[Tom]

The RX10 IV I suggested is basically a RX100 with a big lens. It's a bit bulky, somewhere between RX100 and DSLR. It's quite pricey too if you buy new ($1500+). Mine was a refurb, I think I paid $900. The only wildlife shots I've taken were the heron in this report, handlehld from raft. The non-heron pics are all taken by my Google Pixel 3 cell phone. www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8030546

[Mountainpines]

I did go back but Best Buy Customer service is going downhill. They don’t have people who actually could advise there. And some cameras you can’t even try or buy. Many aren’t carried in stock. Some cameras on display are either broken or not connected to try it out inside the store. And once you leave with it, there is a restocking fee for it. So be careful what you buy. I did get credit for $240 since I found it cheaper. So, they did match the price when I came back with the receipt. Since the Sony RX100 VII isn’t good for wildlife, I hope it’s at least better for landscapes than iPhone 12!

[Tom]

It probably won't be better for landscapes unless you like to post-process. Straight out of camera the latest generation cell phones will take better looking pics due to processing advantage. There are of course situations where the computational processing advantages of cell phones won't overcome their limitations.

[Mountainpines]

Well, I am impressed with it. I took a few photos outside today. When you have a moving subject, the autofocus is incredible. I took a photo of a bird taking off. I thought I missed it since it happened so fast. But wow, I can zoom in on the bird. And it has a lot more detail than I expected. It outperforms SX 530 in that regard and my iphone. And I didn’t even play with different settings which you can’t get with an iPhone. Though they are adding nice features to iphones. Since this camera is nice, I might hold off to get iPhone 13 instead of iPhone 12. I have iPhone xs. My son has iPhone 11 Pro Max. So, I might use his for the duration of the trip. I am definitely keeping the camera. The photos I took look nice. I will wait a a few years to buy more zoom. Technology is changing. So, hopefully, they will add more zoom to compact cameras like this one. I would love to see 300mm to 400 mm range, and great image stabilization.

[InFlight]

Outside of sports and wildlife, large zooms are seldom needled. I carry a 70-300mm zoom and infrequently use it. For most outdoor landscape photography you would be better served with a wider zoom, and a larger aperture for improved low light performance. Most landscape shots are seldom much over 40mm. Sticking with the Sony fixed lens on this thread , there’s a new ZV-1 with a 24-70 at F1.8 to F2.8 that seems like a nice one for general outdoor photography.

[Gil]

I take a lot of landscape photos with telephoto lenses -- both zoom and prime. But when one thinks "landscape photo," a wide angle shot usually comes to mind.

[Mountainpines]

Gil, Nice photos. I like to zoom in on subjects. That is why more zoom in for me. I love wildlife. But I will hold off and see what will happen in the market. I noticed though in full sun there is less clarity on images. I will have to read the manual online and see what setting I would need when light is too bright.

[gb]

[Gil]

Hey, maybe so! It's a great spot for sunsets.