The Sony RX100 VII is the company's latest pocketable 1" sensor compact. It uses the same 24-200mm equivalent F2.8-4.5 lens as its predecessor but features a more capable, easier-to-use autofocus system.
This comes in addition to the already impressive capabilities we saw in the Mark VI, including very fast continuous shooting and high-quality 4K video capture. And, for the first time in the series, the Mark VII has a mic socket for improved audio recording.
The Mark VII can shoot at up to 20 frames per second with no viewfinder blackout: specs that are a match for the company's flagship a9 sports camera. And it's this capability, along with the enhanced AF, that prompts Sony to talk about 'the power of an a9 in your pocket.' To be clear, though, it does not share its hardware with that model.
Key Specifications
20MP 1"-type stacked-CMOS sensor with phase detection and built-in DRAM
24-200mm equivalent F2.8-4.5 zoom
20 fps continuous shooting with full autofocus and auto-exposure, and no blackout
Seven frame, 90 fps 'single burst' mode
Retractable 2.36M-dot EVF with 0.59x equiv. magnification
3" touchscreen LCD (flips up 180° or down by 90°)
Oversampled UHD 4K video (up to 5 min clips in standard temperature mode)
Combined lens and digital 'Active' stabilization mode in video
High speed video at up to 1000 fps
Intervalometer
Wi-Fi with Bluetooth and NFC
The RX100 VII will be available in August 2019 at a recommended price of $1200. It'll sell for around €1300 in Europe and £1200 in the UK, with both figures including tax. These are around the same prices as its predecessor was launched at, so we expect to see the Mark VI get re-positioned, to make room.
What's new and how it compares
The RX100 VII looks like its predecessor but borrows know-how (though not hardware) from the pro-sports a9 model.
Specs are good to great, but don't see value in spending that $1200 on a small p&s regardless if you shoot pasm. My used 300 panasonic gx85 fits in my pant pocket ok... if u need teleophot I would have it in a bag. Nikon 1 j4 and j5 can still be had for 400 to 500. Not influenced.
You're paying for the telezoom range, insane AF, and video in a much smaller than a GX85 package. Some people want that; others do not. I find my RX100III perfect for trips where I or my better half want to leave the camera bag at home.
sure when the price drop then it make more sense. rX100VI is still at 1200, so that will probably drop in price (so call a7iii AF). Telephoto I don't use much only when i need to. Most of my Panny gx85 shots are just snapshots, nothing special where I can justify throwing $1200 for it. GX85 is not too much bigger then the RX100 line, lens might pop out a little more, since the sensor is a little larger.
I do have skinny jean, but don't wear it much. I like loose pants for everday wear. My short can hold it, and so do most casual pants when you walk around town.
No problem putting an RX100 camera in a pair of regular non cargo shorts or relaxed fit jeans. If you wear skinny jeans you have other problems in life. 🤦🏼♂️
Style is a local thing. In some areas tight is currently in. Even then, I use a small belt pouch for my RX100 that works well. A bit of a "dad look" but still easier than the alternatives.
I can fit an RX100 in jeans pockets no problem. I could hardly say the same for any m43 camera ... especially one with an equivalent 200mm lens attached as Spectro proclaimed would be an alternative!!!
Lol, "dad look". Yeah, i can relate. I never carry my phone in pockets, only in a belt holster. Plus my phones are always in bulky hybrid cases for protection. So yeah, I've been rocking the "dad look" forever. But dad with a nice a$$. 😄
I don't care if who are gay or not, not homopohic or ignorant like some here. i am more chucker, sprinter leg, so most jeans start to feel tight especially after a few washes. bought a skinny jean once, it said it was stretchable type when i got it. felt good walking, will buy again. Soft Stretchable are as good as loose thick jean. Being a tad overweight i dont hate on people with good metabolism.
Watch Spiderman: Far From Home. You're gonna love the scene where a Leica (CL, I think) is on a railing next to the water in Venice, Italy... I won't spoil your anxiety by telling you whether it continues happily along, or takes the plunge. Just watch the movie... ;)
I'm really impressed by the sample gallery. If only results count, this beats and could easily replace older FF like 5D2. I hope video quality is on par.
The folks at Sony need to learn a little something about timing. Sorry folks but all these cameras should come out either in march or october. It's the summer here, maybe in AU but in US nobody cares about this. People are out there shooting the sh*t with their cellphones, nobody is into spending $1200 on a compact in july, or EVER. LOL
So make up your mind. Are people not spending in July, or is it "EVER"?
BTW, here are the announcement times for the previous RX100's:
RX100, June 2012 RX100 II, June 2013 RX100 III, May 2014 RX100 IV, June 2015 RX100 V, October 2016 RX100 VI: June 2019
The RX100 series has been quite successful. They are on their seventh generation. I think Sony has a better idea of the "timing" of these releases than armchair quarterbacks such as yourself. July is not that far off from June, which is when almost all of the previous RX100's were announced. In the grand scheme of things, I doubt it makes much difference.
