This camera fulfills a very specific need that no other camera or phone can fulfill.If you are attending, say, your children’s concert or performance and you can’t carry a DSLR or Mirrorless camera you need something small that needs to have specific features :1. It needs to have a reasonable zoom2. It needs be discreet so as to not make any noise3. It needs to have a viewfinder so a big bright screen doesn’t distract fellow members of the audience4. It needs to produce reasonable quality video and stills, possibly in low light5. It needs to have removeable batteries so you can keep multiple cheap spares6. It needs to have relatively good AF and continuous shooting7. Be able to take selfies with a flip screen with as good a quality as possible8. Be able to tilt the screen down for high up shooting9. Uncropped 4K Video would also be good10. Have a good resolution (this has over 20mp)11. A flash would be good so in an emergency in total darkness a still can be taken12. Ideally have a few other extras like a microphone jack13. Eye detection would be good (this has it!)14. Ideally from a manufacturer with a pedigree of making photographic toolsFrankly there is no camera phone or any other camera that fulfills this criteria. Yes this camera is expensive, its more expensive than the APS-C DSLR / Mirrorless bodies I have, but I found myself with the above mentioned issues and whilst I bought a HX80 some years ago, many years ago, it has proved to be a bit lacking, for starters the HX80’s Sensor is over 4x smaller (4x less light being captured), no 4K video and AF whilst OK not good enough at times, too many times! This RX100VIIA (RX100M7A) is by far leagues better (albeit without a bigger zoom at the long end).This is the most expensive single photographic purchase I have made and in terms of the ratios of volume to cost, its crazy. I have only just purchased this so will see if it lives up to what others say, but playing around with it has been fun.There is a reason why these get sold out as soon as any retailer has any – these are simply Thee King of Compact Cameras.UPDATE :Worth every single penny.Extraordinary. If they ever make a replacement which is even better I will buy that immediately too. You simply cannot substitute this for anything else.Even the new iPhone 17…. that does nearly everything better, BUT doesn’t have a viewfinder to use in dark audience settings (children’s concerts), you cannot keep spare batteries (and one day you will have to throw the iPhone away when its no longer economical to replace the battery. The iPhone 17 also doesn’t have a mic jack and can’t take spare SD Cards. Yes the iPhone 17 probably overlaps a lot of this camera but with the really important aforementioned caveats.

This is an incredible little camera. Don’t be put off by the size – it’s packed full of features you’d find on a high-end DSLR. The quality of photo’s is way beyond that of a smartphone. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.

the camera is good but the supposedly included battery charger was MISSING!! i have ordered a compatible one for £6.99.

Came without a charge cable. Box had been opened and cable removed. Not a problem you may think, easily bought a replacement cable (twice) but of course they don’t work properly, so now have to remove card to download photos and remove battery in order to charge it on a separately purchased charger. Can’t find a genuine Sony connection cable to purchase anywhere – presumably the rarity value was why it was stolen in the first place.

Increíble zoom
Me iba de viaje, y quería llevarme una cámara, para poder hacer fotos un poco mejor que con el móvil. Y la verdad es que esta cámara es todo un acierto.Una de las cosas que más me gusta, es poder pasar las fotos directamente de la cámara al móvil, sin tener que usar cables, ni tenter que usar un ordenador de por medio.Es una cámara pequeña, pero hace unas fotos muy buenas. Tiene un zoom muy potente.Solo he probado la cámara en el viaje, y haciendo pruebas en casa para sacarle el máximo partido. Espero poder hacer fotos en conciertos para probar la calidad de sonido y de imagen en esas condiciones.Me alegro de la compra que hice. El único “problema” que he tenido, ha sido con el envío. Soy de España, y desde las aduanas me solicitaron documentación de compra, y datos… para poder seguir con el proceso de envío.