Sony RX1R II vs Panasonic LX100
Sony RX1R II vs Panasonic LX100
Sony RX1R II at first glance is the best compact, but is it really so? Let's compare this camera with another representative of this class - Panasonic LX100. Panasonic also awarded its device with good characteristics. Considering the price/performance ratio, it becomes unclear which camera wins.
Comparison of characteristics of Sony RX1R II and Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100
Features/Models
Sony RX1R II
Panasonic LX100
Permission
Image sensor size and type
Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm)
Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm)
Low pass filter
GPU
Optical zoom
Aperture range
Macro focusing
Image stabilization
Autofocus system
Contrast detection (sensor) + phase detection
Contrast detections (sensor)
AF points
ISO
Shutter speed
Maximum continuous shooting speed
5 frames per second
11 frames per second
Video
1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720p (120 fps)
3840 x 2160 (30p, 24p)
Display
3.0″ LCD screen, tilting, resolution 1288800 pixels
3.0″ LCD screen, fixed, resolution 921000 pixels
Viewfinder
Electronic viewfinder, 100% frame coverage
Electronic viewfinder, 100% frame coverage
Hot shoe
WiFi
Built-in with NFC
Built-in with NFC
Battery life (CIPA)
dimensions
113 x 65 x 72 mm
115 x 66 x 55 mm
Weight
Image sensors: The Sony DSC-RX1R II camera is equipped with a full-frame Exmor R back-illuminated sensor. Its resolution is 42MP. Panasonic LX100 received a 4/3 format crop sensor. The sensor resolution is 12.8 megapixels.
The Sony RX1 R II is powered by the cutting-edge Binoz X GPU, which delivers ultra-high-resolution images and handles noise well in low-light situations. image resolution even in low light conditions. The sensor also supports phase detection-based focusing, which significantly improves performance compared to contrast-based focusing.
In sports shooting mode, you can take photographs in 42MP resolution at 5 frames per second.
The Panasonic LX100 is capable of shooting at a maximum resolution of 12.8 megapixels at 11 frames per second. The LX100's image resolution is much lower than that of the Sony RX1R II, but the burst speed is very fast.
The Sony DSC-RX1R II features the world's first variable intensity optical low-pass filter. The filter allows users to choose between three levels of filter intensity. The filter itself is needed to eliminate color halos. Thanks to the microblurring created, color artifacts are eliminated, but at the same time the sharpness of the image is lost. Small details become less visible or are completely lost. Adjusting the filter intensity allows you to choose between detail and color quality. Three modes allow you to turn on the maximum intensity of the filter, set the average value, or turn it off completely.
Optical zoom: The LX100 is equipped with a lens that provides 3x magnification. The RX1R II lens is equipped with fixed focal length optics. The LX100's optical zoom allows you to frame the image in more shooting situations, but don't forget that the Sony sensor is about three times higher resolution and the camera has a digital zoom, which provides about the same magnification while maintaining similar image quality.
Aperture Range: The LX100 has a variable aperture from F/1.7 to F/2.8 at different ends of the focal lengths. The RX1R II has an aperture of F/2.0 at one focal length. It would seem that the Panasonic camera is faster, but we should not forget about the size of the Sony sensor. A full-frame sensor can capture more light. Its light sensitivity is higher, and the noise level when shooting in low light conditions is lower, so Sony wins in this category.
Also, the Sony's depth of field is smaller at an open aperture, meaning background blur can be made more intense and beautiful than on a Panasonic camera.
Macro: The LX100 allows you to take closer-up macro shots thanks to its lens features. The minimum focusing distance is 3cm, while the RX1R II can only focus at a distance of 14cm. The sensor resolution can compensate for this shortcoming, but still digital zoom, especially in macro, is not the best solution.