Photomedium clearly indicated that "never" (the concept behind "not EVER") in July are people spending on cameras, i.e., not this July, nor any other July. So he was in no way inconsistent.
@austin design - No, he did not say "this July or any other July." He said: "nobody is into spending $1200 on a compact in july, or EVER." He did not say "this July".
But regardless, I think Sony knows the market better than the average armchair quarterback on the internet. Their RX100 VI was also $1200. Their RX100 V was announced in 2016 at $1000. The RX100 IV introduced in 2015 at $949. If these cameras weren't hitting their sales targets at these prices, then Sony wouldn't be selling them at these prices. But rather than going down in price, they are going up. Obviously, someone is buying them even at these prices.
And let's not forget that each new model adds new performance capabilities, which ultimately justify the price increases. Can ANYONE show me another camera (in any format) with this level of performance at anywhere near this price? No, so the price is justified.
T3, tomato, tom@to. Look, it's the end of july so yeah totally different ballpark. However, I have yet to put in a call to BestBuy to stop the shipment although it is fully in my power to do so, therefore if you want to can still rush to the store and get it before your vacaziones.
@SELEES, do you really think that NONE of the increments could have been done through firmware updates like Fuji does? I have the RX100 V and it didn’t get any updates. Your naïveté is cute. 😂🤦🏼♂️
T3, as a published author and former writing instructor, I can tell you with some authority: what I wrote was an accurate (and, frankly, entirely intuitive) paraphrasing of what Photomedium wrote. And of course my paraphrasing wasn't verbatim of what Photomedium wrote -- lest it wouldn't have been paraphrasing, but quoting...and why would I quote something which remains here in its original form for everyone to see? That said, I in no way endorse Photomedium's argument, although I do understand it. There's some basic logic to it, but also some basic holes in it. But here's the thing: you could have disputed that argument without the snarky (and inaccurate) quibbling over wordchoice and syntax.
Think of this camera as you'd think about your funerals... Do I deserve all these ding bells, and extras that I'll never get to notice? YOU deserve ALL of these, my boy!!
The problem is that smartphones like the Google Pixel 3 are moving in on 1" sensor territory and use a lot internal software to make their image output look really awesome. Plus you can post your images wherever you want in seconds. You can even post-process in smartphone before sending.
Miike D. I agree that the Pixel quality is quite similar for most shots. And - factoring in my meager post-processing skills - my Pixel 2 often looks better than my RX100M3, as it applies world-class post-processing for me. But my RX100 is more enjoyable to play with, and it does offer some goodies (such as zoom) that put it ahead of my phone.
Think of it as a restored muscle car vs. a Toyota Camry. The Camry is the "better" car for features and smoothness of ride, but it's dull dull dull to drive.
BrentSchumer ... but the Toyota Camry just got a turbo charger. Apparently the Pixel 3 just got some new software that enables it to mimic a 2x zoom lens. Not really a digital zoom after you add the new software.
Probably not. Sony hasn't released a 200mm f2.8 RX10 for 4 years. I'm also guessing that the 1.8-2.8 RX100s are dead, too, as smartphones take over those focal lengths.
"Oversampled UHD 4K video (up to 5 min clips in standard temperature mode)"
Other sites are reporting that is has unlimited recording time? On YouTube there are reviewers reporting over 60 minutes actually tested record time...
Both are correct. The default is 5 minutes There is a setting in the menu to set high temperature operation which allows it to run so long as the battery keeps it alive, and it doesn’t overheat. FroKnowsFoto says he ran it for 90 minutes without issue. This was presumably an issue due to lawyers concerned people would be uncomfortable handling a camera hotter than ambient.
Why do people equate size with value? This camera packs more tech than anything before it, and appears to deliver performance to back it up.
The fact it has 20FPS with exposure and focus adjustment, plus 90FPS bursts, a 24-200mm lens, Human AND animal eye focus AND the focusing system from a camera that costs 3-4 times as much doesn't equate to value to you?
Surely it is the greatest value proposition that exists given it does all of this in such a compact body that fits in your shirt pocket, literally. Seriously, what DO you call value?
There are two ways of looking at this in order to see value (or not)- cost-based and reward-based. If you look at cost, since I have an APS-C camera, then I would compare the lens on this camera vs how much it would cost to buy a lens of equal value and if it is within $400 then I see value. If I were to look at it as rewards-based, then I would think about all the times in the previous year(s) in which I didn't take my APS-C camera or that I shot pictures/video with my smartphone and wasn't impressed with the quality or that I could've actually used a zoom. The $1,200 for this camera is pricey, and I already have lenses for my APS-C camera so that part of the value doesn't give me any at this point. So I look at the rewards-based and there have been several times where I saw a deer, rabbits, and other wildlife and missed getting a good shot because I didn't have the APS-C and smartphone pictures look horrible zoomed in. No GPS on this either, which is important to me.
