Sony R1, the Sonnar jewel from 2005

[Ouwesok]

It was about 21 years ago that the Sony R1 came to the market between all kinds of compact camera's and it was different. Not in any way but in every way.

The compacts from that time tended to become smaller and smaller, the R1 was quite bulky. The sensor was not the small one but an APS-C most found in DSLRs at that time.
A screen that was placed on top of the camera and an EVF, all a bit new in 2005

The top feature of the R1 was the thing at the front, the Zeiss Vario-Sonnar with a range (translated to fullframe) of 24-120mm

At the time it came available it was mainly the pricetag that held me from running to the store. Not only the camera's pricetag but it also needed large CompactFlash cards to be able to use it for RAW=files

Some twenty years later i found one that looked as hardly used, including two batteries and the charger for a very neat price so why not add it to the collection. Nice to have and to take out from time to time.

Sony DSC R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr


Using the R1, the only things that remember you the thing is 21 years old are the EVF that looks quite aged compared with newer camera's and the processing speed.
In every other aspect, the camera is still very usable if you like the formfactor, it is quite a handfull of hardware. Battery life is still excellent for its age.
I took it quite a few times out and lets see some results.

Eilandbrug by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony DSC R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony DSC R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony DSC R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony DSC R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Sony R1 by Ouwesok, on Flickr

Summarized: still a very nice camera to use.

[Attila]

Nice to see old camera, got respect! Still perform well in capable hands!