RX100VII setup guide with tips and tricks

Sony RX100 VII settings, tips, and tricks

Introduction

Welcome to my Sony RX100 VII advanced manual with tips and tricks. This guide starts from your Menu settings and goes through all aspects of this nice little compact camera. I know it is a lot of information, but you’ll get the hang of it soon, I promise.

If you’re coming from earlier versions, the latest Sony RX100 VII has a few added features and you’ll see a few new features in the menus too. This new SonyRX compact camera is packed full of technologies that were previously only available in our a9 full-frame camera and allows creators to achieve new levels of performance using a compact camera for both stills and movie shooting.

By the way, I have different guides with tips and settings for the other RX100 series cameras too:

• The original Sony RX100: You can find them here.
• The RX100 II: click here
• The Sony RX100 III here.
• The RX100 IV here.
• The RX100 V here
• The RX100 VI here

Since the Sony RX100 VII has the same menu layout as recently released Sony Alpha cameras, you’ll quickly find your way around if you already own one of those.

I’ll be going over the entire Menu structure in this post, and giving you tips, pointers, and tricks along the way. If you’re a bit impatient, there is a more abbreviated “best settings” chapter before my conclusion.

Diving into the Sony RX100 VII MENU system

When you switch on your Sony RX100 VII, you’ll be asked to enter a date, time and timezone. This setting is necessary, as all images captured will have a timestamp, making it easy to find your favorite pictures in the future.
After this is setup, press the MENU button. You’ll see a range of icons and pages.
We’ll start at page 1 of the camera Icon (camera settings)

MENU – Camera Settings – page 1 of 14 (Quality settings and image size page 1)

File Format

Do you edit your pictures on your desktop? If so, set to RAW or RAW+jpeg. A RAW file saves all information the Sony RX100 VII pixels register during shooting and will make for better quality images if you want to edit in something like Adobe Lightroom.

A jpeg is a compressed imagewhich takes up less space on your SD card but is less suited for editing afterward. Jpeg images will also have in-camera noise reduction applied, something you might or might not want to take care of yourself later, depending on your style and preference.

Jpeg Quality

Jpeg is available in EXTRA FINE (best Quality) FINE (medium Quality) and STANDARD (smaller, less quality).

Jpeg Image size

The larger the image size, the more detail will be reproduced when the image is printed on large-format paper. The smaller the image size, the more images can be recorded.

Image size when the aspect ratio is 3:2:

• L: 20M 5472×3648 pixels
• M: 10M 3888×2592 pixels
• S: 5.0M 2736×1824 pixels

Image size when the aspect ratio is 4:3:

• L: 18M 4864×3648 pixels
• M: 10M 3648×2736 pixels
• S: 5.0M 2592×1944 pixels VGA 640×480 pixels

Image size when Aspect Ratio is 16:9

• L: 17M 5472×3080 pixels
• M: 7.5M 3648×2056 pixels
• S: 4.2M 2720×1528 pixels

Image size when Aspect Ratio is 1:1

• L: 13M 3648×3648 pixels
• M: 6.5M 2544×2544 pixels
• S: 3.7M 1920×1920 pixels

Note that when Quality is set to RAW or RAW & JPEG, the image size for RAW images is automatically set to L for optimal quality.

If SD card space is an issue, you can set it to Small.

Aspect ratio:

You can choose 3:2 (which uses the full sensor surface), 4:3, 1:1 or 16:9 (crop but a more broad view). Leave as is at 3:2, you can always crop your pictures later.

Panorama Size:

(when in panorama shooting mode) Size is selectable between standard and wide. Wide means your picture will cover a larger area. Set it to standard, having to scan an even broader area when making panoramas will take some experience with the Sony RX100 VII to do efficiently.

Panorama direction

A panorama picture (only available in jpeg) is a composite of several images stitched together. When in this mode, you’ll see an arrow that guides you in what direction and speed you should pan the Sony RX100 VII to take the sequential images that will be stitched together. You can choose the path in this menu (either, up, down, left or right).

MENU – Camera Settings – page 2 of 14 (Quality settings and image size page 2)

Long Exposure NR

Set if you want the processing engine to apply noise reduction for images captured with a long exposure time. Leave it ON as there is no way of duplicating this process in post production, except to take a black frame of the same length in the same atmospheric conditions.

High ISO NR

Here you can select the amount of noise reduction applied to images with high ISO settings (when quality is set to jpeg). As Sony has rather aggressive noise reduction, I would change it to Low. (if not, you run the risk of getting paint-like, smeared images at higher ISO values).

Color Space

You can choose between Standard and Adobe (extended color range) RGB. This is only important if you shoot JPEG and not RAW. Adobe RGB would be preferable if you print many images because of the extended color range.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 3 (Shoot mode and drive settings)

Auto Mode

Switch the auto mode between Intelligent Auto and Superior Auto.

Intelligent Auto:

This mode automatically detects the type of scene you’re shooting and adjusts the scene automatically. You’ll see the icon for the recognized scene appears on the top right hand of the screen.

These scenes are the same ones which can be selected individually in SCENE mode.

The Sony RX100 VII will also use the most appropriate FOCUS AREA, and ISO value (the ISO range cannot be changed in iAuto though).

Drive Mode (single shooting, continuous shooting Lo-Mid-Hi), Self-timer and Self-timer cont (multiple images with the self-timer) can be changed by using the Fn button.

Works for both RAW and JPEG shooting.

Disadvantage: ISO range is fixed to 50-6400 (you can’t change the range).

Superior Auto:

Superior Auto is similar to iAuto, as it also detects scenes automatically, except it uses more complex processing.