Sony does need to "slow down". Basically the next iteration of this camera should simply have an improved body design, and attention to detail on things like the EVF experience, menus, touch screen, and other such details.
Without changing the internals the next version can then be priced at something more like $700-$800. Then it would definitely sell.
I love that sony pushes the envelope in terms of tech development and innovation. But I don't "like" them because they never seem to just take a break and really refine what they already have. And the user experience in this case would really really boost them up, more so than tech (at this point, since with this camera and the mk3 bodies they have pretty much crossed over the more than good enough line).
As someone pointed out to keep all the original models going the parts have to be standardised so there is probably not a lot of scope for improvement. These are really more sensor technology showcase devices without the funding for enhancement in other areas and even then the cost is moved directly on to the consumer.
For example. With the A7III we experience moore when looking through the EVF, because it shows a line skipped image. The touch interface is most definitely up to par with the likes of the EOS R. The back LCD (in the one I owned) showed greens as very yellow while the EVF did not. The IBIS pulled to the left when activated which made looking through the EVF feel like I had eye twitch. etc etc.
The A7III is a great camera, but what I described above could most definitely use some sony attention. This is the kind of refinement I am talking about. Some of these things have been around since the A7, and probably will be there in the new mk4 bodies. Simply pushing MP, only to still have a lined skipped view in the EVF meh... I would prefer a smoother user experience for the same MP count.
So by focusing on specs, they miss/gloss-over the softer yet still very important aspects of cameras.
I guess you meant the A7III’s touch interface is most definitely NOT up to par with its competitors? I remain puzzled by Sony’s current attitude to limited touchscreens because as far back as the NEX-5N they had a fully-functioning touchscreen (menus and all) - though it lacked one feature - touch to shoot. That was added to the NEX-5R (and the follow-up NEX-5T) - yet, almost as though Sony wanted to ensure they were still compromised, they were inexplicably given resistive touchscreens - well after the rest of the market had abandoned them.
Find the touch drag feature on the EOS R to work extremely well. When I tried it on the sony it was... just a non-starter there. Pinch zoom, image review etc etc. We are all so used to doing so with smart phones these days, especially pinching and zooming, that it surprises me that their touch interface seems quite out dated. The rest of the camera is snappy, so why not improve the touch screen?
Something like an A7III with touch screen improvements, better EVF (trickled down from the A7RIII but without the line skipping when looking at a live feed) and such improvements, but with the new A7III at say $1700-$1800 would be more welcomed (by me at least) than what will likely follow the A7 to A7R trend. So the A7IV, will have what? A 30-35 MP sensor, 15 EV DR, same-ish body as the A7RIV... Heck that would be fine too... but how about those obvious in your face improvements too?!? :-P
Yes... I know. about trouble tap. But we know that is not the same. I don't always want to zoom to 100%. If I want to zoom in as far as the subject's face for example pinch zoom is better.
Not saying we don't have zoom capabilities on sony bodies, but it is definitely not up to modern specs. The touch interface was so "meh" that is is simply better to not use it and use buttons instead. Magnify buttons to zoom in to 100, turn the dial to zoom out to the magnification you wanted in the first place, and use the joystick to pan...
Mean while on the EOS R, in one motion you zoom pinch and pan all at ones, and done.
My main grip is essentially that sony has shown us how great they are with electronics, software etc. They have a camera that has intelligent tracking in a very very impressive manner. They have shown us very snappy MILCs. And they can't implement a decent touch screen interface?? That is just embarrassing almost.
My Fuji X-T100 has a pretty awful touch screen. No menu and more a hard thump to enlarge the picture than tap. The Canon G9X was a very elegant and responsive little miniaturised touch device as this is one area where Canon and Panasonic for that matter have excelled.
"Without changing the internals the next version can then be priced at something more like $700-$800."
That's not how Sony works. Sony drops the price on their older models. If you want the latest model, you pay the premium price (which many are obviously willing to do). But if you want a discounted price, buy one of the previous models.
If Sony trickled out new tech to their new cameras it wouldn't make their next RX100VIII to be priced at $700. It would still be the best in the world and priced as such.
I do agree that Sony seems to spend more effort on forging new ground then refinement. I'm guessing their business strategy is to differentiate by technical prowess.
I understand sony’s business model and their need to deferentially in terms of tech. But my main point is that fact that they are already there when it comes to being technologically ahead. But tech advancement is always a matter of diminishing returns after a certain level. It is far easier for canikon to “catch” up than it is for Sony to pull way way ahead. Financially speaking at least.
