As promised earlier, Sony has introduced two new full-frame a7C cameras – Sony a7C II and Sony a7C R. The letter C in the name means “compact”. The Sony a7C II is equipped with a 33MP full-frame sensor, 10-bit 4K60 Super35 video and 10-bit 4:2:2 video at up to 4K 30fps, and will sell for $2,198. The Sony a7CR offers a 61MP sensor and 10-bit 4:2:2 video at up to 4K 60fps full frame, and will cost $2,998.
Sony a7C II
Sony a7C II
Experts compare the Sony a7C II to the highly successful a7 IV, only in a compact body. At the heart of the Sony a7C II is a 33MP full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor and Sony BIONZ XR processor, just like the Sony a7 IV. The difference is that the a7C II is equipped with a new autofocus based on artificial intelligence with object recognition. The camera also improved the 5-axis IBIS stabilization with up to 7 stops of compensation, and added several additional video features such as M-LUT and auto framing.
Sony a7C II
The camera has a proprietary autofocus with recognition of various objects and the eyes of a person / animal, it also recognizes the face, head and body of a person, vehicles such as an airplane, car and train, as well as insects. Tracking is real-time thanks to a phase-detection autofocus system covering 93% of the sensor, even in low light down to EV -4.0. ISO sensitivity for both photos and videos ranging from 50 to 102400.
Interfaces Sony a7C II
Video recording
The a7C II’s video recording options are similar to the a7 IV’s, shooting 4K at up to 30fps full frame or up to 60fps in Super35 with oversampling and 10-bit 4:2:2 color. S-log3, Creative Look and S-Cinetone profiles are available. To record sound, there is a Mi-shoe interface with 4 channels.
Other video features include in-camera slow motion, M-LUT monitoring, auto framing with subject tracking, focus breath reduction, focus peaking, focus map, and white balance adjustment during recording.
The camera has a compact body of 124 x 71 x 64mm and weighs 525g. Those who are used to working with the viewfinder will appreciate the 0.39″ XGA OLED viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36MP with x 0.7 magnification and a refresh rate of 60 or 120 k / s. There is also a 3-inch 3:2 vari-angle LCD touch screen.
Powered by a Sony Z battery, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 up to 5Gbps with fast charging power, 3.5mm microphone and headphone interfaces, one UHS-II SD card slot and HDMI type D, Wi-Fi and NFC.
Sony a7CR
Sony a7CR
The Sony a7CR is being called the little brother of the a7R V. The Sony a7CR offers 61MP resolution and full-frame 4K60 10-bit video in a compact body and the same new Sony BIONZ XR image processor. The camera can record 10-bit 4:2:2 video at up to 4K 60fps in full frame with a 1.2 crop. There is a 3-inch LCD touch screen, electronic viewfinder, Sony Z battery, USB-C PD, two 3.5mm jacks and an HDMI output.
The camera can shoot bursts at up to 8 fps using EF/AE, for a total of 36 photos per burst in RAW format. You can also switch between full-frame 60MP and 26MP APS-C photos when shooting in RAW.
Sony a7CR
Autofocus is reminiscent of the Sony a7C II with its functions, sensors cover about 79% of the sensor. 5-axis IBIS image stabilization compensates up to 7 stops. The ISO range for both photos and videos is the same: ISO 50 – 102,400.
Video recording
Unlike the a7C II, the a7CR can record 4K video at up to 60fps in full frame, albeit at a crop of 1.2, with full binned pixel readout. You can record 4K with 6.2K oversampling in Super35 format with 10-bit 4:2:2 color in XAVC SI and XAVC HS codecs. The camera supports 16-bit RAW video output via HDMI – the company plans integration with the Atomos Ninja V and Ninja V+ and plans a special announcement about this soon.
Interfaces Sony a7CR
Video can be shot with S-log3, Creative Look and S-Cinetone, the Mi-shoe interface provides up to 4 channels of audio recording, and offers the same list of advanced video recording features as the a7C II. The body of the a7CR measures 124 x 71 x 64 mm and weighs 525 g. The screen, viewfinder and all interfaces are the same as in the a7C II.
Both cameras are equipped with both a mechanical and an electronic shutter, and recently we have found out that this is extremely important for correct work with studio flash lighting. Considering the fact that the Sony a7C II is not much more expensive than the ZV-E1, the reason for choosing the ZV-E1 is now a very big question.
According to some videos that surfaced online immediately after the cameras premiered, the a7C II can be used with the SmallRig rig from the previous model, the a7C. For example, Caleb Pike from the DSLR Video Shooter channel talks about this.
a7C II presentation
a7CR presentation
