The Sony RX100 VII is a versatile compact zoom camera. It offers excellent overall image quality and features a highly effective autofocus system for both photography and video. It's also lightweight and fantastically portable, making it easy to bring along with you throughout the day. Unfortunately, videos recorded in dimmer environments are somewhat noisy. Depending on your choice of settings and usage habits, its battery life is also on the short side, and its lack of a handgrip, small size, and smooth-finish body makes it tricky to maintain a secure hold.
Our Verdict
The Sony RX100 VII is good for travel photography. Image quality out-of-the-box is excellent, and the camera's wide shutter speed range makes it easy to capture both long-exposure shots and stills of fast-moving subjects. Its autofocus system also does a fantastic job of tracking moving subjects and objects. Unfortunately, the camera's small size and lack of a dedicated hand grip can make it uncomfortable to use for extended periods. Depending on your choice of settings, it also has fairly short battery life.
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Lightweight, portable design.
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Superb autofocus performance in photography and video.
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Excellent image quality.
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Uncomfortable to hold.
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Short battery life.
The Sony RX100 VII is a great option for landscape photography. Image quality is fantastic, with a fairly wide dynamic range and good noise-handling capability even at higher ISO levels, which is good if you plan on shooting in darker environments often. It also has an in-camera HDR shooting mode that allows you to capture a broader range of detail in high-contrast environments, like sunlight reflecting off the surface of a lake, though we don't currently test his feature. Its tilting and flipping screen is bright enough to be seen under direct sunlight. While the camera itself feels decently sturdy, it isn't rated as being weather-resistant, though we don't currently test that, and it can be uncomfortable to hold during long shooting sessions.
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Lightweight, portable design.
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Superb autofocus performance in photography and video.
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Excellent image quality.
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Tilting, flipping screen is bright and sharp.
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Uncomfortable to hold.
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Short battery life.
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Not weather or impact-resistant.
The Sony RX100 VII is very good for sports and wildlife photography. Its unique single burst shooting mode should allow you to capture clear stills of very brief moments, and its autofocus system does an exceptional job of maintaining focus on moving subjects. Its blackout-free shooting feature also makes it a lot easier to track the movement of subjects, as you don't have to worry about the interruption of a black frame between each shot. However, we don't currently test this feature. Image quality is also amazing, and the built-in Zeiss lens has a fairly long maximum focal length, making it easy to capture photos of far-away subjects. Unfortunately, it can be uncomfortable to hold for long periods due to the lack of a handgrip.
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Superb autofocus performance in photography and video.
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Single burst shooting mode.
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Excellent image quality.
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Uncomfortable to hold.
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Short battery life.
The Sony RX100 VII is very good for vlogging. Its flipping and tilting screen allows you to monitor yourself as you record, and the camera's lightweight construction makes it easy to carry around, even for long shooting sessions. Its autofocus system also does an excellent job of tracking subjects' faces. Video quality is reasonably sharp and fairly low in noise as long as you're recording in well-lit environments. It does a good job of smoothing out camera shake in FHD and performs decently well in this regard when shooting in 4k. On the downside, depending on your usage habits and choice of settings, it can drain its battery quite quickly. You may also experience some overheating-related interruptions, even when recording in five-minute increments in 4k.
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Lightweight, portable design.
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Superb autofocus performance in photography and video.
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Good overall video stabilization performance.
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Tilting, flipping screen is bright and sharp.
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Short battery life.
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Mediocre video quality in dim environments.
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Can overheat fairly easily.
The Sony RX100 VII is decent for studio video. Video quality is okay overall, though footage recorded in FHD and 4k can look a little soft and noisy in poorly-lit environments. Its menu system is also somewhat harder to use. Out-of-the-box, the camera only records 4k video in five-minute increments, but this extends to 30 minutes if you change its 'Auto Power OFF Temp.' setting to 'High'. However, we don't currently test this configuration, and using it this way can result in the camera overheating, though it can also overheat during shorter recording sessions. Thankfully, the autofocus system is superbly effective when it comes to tracking moving subjects. The camera also supports Log shooting profiles, yielding a wider dynamic range while recording video and greater flexibility when color-grading your footage, though we don't currently test this. It also features a relatively wide assortment of ports, with a mic jack and a clean HDMI output for using an external recorder without any overlays.
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Superb autofocus performance in photography and video.
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Relatively wide assortment of inputs and outputs.
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Mediocre video quality in dim environments.
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Can overheat fairly easily.
The Sony RX100 VII isn't designed for action video. While it's small, lightweight, and decently sturdy, it isn't meant for mounting on a chest or a helmet rig, and the camera isn't rated as being water or impact-resistant, though we don't currently test for that. It's also incapable of shooting at more than 30 fps in 4k, which isn't conducive to recording smooth action video, but it can record at up to 120 fps in FHD. It also does a good job of smoothing out camera shake overall.
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Lightweight, portable design.
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Good overall video stabilization performance.
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Short battery life.
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Not weather or impact-resistant.
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Mediocre video quality in dim environments.
- Travel Photography
- Landscape Photography
- Sport & Wildlife Photography
- Vlogging
- Studio Video
- Action Video
- Updated Jul 21, 2023: Added a link to the Sony ZV-1 II in the 'Screen' box.
