What is going on? It’s like everybody is jumping into the full frame mirrorless market the last month or so. Nikon, Canon, Panasonic, Sigma, Zenit, and now Zeiss. And while it’s all very exciting, Zeiss’ new ZX1 has one very unique feature. It actually runs Lightroom CC. Oh yes, integrated right into the camera!
So, first, it’s an integrated lens, which is interesting on a full frame mirrorless. But, there’s no lens mount (new or old) to worry about. It has an integrated Distagon 35mm f/2 T* lens, with autofocus that they say “has been perfectly matched to the 37.4 megapixel full frame sensor”. And as to who makes the sensor, they say it’s been developed in-house at Zeiss.
Despite being a fixed lens, though, (in both senses of the word) the specs don’t look too bad. And, also kinda crazy and unique, it has 512GB of internal storage.
Sensor: Full frame 37.4MPISO: 80-51,200Shutter speed: 1/8000 – 30secLens: Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/2 T*Max aperture: f/2Min aperture: f/22Minimum focus distance: 30cmLCD: 4.34″ 1280x720px touchscreen LCDEVF: 0.7″ 1920x1080px OLEDStorage: 512GB internal / External via Type-C USBVideo: 4K UHD up to 30fps, 1080p up to 60fpsConnectivity: 802.11b/g/n/a/ac, Bluetooth 4.1LE, USB-C 3.1, microphone, headphone & HDMI via USB-C.Dimensions: 142 x 93 x 46mm (+20mm lens)Weight: 800g (with battery)
As well as shooting the images, and being able to edit them in-camera with Lightroom CC, you can also share straight from the camera, too. Zeiss doesn’t mention any specific platforms. It just says “directly to the internet”, which could mean anything. But with 512GB of internal storage, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out before you fill it up.
The new Zeiss ZX1 looks pretty intriguing, and it could make for a perfect walkabout or street photography camera. The Zeiss ZX1 website, though, leaves a lot to be desired. What a horrible user experience with all those forced animations. It took me 10x as long to find the information for this post as it should have done.
