic expression. There are several Picture Effect options, including Toy Camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High Contrast Mono, Soft Focus, HDR Painting, Rich-tone Mono, Miniature, Watercolor, and Illustration.

ISO Settings: ISO is a unit of measurement of sensitivity to light. The larger the number, the higher the sensitivity. The camera's ISO can be set manually (ISO 100-25600) or automatically (with selectable lower and upper limits), depending upon the exposure mode.

Flash: The DSC-RX1 has a built-in pop-up flash. You can manually open or close the flash as desired. In addition, the camera has the Multi-Interface Shoe, which allows you to use many of the Sony flash units, video, and ring lights. The RX1 offers the following flash modes:

• Autoflash: In auto mode the flash automatically fires if it is dark or against light.
• Fill-Flash: In this mode the flash fires every time the shutter is released.
• Slow Sync: Slow sync shooting allows you to shoot a clear image of both the subject and the background by slowing the shutter speed.
• Rear Sync: In rear sync mode, the objects illuminated by other light sources are captured first, then the flash is fired right before the exposure is completed.
• Red-eye Reduction: Reduces the red-eye phenomenon during flash use.
• Wireless: The camera can use the flash light to transmit signal to an external off-camera flash to produce a more three-dimensional image. (Requires optional wireless flash unit such as HVL-F58AM, HVL-F42AM, HVL-F56AM, or HVL-F36AM).

Noise Reduction: The camera offers Long Exposure and High ISO Noise Reduction (NR) to automatically reduce the grainy noise found in photos during long exposures or high ISO settings.

Play And Print Functions

Playback Options: You can view images on the LCD monitor with 3 options: with recording data displayed, without recording data, or histogram display. A histogram is the luminance distribution that shows how many pixels of a particular brightness exists in a picture. The histogram display of this camera shows the brightness on the horizontal axis and the number of pixels on the vertical axis.

Auto Review: After an image is recorded, you can have the camera automatically display it on the LCD monitor for two, five or 10 seconds. You can also turn off auto review.

Image Rotation: Vertical shots can be rotated automatically so that they are displayed upright during playback. This can be done manually or automatically.

Playback Screen: You can view your photos back as a single image on the LCD monitor, as an Index or as a Slide Show. During Index View mode, you can view 4 or 9 images at once. You can adjust the Slide Show mode interval from 1, 3, 5, 10, or 30 seconds.

D-Range Optimizer/Auto HDR: The camera allows you to correct the brightness and contrast of an image automatically, using the D-Range Optimizer (DRO) and Auto High Dynamic Range functions. The DRO optimizes the gradations of a recorded image in each area of the image; you select the optimal level from Lv1 (weak) and Lv5 (strong). When Auto HDR is selected, the camera shoots three images with different exposures, then overlays them to create one image with the correct exposure and an overlaid image.

Protect Images: You can protect all images on your memory card or select only certain images to be protected from accidental erasure.

HDMI Output: The DSC-RX1 provides direct mini-HDMI output to your HDTV screen, so you can view and share photos in clarity and detail. The output resolution can be set to 1080p, 1080i, or Auto. When connected to a Sony BRAVIA TV, you can control the image playback using the TV remote. A mini-HDMI-to-HDMI cable is not supplied.

Printing Options: The camera offers the following printing options.

• DPOF Compatible: Using the camera, you can specify the images and the number of images to print before you print images at a photo-shop or with your printer.
• Memory Card: You can print images with a Memory Stick or SD card compliant printer.
• Computer: You can copy images to a computer using the built-in "PlayMemories Home" software and print the images.

Battery Information

InfoLithium Battery: The DSC-RX1 is powered by the NP-BX1 InfoLithium battery (supplied). The battery communicates data to the camera, so that the percentage of battery power remaining can be displayed. The approximate number of images that can be recorded with the supplied battery is as follows:

Charging: You can charge the battery in the camera using the supplied AC-UD11 AC adapter and USB cable. It takes approximately 155 minutes to fully charge the battery in this manner. You can also charge the battery (in approx. 135 minutes) in the optional BC-TRX battery charger.

Power Save: You can set different time intervals for the camera to switch to Power Save mode. You can set the interval to 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes. Once the camera goes into Power Save mode, you can return to the shooting mode by pressing the shutter button halfway.

Supplied Software

Built-in Application Software: The DSC-RX1 comes with application software built into the camera.:

PlayMemories Home:

• Compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, and Windows 7 SP1 only
• Import images shot with the camera and display them on the computer.
• Organize images on the computer on a calendar by shooting date to view them.
• Retouch (red-eye reduction, etc.) print, send still images as email attachments, and change the shooting date.
• Edit images on the computer, such as trimming, resizing.
• Print or save still images with the date.
• Create Blu-ray discs or DVD discs from AVHCD movies imported to a computer. (Internet connection required when disc is created for the first time.)

Image Data Converter:

• Compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Mac OS X v10.5 -- 10.8
• Playback and edit images recorded in RAW mode with various corrections, such as tone curve, and sharpness.
• Adjust images with white balance, exposure, creative style, etc.
• Save the images displayed and edited on a computer. You can save the image as RAW format, or save it in the general file format.
• Display and compare RAW/JPEG images recorded with the camera.
• Rate the images on a scale of 5.
• Set color labels.

Compatible Operating Systems (for USB Connection):

• Windows: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1
• Macintosh: Mac OS X v10.3 -- v10.8