If they fail to stop every once in a while to refine... well everything from camera design to supply line to customer service support it will come to bite them later. When canikon is at a point where the Sony tech advantages are near negligible it will be those other factors that will become important. Canikon have experience with this, and thus especially canon would rather have a refined ergonomics and user experience than bleeding tech.
E.g. Sony and canon 30 vs 20 FPS black out free but both with their current touch screen experiences. Which gives a better impression?
lawny13 - "If they fail to stop every once in a while to refine... well everything from camera design to supply line to customer service support it will come to bite them later. When canikon is at a point where the Sony tech advantages are near negligible it will be those other factors that will become important."
Well then, this is a great opportunity for canikon! Looking forward to more competition. This is a very good opportunity for Nikon's DL line to finally take some market share.
A quite capable lil guy overall, no doubt about it, it's the top of 1'' compacts niche. Still I perceive this cam not as convincing as its features dictate.
I wish Sony would make two variants of this great little camera. This variant with longer reach, but compromising a little on lens speed, and a variant with a faster 24-70 lens. I have the Mark IV (24-70 f1.8-2.8), which is great for family days out, hiking and skiing. I would like to upgrade for the better AF and VF, but neither need nor want the longer reach lens. Two models, two choices, same guts, two lens options, would be nice.
I will always wonder, why would anybody buy this over using camera in a phone. Yes it has zoom, but paying so much just for having a zoom as an addition ? Nah.
Image quality.. such a small sensor will have no perceivable advantage over modern top of the line phone during day. Maybe there will be slight advantage in low light but even that is not worth the price.
If you think his camera competes with a smartphone camera then it’s not the camera for you. It very clearly has a plethora of advantages over a phone camera - probably some drawbacks too.
Software bokeh, fixed focal range, over sharpening and poor print quality as well as limited actual dynamic range are reasons one would choose this camera - also a great bounce flash for fill in numerous situations where direct lighting don’t work. Oh. And in the end he image quality is WWAY better.
If anything it’s closer to mft than a phone camera - and as you say in good light there’s little between those two systems.
@xh43k: Ah, now i get it. You've never shot a 1" sensor before. Not the best there is, but WAY better than any phone. And then there's the RX's 200mm equiv. optical lens. There's nothing any phone can do to touch that with a 10-foot pole.
Interesting, where I said I'd use a phone over a camera ? I have A full frame camera for actual photography, for snaps phone is completely enough - and that's what this camera is for obviously, - snaps camera - for quite a steep price.
@xh: Your price argument is valid. This is an expensive camera and for sure not everyone will pay this much for it. But you can get 3D pop with it. Just take a few steps back and shoot it at 150mm or 200mm.
Its small form factor may lead people to believe that it's merely a PNS camera. But as the price accurately suggests, it's actually a very powerful tool. That also happens to be extremely portable, as a very valuable benefit.
It will take more experience/skill and sometimes more work/sacrifice to get the desired, and truly exceptional, result. Again, just because it's small doesn't mean it's intended for rookie snapshooters. Contrarily, it's actually intended for experienced/expert/pro photographers that need tiny for a specific situation (i.e. shooting in photo-forbidden areas/situations), or just to have a real camera on them at all times.
Maybe you're under the impression that this camera is intended to be someone's only camera. No way. People that buy this camera will likely have many other cameras, including FF and/or larger formats.
Just Google images that prior versions of the RX100 have taken. Or even the tinier-sensored Canon S120. They are very capable cameras. But the price... well... yeah, that's the only question...
Ah, i wanted to edit this into my previous Comment but it was too late. So...
It's for experienced photographers that know how to extract the desired result given the limitations of the gear on-hand. For example, shoot it wide open at 200mm for a portrait and i bet you it will look similar to (not same) as if it was shot on FF at 50mm f1.4, of course with different grain/noise profile. And that's incredible for something that'll fit in a purse or jacket pocket!
@xh "Interesting, where I said I'd use a phone over a camera "
Where you advocate phone over this cam, that point you say that phone is a better buy. Now since it is your personal opinion, you should get what you like better.
Your opinion is not a fact. You haven't demonstrated that the phone you call better buy is indeed better in terms of IQ , or lens range or speed of AF etc etc.
So since its your personal belief you should put your money where your mouth is.
BTW also tomorrow if I asserted the phone is better than the FF you use and i provided no proof to back up the statement, I would be doing what you are doing here.
