Sony a7C II & a7CR Initial Review: Lightweight Bodies with HEAVYWEIGHT Features!
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- čas přidán 29. 06. 2024
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Sony has just announced the a7C II and a7CR, two very compact full frame cameras designed for travel and casual use. While they share a body design, the sensors inside are very different. Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake took the camera to Salmon Arm, British Columbia to find out who these new cameras are for.
Rental equipment provided by The Camera Store
www.thecamerastore.com
0:00 - Intro
2:55 - Handling
4:52 - Displays
5:46 - Stabilization
6:34 - a7CR Features
8:22 - a7C II Features
9:41 - a7C II Video
10:41 - a7CR Video
11:55 - Which to buy? - Věda a technologie
The fact that you guys go on holiday together with your families is wholesome AF.
That means their significant others and kids also get along. The ONLY way that works.
Is it just me who, until recently, had assumed they were actually a couple?
Are they a couple?
@@hopkapi lol!
@@EdgarOliveiraTB I don’t think so because he said they are on holiday with their families. So both with their familiy. Two families spent holiday together ... happens 😉
Fantastic even handed video as always guys, thank you! Absolutely gutted they didn't put a high quality EVF in the R - so much of a 'rangefinder' style shooting experience IS the shooting experience, and it would have been perfect for that.
I owned the A7C for about 2 years and loved it. It was bought as a secondry, smaller and lighter option to my A7R3. I found it to be a great camera for just about everything i ever shot - landscapes, wildlife, weddings, family life....i ended up selling both the A7C and A7r3 to buy the A7R5 and whilst i love the sound of this new A7C2, ooof that 60mp sensor in a tiny little body is very very tempting! To be honest, i never felt i needed more from my A7C, it was perfect for my needs, but i can really see the A7CR's potential and will most likely order one before the end of the year - could be a perfect landscape camera!
really like how you guys put up your honest opinions.. good & some not too good about this camera.. really like the honesty.. GREAT review!!!
An excellent preview, as always! I trust the boys' video reviews, and have purchased my last 3 mirorless cameras after watching their videos. Even though I haven't seen the head to head resolution comparisons yet, this preview really makes me want the A7CR!
How the 4k 60p in crop factor mode on the a7cII compare to 4k 60p on a FX30/a6700 when regarding low light? are they virtually the same or a FF sensor is still better even in crop mode?
Thank you so much for the very informative comparative review! God bless and good luck!
Thanks for elaborating on the EVF magnification, I was really bummed it wasn't a bigger upgrade but I'm looking forward to seeing if the magnification mitigates that like you mentioned. Great review as always and absolutely agree about the silver version, it's the prettiest sony for sure.
Great review as always!
Thanks Guys! Another great review. Not sure I'm really interested in either of these cameras, but your opinions, experiences and "hands on" reviews are simply priceless. Well done!
Thanks guys! Well done and clear as usual!
been eagerly waiting for that a7CR!
Sat here with my original 5D but I still get excited when new products come out. One day I might even upgrade 😜
The intro made the video, anything after that was just the cherry on top
Thanks for the thumbnail! Keep them coming.
You guys are simply great
Loved this intro.
Please do an update on both Sony A7C ii vs A7R using production models. Thanks♡
I came here before everyone else’s video 😂 I love you guys❤❤
Love my A7C, fantastic full frame compact travel camera. And I sold a bunch of old gear to KEH so I’m familiar with them. But…KEH will only offer $860 for my A7C, so even though the A7C II has some nice improvements, the low KEH offer plus the A7C II price increase means a major expense to move up. Looks like I’ll wait until the A7C III or IV to upgrade.
For me the big advantage of the A7CR is that I could comfortably use it as a FF camera with FF lenses or as an APSC body with the more travel friendly APSC lenses. Depending of course on the circumstances
You sound like a guy who buys a Ford truck, then uses it to haul one pack of eggs from supermarket.
