News RX1R III?

[FowlersFreeTime]

Did something just get announced? Work is blocking my YouTube/browsing access lol

I did not imagine it!

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Press text: Sony Electronics Introduces the RX1R III: The Flagship Full-Frame Premium Compact Camera with a Fixed Lens | sonyalpharumors

Sony Electronics Introduces the RX1R III: The Flagship Full-Frame Premium Compact Camera with a Fixed Lens Featuring a 61MP[i] Sensor and AI-based Real-time Recognition Auto Focus in a Palm-sized Body July 15, 2025 Sony RX1rIII at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, Fotokoch, Fotoerhardt, Calumet, WexUK...

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Sony's RX1R III Premium Compact Camera Arrives After Nearly 10 Year Wait

We can't believe the RX1R III is finally here!

petapixel.com

 

[spudhead]

I hope they fixed the dust entering the sensor issue, I had the earlier versions and they took great shots , but dust on a fixed lens camera is no good. 5k is a hell of a lot for the mk3 and I thought the mk2 was steep at £ 3,600.00

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

I hope they fixed the dust entering the sensor issue, I had the earlier versions and they took great shots , but dust on a fixed lens camera is no good. 5k is a hell of a lot for the mk3 and I thought the mk2 was steep at £ 3,600.00

$5K is a hell of a lot for an A7CR with a fixed lens and an APSC sized battery
I always thought these cameras were priced high because Sony didn't want to sell a ton of them. Maybe there's something to that idea: Sony can't make much money from accessories and no money from lenses, so they would want to pump up the price of the camera and not have it cannibalize sales of their other cameras.

EDIT: I said it had no IBIS earlier, I was mistaken.

 

[AlphaWorld]

The biggest drawback IMHO is using the FW50 battery, but they claim it’s rated to over 500 shots. I guess there was no room for an FZ100 :-(

It’s expensive, but I’m not in the market for one (I don’t own a 35mm lens! Oh, hang on, I have the Voigtlander, and it is f/2, but I don’t think I’ve used it in a year or more).

Still, maybe it will stop the whining from those who say they want a new version. (Who do I think I am kidding?)

EDITED TO CORRECT; the site that claimed 500 shots to a charge has since revised that down to about 300.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

The biggest drawback IMHO is using the FW50 battery, but they claim it’s rated to over 500 shots. I guess there was no room for an FZ100 :-(

It’s expensive, but I’m not in the market for one (I don’t own a 35mm lens! Oh, hang on, I have the Voigtlander, and it is f/2, but I don’t think I’ve used it in a year or more).

Still, maybe it will stop the whining from those who say they want a new version. (Who do I think I am kidding?)

I agree, its more to silence the naysayers, but like me they will find something to nitpick and not buy it.

 

[Richard A]

Very expensive here. Not something I'm interested in anyway.

 

[Tim Mayo]

£4,200 here. I'll take two please Not really a camera for me but I wouldn't mind playing with one.

 

[Richard A]

Wow. You guys in the UK are really paying top dollar! How much is an A1 ii over there at the moment?

 

[Tim Mayo]

Wow. You guys in the UK are really paying top dollar! How much is an A1 ii over there at the moment?

£6,299.00 or about £1k less if you buy from a grey market store. Thankfully the A1II doesn't tempt me a great deal, more than happy with my A1 for now.

 

[Richard A]

I'm not interested in getting an A1 ii either (though I would if money wasn't an issue) but I can get one here for about the equivalent of £4630 so that's a big difference. The Sony rep who took us on this city walk the other night specifically said the Australian retailers were cutting their margins to the bone in competition which is obviously really good for buyers.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

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FroKnowsPhoto did a great roast of this camera. I agree with everything he said. I now think they held it close to the vest because they knew it didn't sufficiently push the envelope, especially for the price.

 

[Richard A]

I haven’t watched Fro’s video but all things considered, the price of this thing is pretty outrageous really.