This includes composite layering (layering different shots on top of each other for HDR style pictures) and automatically choosing what it thinks is the best image.

Disadvantage: ISO range is (like in iAuto) fixed range and only useable for jpeg shooting.

Scene Selection

You can select the presets for different scenes (like sports or portrait) from here

Drive Mode

You can set the drive mode, such as continuous or self-timer shooting.

• Single Shooting (default setting): Shoots one still image. Normal shooting mode.
• Cont. Shooting: Shoots images continuously while you press and hold down the shutter button. Hi: takes about six images per second, Lo about 3
• Self-timer: Shoots an image after 10 or 2 seconds. (selectable in sub menu) You can change the angle of the LCD screen and shoot images while monitoring the image on the screen.
• Self-timer(Cont): Shoots a specified number of images continuously after 10 seconds or 2 seconds (selectable in the sub menu).
• Cont. Bracket: Shoots images while holding the shutter button down, each with different degrees of brightness. (from 3 to 5 images with between .3 and 3 EV difference, selectable in the sub menu.) For processing as HDR on your PC.
• Single Bracket: Shoots a specified number of images, one by one, each with a different degree of brightness. (from 3 to 5 images with between .3 and 3 EV difference, selectable in the sub menu) For processing as HDR on your PC.
• WB bracket: Shoots a total of three images, each with a different color tone according to the selected settings for white balance, color temperature, and the color filter.  (3 images with either LO small changes or Hi large changes)
• DRO Bracket: Shoots a total of three images, each at a different degree of D-Range Optimizer.

Bracket Settings

You can set the self-timer in bracket shooting mode, and the shooting order for exposure bracketing and white balance bracketing.

• Selftimer during Brkt: Sets whether to use the self-timer during bracket shooting. Also sets the number of seconds until the shutter is released if using the self-timer. (OFF/2 Sec/5 Sec/10 Sec)
• Bracket order: Sets the order of exposure bracketing and white balance bracketing.

interval shoot Func.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 4 of 14 (Shoot Mode and Drive settings page 2)

Recall (Camera Settings1/Camera Settings2)

This functionality allows you to shoot an image after recalling often-used modes or camera settings registered with the Mode Dial memory positions in advance. It is now also possible to save your camera settings to a memory card and recall them later (or on a different camera). This is done by using the ‘select Rec. media’ function inside this menu.

Memory (Camera Settings1/Camera Settings2)

This setting allows you to register up to 3 often-used modes or product settings to the product and up to 4 (M1 through M4) to the memory card. You can recall the settings using just the mode dial. You can register various functions for shooting. The items that you can register are displayed on the menu of the Sony A6100. Aperture and Shutter speed are always available. You’ll need to select your SD card first using the ‘select Rec. media’ function inside the prior menu.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 5 of 14 (Autofocus settings page 1)

Focus Mode:

Here, you can select how the autofocus engine will behave when you half-press the shutter button. Novice users should set into AF-A. This functionality is partly dependent on what focus area you select (see next)

• AF-S: With a half-press of the shutter button, the RX will focus only once. Suitable for capturing stills.
• AF-A: AF Automatic intelligently switches between S and C, depending on whether the camera detects movement or not. This is the standard setting and the easiest to use.
• AF-C: The Sony RX100 VII will continuously focus on any movement when you half-press the shutter button.
• DMF: The RX100 VII focuses on your subject and allows you to fine-tune your focus area further using the manual focus ring on the lens.
• MF: No autofocus is used, and you focus manually using the focus ring on the lens.

You can see a focus indicator on screen or EVF. When it is lit, the subject is in Focus and focus is locked.

Tip: It’s also possible to assign a button for what is called ‘Focus Hold’. With Focus Hold, you can freeze your focus point when you press this button. This is often used by photographers to allow for a greater flexibility in composition.

Another important fact is that in Movie mode, only Continuous AF and MF are available.

Focus area

You might think it is best to leave it on the factory ‘wide’ setting (as this uses all AF points), but for certain scenes, it is often better to use a zone or flexible spot to get it to focus on what you want.

Wide:

Wide focus area uses all focus points on the sensor. Ideal for action scenes where there is a lot of movement going on in your frame.

Center:

Focusses on whatever is centered in your images. A fail-proof way of getting the Sony RX100 VII to focus on what you want. If you have any problems using the autofocus and are in a situation where you don’t want to miss any shots, revert to Center and just make sure you have your subject centered.

Flexible spot:

Flexible spot area selects a spot anywhere on the screen where the camera should focus. (similar to Center spot, except not.. in the center)  You can set it to small, medium or large. If you want to use this focus area, set it to medium or large, as the camera will struggle to find focus when set to small (except perhaps for close-up portraits where you’d want to focus on the iris of the eye)

Expandable flexible spot

If the RX100 M7 cannot focus on a single selected point, it uses focus points around the flexible spot as a secondary priority area for focusing

Tracking

When the shutter button is pressed and held halfway down, the RX100 M7 tracks the subject within the selected autofocus area. This setting is available only when the focus mode is set to Continuous AF. Point the cursor at Tracking on the Focus Area setting screen, and then select the desired area to start tracking using the left/right sides of the control wheel. You can also move the tracking start area to the desired point by designating the area as a zone, flexible spot or expand flexible spot. On the Flexible Spot shooting screen, you can change the size of the focusing frame by turning the control wheel.

Moving the focus area:

• When Focus Area is set to Zone, Flexible Spot or Expand Flexible Spot, if pressing the button to which Focus Standard is assigned, you can shoot while moving the focusing frame using the top/bottom/left/right sides of the control wheel. To return the focusing frame to the center of the monitor, press the button while moving the frame. To change the shooting settings using the control wheel, press the button to which Focus Standard is assigned.
• You can move the focusing frame quickly by touching and dragging it on the monitor. Set Touch Operation to On and set Func. of Touch Operation to Touch Focus beforehand.

