Last Updated on 07/25/2019 by Joy Celine Asto
The Sony RX100 VII: shoot 90 selfies that look the exact same within a second if you wish.
When companies tend to bring their highest-end technology down to the lowest level of consumer product that they offer, it’s typically a sign of things to come. So with today’s announcement of the Sony RX100 7 (or the Sony RX100 VII), we can almost unquestionably believe that the Sony a9 could be on the way out in a year or so given that the summer Olympics are in 2020. Yes, that means that Sony is marketing the Sony RX100 VII as a baby-a9. With that comes all the autofocus algorithms, fast frame shooting capabilities, no-viewfinder blackout, and processor upgrades that have spearheaded the industry. Of course, we’ve got our doubts.
While we were treated to knowing about the Sony RX100 VII before its announcement today, there are still some things that are just bothering us. First and foremost, the battery life. The battery on the last iteration of this camera was pretty bad. And if the autofocus is really that much improved, then the battery life on the Sony RX100 VII is probably going to be even worse. However, we haven’t tested one yet. So we have to save our judgment for later on until we get an actual review unit in.
Here are the specs you care about.
Sony RX100 VII
- 24-200m f2.8-4.5 Zeiss Vario Sonnar T lens
- 20.1MP sensor
- A9 autofocus performance in a pocket camera
- blackout-free shooting
- 20fps
- 90fps single burst shooting
- 357 PDAF (68% sensor coverage)
- 425 CDAF
- Real-time Eye AF stills for Humans/Animals
- Real-time Tracking
- Real-time Eye AF for movies
- 4 stop OSS
- Interval Shooting
- 4K HDR HLG/SLog 3
- OSS available for 4K
- Builtin Microphone Jack
- Tiltable LCD screen
- One push access EVF (pops up like in RX100 Mk VI)
- LCD tiltable 180 degrees up/90 degrees down touch enabled
- New 1” Stacked CMOS image sensor with DRAM chip
- Same Bionz X image processing engine as found in A9 & A7R III
- 0.02 sec for AF acquisition
- 60 AF/AE calculations per second
- Continuous shooting at up to 20 fps
- Blackout free shooting
- New single burst shooting drive mode
- Up to 90fps speed boosts the probability of capturing decisive moments
- 7 jpeg/raw photos captured per single shutter release
- Active mode image stabilization newly available when shooting 4k movies
- Imaging Edge software add-on enables movie editing
- Vertical video support (a la phone videos)
- MSRP US$1,200/CAD$1,600
- Shipping August 2019
If we’re right about the new Sony RX100 VII taking the Sony a9’s technology right before a Sony a9 replacement comes out, then it would be fully in line with our predictions from Photokina 2018. The company has put a big emphasis on the wildlife and sports segment of the photography world. We’ve seen this with the development of many of their prime lenses and their zooms. The Sony a9 was announced back in 2017, and this year it will be enjoying a nice, two-year long life cycle. With next year being an Olympics year, it would only be smart marketing savvy for the company to try to do the following:
- Announce the Sony a9 II
- Get it in the hands of the press
- Work with retailers on packages for the 2019 holidays or in Q1 or Q2 of 2020
- Fix all the problems that the press, YouTubers, Influencers, etc. find in the camera via firmware updates
- Release more lenses to support Olympic style shooting
- Produce an effective tracking algorithm for Olympic Curling because why the hell not?!
Typically, companies tend to offload other processors, sensors, and parts into lower-end cameras to get rid of inventory and maximize their profits. It’s not uncommon as Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, and others have been doing it for years. It just means that right now, consumers are going to majorly benefit from the technology that it in the Sony a9 in the form of the Sony RX100 VII. However, they’re not benefiting from one of the most significant changes: the new battery.