Hi all, I had to sign up here today so I could get some advice on this RX1R DR issue since there's not much help from DPR forums.
I recently purchased the RX1R to use primarily as a street camera (some landscapes), but since I shoot mainly in very contrasty situations, I've found the files don't provide the "smooth highlight roll-off" look that I'm used to on the GR and D800E. In fact, RAW files are very contrasty, highlight areas are blown, even when I shoot with -0.3EV
I've had the RX1R for about three weeks, and have recorded over ... brztbzzrrrp ... 1,700 exposures: daytime, night-time, indoors, outdoors, low-light, macro, w. the built-in flash, with a Sony "20" flash, etc. The RAW files I'm seeing have a lot of headroom and foot-room, and allow the usual adjustments even when the exposure recorded is poor. What RAW converter are you using? At what settings?
I do my conversion with Apple's Aperture (the converter is system wide: Apple RAW Compatibility Update 4.08). The default settings for the RX1R were too "hot" for my needs (I decry this trend, but that's for another thread), so I created my own default:
Boost: 0.80
Hue Boost: 0.65
Sharpening: 0.50
Detail: 0.10
Moire: 0.00
Radius: 4.00
De-Noise: 0.17
If anything, compared other Sony cameras (a850, a900, a77, Nex7) the RX1R tends to under-expose at the same settings.
What RAW converter are you using? At what settings? Have you tried any other converters or settings?
I'm no expert (but there are some here
), but those are the first places I'd look.
Here is "street" picture taken in sunlight, converted with Aperture at my default settings. No other PP. The lights and the darks are all "blown":
{Sorry -- can't get file to show.}
Here's a picture from the same file, cropped and with luminance adjustments applied (nothing special -- lowered the exposure and the black point):
{Sorry -- can't get file to show.}