@@SMGJohn makes no sense, but ok
@@j16m02 I think the same, because you are still getting 26mp with the APSC lenses in super 35 mode versus my Current a6400 24.2mp. I have a hard time giving up my 18-105 internal zoom APSC lens, and Im looking to jump from APSC sensor to full frame and I have zero Full Frame lenses, so this might be a great transition camera for me.
@@SMGJohn you make it sound like a bad thing when it's not. One truck for hauling eggs and a tractor. I think it's brilliant.
@@j16m02
If it makes no sense to you, then your own original comment makes no sense to you, which is rather ironic.
We will follow you guys on whatever CZcams channel you are on next.
I'm actually quite happy to see that the A7CR has the pixel shift shooting mode.
I managed to score the A7R5 for quite a good price but I am finding the body noticeably more bulky than my older rangefinder Sony bodies. I'm definitely tempted to try and flip my current camera and maybe pick up one of these.
Got a chance to handle the A7cr and must say I was less impressed than anticipated. In the A7cR, you're giving up some substantial daily use features like the amazing viewfinder and flexible higher res rear screen on the A7RV, not to mention the better IBIS, Shooting Speed, Full Size ports, Two card slots and more capable card slots and much better ergonomics for working with larger GM lenses. The sensor on the A7RV/A7Cr really requires better glass and those in almost all cases are the larger GM and Sigma, Tamron faster lenses. Those lenses felt huge and front heavy on the A7Cr in my hands. So I would encourage folks to put both camera and lens combos in your hands WITH the lenses you will use or OWN before pulling out your credit card. I'm glad I did, I think the A7RV is the better camera and I'd grab a clean used one before I purchased an A7Cr (for whatever it's worth). Will add that I'm finding more and more CZcamsrs singing the praises of each new release, and the same reviewers tore Nikon a 'new one' for one card slot in their mirrorless cameras...this A7cR has one standard SD card slot in a $3K camera body, not even Cf Express capable and no rants about that?!?! Feels disingenuous.
Agreed on all points!
Thanks for another great video! 🙂 I'm looking for a video first hybrid for outdoors content creation and I've been mostly eyeing on the Fujifilm X-S20, but I'm always interested on the Sony alternatives. Do you think it would be worth the extra cost to go for the Sony a7c II or even Sony a6700 over the X-S20? I'm doing multiday hikes and bikepacking trips so a compact system for me is a must and it has to capable of handling demanding environments and lighting situations. Thanks in advance! Your expertise and help would mean a great deal.
Audio on this episode is really nice
If you are into street/vacation/all around photography, IMO, for 90% of the people out there these two cameras are certainly not worth the price difference between a used like new a7c from KEH or MPB for $1500 vs the $600USD upgrade for the a7cII and $1500USD upgrade for the a7cR. Also not worth the price $600 price difference of the a6700 because if I was going to carry a camera around that was the same size and weight as the a6700 I would carry a full frame. Additionally if you are planning to use big heavy lenses on the a7c line, just buy an a7iv because you have defeated the purpose of the a7c body. Sony made special small/tiny, lightweight fast focusing, tack sharp and pocketable lenses for the a7c - the 24mm f/2.8 and the 40mm and 50mm f/2.5 plus the 28-60mm f/4-5.6 zoom. Sure it is the kit lens but when introduced that lens was a $500 lens so it has the same qualities as the others (double linear auto-focusing motors) and covers all the focal lengths of street photography.
I am getting the A7C2 as a 2nd cam to my A1 and travel - recently did a month in Turkey and wished I just had a compact ... now I will :)
I like how Sonys thoughts of entry level full frame camera is $2200-2500.
I respect canon s d Nikon for creating entry level full frame cameras in the $1000-1300 price point.
I started in full frame with a canon rp and have now graduated to a r6II.
It really makes a difference to create an affordable in to hook consumers.
Get your facts straight and go and see Sony FF cameras sub 2000, 1000 $€
Yes. Canon and Nikon do make good budget mirrorless cameras. Be it FF or APSC.