To track the subject temporarily (Tracking On): You can temporarily change the setting for Focus Area to Tracking while you press and hold down the custom key to which you have assigned Tracking On in advance. The Focus Area setting before you activated Tracking On will switch to the equivalent Tracking setting.

Focus area limit

It is now possible to limit the choice of focus areas you have to cycle through to find the one you are looking for. I typically use the Expand Flexible Spot in preference to the Small, Medium and Large Flexible Spots and the Center AF area. I have unselected these options. This is useful on the RX100 M7 because it is possible to assign a custom button to cycle through the ones that remain.

Swt. V/H AF Area

This is called Orientation linked AF points in Canon language. Switch AF point/AF Area to align with your subject in landscape mode (horizontal) if you change the camera orientation to Portrait (vertical) mode.

Off: disable this feature

AF Point Only: If you switch to portrait mode, the RX100 VII will automatically move the AF point in use up to align with your subject.

AF Point AF Area: If you switch to portrait mode, the RX100 VII will automatically move the AF point and AF area in use up.

AF Illuminator:

The AF illuminator is a little red light allowing the Sony RX100 VII to focus more easily when the shutter button is pressed halfway. It automatically is switched off when you fully press the shutter. Leave it on.

Face/Eye AF Set.

This function is used to determine whether or not the camera will focus with priority on human faces or eyes.

Eye AF Settings:

• Face Priority in AF: Sets whether or not to detect faces inside the focusing area and focus on the eyes Eye AF when autofocus is activated. (On or Off)
• Subject detection: either human or animal for animal eye AF
• Right/Left Eye Select: Specifies the eye to be detected. If Right Eye or Left Eye is selected, only the selected eye is detected.  Auto : The camera detects eyes automatically. Right Eye : The right eye of the subject (the eye on the left side from the photographer’s perspective) is detected. Left Eye : The left eye of the subject (the eye on the right side from the photographer’s perspective) is detected.
• Face Detect. Frame Disp.:Sets whether or not to display the face detection frame when Face Priority in AF is set to On. (On or Off)
• Animal Eye Display: this will show a square around the eye of the animal , indicating focus.

Switch Right/Left Eye by custom key

When Right/Left Eye Select is set to Right Eye or Left Eye, you can switch the eye to be detected by pressing the custom key to which you have assigned the Switch Right/Left Eye function.

When Right/Left Eye Select is set to Auto, you can temporarily switch the eye to be detected by pressing the custom key to which you have assigned the Switch Right/Left Eye function.

The temporary left/right selection is cancelled when you perform the following operations, etc. The camera returns to automatic eye detection.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 6 of 14 (Autofocus settings page 2)

Pre-AF 

Select if the Sony RX100 VII will automatically adjust focus before you press the shutter button halfway down. This can be a useful feature when taking selfies but can cause issues in Continuous AF (AF-C) with an AF Tracking Area selected. The camera is likely to latch on to a subject before you have identified which subject you would like to track. I recommend switching this to OFF if you are more interesting in shooting action/sports rather than selfies.

AF Area regist.

You can move the focusing frame to a preassigned position temporarily using a custom key. This function is useful when shooting scenes in which the subject’s movements are predictable; for example, sports scenes. With this function, you can switch the focus area quickly according to the situation.

How to register focus area

1. MENU –  Camera Settings1 – AF Area Registration – On.
2. Set the focus area to the desired position and then hold down the Fn (Function) button.

How to call up the registered focus area

Del. Reg. AF Area

Deletes the focusing frame position that was registered using AF Area regist.

Focus Frame Color

You can specify the color of the frame indicating the focusing area. If the frame is difficult to see because of the subject, make it more visible by changing its color. Either white or red.

AF Area Auto Clear

Sets whether the focus area should be displayed all the time or should disappear automatically shortly after focus is achieved. On Or Off.

Disp cont. AF area

You can set whether or not to display the area that is in focus when Focus Area is set to Wide or Zone, in Continuous AF mode.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 7 of 14 (Autofocus settings page 3)

Phase Detect. Area 

Sets whether or not to display the Phase Detection AF area.

Circ. of Focus Point

Sets whether to allow the focusing frame to jump from one end to the other when you move the focusing frame with Focus Area set to Zone, Flexible Spot, or Expand Flexible Spot. This function is useful when you want to move the focusing frame from one end to the other quickly.

• Does Not Circulate :The cursor does not move when you try to move the focusing frame past the end.
• Circulate :The cursor jumps to the opposite end when you try to move the focusing frame past the end.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 8 of 14 (Exposure settings page 1)

Exposure Comp

(Also available in the Quick Menu, accessed by pressing the Fn button):

If you find that your image is overexposed (for instance when you are shooting at large apertures for a shallow depth-of-field in bright daylight), you can tweak the exposure compensation here in a plus or minus 5 (exact EV dependent on next step) range.

ISO settings

ISO

Sensitivity to light is expressed by the ISO number (recommended exposure index). The larger the number, the higher the sensitivity.

• Multi Frame NR:Combines continuous shots to create an image with less noise. Press the right side to display the setting screen, then select a desired value using the top/bottom sides of the control wheel. Select the desired ISO number from ISO AUTO or ISO 100 – ISO 25600.
• ISO AUTO: Sets the ISO sensitivity automatically.
• ISO 64 – ISO 12800:Sets the ISO sensitivity manually. Selecting a larger number increases the ISO sensitivity.

