Sony’s been right here for years; in actual fact, it lately celebrated the tenth anniversary of its first Alpha sequence full-frame mirrorless digital camera. Lots has modified since then, however it could be very simple to argue that – of all of the digital camera makers – Sony has been driving innovation tougher than most.
An enormous a part of that innovation has been cramming full-frame sensors, superior processing capabilities and the required thermal effectivity right into a compact digital camera physique. For its time, the primary A7 was actually compact, however then – a few years in the past – the A7C was launched. It took the mirrorless full body into an all-new degree of compactness. Actually, it was smaller than plenty of Micro 4 Thirds cameras.
It did – nevertheless – have a couple of compromises. Now, although, the second era is right here, and I have been testing it to see if these compromises have been alleviated.
Sony A7C II
Beneficial
With the second-gen A7C there are far fewer compromises than with the primary mannequin, delivering an distinctive full-frame expertise in a compact, moveable and light-weight design.
Specs, value and availability
The Sony A7C II is accessible to order now with costs beginning at $2,198 within the US and £2,100 within the UK for the physique solely however may be bought with a package lens for round $300/£300 extra.
Model Sony
Sensor Dimension 35MM FULL FRAME – 35.9 X 23.9MM – Exmor R CMOS sensor
Video Decision 4K – 3840 X 2160 (4:2:2, 10BIT): 59.94P
Photograph Decision 33-MEGAPIXEL
Battery Sony NP-FZ100 – As much as 560 photographs – As much as 100 minutes video (actual life)
Dimension 124.0 x 71.1 x 63.4mm
Weight 429G
Lens Sony E Mount
Storage Single SD card
Compact retro vibes
Similar to the primary era A7C – and the A7C R I reviewed extra lately – the most important promoting level of the second era A7C is its portability. The very fact you have acquired entry to a full body Sony sensor inside (plus plenty of Sony’s newest smarts) however in a digital camera that weighs simply over 500g is fairly improbable. For reference, it is round 144g lighter than the Sony A7 IV, which is not an insignificant distinction.
Styling is an enormous draw too, particularly for those who go for the silver model, which has that retro two-tone look with a silver portion on the high, contrasting in opposition to the black end on the remainder of the digital camera physique. Similar to the A7C R, although, it’s out there in all black for those who’d quite have a extra plain end.
In any other case, the design is basically equivalent to the A7C R, and that is no unhealthy factor. The dials and buttons are sensibly positioned, and the grip on the entrance is generously sized. Which means it is snug – and, extra importantly – simple to carry on to.
All of this mixed – as I already talked about in my A7C R assessment – means it is a delight to hold round in a backpack. Particularly when you have a comparatively small lens like the brand new F/2.8 16-35mm G Grasp I used to be testing alongside it. As you’d anticipate for those who’ve been following Sony for the previous few years, sure, it is E Mount, opening it as much as a variety of greater than 70 first-party lenses.
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There are different advantages to the smaller measurement and lighter construct. For me personally, having the ability to maintain it for lengthy durations with out my arms getting drained (thanks partly to the aforementioned grip) was a godsend. Equally, these of you who use handheld gimbals will a lot favor a smaller A7C II digital camera to Sony’s bigger fashions as a result of it is much less more likely to overload the stabilizing mechanism.
Versatility is vital
One of many nice issues about Sony’s most up-to-date cameras is how they don’t seem to be simply designed to do one factor effectively. It is not only a good stills digital camera or a very good video digital camera; it is also a significantly better webcam than what you’ve in your laptop computer or desktop already.
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It has been surprisingly helpful having the A7C II arrange on slightly tripod on my desk, linked with a USB-C cable to my Mac Mini. And one of the best half is you do not even have to obtain any devoted software program or fiddle with difficult settings. Simply plug the cable in, choose the ‘Dwell stream’ choice on the digital camera, and it is able to go, identical to an everyday USB webcam can be.