What is really upsetting about this RX100VII release in terms of video features is the Canon-like handicapping and pricing, caused by Sony's complacence of progress and lack of competition in the market. For $1200 prosumers can get an A6400 + 18-135 kit that is at least a stop faster and more versatile. For $800 prosumers looking for pocketable option can get a brand new 2-year-old RX100V with a faster lens and internal ND, which matter more for serious vlogging and 95% of hybrid shooting, especially in low light. For $400 casual vloggers can get DJI Osmo Pocket that can shoot 4K60p with a built-in gimbal. For $100 anyone can just afford a DJI Mobile that can be used with any smartphone they already have. If Sony starts to slow down, smartphone will take over compact 1" no doubt.
RX100V lacks the video Eye-AF, video stabilization, and other features. Some people will pay more; you may want a cheaper model; most people will be happy with their smartphones.
My takeaway about the RX100M7 is the AF. Otherwise, it seems the 6 is essentially the same (we'll see if the new sensor is really any better). Granted, i don't shoot video, but I don't see the point of a mic jack on a small camera. If you put a mic on it, it's not small anymore.
But so anyway, isn't what the 7 is all about is very good (by ANY measure) AF in a Compact?
@BrentSchumer Video IS is digital only and results in significant crop, which is a huge sacrifice on a 24mm lens for vlogging. Video eye AF is less critical on a slow lens like this. And few sane people would prefer to pay $400 more for some gimmicks but fewer useful features.
IS is both optical and digital; you can see videos of reviewers comparing the two modes.
I agree that this isn't an optimal camera for video, but there are tradeoffs that have to be made in a firm factor this size. Sony likely sees more market differentiation with a 24-200mm pocket zoom than a 24-70mm zoom in the age of excellent smartphone cameras, GoPros, etc. Hence the 24-200mm body getting the best features first.
As a stills shooter I'm very interested but am not sure how much of an improvement I would see over my existing RX100iii. The longer reach and improved AF/interface would be great, but how many pictures would turn out better per trip? Would that be worth $1,200? Probably not. There's a part of me that wouldn't mind ditching the ILC for a handy RX100VII and forgoing lens swaps and bags on trips, but then I would be missing 9mm on the wide end and a chunk of indoor performance.
OMG! This was filmed at the Center For Wooden Boats! I've been a volunteer there for over a decade as a skipper and now photographer. I should invite them to do their next camera review while sailing or motorboating. They could get some great shots of the floating homes from the perspective of the water. ;)
How many years now have they made this camera and its seven iterations with no secure grip? Astonishingly lack of response to user complaints and the presence of multiple third party marketers of grips.
Brent, you have to pay additional money on a 1.200€ camera for a feature that is for free on many 200€ cameras. I did that once when I bought my Rx100 3 some years ago but I felt ripped off. I wouldn’t do that again for another camera. My money goes to the G5X II
Franz you do what you need to do. It's likely that you'll buy other accessories such as a case or a memory card, and there's no Canon accessory to make that lens sharper!
Does seem to be pretty damn impressive camera though!
Honestly, what I'd really like to see Sony do is come up with a TRUE pocket camera no bigger than a Canon S120 (my favorite TRUE pocket (as in front pocket skinny jeans) camera). How good can it get at THAT size? Cuz the S120's been the king there for a lllooonnnggg time! Great camera, and I love mine. But I'd like to see what that form factor really is capable of today!
And please don't tell me this RX fits YOUR pockets, or that it's not that much bigger than an S120, etc. It's way bigger. And unless your "skinny" jeans are baggy, not a single RX will fit in the front pocket. No, no they won't. If they do, get tighter jeans. :D
The S120 really is an impressive camera. Truly. I would like a faster, lower-distortion lens though. Even after all these years, that sensor is still sweet. It'd be unreal if the sensor also could be improved. Lol, maybe what I'm really looking for is an S130. 😉
yeah but probably unlkely due to the popularity of the G7X series and with cell phones dominating and compact P&S's no longer as popular with everyone using a cell phone now...great travel camera and when you want a bigger sensor and faster lens than your cell phone though for sure.
What you say is true. But i, probably like you also, am not real fond of phone cameras. And i have a Note9, which in relative terms has a really good camera. But i wasn't TRUE pocketability. No bigger than an S120. Alas, I'm/we're a dying breed... 😉
I had them all from 100-1 to 100-6, except the Va, and I liked them all but two things : handling and OOC colour rendition. ARW won’t help a lot because it’s compressed. Editing 10-20 fps output is not practical and I think 1” sensors of P&S should produce pleading JPEGs OOC like Canon and Fuji do. I wish Canon had sharper lenses .
Technically impressive, but so are already the V and VI. How about an ambitious 24-100mm or 21-90mm equiv. f1.2 - f1.8 zoom, Sony, and I'll have a reason to "upgrade" from the VI.
I believe with the high end choices split between a fast 24-70 and slow 24-200 equiv, they will only do this if they plan on another significant price bump, or if they're prepared to significantly lower the price of all other models, and maybe discontinue Mark I and II.