ISO Range Limit: Adjust the range of ISO sensitivity that is automatically set in the ISO AUTO mode.  Shooting at lower ISO will result in a better quality picture. An upper limit of 1600 will ensure that your images won’t have too much noise.

Iso Auto Min SS.

This is a useful and exciting setting. If you select ISO AUTO you are in  P (Program Auto) or A (Aperture Priority) mode; you can set the shutter speed at which the ISO sensitivity starts changing. The difference in shutter speed at which ISO sensitivity starts to change between Faster, Fast, Standard, Slow, and Slower is 1 EV.

You have three possibilities here:

• FASTER (Faster)/FAST (Fast): The ISO sensitivity will start to change at shutter speeds faster than the Standard (normal). This will help you prevent getting blurred images when shooting action or sports. This at the cost of raising the ISO and noise in your images. Remember this is linked to your Auto ISO settings, so it won’t go any higher than your upper limit, even if the Sony RX100 VII is capable of doing so.
• STD (Standard): The camera automatically sets the shutter speed based on the focal length of the lens.
• SLOW (Slow)/SLOWER (Slower): The ISO sensitivity will start to change at shutter speeds slower than the Standard setting. This enables you to shoot images with less noise. Never to be used if you want to shoot action, but can be useful if you are a landscape or architecture photographer who likes to walk around without a tripod yet takes some time to frame and shoot images carefully.
• 1/8000 ― 30″: The ISO sensitivity starts to change at the shutter speed you have set.

Metering Mode

Metering mode refers to the way the Sony RX100VII reads the light and sets the exposure.

In multi, it considers the whole frame and sets exposure according to internal algorithms programmed in camera.

In spot or center, the Sony RX100 VII only considers what is in that spot or the center (per example, if your subject is completely black, the camera will try to compensate by overexposing the image).

• Multi: Measures light on each area after dividing the total area into multiple areas and determines the proper exposure of the entire screen (Multi-pattern metering).
• Center: Measures the average brightness of the entire screen, while emphasizing the central area of the screen (Center-weighted metering).
• Spot: Measures only the central area (Spot metering). This mode is suitable for measuring light on a specified part of the entire screen. The size of the metering circle can be selected from Spot: Standard and Spot: Large. The position of the metering circle depends on the setting for Spot Metering Point.
• Entire Screen Avg.: Measures the average brightness of the entire screen. The exposure will be stable even if the composition or the position of the subject changes.
• Highlight: Measures the brightness while emphasizing the highlighted area on the screen. This mode is suitable for shooting the subject while avoiding overexposure.

Tip: When Spot is selected and Focus Area is set to either Flexible Spot or Expand Flexible Spot while Spot Metering Point is set to Focus Point Link, the spot metering point can be coordinated with the focus area.

Face Priority in Multi Metering Mode

A very interesting addition to the metering possibilities. When Metering mode is set to multi, this function allows you to set the priority of the light metering to detected faces for a better exposure. great for portraits.

Spot Metering Point

Sets whether to coordinate the spot metering position with the focus area when Focus Area is set to Flexible Spot or Expand Flexible Spot.

• Center: The spot metering position does not coordinate with the focus area, but always meters brightness at the center.
• Focus Point Link: The spot metering position coordinates with the focus area.

AEL w shutter

Sets whether to fix the exposure when you press the shutter button halfway down. Select Off to adjust the focus and the exposure separately.

• Auto (default setting): Fixes the exposure after adjusting the focus automatically when you press the shutter button halfway down when Focus Mode is set to Single-shot AF.
• On: Fixes the exposure when you press the shutter button halfway down.
• Off: Does not adjust the exposure when you press the shutter button halfway down. Use this mode when you want to change focus and exposure separately.

The Sony RX100 VII keeps adjusting the exposure while shooting in Cont. Shooting or Spd Priority Cont. mode. Operation using the AEL button is prioritized over the AEL w/ shutter settings.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 9 of 14 (Exposure settings page 2)

Exposure Std. Adjust

Adjusts this camera’s standard for the correct exposure value for each metering mode. You can set a value from -1 EV to +1 EV in 1/6 EV increments.

Flash Mode

• Flash Off: The flash does not operate.
• Autoflash: The flash works in dark environments or when shooting towards bright light.
• fill flash: A fill flash is useful even in daylight to fill the shadows with light (like a person in the shade).
• Slow sync: Tells the camera to use a longer shutter speed along with a flash, and thus is better for night shots. In manual and shutter priority modes, there is no difference in flash power. But when using aperture priority, program, or auto, choosing slow sync tells the Sony RX100 VII to use a longer shutter speed than it would ordinarily pick.What the slow sync flash mode does is a first fire the flash for the subject exposure, then allow for a longer shutter speed that will allow for more ambient light to be captured by the sensor.
• Rear Sync: Capturing an image involves two shutter actions: one when the capture starts and on when it stops. Rear Sync tells the flash to fire right before the shutter closes. Moving objects will show a streak where they came from and a sharp image where they were at the end of the exposure. This conveys a sense of speed with moving objects. Rear Sync is a creative technique, if you’d like to know more about this type of photography, I’d suggest doing a Google search on ‘Rear Sync Flash Photography.’

Flash comp or Flash compensation:

Especially when using Slow Sync or Rear Sync Flash modes, you might have to lower the power of the Flash to get a decently exposed image. (Also available in the Quick Menu accessed by pressing the FN button).

Red Eye Reduction:

This anti-Red Eye setting quickly fires the flash before your image capture starts, reducing the red-eye effect often seen when using a flash.

