Before we reluctantly send the RX1 back to Sony, we thought we'd compare its Carl Zeiss 35mm f/2 lens with another full-frame / 35mm combo, the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and excellent new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens.

Take a closer look at how these two 35mm full frame, 35mm lens camera systems compare in our side-by-side comparison...

Sharpness at 35mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart.

Both the Sony RX1 and the Canon EOS 5D Mk III DSLR / Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens were mounted on a sturdy tripod.

The camera's self-timer mode was activated to avoid camera-shake.

Tonal and colour variances across the crops are due to changes in natural light during the session.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 full frame at 35mm

The Canon EOS 5D Mk III / Sigma 35mm f/1.4 full frame at 35mm

Centre Sharpness

Centre sharpness is very good from f/2.8 onwards on both the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 and the Canon EOS 5D Mk III / Sigma 35mm f/1.4, remaining high until the respective minimum apertures of f/22 and f/16, where is a slight drop in sharpness due to diffraction.

Aperture	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1	Canon EOS 5D Mk III / Sigma 35mm f/1.4
f/1.4	N/A
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22		N/A

Edge Sharpness

Edge sharpness is very good from f/4 onwards on both the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 and the Canon EOS 5D Mk III / Sigma 35mm f/1.4, but the Canon / Sigma combination gives slightly sharper results at all comparable apertures. Sharpness remains high until the respective minimum apertures of f/22 and f/16, where is a slight drop in sharpness due to diffraction.

Aperture	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1	Canon EOS 5D Mk III / Sigma 35mm f/1.4
f/1.4	N/A
f/2
f/2.8
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22		N/A

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