@@KomSand18 an Sony dont?
@@mralexlexName a single newest release Sony FF mirrorless camera under $2000 - there aren’t any.
The only options under $2000 now are older models released years ago such as the A7ii, A7Iii, or the original A7c.
If you want a newest release FF mirrorless model under $2K, Sony has no options. Meanwhile, the most recently released FF mirrorless entry level option from Canon is well under $2K. Canon has the recently released R8 at $1499, a brand new entry level FF camera model $700 cheaper than the cheapest recent release entry level Sony A7cii offering.
Cheaper bodies but no 3rd party glass on RF and very little on Z. A cheap body doesn't do much without a good affordable ecosystem. And don't go on about adapted glass because that's just encouraging people to spend good money on gear that is already old, and having to use adapters sucks.
Still love my 7C but but always hoping they continue the Compact series and here we go
thanks for great sharing 😍😍
How can a $3000 camera have a worse EVF than Sony's entry level APSC camera - that crazy!
because... the 7R5 costs $800? more
Because they can: people will still buy it.
bcos no gen z photog uses EVF
@@akhyarrayhka4048 guess I don't exist anymore :(
You cant release product that compete with your own current products. Who will buy 7r5?
6700 for me it is then! thanks for the great work as usual!
If these both had twin micro SD slots for simultaneous recording they would be ideal for professionals. I shoot weddings for Photo-Video combined packages. I’m using an A7IV on gimbal for primary video and three A7Cmk1 for the extra video angles. I have another A7IV for stills so both primary cameras are dual card backed up. I’m more than happy.
I switched from using Canon after I initially bought a R6 for gimbal video and was using M50’s for the extra video angles. The R6 died at the first wedding of Error 70. I sent it back and got a replacement. This one died 10 mins out of the box before I even put a card and lens on it, just setting up the menus. So that went back and I bought one A7C and had been using that for primary video with two Canon M50’s for the B and C angles. Editing showed massive quality differences so I bought two more A7C.
Sony seems to taking inspiration from Fuji: offering similar internals across various body styles. I like it.
Why is there no one talking at the Sony camera conference, I still get these photography review channels to hear people talking.
The A7r sounds interesting. Looking for future updates on this camera
Enjoyed the review! You must have recorded this a month ago…wildfires largely overran the area, impacting so many residents.
It's been terrible to learn about. We were fortunate to be heading home before any of the fires got out of control. It seems they swept in right as we were leaving.
One of the big things that really kept me from the original a7c was the EVF… shame it’s mostly the same, would’ve liked a bigger one but they still sound like amazing cameras as a whole, though expensive for “entry-level”.
Technically the A7Cii's EVF has a larger magnification than the original A7C. It's 0.7x compared to 0.59x. The eyepoint has also been improved to 22mm from 20mm. It's essentially now the same EVF as on the A6700 just without the nice eyecup of the A6700. It's mostly the low resolution which is a substantial downgrade compared to the A7iv.
@@womz8203 We had 2360 dots and 0.7x magnification on Fujifilm X-E2 from 2013! 2013! On budget crop camera for 900$!
From where I sit the only thing entry level about the a7c was its looks. I mean, it wasn't the pro camera that you're going to shoot paid wedding gigs with. But it's very much an enthusiast device.
It's actually very different. Don't let the resolution numbers fool you. There are other numbers that matter more.
Exactly. That EVF is week, and the LCD might actually be worse. The video features have clearly been strangled (like Canon used to), no joystick, and only a single card slot? And they still come in at $2,200 and $3,000? Is this a joke? Add a decent G-Master lens and this is almost $5K. Sorry, hard pass.
Great Video
I glanced off a bit to drink and I almost spat out my coffee when I saw the picture on 6:13
I have the a7c mostly for leisure, and the a7 IV for work, but the a7c 2 brings the crucial second turning knob which I would use for aperture. Hmm..