MENU – Camera Settings – page 11 of 14 (Color, White Balance, and Image processing settings page 1)

White Balance

You can either set the white balance to Auto, where the camera tries to guess what the neutral grey value is, or use one of the preset white balance settings for different lighting conditions or customize the white balance according to your preference or using a grey card.

Priority Set in AWB

Selects which tone to prioritize when shooting under lighting conditions such as incandescent light when White Balance is set to Auto.

• Standard: Shoots with standard auto white balance. The camera automatically adjusts the color tones.
• Ambience: Prioritizes the color tone of the light source. This is suitable when you want to produce a warm atmosphere.
• White: Prioritizes a reproduction of white color when the color temperature of the light source is low.

DRO/Auto HDR

DRO:

This stands for Dynamic range optimise and analyses the contrast of your scene in real-time. It produces an image with optimal brightness and recovered shadow detail. You can use this function even while the subject is moving or during the continuous shooting.

Auto HDR:

(not available for RAW captures) this feature Shoots three images with different exposures and then overlays the bright area of the underexposed image and the dark area of the overexposed image to create a picture with an extended range from highlight to shadow.

The highlight detail in auto HDR is better than that in DRO and with reduced noise. The shutter is released three times, so using this function for moving subjects is not recommended.

Creative Style

The Sony creative styles can best be explained as being film emulations (the same way as do some other camera manufacturers implements this). There is a range of styles available from vivid colour to black and white. If you’re shooting RAW, these styles are embedded, but can always be zeroed after importing them to you RAW editor of choice. Jpegs are saved with this styling applied. It is always useful to try some of these, and can be a real boost for your creativity, as you will notice that you make different images in say black-and-white as opposed to colour.

• Standard: For shooting various scenes with rich gradation and beautiful colors.
• Vivid: The saturation and contrast are heightened for shooting striking images of colorful scenes and subjects such as flowers, spring greenery, blue sky, or ocean views.
• Neutral: The saturation and sharpness are lowered for shooting images in subdued tones. This is also suitable for capturing image material to be modified with a computer.
• Clear: For shooting images in clear tones with limpid colors in highlight, suitable for capturing radiant light.
• Deep: For shooting images with deep and dense colors, suitable for capturing the solid presence of the subject.
• Light: For shooting images with bright and simple colors, suitable for capturing a refreshingly light ambience.
• Portrait: For capturing skin in a soft tone, ideally suited for shooting portraits.
• Landscape: The saturation, contrast, and sharpness are heightened for shooting vivid and crisp scenery. Distant landscapes also stand out more. Sunset: For shooting the beautiful red of the setting sun.
• Night Scene: The contrast is lowered for reproducing night scenes.
• Autumn leaves: For shooting autumn scenes, vividly highlighting the reds and yellows of changing leaves.
• Black & White: For shooting images in black and white monotone.
• Sepia: For shooting images in sepia monotone.
• You can edit these different styles and save your own creative style if you want.
• This functionality can be changed:
• Contrast: The higher the value selected, the more the difference of light and shadow is accentuated, and the bigger the effect on the image.
• Saturation: The higher the value selected, the more vivid the color. When a lower value is selected, the color of the image is restrained and subdued.
• Sharpness: Adjusts the sharpness. The higher the value selected, the more the contours are accentuated, and the lower the value selected, the more the contours are softened.

Picture Effect

Think of this menu as an Instagram app right in your Sony  RX100 VII, with all kinds of retro filters and effects. These are only available when quality is set to Jpeg (Not in RAW).

• Off: Disables the Picture Effect function.
• Toy Camera: Creates a soft image with shaded corners and reduced sharpness.
• Pop Color: Creates a vivid look by emphasising color tones.
• Posterization: Creates a high contrast, abstract look by heavily emphasizing primary colors, or in black and white.
• Retro Photo: Creates the look of an aged photo with sepia color tones and faded contrast.
• Soft High-key: Creates an image with the indicated atmosphere: bright, transparent, ethereal, tender, soft.
• Partial Color: Creates an image which retains a specific color, but converts others to black and white.
• High Contrast Mono.: Creates a high-contrast image in black and white.
• Rich-tone Mono.: Creates an image in black and white with rich gradation and reproduction of details.

Picture Profile

Allows you to change the settings for the color, gradation, etc.

The default settings PP1 through PP10 for movies have been set in advance in the camera based on various shooting conditions.

• PP1: Example setting using Movie gamma.
• PP2: Example setting using Still gamma.
• PP3: Example setting of natural color tone using the ITU709 gamma.
• PP4:  Example setting of a color tone faithful to the ITU709 standard.
• PP5: Example setting using Cine1 gamma.
• PP6: Example setting using Cine2 gamma.
• PP7: Example setting using S-Log2 gamma.
• P8: Example setting using the S-Log3:gamma and the under Color Mode.
• PP9: Example setting using the S-Log3gamma and the under Color Mode.
• PP10: Example setting for recording HDR movies using HLG2 gamma.

HDR movie recording

The camera can record HDR movies when a gamma from HLG, HLG1 to HLG3 is selected in the picture profile. Picture profile preset PP10 provides an example setting for HDR recording. Movies recorded using PP10can be viewed with a wider range of brightness than usual when played back on a TV supporting Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG). This way, even scenes with a wide range of brightness can be recorded and displayed faithfully, without looking under or over-exposed. HLG is used in HDR TV program production, as defined in the international standard Recommendation ITU-R BT.2100.

The basic contrast and coloring are defined by the combination of Gamma (gamma curve) and Color Mode (color characteristics) settings.

