RX100 VII for Mongolia steppe trip — compact zoom vs dust risk?
Hi! I'm considering the Sony RX100 VII for an upcoming trip to Mongolia (Steppe region) and trying to decide if it’s actually the right fit.
What I like about it:
- small/light enough that I’ll actually carry it
- clearly better image quality + low light than my phone
- enough zoom for wildlife (especially wild horses) / landscapes without lenses
Main hesitation is dust / lack of weather sealing. The trip will be pretty dusty (steppe, desert, horseback riding, lots of moving around, plus some slower days with a nomadic family), so I’m trying to figure out how much of a real issue that is vs something I can just be reasonably careful about.
I’m fine swapping to my phone in certain conditions if needed.
For people who’ve used RX100s in rough/dusty environments.....
- did dust actually become a problem?
- any long-term issues with the zoom mechanism?
- would you trust it on a trip like this?
Trying to decide if this is a great lightweight travel setup or something I’ll just end up being anxious about the whole time.
Also open to any practical dust protection tips people use in similar environments 🙏