Road Test

Chasing Dogs with the Sony RX100 VII

With excellent auto-focus, speedy response time, and a 20 mega-pixel output, the pocket-sized Sony RX100 VII packs quite the punch.

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Quezon

The Sony RX100 VII is a travel-friendly camera that takes great-quality images; perfect for taking with me on shoots. This weekend, I was asked to photograph a group of cute puppies—lively and restless subjects that rarely kept still—over at Quezon province. This assignment really put the RX100 VII’s auto-focus speed to the test, and as promised, this camera delivered.

Mike Dee drives with his dogs to Tanay, Rizal.

The dogs ran all over the place (this was expected, as they were outside with no leashes), but the focus pulls were on point and my shots were in focus nine times out of ten. It helped a lot that the camera not only has an eye auto-focus for humans, but for animals as well.

A shot of a walking French Bulldog on the shore with the cameras pull focus on point.

The camera’s focal length of 24–200mm also comes as a plus, which allowed me to do tight close-ups of my subjects without the need to get too close for comfort. I personally own an RX100 V with a focal length of 24–70mm, and definitely noticed that I had much more reach with this version.

A tight close-up of a Golden Retriever looking as sharp as can be.
A tight close-up of a black French Bulldog looking as sharp as can be.

In terms of video quality, the RX100 VII is also a standout piece of equipment. It’s nearly at par with a Sony A7 III; there was virtually no difference when you compare the footage side by side. Sadly though, the camera didn’t fit in the Sony underwater housing, which surprised me as it’s just about the same size as my RX100 V.

Paw prints on the sand looking as sharp as can be.

The camera’s focal length of 24–200mm also comes as a plus, which allowed me to do tight close-ups of my subjects without the need to get too close for comfort.

Another thing I missed in this model was the older models’ wider aperture. It was more difficult to capture images with a shallower depth of field, and letting in less light meant I needed to bump up the ISO.

Overall, I can easily see the Sony RX100 VII being part of my regular camera rotation. With a 20 megapixel output, this pocket-sized camera packs a punch. Whether it’s on assignment or during my travels, I plan to always keep it close by.

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Special thanks to Wendy Ang and Kristina Bascon of WK Forest Reserve & Campgrounds.