I have the original A7C and I love it even with all of its downsides. I think a secpond camera body with the A7CR would be awesome.
that is a hell of a thumbnail photo there Chris lol
How is it that there is no background sound and yet your voice presentation is perfectly clear.
6:44 lol grandma was wondering what two wackos were doing in the park talking into their cameras.
Nice video! Super helpful! BTW, the chapter names of a7II features and a7r features are reversed.
I do love my A7C (silver!). Thanks for great review, love your insight and knowledge. Any feedback on how these two would work for wildlife or bird photography?
They might not feel balanced with long lenses, although that never bothered me. The maximum burst rates are fairly decent and AF performance is to notch.
Stacked sensor like a9 or a1 is better for AF of course. And with long heavy lenses the ultra compact Body does not make so much sense. But of course great cameras.
Could you do a comparison video between the a7C II and the Panasonic S5IIX please? It's been kinda a hard for me to make the decision of what to get, nice video by the way
I got a new a7c for 1400 bucks last month and I'm happy I did when I see these prices wow
The first 35 seconds with Jordan 🤣LMAO😂
Still no answer for Nikon’s Z5 at (typical) sale price of $999. Yes the Z5 is due for an update, but Nikon didn’t go cheap on handling or EVF, which I appreciate.
Looks like a nice upgrade, although the price makes it a bit hard to swallow. To me this is definitely not in the "entry level" anymore.
I really like my A7C, despite the obvious flaws. It's super small for a full frame, and for what I shoot the EVF is not needed. Nor is advanced auto focus or really any of the crazy features that these new bodies have, so I will probably not upgrade.
I order the A7Cr. I was going to update my A6500 to the A6700 but I realized the A7Cr is basically a A6700 in terms of resolution and also a A7Rv, two cameras in one. I was looking for a weight saving solution, so it seems this camera can use both my full frame and cropped lenses with about the weight of a A6700. I guess I will find out in a few days when the A7Cr is released.
Thank you for being the first review of these to confirm the EFCS. Was hoping the new models would have a full mechanical shutter.
The A7CR is INCREDIBLY tempting...
thanks!!
You've always had great videos, but this is a new level, my friend!! You're definitely separating yourself!!
I have the 7RV and I love the idea of a smaller/lighter version of it, but…
I feel like it doesn’t make much sense. Although all lenses work great on that sensor, to take full advantage of 61 mp for cropping, you need a lens capable of resolving all that.
That leaves you with a big and heavy lens on a tiny body.
The great little G primes only resolve around 35-40 mp. They work great, but if you really want to use that sensor for large crops, those little primes are going to limit you.
My question is that if I buy A7Cmark 2, will I be able to rely on the view finder to the point where I would not need to use LCD screen to make changes? I have hard time reading fine print from that close. If I need to use LCD, than I rather get ZVE1.
I'm quite shocked that the mechanical shutter speed on the A7Cii still only goes to 1/4000. It's still only first curtain mechanical (which I can forgive at this size). That feels really cheap for the new increased price point of this camera.
Adorable thumbnail.
I was looking at that A7C II as a full frame upgrade to my Fuji XS20, the size is comparable to the XS20 which I like, only downside I can see is the Fuji does HD 240FPS and the Sony only does 120 FPS, and I like a bit of slow mo video. The Fuji stabilisation seems to work great for photography, for example if I take the XS20 with the 70-300 lens for some wildlife photography it seems to work very well and ois a niced lightweight travel option. Fuji's downfall seems to be stabilisation in video, espcially on wide lenses with the weird warpy corners.... Is it worth me switching to the Sony for the better Autofocus and full frame advantages?
Do you think the A7CII paired with the Sony FE 85mm f1.8 Lens would be good for taking headshots/portraits and getting clear/in focus eyes? I currently have this lens paired with a A6500 and get fuzzy looking eyes and image quality not crystal clear. I'm looking to upgrade and want to know if this would be a good choice camera. Unless you have any other recommendations. Thank You!
