Sony RX100 VII | Advanced Premium Bridge Camera (1.0-Type Sensor, 24-200 mm F2.8-4.5 Zeiss Lens, Eye Tracking Autofocus for Human and Animal, 4K Movie Recording and Flip Screen)

As a big fan of sony cameras and owning a couple of their higher end mirrorless cameras I knew I had to stick with Sony for a compact camera. So I recently picked up the Sony RX100 VII, and it has exceeded all my expectations. It’s a perfect blend of portability, performance, and advanced features, making it ideal for both casual users and professionals who need a compact powerhouse.📸 Incredible Image QualityThe 1.0-type sensor delivers stunningly sharp photos with vibrant colors and excellent low-light performance. The Zeiss 24-200mm lens provides incredible versatility, covering everything from wide-angle landscapes to zoomed-in shots with superb detail.⚡ Lightning-Fast AutofocusSony’s Real-Time Eye AF (a feature i knew i wanted from my higher end cameras) is game-changing—it locks onto subjects instantly and tracks them effortlessly. Perfect for portraits, pets, and fast-moving subjects.🎥 4K Video & Vlogging-Friendly Features4K video recording with no crop, ensuring high-quality footage.Flip-up touchscreen – great for vlogging, selfies, and creative angles.Built-in mic jack – improves audio quality for those bothered about the improvement such as content creators.🔋 Compact & Travel-FriendlyDespite its pro-level features, the RX100 VII is pocket-sized, making it perfect for travel (which is why I originally got it), street photography, and everyday use. It’s lightweight but solidly built.🎯 Who Is This For?Travelers & Street Photographers – Compact yet powerful.Vloggers & Content Creators – 4K video, flip screen, and mic input.Final Verdict:A powerful premium compact camera, will It replace my mirrorless cameras? No, but thats not what it is designed for. Fast, sharp, and packed with features, it’s worth every penny for anyone who values high-quality photography and portability.Would I buy it again? Absolutely!

Small enough to fit in pocket, high quality vids & pics, wide-range zoom, fast autofocus.In fully automatic mode, it seems to opt for small depth of field, which is good if you want to have subject in focus and background and/or foreground out-of-focus, and hence distinguish the subject from the the other stuff. It seems good at guessing which thing is the subject, and then very quickly focusing and locking-in the focus on that thing if the camera is moved.In tricky situations, manual focus is reasonably easy to control once you have managed to find that option. It took me a while to remember how to switch to manual focus though.There are so many options that it can be tricky to know which one you want.I made a mistake with the Wind Noise Reduction feature. I initially had that turned ON as my "normal" setting. On a previous camera I think I did this and it was not a problem. On this camera though, it severely cut the bass, and I just thought it had a very low quality mic. This was partly because I had read a review that said its mic was low quality, and that it really needed an external mic, connected via the camera's audio input. When I read that originally, I thought that the reviewer was comparing the camera's mic with some quite expensive mic, and that the camera's mic was just average for this level of camera. Anyway, when I turned Wind Noise Reduction OFF, the bass was fine.I have had this camera for a few months now, and I have nowhere explored all its possibilities.

This is an excellent travel camera with only a few drawbacks.You've probably seen loads of YouTube videos and online reviews of this already, and they are worth looking at to get a general feel of the camera. I've listed some things that are generally missed, plus my own observations.The camera comes with a battery, lanyard, wall charger and micro-USB lead. First thing to do is buy a rear screen protector and spare set of batteries with external charger;https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WH9RWCZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074J9QFVQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1It uses batteries fairly quickly, so having four extra is certainly worth while, especially at the initial "play around with the functions" phase.It's quite a slippery camera and pretty heavy compared to my older Panasonic, so a grip makes all the difference;https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KOUIBRU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1The online manual is OK and can be downloaded as a PDF, but it's not the easiest to go through. I'd play around with it to try and do what you need rather than read it and try to remember all the functions you won't touch again.The ON button is quite recessed and won't be accidentally pressed. Unfortunately some of the rear buttons are just as small, so not so easy to use with gloves. Focus, zoom and shutter are easily performed though, and the screen is clear and bright. The EV is excellent, having dioptre adjustment for glasses (varifocal) and short sighted eyes with no glasses. It's responsive too and doesn't make me feel queasy looking through it like some do.Image quality is excellent, as is video. There's a lot of settings to get it just how you like it and the "best" isn't always best for you. Focus is very quick and I've had very few out of focus shots. Face detection is amazing, so it can latch on to you in a crowd and focus on the right thing (even choosing face or eyes, and then even the left or right eye!). Correct focus on even a poor camera is better than out of focus on an expensive one, so don't underestimate just how useful it is.When you turn the camera on the lens pops out. This uses power, so if you just want to review images, press the "Play" button and it turns just the viewfinder on for showing pictures and playing video. The power button turns it off.Zoom is very good and has excellent stabilisation. I enabled both "clear" and "digital" zoom and it has a distinct visible change on screen so you know when you're using them. I love the way the ring around the lens can be set to focus or zoom, and both can be relative position or direction.High speed video is really a nice feature, although implementation is quirky. It records a short burst called "buffering" then goes to "Recording" where you choose when to stop and save the seconds you want to keep. The 1000fps is quite dark and low res, but certainly fun to play with.Overall it's a great camera for travel, and could well replace a big DSLR kit, bar the ability to put filters on it. There is a filter kit (52mm) that sticks on the front, but it masks some of the flash and IR focus, plus stresses the zoom, so I won't be getting one of those.