Image stabilization: The LX100 has optical image stabilization. It helps reduce camera shake while shooting. Dynamic pictures will be clearer. Sony has completely deprived its new camera RX1R II of image stabilization. On the one hand, this is logical, since at a focal length of 35mm there is no great need to use a stabilizer, but still it would add functionality to the camera when photographing with long exposures, at night and when shooting sports or various sports games, although the continuous shooting speed and the lens focal length limitation means that this camera was not originally designed for such shooting situations.
AF System: Sony RX1R II has 399 phase detection points and 25 contrast AF points. The LX100 is limited by an outdated contrast-detection focusing system. The Sony DSC-RX1R II's autofocus system helps you track your subject over a larger area of the frame with better accuracy and speed.
ISO: The difference in sensor size affected light sensitivity. The Panasonic can capture a lot less light, so its ISO sensitivity is much lower.
The Sony RX1R II has an expanded ISO of up to 102,400. The LX100 is limited to ISO 25,600. In the dark, the RX1R II performs much better than the LX100. The pictures will remain of very high quality, and you can use faster shutter speeds and a closed aperture to take photographs.
Shutter speed: A fast shutter speed allows you to shoot at a higher frame rate. This parameter also determines the possibility of “freezing” fast moving objects. The Panasonic LX 100 has a faster shutter speed compared to the Sony DSC-RX1R II. This way, users can capture fast-moving subjects much faster and easier.
Highest Continuous Shooting Speed: The Panasonic LX 100 has a faster continuous shooting speed of 11 fps compared to 5 fps in the Sony RX1R II.
Video: The Panasonic LX 100 offers 4K Ultra HD video recording at 3840 x 2160 resolution at 30fps or 24fps in MP4 format. The camera also records Full HD video in 1080p resolution at 60 or 30 frames per second, or in MP4 or AVCHD formats. At the same time, the Sony RX1R II is limited to FullHD video at 60 frames per second. Thanks to the high light sensitivity of the sensor, videos shot on the RX1R II in low light conditions will be better. You can also get more beautiful background blur effects.
Viewfinder: Both cameras have approximately the same electronic viewfinders with 100% frame coverage.
Verdict: Based on the specification comparison, it is clear that the Sony RX1R II has a better image thanks to its resolution and sensor size. In some situations it is less flexible, such as sports photography. Also, the video resolution is significantly inferior to Panasonic. Don't forget about the price.
If you need a good camera for every day, for family, walking and traveling, then the Panasonic LX100 will be good. If image quality is your priority, the Sony RX1R II wins.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100
Comparison
 |
 |
Sensor
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.
Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older ones.
Actual sensor size
3.83 : 1 (ratio) Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R II Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100| 861.60 mm² | vs | 224.90 mm² |
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.
The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.
Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.
Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Specs
Choose cameras to compare
Popular comparisons:
Diagonal
Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
| Diagonal = √ | |||
| Diagonal = √ | |||
| Diagonal = √ | Pixel pitch = | sensor width in mm | × 1000 |
| sensor resolution width in pixels |
RX1R II pixel pitch
Sensor w > Sensor resolution w >
| Pixel pitch = | 35.90 | × 1000 | = 4.5 µm |
| 7976 |
LX100 pixel pitch
Sensor w > Sensor resolution w >
| Pixel pitch = | 17.30 | × 1000 | = 4.19 µm |
| 4126 |
Pixel area
You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
| Pixel area = | sensor surface area in mm² |
| effective megapixels |
RX1R II pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.5 µm
LX100 pixel area
Pixel pitch = 4.19 µm
Pixel density
Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
| Pixel density = ( | sensor resolution width in pixels | )² / 1000000 |
| sensor width in cm |
One could also use this formula:
| Pixel density = | effective megapixels × 1000000 | / 10000 |
| sensor surface area in mm² |
RX1R II pixel density
LX100 pixel density
Sensor resolution
Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For the sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.
1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.
2. With the ratio ( r ) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
| ( X × r ) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000 → |
|
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:
Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X
RX1R II sensor resolution
Sensor w > Sensor height = 24.00 mm
Effective megapixels = 42.40
| r = 35.90/24.00 = 1.5 |
|
