Topic: Thoughts on new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII

[surf1div1]

Admittedly I've been MIA on my taping forums but couldn't help sharing this link due to the mic input for a compact camera that does HD , sub compact and offers those of us into audio quality we control analog input by way of a 3.5 mm plug. Your thoughts:
My apologies if this has already been covered:
https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-review-in-progress be

[lerond]

I've owned the  Rx100 VI for awhile, and it's the best pocket camera I've ever owned, by far. If you don't need the mic in or upgraded video features of the VII, you'd probably be pretty happy with the VI!

[guitard]

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-review-in-progress

I read the specs at this link, and this immediately jumped out at me:

Oversampled UHD 4K video (up to 5 min clips in standard temperature mode)

Obviously, a 5 minute limit makes this pretty much unusable for shooting concert vids.  I was curious about the "in standard temperature mode" verbiage, and went searching for more information, and found this:

https://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-rx100-vii/sony-rx100-viiA.HTM

Some really big improvements for 4K video fans, too

There are also plenty of improvements on the video front in the RX100 VII. Perhaps the most important of all for our money kind of flies under the radar, though: There's a new menu setting which allows you to lift the 5-minute recording time limit of the RX100 VI when shooting 4K video! The limit's still there by default, but you can opt to lift it through the menu system and record much, much longer single clips. (We've shot 24 fps / 100Mbps clips as long as 90-minutes plus, and the camera still reported a temperature of just a little over 100°F.)

So perhaps there is hope for this new Sony.  I am eager to see if it can shoot 90 min+ clips at 30 fps.

One other thing that I noticed -- it uses the same battery (NP-BX1) as its predecessors -- so you don't have to buy a bunch of new batteries if you already have a newer Sony cam.

[robeti]

Interesting.

I'm thinking about upgrading my camera.

This is an option, but the panasonic tz100 is as well.

[guitard]

I'm thinking about upgrading my camera.

This is an option, but the panasonic tz100 is as well.

I have the ZS100, the North American version of the TZ100, and have shot some nice videos with it (all shot in manual focus):

Night Ranger 2019-07-19 Fort Wayne, IN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz77pjme3QQ

Blue Oyster Cult 2019-07-12 Angola, IN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW3GtMVPGB8

The Cult 2019-05-17 Grand Rapids, MI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhPTd53gC7A

The Who 2019-05-07 Grand Rapids, MI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWuqpTk5ZZM

Although it's a big investment, I've decided to get this new Sony DSC-RX100 VII mainly because of the focus.  For some reason, Panasonic has never really developed reliable auto-focus in its point-and-shoot cams.  I'm specifically referring to that split second of blur that happens whenever you begin to zoom in or zoom out - something that has always really bothered me.  In my experience, Sony has never had this problem.  I'll still roll the ZS100 as a second cam for a static 4K stage shot though.

Edit to add:  the problem with the ZS100 in manual focus mode is that sometimes you look at the LED screen and see what looks like a clear (in focus) picture, but actually you're a little out of focus.  For example - at the 2:00 minute mark of the Blue Oyster Cult video (linked above), I zoom in and I'm in focus, but the guitarist moves and the picture goes out of focus -- but I don't see that in the LED screen, so I don't adjust.  With the Pany ... the choice for me between auto-focus and manual-focus ... damned if you do ... damned if you don't.

[robeti]

Thanks much! Surely helps a lot!

[magmazing]

Being able to plug in an external mic is intriguing. Wonder how well the camera would handle audio with concert audio with mics we use for taping plugged in?

[guitard]

Being able to plug in an external mic is intriguing. Wonder how well the camera would handle audio with concert audio with mics we use for taping plugged in?

I plugged my AT853s into a Sony AX100 last weekend, dialed down the audio record level, and got really nice audio.  In fact, it was so nice, that I didn't even bother doing a matrix with the soundboard audio that I also recorded because I couldn't tell the difference between the camera audio by itself and the camera audio matrixed with the soundboard audio. 

[old and in the way]

Ive been thinking that you could take a block of wood and drill a hole through it and screw it to the camera and cut a notch in it for the dummy battery
that way you won't have to grind a chunk out of the camera body.

[old and in the way]

sorry wrong thead.

[guitard]

I held off so far on getting this.  Has anyone got one yet?  Would really like to hear how it does for concert vids.

[guitard]

I guess no one else has taken the leap on this camera yet?  I just did.  One thing I noticed that I really like is that you can adjust the exposure on the fly while shooting video.  And it's super easy -- just push down on bottom of the control wheel on the back of the camera (just above the exposure compensation icon) to bring up the exposure compensation bar and adjust accordingly.  I don't recall being able to do that with previous Sony pocket cams -- instead you had to stop filming, make the adjustment, and then restart filming.

[beatkilla]

I guess no one else has taken the leap on this camera yet?  I just did.  One thing I noticed that I really like is that you can adjust the exposure on the fly while shooting video.  And it's super easy -- just push down on bottom of the control wheel on the back of the camera (just above the exposure compensation icon) to bring up the exposure compensation bar and adjust accordingly. I don't recall being able to do that with previous Sony pocket cams -- instead you had to stop filming, make the adjustment, and then restart filming.

I only had the original rx100 and i could change ISO while filming while locking the aperture and shutter.

[guitard]

Did a little test to see how long I could film in 4K with this camera.  The first result was not impressive at all.  It was noticeably starting to feel warm after just three or four minutes.  At some point it started to feel downright hot.  And it stopped by itself at 34 minutes because of the heat.  I regularly continuously shoot 90 minutes+ with my Panasonic ZS100 in 4K.  Looks like I'll be sending this back ...

[webvan]

How was the audio ? Sony concert audio has always been pretty atrocious compared to Panasonic concert audio, starting with the TZ-7 that I still have, first 720p camera! Your TZ-100 clips above sound really good and of course the picture is nice to look at too, other than the focusing problem you mentioned. I came back here after finally picking up a TZ-100 on the cheap as an Amazon Refurb, will try it at a show next week. But will go looking for its thread here as I remember one with all kind of intricate settings ;-)