6:13 what's going on here? Did Jordan accidentally enter a Looney Tunes movie?
So, the main thing I would like to know please for the main review is whether the shutter noise is as bad as the a7iv or if the electronic front curtain quietens it.
Congrats for fastest reaction time after NDA drop!
If just talking about size along, is there benefit to get A7C lineup and not the full size A7 if you just going to use the 20 - 70mm F4 lens mainly which both lineups will still not pocketable anyway and the A7C lineup has less grip and smaller viewfinder too, I do hope the full size A7 can be lighter with all these extra things tho
love u guys ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Either of these + a compact prime = the closest thing we're going to get to an RX1R III. It's larger but also has a real battery and processor inside. I'm hoping this can replace my RX1R II and a6600 in one go.
Thought so, too. These bodies with Sigma's smaller i-series primes would be a killer combo.
Either these or the a6700
If you were to choose between the two and video was the most important as well as photo but video first, which would you go for?
2023: Sony friends are discovering that you need the front wheel for photography.
Can't believe you were 10 minutes from my house, and didn't even stop by to say hi.
Sigma fp L is the photography oriented edition of the FP. Get the fp for less rolling shutter, and I suppose the same is true for R vs 2 of Sony’s alpha7C
I can see that A7CII being a great backup camera for my a7R3. I do with it had the new flip and tilt screen, but other than that it looks good! Nice to have a backup that has a use (being more compact). The lack of front dial always made the A7c a no go for me.
I am not sure why people complain about the low fidelity EVF. It’s as if I am going to use it for extensive viewing of photos. One just needs basic composition abilities and to check on focus via zoom.
The lack of an AF joystick is a killer for me on what otherwise look like great bodies.
Thanks
It’s called the A7CR as it’s the first model in this range of CR cameras. It’s not building upon the C2.
The naming structure makes sense. Just like the A7 has different variants with different versions, so does the A7C. A7Cii r doesn’t make sense. It’s not called the a7 V r or the A7 iii s.
In the chapter overview you sort of mixed up the a7cII and a7CR Features chapters .
Otherwise very informative as always !
Without a fan and another SD card slot, they are not for pros but perfectly good entry level cameras. Though, R8 is able to use the whole width of the sensor when shooting 4K 60p video.
If $2,200 to $3,000 (body-only) is "entry level", photography is officially dead for all but the wealthy. I know this is an expensive hobby, but come on.
The problem is the price point is not entry level. That is the issue with the whole A7c series. They are too good for their own good... They should be barebones ff-cameras at a much lower price point to make sense to exist alongside the A7iv and A7Rv
HERE FOR THE THUMBNAIL
Killer camera but that evf. Like going back a decade in time. But I guess if they did put a 5m dot evf it would hamper A7R sales
I like the skin tone on the a7cii
Although no matter a7c2 or a7cr is good enough. But I love this t-shirt on Chris
I think these are still compelling cameras, despite the valid criticisms. That said, it'll still be compelling when I pick it up for $1000 in a few years like I did with my A7RIII and A7III bodies. I know Sony doesn't want to directly cannibalize sales of it's own products, so they're holding back on budget full-frame options. But given the choice between a current APSC and a slightly older used FF at the same price, I'd take the FF every time, and Sony gets 0% of that secondary market purchase. At least with a new product, they'd get sales and a way to funnel customers towards the higher end of their ecosystem. Then again, I'm not a businessman, so what do I know?
Where did you get a7r3 and a73 for 1k lol?
@@topg2820 A7RIII was from a pawn shop on eBay (they had three of them!) $1000+tax. A7III was from Adorama used (G) for $900+tax. I lucked out back in February/March and got them a month apart 😄
Used ones can go for less than that.@@topg2820
We had 2360 dots and 0.7x magnification on Fujifilm X-E2 from 2013! 2013! On budget crop camera for 900$! 10 years of progress Sony edition.