Totally disagree. Many great bigger cameras. For a camera is either pocket size or size does not matter. I love my mkIii. Fits great in my pocket with the Sony leather case. The small cover add little to the size and makes the camera easy to hold. The camera fits easily in my jeans pocket.
If a camera does not fit in my pocket, then I might as well grab my FF DSLR.
Exactly, this is their market ... for almost the same price you can get an A6400 with 18-135mm, it is not like you don't have options in this price range :)
Ho hum. When is Sony going to bring us the one feature that every travel camera needs but never had: perspective correction for buildings via either software or a tilt-shift mechanism built into the lens assembly. 99.9999 percent of all photos taken of the world's great cathedrals, palaces, bridges. and other noteworthy buildings are ruined by linear convergence—the lines of buildings are slanted making the the buildings look like they're going to topple over.
At this late date the imaging engineers of the world should be ashamed that customers still have to hand-correct this problem.
During vacation, I use the built in RAW converter of my Fuji XT-2 to convert RAWs and share the pictures and the the results are really pleasing, especially for highlight and shadow correction. The following features for the built in RAW converter would be a nice addition:
- perspective correction like you said - horizon correction resp. level - croppping - adjustable file size
Please dear camera manufacturers, add this features.
@Smiler: 😢 You just picked at my Nikon DL scab. Also a compact 1". It was going to have built-in Perspective Correction. I believe even possible in real time BEFORE capture. Damn you for scrapping that line, Nikon! ☹
But FWIW, I'm pretty sure Nikon's higher-end compacts have in-camera post-processing Perspective Correction.
@XXTwnz: That wound will never heal. And I still remain hopeful Nikon will redesign and launch a 1" Compact line. They had the right idea. One Compact wasn't enough due to differing lens needs, so out of the gate they were going to introduce 2 of them, plus a 24-500mm equiv. "bridge" DL very similar to the RX10 line.
Given all the Comments on this thread about how people would like the option of all the new tech in the RX100M7, but the lens of the earlier RX100, I'd say Nikon's got an open door right now. Plus, I like Nikon ergonomics and haptics and menus better than Sony's. And Nikon's got a pretty robust in-camera RAW-processing (and other editing) platform! It's beyond me why Sony hasn't gotten on in-camera processing. Conspicuously absent!
The stacked sensor is wasted on the 1 inch sensor. Where is the computational processing to exploit the speed of the sensor? It can shoot at 90fps - why not use it to pre buffer and blend frames to improve low light images? If they are going for the vlogging crowd, why not add a second model with an 18-50mm equivalent?
Sony, just put the stacked sensor with IBIS into an APS-C camera already. That's the one that's way overdue.
@FlyinDoc: You do make good points, and such implementation would be awesome!
But I'd argue that where the most sensor tech is needed is in the smaller sensors. Arguably in the smallEST sensors. That's where the benefit will be felt most. Hell, the ancient D700 or bargain basement D600 cranks out incredible image quality. Much/most of the FF sensor IQ gains since then have been essentially academic unless you're really going to make 40" x 60" or larger prints, or need to do heavy shadow lifts.
But if a phone or 1" sensor could gain even 1-stop of ISO performance or DR, that'd be game-changing. Let alone 2-stops for either or both!
It's kind of like hybrid cars. I remember when the craze was to get as many mpg from a Prius as possible, then GMC launched a Yukon (big SUV) in hybrid form and everyone laughed! But a non-hybrid car the size/weight of a Prius is still gonna get fantastic mileage. You wanna boost fuel efficiency on the gas-guzzlers, not the gas-sippers.
@ Aegon Targaryean Yeah, the stacked sensor is great if they implement computation to increase IQ. Imagine pre buffered bursts, averaged with interframe motion removal, with HDR processing just like the Pixel and other smartphones are doing. The tech is all there - they just have to put it in these proper cameras.
@Doc: Oh, i hear that! I'm looking forward to it. Nikon recently bought (or was it partnered with) some computational photography company specifically to start implementing such things. Necessity being the mother of invention, i guess it makes sense that M43 and phones have pioneered these kind of "smart tricks", instead of Phase One. Have you seen the S1R's pixel-shift? Holy moly, it's impressive! I'm really lining forward to Nikon's next gen Z bodies. Once they put their DSLR ergos on a MILC, I'm in.
Sony should consider making a small battery grip for these things - one with an extra dial and an additional button or two. It could still be a pretty small package, but much easier to hold for doing long zoom work, much more pleasant to use, more buttons for commonly used functions, double the battery life etc. When you want it small, you leave the grip at home. When you're doing something more serious, use with the grip. Two cameras in one, and still way smaller and lighter than the RX10 cameras.
Too. Small. (physical size...) I don't want a camera I have to hold with my fingertips (just look at the DPR photo). I have to do that with a phone already.
