VTC

I believe GAMMA ASSIST DISPLAY is what you're looking for. On / Off. I can easily demonstrate this with various favorite LUTS loaded onto an external recorder but in camera, this will give an idea.

You're a lot calmer than I'd be after shelling out $3500 for a camera with issues hoping some future phantom firmware update might correct. My 7Sii developed a group of purple pixels 3 weeks after buying the camera but only when rolling 4K. I exchanged it in spite of the dealer saying it's hardly noticeable if you don't know where to look. A camera this new with issues will surely present with other ones outside of the return or warranty period. I'd punt it back to Pittsburgh immediately for an exchange.

Don't be squeamish. Learn to do it yourself. Likely cost $40 each time for a cleaning not considering the time it takes to drop off & pick up the piece only to have something contaminate it again 3 days later. In 5 years I've done mine maybe 8 times.

Try this. Take pic of cloudless sky. Change lens. Take another pic. Spots in identical locations no matter which lens was on? Dust on sensor. Not really evident unless a light is held at angle across sensor. Use blower bulb to dislodge. NEVER use compressed air. Freezes sensor. When cleaning sensor place camera in self clean mode which locks sensor in place at end of cycle. Don't apply any force to sensor when it's in wobbly state.

Yeah. Formatting destroys custom settings but there's a solution for this. PRIVATE>SONY>SETTING>7SM2N (My camera)> CAMPR001.DAT. That's the file that holding custom settings. Save it to your computer so you can copy it to the card after formatting and you can avoid the reconfiguration tango.

Renaming in the computer. A rename program will number /name them to any convention you choose. Set the parameters. Drag the files into the renamer. Bang. That's it. Takes 15 seconds at most.

Transfer files. Batch rename. I use number, subject, date. Any tags I apply to the file remain with the file. When retaining the camera file name, not only do you have identically named bunches of C0023.mp4 across your system EVERY C0023.mp4 file picks up the tag 'sculpture' even if it's a penguin.

Maybe it's time to look towards a different camera. You can't expect a dump truck to fly no matter how long a solution takes, Re: "Might need a firmware update though." and 4K really isn't 4K if it goes into crop mode Re: "Involves 10% crop". Well thought out and documented points brought up here but in the end It might be time to grasp that you can't plow 20 acres with a butter knife if "4K, 120, 4.2.2 can't be compromised" and find a different device to get you to where you need to be. Seems to me 7Siii can't reasonably hit all the points you require unless you start throwing money at it and tacking on additional hardware. This isn't the first time 4k, 120, 4.2.2 has been shot by anyone has it? It begs the questions 1) How was it done before now? and 2) What was used to capture it? If you need to fly trying to do so in a dump truck merely because you have one isn't the best or only option. It's like making the introduction, "Mr. Square Peg meet Mr. Round Hole."

Thanks for taking the effort updating your post. My camera behaved the same before sending it off for control wheel repair and am just now resetting it back to my liking. Never slept and couldn't fathom why. I'll make certain to check the IR Remote you referenced.

My 7Sii did this. First started by not being able to advance images on review. Then I couldn't navigate the menus horizontally, only vertical input. Reset camera. No change. Then the menus and image review and time zones went absolutely wonky. Shipped camera off for repair Aug 8. Returned from repair Aug 18. Cost $522. Under Description of Parts Used: 1) Switch Block Control 2) RL Block. Repaired previously Dec 2018 for stuck shutter mechanism. Repaired, returned, then discovered the USB port wouldn't recognize remote control. Returned it under warranty service and things were fine but.... Time/Date wouldn't hold after a battery swap. It's as if the internal battery was left out but I decided to live with this aggravation (2 years) because it wasn't as bad as being without the camera for a collective 4 weeks. (Wrong!) Got to where I ran a dummy battery to keep from having to reset the date after the battery swaps which, as any FW50 battery user will attest, are quite often. Control Wheel / Rear Screen Madness

Is that a pic of the screen or actual video? A continuous line top to bottom is a problem with that particular circuit either on the monitor or sensor. (Had to exchange mine because it developed a group of purple pixels only in 4K 3 weeks after purchase.)

Bought mine USA. Has Chinese in language options along with French, Italian, Spanish. A7Sii

Bought mine USA. Has Chinese in language options. A7Sii

Is it only the PREVIEW quality that's bad or is the output quality bad as wall? Use the same camera with external monitors/recorders and the signal DOES NOT degrade over HDMI. If you're relying on a digital (false, fake, phony) zoom to increase your reach then that's where your image will fall apart.

Yes to the above. Won't run off USB forever' Law of diminishing returns power wise. Have dummy adapter for the mains but find myself using this satellite setup most of the time in studio and in the field. Powers both camera and external monitor/recorder depending on how I have the rig set up.