Sony releases the RX100 VII, a new compact camera with full-frame powers

There appear to be few compromises in the latest Sony compact camera. The RX100 VII may measure only 101.6 x 58.1 x 42.8mm, but it still packs a relatively large amount of up-to-date specs into that tiny form factor. They include its fresh new 1.0-type stacked 20.1 MP Exmor RS CMOS image sensor, which has its own DRAM chip, as well as a state-of-the-art BIONZ X image processor.

Sony has also given this new compact-tier device 425-point contrast-detection AF with a world-beating focus acquisition speed of 0.02 seconds. Combined with 357-point focal-plane phase-detection AF, real-time tracking and Eye AF for humans and animals, this gives the RX100 VII shooting power once only found in the premium Alpha 9 line.

This camera is also equipped with a Vario-Sonnar T* 24-200mm F2.8–4.5 large-aperture, high-magnification zoom lens from ZEISS. It can support burst shooting at up to 90fps and "professional-level" 4K HDR recording. It also has real-time tracking and Eye AF in this mode, as well as Sony's 4K Active SteadyShot feature. 

The RX100 VII also boasts a 180-degree flip screen, an integrated microphone jack and wireless data-transfers via NFC or Wi-Fi. In fact, the only disappointing aspect of this new compact shooter on paper is its charging and data port: it is microUSB. (In 2019.) Sony will start shipping the new RX100-series camera in August 2019, and will charge about US$1200 in order to do so.