- Updated May 29, 2023: Added a link to the Leica D-Lux 7 to the 'Body' section.
- Updated Apr 05, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.12.
- Updated Jan 23, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 0.11.
- Updated Sep 16, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.10.
- Updated Aug 05, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.9.
- Updated Apr 22, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 0.8.
- Updated May 18, 2021: Review published.
- Updated May 14, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Apr 16, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 16, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Jan 13, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Sony RX100 VII only comes in one color variant: 'Black', and you can see its label here.
Let us know in the discussions if you come across another variant, and we'll update our review.
Compared To Other Cameras
The Fujifilm X100V and the Sony RX100 VII are both premium point-and-shoot cameras. The Fujifilm is a little better overall, but each camera has different strengths and weaknesses. The Fujifilm has a larger APS-C sensor that results in better image quality and uses a fixed focal length prime lens, while the Sony is more compact and has a more versatile zoom lens. While the Sony has a better autofocus system and faster burst rate, the Fujifilm has a much better hybrid viewfinder that makes it easier to frame your shots, along with better battery life overall.
The Sony RX100 VII and the Sony ZV-1 are very similar compact cameras. They share a similar 20MP 1-inch sensor, use the same battery, and both have fantastic autofocus systems, as well as being similar in size and weight. That said, the ZV-1 is geared more specifically to vloggers, with a fully articulated screen, specialized focus modes, and small hand bump that makes it easier to hold securely when the camera's facing you. The RX100 VII, on the other hand, has a small pop-up viewfinder, tilting screen, and a built-in flash. Its built-in lens also has a longer focal length range, giving it a bit more versatility. Otherwise, the two cameras perform very similarly.
The Sony RX100 VII and the Leica D-Lux 7 perform fairly similarly overall. While the Leica has a larger sensor and is better suited for low-light situations, the Sony is more portable, has a more reliable autofocus system, and has a longer zoom range. However, it does have a worse battery life.
Test Results
- Made of smooth-finish metal
- Most buttons are small but offer good physical feedback, except for the Record button, which is easy to accidentally press on
- Customizable lens ring rotates smoothly
- Pop-up viewfinder is sturdy
- Screen mechanism feels solid
- Back dial is a little loose, which can make it easy to skip past a setting or incremental adjustment
- Zoom dial is sensitive, making it hard to fine-tune focal length
- Edges of the mode dial are sharp to the touch, which can make it uncomfortable to spin
- Pop-up flash is a little fragile but is easy to push back into its housing
- Input and outputs are covered by hard plastic flaps
- SD card and battery compartment is covered by a solid locking hinged door
If you'd prefer a point-and-shoot with more physical control dials, check out the Leica D-Lux 7.
- Sony RX100 VII camera
- Wrist strap
- Strap adapter
- 1x Sony Np-BX1 battery
- USB charger
- AC adapter
- Startup Guide
- Lack of a grip at the front of the camera and smooth finish makes it difficult to keep a secure hold
- Back of the camera does have a rubberized thumb grip, but it's quite small
- Its small size makes it slightly uncomfortable to use even for users with small hands
- Pop-out viewfinder isn't comfortable to press your eye against, but is a useful feature
- Lens dial is useful, but not particularly responsive
- Can't use the touchscreen to adjust most parameters
- Memory card can't be changed when the camera is mounted on a tripod
If you'd prefer a compact camera with a fully articulated screen, check out the Sony ZV-1 II.
- Most functions are difficult to find within the menu system, with quite a few settings being buried within sub-menus
- Menu can only be navigated with the physical click wheel, which is somewhat unintuitive
- Interface is a little more intuitive when using the Tile Menu
- Guide mode is useful in explaining some core functions
- Lens dial, back wheel, and some buttons can be remapped to better-suit your ergonomic preferences
- Fn sub-menu can be extensively customized, and you can setup your own custom menu too
Note: Out-of-the-box, this camera records 4k video in 5-minute intervals to protect against overheating, but this limit can be extended to 30 minutes if you change its 'Auto Power OFF Temp.' setting to 'High'.
Note: This camera features a single burst shooting mode that allows it to capture seven shots at speeds of 30 fps, 60 fps, or 90 fps to capture clear stills of quick moments. However, we don't currently evaluate the performance of this feature.
Note: This camera needed to have its aperture set to f/10.0 to maintain a stable shutter speed of 1/2000 when shooting at ISO 12800. This differs from the standard test methodology, in which aperture is set to f/8.0, so test results at ISO 12800 may not be fully comparable with other cameras.
Note: This camera's 'Subject Detection' mode can be configured to track people or animals, like a cat or dog. This camera can also only record 4k video at 30 fps with a bitrate of 50 mb/s, which differs from the standard test parameters of having a bitrate of 100 mb/s.
Note: This camera can record for a maximum of five minutes when recording at 120fps.
Note: This camera's 'Subject Detection' mode can be configured to track people or animals, like a cat or dog. This camera can also only record 4k video at 30 fps with a bitrate of 50 mb/s, which differs from the standard test parameters of having a bitrate of 100 mb/s.
