The AF on my RX100VI is very good, but you're dreaming if you don't think better AF isn't available. Tons of advancements have occurred on that front and that's what sells new cameras.
Apparently not, since the better autofocus performance did not make you buy an RX100M7.
I actually did buy it. Sadly it was stolen (off my boat!), but I still have the RX100V and VI.
I'm a professional shooter, so my primary gear is mostly Nikon, pair of Z9's, Zf, Zfc and so on. I've also owned Sony cinema cameras. I tend get the "better tool" whenever practical, but I'm not buying a 6 year old camera.
Yeah, nobody buys cameras for better AF, right? That's your position?
Oh boy.
Robert
That's not what he said. I shoot sports as a hobby. For a professional shooting sports the best AF is a good investment. The problem is if the RX100vii had the best AF in the world it still would be a poor sports camera because of lens range limitations and mediocre ergonomics due to it's small size. The refusal to buy an RX100vii simply because it's an old design really doesn't make much practical sense. Advancements in cameras has slowed to a snails pace to the point that a 6 year old camera is 95% as good as a new one.
Particularly if the new camera does not exist. Or is worse than the "old" one.
The RX1008 may very well exist, at least on paper. Will it ever appear? Only Sony knows.
Generally speaking, newer generations of cameras are better than the previous. In rare cases the designers blow it, but not often when it comes to cameras.
Sony did a good job with each generation of the RX100 series. They could do a LOT after 6 years to make the RX100 even more powerful.
But according to some folks.....nahhhhhh! LOL!!!
Nobody says it couldn’t be improved. Of course it could. But this is an argument about business cases, not technology.
We simply said that the R&D cost of producing a significantly improved model would not be recovered from the modest sales expected of any camera in this dramatically diminished segment. Sony obviously didn’t even think it was worth the very modest cost of adding a USB-C port and the slightly improved AF software that’s compatible with the Bionz X CPU.
Sony clearly knows this market very well, as it actually created the quality 1” sensor compact camera market in 2012. It also made the sensors for all the Canon and Panasonic (including Leica) competitors, who have also long abandoned the market (as did Nikon before even releasing its contenders). What secret market knowledge do you have that escapes the manufacturers who made all the cameras in the market?
So, why do you think you know so much more than all those manufacturers combined?
It's so great to hear your trust in Sony! They've never made a marketing mistake, right?
Following your disastrous advice would be the marketing mistake Sony has avoided. Ditto Nikon, Canon, Panasonic and Leica.
Pure conjecture on your part. Glad you trust Sony!
It’s not about whether I trust Sony. I’m simply explaining why Sony, Nikon, Canon, Panasonic and Leica all abandoned this market years ago. The one market they do still see is the vlogger segment, but the RX100M7 doesn’t appeal to that market.
The relatively new D-Lux 8 says "hold my beer"
That’s basically a slightly updated 2018 Panasonic LX100 II. It’s older tech than the 2018 RX100M6. It doesn’t even have PDAF!
It's still an updated model. Leica is forever behind, which is why I bailed on them.
and I hear rumblings that Canon is not giving up on a new Powershot.
Yes, it’s another vlogger camera, obviously modelled on Sony’s VZ-1 and VZ-E10 models. Wider zoom range, no EVF. Sony showed the way in 2020, Canon belatedly followed in 2025.
No EVF drives me nuts, but it's still a capable model if you can work with it, just like the GRIII. According to DPreview, Canon is RAMPING up production due to demand in the segment! Hmmmm!
Then we have stuff like GRIII and X100VI doing very well, and that might push some buttons. We'll see!
BTW, doesn't Sony still make RX100 models???
It may or may not still be producing occasional small batches of the final model, the M7A (a slightly cut-down version of the M7). It seems to go in and out of stock.
Hmmmm. Why bother!?
You don’t understand how the business works. These old legacy cameras are built to order, and a batch is only made when regional distributors collectively order enough. It’s not like new models, that are made to meet forecast sales.
