Big test
Images are transferred to a computer and Lightroom via a lead and the USB-C port. One of the selling points is the internal Lightroom and Instagram Direct, so in-camera editing and image sharing is available. Working on a small screen isn’t that easy, but if you want to make some improvements and get creative while out on location, it’s a tool
sky could pick up a marginal yellow tinge. For my taste, the Raws needed a quick edit for a better look. AWB was more consistent on cloudy days. Shots are recorded to internal storage with a 469GB capacity. There is no option to use an external card. A ZX1 Raw is about 40MB and JPEG 11MB, so you can shoot several thousand images before needing to clear the internal memory.
TOPVIEW Zeiss has gone for a minimalist approach, with few controls. Its contoured body design makes the camera easy to get a secure grip. Under the left-side top-plate is the camera’s antenna
CLASSICVIEW Late afternoon view of Mermaid Street in Rye. An exposure of 1/2500sec at f/2 and ISO 800 was used, with the image edited to taste (the sky area adjusted to show detail) in the ZX1’s Lightroom
PERFORMANCE: ISO
ISO performance was good and you can expect clean images up to 800 and higher. There is evidence of digital noise at ISO 1600, but it’s still fine. It starts getting more obvious at ISO 3200 and upwards. The latest full-frame cameras are incredible when it comes to high ISOs, and while the ZX1 is good, it’s not quite up with the very best.
The ZX1 has a native ISO range of 100 to 6400 that is selectable in 0.3EV steps. To access higher speeds, setting H gives an ISO icon on the touch panel strip. Speeds up to ISO 51,200 can be accessed in 0.3EV steps. The Raw shots here were processed in Lightroom on a desktop computer, with default noise reduction.
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46 Photography News | Issue 96
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