Eh the OP is complaining on a camera touted for it's small dimensions. So if he wants a bigger grip I recommended a bigger camera now you are also complaining about that. Sigh you can't satisfy anyone these days. All complain complain complain.
High price tag, but certainly worth it for family, vacations, and everything that a smartphone or an entry-level DSLR don't do correctly (IQ, AF, zoom capability, etc.)
I use a Canon S100 for my vacations (RAW naturally), and this might be my next vacation gear, but as stated, a 24-70 f/2.8 equivalent would be better.
The aperture of the lens 1.8-2.8 lets in more light, and combined with image stabilization of the GX5II, one can probably effectively use lower ISOs than a camera with a higher variable aperture lens, such as used on the Sony. This doesn’t mean the sharpness of the higher variable aperture lens is at all inferior. All I was saying that one can use lower ISOs, if desired with the faster variable aperture lens. I was using the new Canon GX5 II only as an example. The same would be true using other brands with faster variable aperture lenses.
Canons - from GX7 to GX5 do not even cover the whole area of 1" sensor at their widest setting of 24 mm (FF) and even at 28mm (FF). They crop heavily this not so huge 1" sensor, hoping people won't notice, but the loss of quality is obvious. Sony, unfortunately, follows this "ambitious" approach sacrificing image quality in its latest iterations.
"Canons - from GX7 to GX5 do not even cover the whole area of 1" sensor at their widest setting of 24 mm (FF) and even at 28mm (FF). They crop heavily this not so huge 1" sensor, hoping people won't notice"
That's interesting. Do you have any proof for this claim?
Yeah, there's a lot to like in there and when Canon do their normal price cut a few months in, it's going to make it seriously tough for Sony to get volume.
The RX series and their stacked sensor made a aplash with 240p at nearly 1080p resolution, 480fps at less than 720p and 960fps / 1000fps at less than 480p. In all the generations since the resolution has hardly improved in these video modes. The only thing that improved was the recording time which 8s good but still restrictive. By iteration 7 you would think Sony could have made 480fps at true 1080p and 960fps at 720p but they only developed AF further and not the actual sensor when it comes to high speed shooting. I will keep waiting until they get real Full HD at those frame rates at least for a couple of seconds.
It is really unfortunate that we keep sending feedback to dpreview for them to add information about the LCD screen polarization and yet they do not do this and instead prefer to add super-useful verbiage about "The RX100 VII lets you define separate Fn menus for stills and video mode, meaning you don't have to so carefully choose which settings you want semi-fast access to."
Big deal for those of us that can't even see the screen because Sony has decided to polarize it and/or polarize it in the wrong direction.
Can you report on the screen polarization, something that is checked in 5 sec and that otherwise would force your concerned readers to go and check at Best Buy instead of buying on Amazon and providing revenue to dpreview?
For those of us with prescription polarized glasses, this is a make or break feature.
Lots of people who either work in the outdoors or pursue recreation there depend on polarized sunglasses. Fisherman especially appreciate Polarized lenses ability to see through the glare on the water.
It might appear this way. But then, what is the point of a "contact us" form if after asking that LCD polarization info be added into the reviews, no consideration is given?
If you do a search for "polarized glasses" on dpreview, you will see that this issue keeps reappearing year after year and multiple times per year by various people. This is not as if this were an "isolated issue". I mean, this is a 7 page pre-review that probably took more than a full day to prepare. Checking polarization would take at most 5 sec and would help tremendously a lot of us, who incidentally are sponsoring dpreview by clicking the amazon link to make camera purchases, and therefore contribute to the commission/kickback revenues to this website.
Besides being helpful to these customers: - it would save the environment and the Planet by preventing unnecessary CO2 emissions during road trips to Best Buy just to check out in person the camera in order to find out the screen polarization and whether the camera is usable
- it would save money to others people, by not having to immediately return an amazon purchase just because the camera is discovered unusable upon reception, and thus decreasing the number of returns that Amazon experiences, and therefore possibly lowering Amazon costs and Amazon prices
- it would save the environment by not having to send back on gas guzzling and CO2 emitting trucks and Prime Air 767 a camera that is found unusable
You may call it entitled. So be it. I just call it an important element of a review.
(And yeah, before the crowd of quick fixers tells us to "just remove your polarized glasses", let me add that it is the camera that has to adapt to customers and not the other way round.
And the little glass windows on gas pumps as well. When wearing polarized lenses, a lot of them are unreadable. Nevertheless, polarized sunglasses have been around since the 1930s and it's professional malpractice that the camera companies do not take into account their worldwide popularity.
Interested how many photographer are completely unable to adapt to wearing un-polarised sunglasses for viewing these polarised LCD screens. The camera does not have to do anything and it is there for you to buy or not depending on your needs. It should be obvious by now that the makers are not affected by the group who have these problems.
