Help: Sony RX100 VII or Canon G7X III?

[Sandradiving]

Hi,

I'm heading on a scuba trip shortly and need to replace my old underwater system. I'm debating between the new compact Sony and Canon for underwater. I'm a reasonably competent photographer above water, but for underwater, I want something small I can grow with. I've been shooting mainly wide angle but only because I've never had a good macro camera/lens. For above water, l'll have a Nikon D800 with me so I won't be using the compact.

I've been reading reviews and they seem to be equally divided between the Sony and Canon. Some say Canon is always superior especially because of the wider aperture, and that the Sony RX is terrible at focusing in low light, especially with added wet lenses. Others say the Sony is hands-down the best and that the Canon is just a better option because it is cheaper. I may not have strobes with me for this trip and I'm mainly concerned about image quality.

Any help, thoughts, etc, would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[CaveSloth]

I like the look of the Sony images better than Canon. More "film-like". I own an RX100 II and love it for still photos.

However, the Sony RX100 has a flaw that is fatal for me. I want to be able to shoot 4K video for a long time and it doesn't seem to be able to do that without heating up and shutting down according to reviews. So, I am sticking with my GoPro.

For still photography, also consider the Sony Alpha (A) series cameras. These are supposed to be even better than the RX ones. I am not sure if the Alphas can do 4K video without overheating. If they can. then I will purchase one as soon as I can afford it + underwater housing.

 

[Chris Ross]

Those cameras are really quite new. The problem will be that apart from retailers most people reporting on performance will only have used the one they own.

I think both need a short port to do their best at wide angle and extend quiet a long way when zoomed right in which excludes doing very wide and macro on the one dive. Backscatter vote the Panasonic LX-10 best compact part of the reasoning is you can do wide and macro one one dive by swapping wet lenses. The Nauticam Sony and Canon both have short port, standard port and dome port options, like miniature SLR housings. Cheaper housings will have a compromise port without the option to go to a short port to go as wide as possible. The lens needs to be close to the port glass for wide wet lens to work properly. If you are thinking about that option option you might be better with a m43 camera and a fisheye and macro port and respective lenses.

If you are not using strobes the Canon Manual WB is reported to be better than the Sony. This is Backscatter's review on best compacts in 2019: Best Underwater Cameras of 2019: Compact Cameras - Underwater Photography - Backscatter