Customizing the buttons and dials to my needs and preferences was additionally a serious plus level. It provides flexibility and means I may set it up in a manner that makes it simple to make use of. I may set the entrance dial on the grip to regulate the shutter velocity and the rear dial for ISO, after which – due to the lens I used to be utilizing – I may modify the aperture manually utilizing the lens.
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This did – in fact – imply digging by the settings menus for a couple of minutes, discovering the place all of the dial and button customization decisions are. And there are plenty of them. In addition to dials, you’ll be able to customise every of the customized operate buttons and alter what the rotating dial/directional pad on the again does in several modes.
Setting the main focus level was additionally easy, because of the digital camera being loaded with Sony’s newest digital camera software program. This has elevated the expertise of utilizing the flip-out touchscreen to make it very easy to get to essentially the most wanted capabilities and settings utilizing easy gestures on the touchscreen.
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It’s also possible to have completely different settings relying on which capturing mode you are utilizing. So – as an illustration – in ‘Clever Auto’ I may contact the display screen, and it’d focus after which instantly seize the photograph with out urgent any buttons. Within the handbook, I would change between both having it focus after I tapped some extent on the display screen or having it monitor an object after I tapped it on the display screen.
In addition to all of that, you have acquired just about all of the ports you can want. There’s USB-C for charging shortly and connecting to your Mac/PC. There’s 3.5mm enter for mics, 3.5mm output for headphones, micro HDMI for screens and the digital multi-interface shoe on the highest for these occasions you wish to use fancy flashes or multichannel XLR audio inputs.
Arguably, the one factor it is lacking on the ports facet of issues is a second SD card slot. It is positively one thing you miss whenever you’re accustomed to having two, for these occasions you get so engrossed in a shoot that you just replenish a reminiscence card.
Stills and video
One of many areas the primary era A7C was left wanting was within the space of video high quality. Not that it was unhealthy at video; it simply did not fairly attain the peaks of the larger fashions when it comes to bitrate, color depth or – even – body charges. The A7C ii ups the ante right here.
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It is constructed across the 33-megapixel backside-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor, which is paired with a Bionz XR processing engine – and an AI element for superior topic recognition – to ship photographs and video that look nice in nearly any situation.
For videographers, the flexibility to shoot as much as 4K decision 4:2:2 10-bit video as much as 60 frames-per-second and at 600Mbps bitrates means it is able to capturing actually prime quality, data-rich video footage. Your solely limits are how a lot space for storing you’ve and whether or not your storage is quick sufficient.
While you mix this with Sony’s wonderful topic monitoring, the AI topic recognition and 5-axis in-body stabilization – it delivers in buckets. You possibly can see a couple of instance clips within the embedded video above, or head over to YouTube for the complete 4K decision.
As has been the case for the previous few years, Sony’s auto-focusing is exceptionally correct and fast. That is because of the mixture of phase-detection and contrast-detection autofocus. With that, and the AI processor having the ability to detect and monitor people (even when their face is hidden), animals, bugs and numerous autos, and it turns into fairly onerous to overlook your shot.
What’s extra, you’ll be able to crank the ISO up fairly excessive in low-light situations with out it producing an excessive amount of noise. There is a tiny little bit of noise whenever you crank as much as 1600, however not that a lot, and never in a manner that causes the standard of the picture to deteriorate.
Mixed with the brand new 16-35mm f/2.8 Sony lens, I used to be in a position to take photos with beautiful, pure and easy bokeh (background blur) with out actually having to attempt. Modify the ISO, faucet to focus, snap a shot, growth – tasty bokeh.
Verdict
It might not have the tremendous high-resolution sensor of the A7CR, however the A7C II does not have as excessive a price ticket both. I feel the A7C II will tick plenty of bins for a lot of completely different folks. Whether or not you are a photographer or videographer, having this degree of sensor and capabilities in a product this small, light-weight and moveable is a dream.
As with plenty of Sony cameras, there is a sense that the A7C II is a tad costly, with a price ticket north of $2000/£2000 for simply the physique, however whenever you take a look at what it provides you – notably when it comes to autofocus, real-time monitoring and picture readability, it is a value value paying. It is an distinctive small digital camera and one I would be glad to have in my package bag.