Larry thanks for this post. I picked up the Mark 7 about two weeks ago after the recommendation from several Hoggers, especially Greg (Wingpilot). I didn't even know this feature existed, thanks for asking this question. I'm still trying to get the basics of this camera down. I will try Clear Image Zoom while still playing with all the features and learning. I didn't have this much trouble learning my D750.
Nonetheless, I'm enjoying the camera so far. My issue is I'm still not able to master is the panorama setting. I'm asking if there is a feature I might not have turned on or off as I cannot take a panorama photo. The camera continually tells me I'm moving too fast or I'm not moving in the direction of the arrow. I've gone slow, I've gone faster....yet still can't manage to capture an image. Also when I go extremely slow the camera tells me to move in the direction of the arrow which I'm doing. I'd love to hear from some of you Hoggers that own the camera and perhaps have some tips for me. Thank you in advance and sorry for stealing your post with another question.

Two things: Your 100vii has clear image zoom which is optical zoom plus a little added for digital zoom. The images are pretty clear, much better than digital zoom, but a little less than optical zoom. See menu setting 2, 6/10. Secondly, I have a Sony HX80 which zooms optically to 750 mm. Because of the smaller sensor size, the pictures are a little less sharp than the 100vii, but I use Topaz to help clean them up with pretty good results. I had a HX 99 and was very disappointed in the image quality. The 80 is also almost identical to the 100 although the view finder has to be manually deployed which can be a pain in the you know what if you are in a hurry. The menus and settings are the same. This is also the same answer I gave you when you first asked the question under Antarticia.

I hate to say it, but what you are describing is the exact reason I will never own a Sony RX. This is one of the reasons why I went with 4/3rds.

Having said that, there may be a collector lens attachment for the RX100. Olympus was a big fan of such. The TG-6 today even has a 1.7X attachable telephoto collector which does not change the aperture and extends the telephoto from 100mm angle of view to a 170mm angle of view. Maybe some of the other UHHers have a website that has them. And if they were designed for the RX100, it will have very little affect on the image quality.

Those 2 are the ones I would suggest. Also, the Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS200 zooms out to 360 (35 equiv) and has a 1" sensor. The 2 above are the much smaller 1/2.3" sensors.

If you would consider the larger bridge camera size, more suggestions open up. For 1" sensor models there are the Sony DSC-RX10 IV or the Panasonic Lumix DC-FZ1000 II at half the price, or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ2500 for just a little more. You can compare these here:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Point-Shoot-Digital-Cameras/ci/8612/N/4288586279?filters=fct_camera-type_4056%3Asuperzoom-bridge%2Cfct_sensor-size_3087%3A1in

There are many bridge cameras with 1/2.3" sensors. I would not consider any without a viewfinder. Just go to:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/products/Point-Shoot-Digital-Cameras/ci/8612/N/4288586279?filters=fct_camera-type_4056%3Asuperzoom-bridge%2Cfct_sensor-size_3087%3A1-2.3in