My friend, do you have any idea how much time and money goes into finding and purchasing the perfect sunglasses? You expect someone to spend many additional weeks and hundreds of dollars to find the just-right non-polarized shades just because camera companies are too lazy to solve the problem? The sinister cabal of monolithic international corporations may own me body and soul, but they do not own my look.
I guess he did not read: "And yeah, before the crowd of quick fixers tells us to "just remove your polarized glasses", let me add that it is the camera that has to adapt to customers and not the other way round." Thanks for your comment. I have heard it before.
Plus this is totally out of scope. I am not asking anything from Sony (even though they have polarized LCD screens on a 1 inch sensor camera worth over $1200 when Pana does not on a $700 micro 4/3 sensor gx9 camera).
I simply ask Dpreview to report it given that they are making amongs the most extensive camera reviews out there and it does not take a rocket science degree to test it out.
Asking sounds like this: "Please evaluate the polarization orientation of the LCD."
There's no need to talk about how they wasted their time on something that isn't important to you while asking them to do something that is important to you.
I appreciate your efforts to provide helpful review feedback, but you couldn't help yourself even in this most recent post to give Dpreview a back-handed compliment ("it does not take a rocket science degree").
Personally, if I were working for Dpreview and some small percentage of readers talked to me like this, I would purposefully ignore them. I would mentally fire them as "customers".
How do you know whether I have already asked politely to dpreview via other channels before to report on this. And whether I have done it numerous times. This smacks exasperation and yes it does.
Man, you're entitled. Online writers are bombarded with thousands of requests and I'm sure your polarization queries slot between a demand to include USB port wiggliness impressions and a query about the disk drive space down to kb required to install Sony's recommended software. There is a finite amount of time to write articles and a finite amount of space in said articles to provide information, and your niche question didn't make the cut. The cherry on top is that you dismiss a nice feature - bifurcated Fn menus - because it doesn't apply to you yet demand service on a question that 99.99% of the population would skip over.
A less entitled person would shrug and pick up a pair of "camera sunglasses" from the dollar store. A less entitled and clever person would go to the dedicated Cyber-shot forum and ask nicely about the RX100VI's polarization, as Sony is reusing the screen. Or email Sony. Or call their local camera store. But no, you have to insult and whine. Go away.
The camera "does not have to adapt to [all] users." Some users are too niche to worry about and too spoiled to ever commit to a purchase. No one in releasing a camera with weight mounting spots to change the center of gravity for different lenses. No one is releasing a camera that runs on hydrogen. Et cetera. Sony made an engineering trade-off for a polarized screen, and this camera will sell very well.
These DPReview writers burn the midnight oil providing us with awesome content and you insult them over not catering to your niche needs...the world revolves around no man.
Such a shame, doing it off-camera is a clucky option. I guess smartphones have better CPU and battery (plus sensor is smaller, so less data). What I am saying is, I have no idea how feasible it is to implement this on this camera. The MagicLantern guys have hack canon camera to do all sort, and I guess they also limit by what the CPU can do.
Would love to have a sensor-shift feature that makes use of this fast frame rate and give true RGB on each pixel with minimum lag time to capture 4 frames.
All RX100 cameras have great features and IQ. I prefer the ones with the faster lenses, as they provide better IQ in low light situations given the small sensor. My favourite is version IV.
It would be nice if DPR could get a tour around Sony's factories showing how they manage to keep all these 8 RX100 models and 5 RX10 models in production. There seems to be a marked contradiction in it being so urgently necessary to replace at a frenetic pace the old model as though it is defunct yet no need to stop producing the old one as though it is still a viable proposition.
Since most of the camera's share most of their parts, the training costs, parts stocks, developing costs, etc are keept lower. Last but not least important: surely they have 2-3 production lines which can produce all the models and they produce batches and shift the production to another model as the demand or current stock demand.
That's how you face an stagnant or mature market. You have some competitive advantages: sensors, one mount, and production adaptability. Nikon and panasonic have followed suit with their FF bodies, and this will be the trend from now on. Be super competitive on costs so you get high margins from the lower sales, be adaptative, create new trends, and stablish your position as dominant until you're the only one on the mature market.
Those markets can be lucrative if you make it till the end. (Vinyl, film, instant cameras,...)
But will people keep needing these never ending improvements in specs especially as the original RX100 was considered a tour de force and a revelation. Also these increased specs must be way outside of so many people's diminishing returns for what they need especially as the price spirals. Is this a sign of the camera industry in a final burnout not sure what to do to force sales. It just seems crazy obsolescence based marketing out of control.
"Superior in every segment" Including price... "Stacked sensors for everybody. Not for everybody... See above... "Hunting down Canon." Not really... See above again...
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