Items of the picture profile

Black Level:

sets the black level. (–15 to +15)

Gamma:

• Movie: Standard gamma curve for movies
• Still: Standard gamma curve for still images
• Cine1: Softens the contrast in dark parts and emphasizes gradation in bright parts to produce a relaxed color movie. (equivalent to HG4609G33)
• Cine2: Similar to Cine1 but optimized for editing with up to 100% video signal. (equivalent to HG4600G30)
• ITU709: Gamma curve that corresponds to ITU709.
• ITU709(800%): Gamma curve for confirming scenes on the assumption of shooting using S-Log2 or S-Log3.
• S-Log2: Gamma curve for S-Log2. This setting is based on the assumption that the picture will be processed after shooting.
• S-Log3: Gamma curve for S-Log3 with more similar features to film. This setting is based on the assumption that the picture will be processed after shooting.
• HLG: Gamma curve for HDR recording. Equivalent to the HDR standard Hybrid Log-Gamma, ITU-R BT.2100.
• HLG1: Gamma curve for HDR recording. Emphasizes noise reduction. However, shooting is restricted to a narrower dynamic range than with HLG2 or HLG3.
• HLG2: Gamma curve for HDR recording. Provides a balance of dynamic range and noise reduction.
• HLG3: Gamma curve for HDR recording. Wider dynamic range than HLG2. However, noise may increase.
  • • HLG1, HLG2, and HLG3 all apply a gamma curve with the same characteristics, but each offers a different balance between dynamic range and noise reduction. Each has a different maximum video output level, as follows: HLG1: approx. 87%, HLG2: approx. 95%, HLG3: approx. 100%.

Black Gamma:

Corrects gamma in low intensity areas.

Black Gamma is fixed at “0” and cannot be adjusted when Gamma is set to HLG, HLG1, HLG2, or HLG3.

• Range: Selects the correcting range. (Wide / Middle / Narrow)
• Level: Sets the correcting level. (-7 (maximum black compression) to +7 (maximum black stretch))

Color Mode:

• • Movie Color tones for Movie gamma curve (standard color reproduction for movies when Picture Profile is not used)
  • Still Color tones for Still gamma curve (standard color reproduction for still images when Picture Profile is not used)
  • Cinema Color tones for Cine1 and Cine2 gamma curve
  • Pro Color tones similar to standard Sony broadcast camera image quality (used in combination with ITU709 gamma curve)
  • ITU709 Matrix ITU709 color tones (used in combination with ITU709 gamma curve)
  • Black & White Sets the saturation to 0 for recording in black and white
    S-Gamut Setting based on the assumption that some grading work will be performed after recording. Used when Gamma is set to S-Log2.
  • S-Gamut3.Cine Setting based on the assumption that some grading work will be performed after recording. Used when Gamma is set to S-Log3.
  • This setting is easier to use than S-Gamut3, because it limits the color space to a more practical range than that of S-Gamut3. It is recommended in cases where S-Gamut3, a wide color space, is not required.
  • S-Gammut3 Setting based on the assumption that some grading work will be performed after recording. Used when Gamma is set to S-Log3.
    This setting has a wider color space than that of S-Gamut3.Cine. It is suited for converting images to a format with a wide color space like BT.2020.
    Depending on the type of camera, the entire S-Gamut3 color space may not be supported.

Black Level:

This function adjusts the black level of the image -15 to +15.  As an image effect, you can emphasize the color black to create an image that gives a powerful impression, or you can weaken black to give the image a soft impression.

Shifting Black Level in the minus direction emphasizes the black color in the image, while changing the level in the plus direction weakens the black color.

If you want to simulate an old film, or capture winter morning fog, the black level value should be increased. If you decrease the value, gradations in dark areas will be smoothed out, making the areas appear in crisp black. When using multiple fixed cameras to shoot the same subject from different angles, the balance between subject and background often varies. This balance variation may cause the black color in the subject to appear different when cameras are switched. However, this is an optical illusion. If it occurs, you can correct it by adjusting Black Level to make the black color look the same.

When using multiple fixed cameras to shoot the same subject from different angles, the balance between subject and background often varies.

This balance variation may cause the black color in the subject to appear different when cameras are switched. However, this is an optical illusion. If it occurs, you can correct it by adjusting Black Level to make the black color look the same.

Black Gamma:

This function lets you alter the shape of the selected gamma curve and adjust gradations in dark image areas. Range available between Wide, Middle or Narrow. Leven between -7 and +7.

Wheel Lock

You can set whether or not to lock the control wheel when you press and hold the Fn (Function) button.

Audio Signals

Selects whether the product produces a sound or not.

On: Sounds are produced for example when the focus is achieved by pressing the shutter button halfway down.

Shutter: Only the shutter sound is produced.

Off: Sounds are not produced.

Write Date

Sets whether to record a shooting date on the still image.

MENU – Network settings- page 1

 

Send To Smartphone

You can send one or several images directly to your wireless device (phone or tablet) by pressing this button.

You can either decide to choose which images you want to transfer on the Sony RX100 mark 6 or the wireless device (via the Sony PlayMemories app, available for free in the apple or android store).

You’ll have to connect the-the camera via Wifi first (it makes a Wifi access point), using the instruction on the screen.

It works just like connecting to any other access point with your phone or tablet.

You should do this as quickly as possible, just to get it out of the way.

When your phone has wirelessly connected to the camera once, and you’ve entered the password, it will remember this, and make it a lot faster to connect later.

Send to Computer

You’ll need to connect the computer physically to the camera using the supplied USB cable, and you can push selected pictures to your Sony PlayMemories desktop software (installed from the CD or downloaded from their website). This can even be set up to continue pushing images after the Sony RX100 VII has turned off.

View On TV

If you have a Wifi-enabled TV, you can see pictures and slideshows directly from your camera through your home wireless network. 