LOL! Like I said, I have family working at Nikon. I've been shooting since I had my first Deardorff and my two projects (shot with Nikon and Sony gear) just screened at the Chinese Mann theater and screens next in NY.
I hire more photographers that you likely know and I know what they want. My views are based on experience rather than an "opinion" via the web.
Sony’s sales expectations for the M7 were so low that it didn’t even bother to produce a USB-C model. Instead, it produced a degraded ‘A’ model, which no longer (officially) offers micro-USB charging.
More proof that you just don't understand how companies work to complete an ecosystem. Did you know that many folks with FS5's, Fx6 and 9 and even the bigger stuff also use the little stuff? Do you know why?
Understanding markets is why I wear a watch that costs more than most people's cars. Sony would do well in updating the RX100 or creating a new line to that end.
You mean a gold-plated camera encrusted with diamonds that has an inaccurate clock, and needs regular servicing?
The last two watches I sold handed me just over 70K profit. True, they needed more servicing than my cheap 1K Hamilton watches, but those don't accrue in value.
So stick to trading blingy jewellery. You’re obviously better at it than you are at camera market analysis.
I don't trade jewelry. Sorry.
My Audi and Mercedes also need more care. Wanna play, gotta pay! ;-)
Understanding markets is something I'm pretty good at.
Clearly not this one.
My estate value says otherwise, but again, we'll see what happens. Keep rooting for lesser gear; it's a popular view!
If you believe that losing money on a specific model isn't part of a larger calculation, then you don't understand the business at all.
Sony already has halo-model cameras, such as the A1 and A9m3. They’re the ones to get people into the Alpha ecosystem.
Right, because nobody buys entry level and moves up....except for 25% of the marketplace.
Yup. You seem to know nothing of Sony’s Alpha range, which offers a low entry point in the A6100 (cheaper than an RX100M7), with plenty of smooth upgrade options, all the way to the mighty A1 and A9.
LOL! We shot a doc on the A9's along with the FS5 MKII. I've owned quite a few Sony cams, though I prefer Nikon overall for stills.
Like I said, in my business I get to not only use a wide variety of gear, I also get to work with shooters on a regular basis.
I myself started with low-end gear and now own two complete pro systems.
That said, quite a few pros we work with carry small cameras. The RX100 series was popular for a while, but time marched on.
BTW, I work in the film industry as well. I work with a lot of set photographers, location managers as well as amateurs. Meanwhile, other companies have continued to improve their compacts.
Really? Name one! Just one will do.
Mostly, they’ve stopped producing them altogether.
Didn't DPreview just do a full run down of the top picks? LOL!
It’s just the latest update to an annual review.
Oh, let's ask them to delete it!
Okay, most are old, but the segment isn't dead....just sleeping!
I guess they're just not as smart as Sony, right?
Stick to the business you know. Don’t think that equips you to understand unrelated businesses.
I'm in the business and I have family working for NikonUSA. Next?
I gotta say, I've never heard any photographer not want better/updated gear....until now. Maybe I should dig out my old 5D and D700 out of the closet?
The vast majority of people who used to buy compact cameras have switched to smartphones, An improved RX100 model won’t bring any of them back. The dwindling market now mostly consists of elderly men who don’t like using smartphone cameras.
The vloggers are catered for with dedicated cameras, such as Sony’s VZ-1 models (and the larger VZ-E10 and ZV-E1 models). With your background, you should know all about these, but appear not to.
Well...I guess you can keep hoping no one ever makes a better compact camera to top your ancient RX100. Good luck with that!
You really don’t get it, I’d be delighted if someone made an improved RX100M7. Unlike you I actually own one, and its predecessor, and use them more than my many larger cameras. But I’m an engineer and a realist, not a dreamer.
LOL! True, I don't own the 7 anymore, just the 5 and 6. I have amazing gear with more on the way because I have ALWAYS been a dreamer and been well rewarded for it.
RX1008 may never come...but something better eventually will. I believe Sony is dopey for leaving the segment, even at a loss. That's because I do understand the business.
Let's agree to agree that you're wrong about all of this! ;-)
Robert