 

[DaveC Oz]

From what I can make out, it seems to me that for not much more you could pick up an A7CR and compact lens. That way you would have a very similar set up with the flexibility to change focal length if needed

 

[AlphaWorld]

From what I can make out, it seems to me that for not much more you could pick up an A7CR and compact lens. That way you would have a very similar set up with the flexibility to change focal length if needed

And IBIS, etc.

Honestly, I’m happier with the fully featured version (aka A7RV), although I’m looking forward to Sony bringing out an A7RVI with a new sensor. I’d like a jump in pixel count (96Mp for 12000 x 8000 would be nice, but I expect it will actually be less). I would be happy enough with it still being a mechanical shutter camera, for the cleanest images (If I want a stacked sensor, I’ll use an A1 or A9 body - I thoroughly approve of Sony’s finer segmentation of the camera body market - no one camera body can do everything).

I want the full size A7R body to use with lenses like the 50-150 and 28-70 GM lenses. I’m also looking forward to what Sony may release next in their “unleashed” GM lens series - I have no idea what it will be, except to say that I expect it to be literally awe-inspiring (and almost certainly expensive!).

 

[Landshark99]

Sorry for the long post.

A few points about the RX1RIII, is it the camera for everyone no, but neither is the Ricoh GR series, the FujiX100 series and the Leica Q series. They are for not “everyday cameras” as many are marketed. The true everyday camera is one’s phone. All these cameras share the basic idea of making image capture a slower simpler with relatively small camera, while at the same time having great image quality. Just for context I own a RX1RII, a FujiX100VI and a Ricoh GR3, the Sony stands out in image quality. None are as versatile as a larger interchangeable body. One of the things that annoys me with a lot of YouTube influencers, is the constant pointing out that none of these cameras are as versatile as a larger interchangeable lens body, really seems like an obvious fact.

It is also annoying all the rants about the RX1RIII having the same 12year old lens on the RX1, RX1R, Rx1RII and the RX1RIII when Leica has done the same thing with the Q series and Fuji has updated their lens twice in what 6 versions. Most of the online rants by influencers have never used any of the RX series cameras, the lens image quality is beautiful. In fact, my first Sony full frame camera is my RX1RII, that camera is what made me jump all the way into the Sony camera system, because the image quality was so amazing.

Now the price, the RX1RII was $3,298 at launch 10 years ago, held its value fairly well. If one calculates the cost of inflation, that is $4,475 in today’s dollars. For us in the US, we have the Trump Tariffs, Japan is now 10% and could go to 25% on August 1, if it is made in China that is a 30% tariff now. So, if you add in the 10% tariff to the $4,475 you get very close to the $5,098 launch price. What about the cost of the upgrades to the camera came for free, 61mg sensor, new AF, new processor, built in viewfinder and larger battery are some of them.

Interesting thing with the online rants, only a few people have even touched the camera, like FroKnowsPhoto, who I find extremely annoying. The A7CR with any lens on it is still a lot bigger than the RX1RIII and if you want a lens on it that comes close to the quality of the Zeiss you are talking about the 35gm which is huge. I thought about getting an A7cr when it came out even preordered a body. Canceled it when I realized at the end of the day it was not that much smaller than the A7RV, I already owned. Funny thing to me is almost all the same influencers who ranted about the perceived flaws of the A7CR at launch are now recommending them.

These cameras are not for everybody, it is the smallest, most discrete incredible image quality full frame camera made, if that is what you want. Is it a good value, no, can you take great images for less, sure, is it without flaws, no but it is a camera that appeals to me.

I have owned a few cars that make no practical sense, if one simply wants to get from a to b comfortably, I just wanted to do it in 2.8sec to 60MPH for a few years.

It just seems like with every camera launch there is always a long list of flaws, disappointments, feature it should have that are missing, buttons or dials that are wrong, what is already out there that is a better value, and it costs too much or was big mistake. People should just buy, use what they want and hopefully enjoy the images they create.

In the end I have preordered a RX1RIII to upgrade my RX1RII, curious to see an honest hands-on review before it arrives. If it is not what I am hoping for, it can always be returned.