Ctrl w/ smartphone

By connecting the Sony RX100 VII to a smartphone using Wi-Fi, you can control the camera and shoot images using the smartphone, and you can transfer images shot with the camera to the smartphone.

Connection Info. displays the QR code or SSID used to connect the Sony RX to a smartphone.

Airplane Mode

Disables all wireless functionality, just like airplane mode does on your phone.

Wi-Fi Settings:

WPS Push

If your access point has the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button, you can register the access point to this product easily by pushing the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) button.

Access Point Set.

You can register your access point manually. Before starting the procedure, check the SSID name of the access point, security system, and password. The password may be preset in some devices. For details, see the access point operating instructions, or consult the access point administrator.

Disp MAC Address

Displays the MAC address of your Sony DSC-RX100M6.

SSID/PW Reset

Your Sony RX100 VII shares the connection information for Send to Smartphone and Connection Info. with a device that has permission to connect. If you want to change the device that is permitted to connect, reset the connection information.

MENU – Network settings- page 2

Bluetooth Settings.

Controls the settings for connecting the Sony RX100 VII to a smartphone via a Bluetooth connection. You need to pair the camera and smartphone before using the location information interlocking function. If you want to pair the camera and smartphone in order to use the location information interlocking function, refer to “Loc. Info. Link Set..”

Loc. Info. Link Set

You can use the application PlayMemories Mobile to obtain location information from a smartphone that is connected with your camera using Bluetooth communication. You can record the obtained location information when shooting images.

To use the location information linking function of the Sony RX100 VII, you need the PlayMemories Mobile application on your smartphone and transfer an image to your smartphone to test the connection

Procedure:

Confirm that the Bluetooth function of your smartphone is activated. (Do not perform the Bluetooth pairing operation on the smartphone setting screen!!! In steps 2 to 7, the pairing operation is performed using the camera and the application PlayMemories Mobile. If you accidentally perform the pairing operation on the smartphone setting screen in step 1, cancel the pairing and then perform the pairing operation by following Steps 2 through 7 using the Sony RX and the application PlayMemories Mobile.)

On the camera, select MENU – (Wireless) – Bluetooth Settings – Bluetooth Function – On.

On the camera, select MENU – (Wireless) – Bluetooth Settings – Pairing.

Launch PlayMemories Mobile on your smartphone and tap “Location Information Linkage.”

Activate Location Information Linkage on the Location Information Linkage setting screen of PlayMemories Mobile.

Select OK when a message is displayed on the monitor of the camera. Pairing of the camera and PlayMemories Mobile is complete.

On the camera, select MENU – (Wireless) – Loc. Info. Link Set. – Location Info. Link – On.

(obtaining location information icon) will be displayed on the monitor of the camera. Location information obtained by your smartphone using GPS, etc., will be recorded when shooting images.

Options in this Menu:

Location Info. Link: Sets whether to obtain the location information by linking with a smartphone.

Auto Time Correct.: Sets whether to automatically correct the date setting of the Sony RX100 VII using information from a linked smartphone.

Auto Area Adjust.: Sets whether to automatically correct the area setting of the camera using information from a linked smartphone.

Edit Device name

If you wish, you can change the name of the Device Access point) perhaps to make it easier to identify which RX100 is yours in particular situations.

Reset Network set

Resets all network settings.

If something does not function properly, and you want to start from scratch, can be useful.

MENU – playback options – page 1 of 4

Protect

Set your camera to not shoot images without inserting an SD card.

Rotate

Change the orientation of images in-camera.

Delete

Delete one or multiple images stored on your SD cards.

Rating

Rate your images in-camera for easy culling in Lightroom afterward.

Rating Set (Cust Key)

Set a custom key for easy rating.

Specify Printing

Specify Printing is a feature that allows images to be marked for printing later. Registered images are displayed with the DPOF mark. (DPOF stands for Digital Print Order Format)

MENU – playback options – page 2

Beauty Effect

Skin Toning: Adjusts the skin color as you like.
Skin Smoothing: Removes age spots and wrinkles from the skin.
Shine Removal: Reduces the look of oily skin. Adjusts the skin color as you like. 

Eye Widening: Enlarges the eyes of the subject. Adjust the size of the eyes using up/down.
Teeth Whitening: Whiten the teeth of the subject. You may not be able to whiten the teeth in some images.

This is a new functionality not preVviously seen on many Sony camera.s It allows you to build a custom menu. Say you often change Raw file type from compressed to uncompressed, or maybe you don’t want to spend your time scrolling through the entire menu system looking for the SteadyShot settings. Well, now you can basically build your own Menu here with your most often used settings.

Add Item

You’ll see a list of all Menu options here and you can simply select your desired options and add them to your custom built menu page.

Sort Item

This setting basically changes the order of your ‘My Menu’ selected function.

Delete Item

Deletes functions in your ‘My Menu’.

Delete Page

Deletes entire pages of your ‘My Menu’ selection.

Delete All

Deletes all previously added functions of your ‘My Menu’.

In the next chapter, I’ll go over all the functionality that I find most useful

Mode dial functions: what’s the difference between intelligent and superior auto?

Intelligent Auto

• This mode lets the camera detect what kind of scene you are photographing. It switches to the scene setting it finds most appropriate, including aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and AF mode.
• These different scene settings are the same you’ll find manually selectable in SCN mode.
• All Sony cameras do a good job at detecting scenes, although the advanced photographer will prefer to shoot in Aperture, Shutter priority or fully manual mode in order to have more control over things like depth-of-field, movement, and focusing area.