Alright I can take it with A7C it's more "hybrid" and EVF is not a selling point. But what is the selling point of photo centric A7CR where EVF is one of the main tools you use to take stills?
After all no surprises, didn't expect any real improvements from Sony: the higher segmentation of product lines the less value per dollar.
Hold up, you got them in your hands already?? To say it with Paris Hilton: That's hot!
So disappointed. Pay panasonic for ibis patent licensing already. Digital stabilization is 2003 technology sony still uses
luv the A7Cii, its basically a better more compact A7IV without the dual SD card slots & full hdmi port. But in exchange u get better live streaming functionality (i.e. 4k30 vs 4k15)
Looking really good on that thumbnail! You should consider a modeling career :)
Best video on the two cameras I've seen so far. Gerald Undone's was very dismissive and he lacked knowledge about the original A7C, and Kai W's missed so much of what's new.
Sony has missed the opportunity to be the only one to make a truly compact but capable full frame camera imo.
The dealbreaker for me is the low resolution EVF - buying a camera for 2000$+ but getting no EVF improvement compared to my 2012 Olympus E-M5 is really not an option for me.
I hope Panasonic might see this opportunity and bring out a full frame (L-Mount obvsly) GX8 with a better EVF, I'd instantly buy that...
@shariqahmed336 the Zfc has no grip
@shariqahmed336 I get the appeal of that camera but it isn't really going to be that compact is it? And I think the Z-mount is still missing the choice of compact lenses which Sony has with their beautiful small G primes (24, 40, 50 2.5)...
Meh, I do have the a7c, it is the same evf as the a6000 and I do not see a problem with it, you use the EVF to compose not to pixel peep in live mode. I do not see an issue with it other than we need an accesory like in a6000 for the eye cup.
@@alen2937 Happy if it works for you but I need to be able to judge sharpness in the EVF and to focus manually on occasion - both borderline impossible with this kind of resolution and magnification.
And it raises the question why we can't get it at this price point (at least for the a7CR).
Fuji X100V shows it's possible while retaining a small form factor.
@@jonathanorleyi6600 that is why the magnifier exist, and if you reallly really need more resolution you can go to the a7IV or V. EVF is good as it is and at last in my case, i do focus myself manually too. Sure it can be improved but I do not see myself gaining too much from it.
$4k cad?!.........managed to pick up a RX1R II for $1k cad recently. Perfect as a travel point and shoot.
Would you recommend this A7C ii or Fuji XT5 as a travel camera? (Priority on stills over video)
It's summer 2023 and newly released semi pro cameras still have a single card slot or no onboard storage.
here is one to add to the terms you explain in the podcast ...first curtain shutter whatever it is called
Also potentially an explanation of why exactly it affects bokeh would be interesting.
You know what the crappy ergonomics of the a6000 needs? Well yes that front control dial and the larger battery and grip. But huh, seems like some nice improvements.
I am utterly lost. This feels a lot like the pre-Steve Jobs' return to Apple days when Apple put out a zillion SKUs and totally confused the market.
That’s hilarious, Jaron just made the same comparison in the podcast we recorded today. You can hear it tomorrow!
- Jordan
Waiting for the FX3II with at least 24-32MP haha
Thank you for your initial look of the new generation of A7C bodies.
Mentioned below but to reiterate. These are expensive cameras, in my opinion, for entry level bodies. Yes you are getting the guts of more expensive bodies. The question is will I be satisfied with a $3k entry level body? We are heading towards Leica pricing. Hope you already have glass.
At this price point I would want better features. I realize there is more competition for less seats on the camera go round. If the manufacturers can’t make their money on volume they need to earn more per camera. Seems like Sony is going to Fuji’s playbook. Recycle hard and software of previous models. Sony isn’t as good about the recycling as Fuji is right now.
From your initial review I am not impressed with this crop of A7C bodies. More will be revealed.
Mask On Nurse Marty (Ret)