Superior Auto

• Does the same scene recognition and (when theSony RX100 VII decides it is appropriate) adds hand-held twilight, anti-motion blur, and backlight correction HDR in order to optimize dynamic range, movement, and exposure.
• This is only for jpeg shooters, as it uses multiple images shot in close succession at high quality and combines them into one jpeg. Works well on stills but should not be used for movement.

Zebra highlight clipping aide

 

• Zebra will show zebra pattern lines on blown highlights.
• The clipping detection threshold is selectable from 70 to 100 . Lower values indicate possible highlight clipping sooner than higher.
• Setting it somewhere around 90 will give you a good indication of whether you’re in danger of unrecoverable clipping without having the screen cluttered with stripes all the time.

Manual Focus Assist and Focus Peaking

There are two manual focusing assist functions:

MF assist

• When set to ON, Magnification will automatically magnify a selectable (through the menu) part of you image when in Manual Focus Mode (MF).
• MENU – (Custom Settings) – MF Assist – On.
• The duration of the magnification can also be set to either 2 sec, 5 sec or no limit in the menu Focus Magnification Time. (MENU – (Custom Settings) – Focus Magnif. Time – desired setting.)
• You can check the focus by enlarging the image before shooting.

1. MENU – (Camera Settings) – Focus Magnifier.
2. Press on the center of the control wheel to enlarge the image and select the position you want to enlarge using up/down/left/right side of the control wheel.
3. You can change the magnifier scaling in two steps by pressing in the center, and close the focus magnifier mode and return to the normal shooting display by pressing three times.
4. Confirm the focus.
5. Press the shutter button fully down to shoot the image.

Peaking

• This works in MF and DMF focusing modes
• MENU – (Custom Settings) – Peaking Level – desired setting.
• It displays a color selectable noise in the regions where the focus is on.
• A low setting is recommended in enough light on the Sony RX100 IV.
• In dim light, you might need to go to medium to get a good idea of where the focus is at.

Center Lock-on AF

Center Lock-on AF

Depending on the options selected in Focus Area or Center Lock-on AF, the available functions varies when pressing the key. When you press the key when the Focus Area is set to Wide or Center and Center Lock-on AF is On, Center Lock-on AF will activate. The Sony RX100 VII will automatically focus while pressing the key when the Focus Area is Wide or Center, Focus Mode is set to other than Manual Focus, and Center Lock on AF is set to Off.

• When you press the center button, the camera detects the subject positioned in the center of the screen and continues to track the subject.
• MENU – (Camera Settings) – Center Lock-on AF – On
• Align the target frame (A) over the subject and press in the center of the control wheel. Press again to stop tracking.
• If the camera loses track of the subject, it can detect when the subject reappears on the monitor and resume tracking.
• Press the shutter button fully down to shoot the image.

Smile/face detect

When set to On, The Sony RX100 IV will automatically detect and focus on faces. This is a very powerful feature and can even be made faster by registering faces beforehand. You can even prioritize any of the 8 registered faces according to importance. Ideal for a wedding or family reunion when you know the persons who you are going to photograph.

1. Go to MENU – (Camera Settings) – Smile/Face Detect. and select either
2. On (Regist. Faces): Detects the registered face with higher priority using Face Registration.
3. On: Detects a face without giving higher priority to the registered face.

How to register faces:

• MENU – (Custom Settings) – Face Registration – New Registration.
• Align the guide frame with the face to be registered, and press the shutter button.
• When a confirmation message appears, select Enter.

Eye AF

Eye AF is great for portraiture and large apertures. With a shallow depth of field, it is at times difficult to get the appearance of a well-focussed face. The AF system could wonder to an ear or a chin when you finally get that exact shot that you’re looking for.

Eye EF eliminates this problem by detecting your subject’s eyes and placing the focus point there. It tracks them too. You’ll need to assign a button of your choice in order to make this work.

1. MENU – (Custom Settings) – Custom Key Settings – assign the Eye AF function to the desired button.
2. Point the Sony RX100 VII at a person’s face, and press the button to which you have assigned the Eye AF function.
3. Press the shutter button while pressing the button.

Exposure aides

AE lock

• When contrast between the subject and background is high, meter the light at a spot where the subject appears to have the appropriate brightness and shut the exposure before shooting.
• You’ll need to assign a button to this function to do this in Menu – Custom Settings – Custom Key Setting and then assign the AEL toggle to the desired key.

Then:

1. Center the spot at which the exposure is to your liking
2. Press the button to which the  AEL toggle function is assigned
3. exposure will be locked, and AE lock lights up.
4. Focus on your subject and press the shutter button.
5. To cancel the exposure lock, press the button to which the AEL toggle function is assigned.

It’s easiest to select the AEL hold function in Custom Key Settings; then you can lock the exposure as long as
you are holding down the AEL button.

Bulb mode

Bulb mode is great for shooting trails of light, such as fireworks, car lights, etc.

It’s best to use a remote or the Sony Playmemories remote app (that is downloadable for free) as you want to eliminate movement.

• Firstly set the mode dial to M.
• Connect your phone to the Sony RX100 VII using WiFi or NFC.
• Then:

1. Dial exposure time to Bulb on the app.
2. Dial in a suitable Aperture value from F/5.6.
3. Press the shutter button on the app to start the exposure.
4. Press the shutter button again on the app to stop the exposure.

Conclusion

The Sony RX100 VI brought many new software innovations to the RX line. Besides the ability to record in 4K and make High Frame rate movies, you shouldn’t overlook the many new focusing aides inside the Sony RX100 VII like Eye AF and focus peaking and A9 quality autofocus.

I hope you found my advanced manual for the RX100 VII with tips and tricks useful. If you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.