Don’t call it a compact

Sony’s been right here for years; in truth, it lately celebrated the tenth anniversary of its first Alpha collection full-frame mirrorless digital camera. Quite a bit 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 more durable 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. In actual fact, it was smaller than lots of Micro 4 Thirds cameras.

It did – nonetheless – have a number 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

Really helpful

With the second-gen A7C there are far fewer compromises than with the primary mannequin, delivering an distinctive full-frame expertise in a compact, transportable and light-weight design.

Professionals

• Nice-looking and compact/transportable design
• Highly effective video capabilities
• Object, animal and particular person monitoring is improbable
• Fast and correct autofocus
• Plug-and-play webcam functionality

Cons

• Fairly costly
• Just one SD card slot

Specs, value and availability

The Sony A7C II is obtainable to order now with costs beginning at $2,198 within the US and £2,100 within the UK for the physique solely however might be bought with a equipment lens for round $300/£300 extra.

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’ve got received 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 a giant draw too, particularly in the event you go for the silver model, which has that retro two-tone look with a silver portion on the prime, contrasting towards the black end on the remainder of the digital camera physique. Similar to the A7C R, although, it’s out there in all black in the event you’d somewhat have a extra plain end.

In any other case, the design is actually 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 comfy – and, extra importantly – simple to carry on to.

All of this mixed – as I already talked about in my A7C R evaluate – means it is a delight to hold round in a backpack. Particularly if in case 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 count on in the event you’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, with the ability to maintain it for lengthy durations with out my palms getting drained (thanks partially to the aforementioned grip) was a godsend. Equally, these of you who use handheld gimbals will a lot want 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 essential

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 nicely. It is not only a good stills digital camera or an excellent video digital camera; it is also a a lot better webcam than what you will have in your laptop computer or desktop already.

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It has been surprisingly helpful having the A7C II arrange on a bit of tripod on my desk, linked with a USB-C cable to my Mac Mini. And the most effective 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 ‘Stay stream’ possibility on the digital camera, and it is able to go, similar 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 might set it up in a manner that makes it simple to make use of. I might 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 might alter the aperture manually utilizing the lens.

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This did – after all – imply digging by way of the settings menus for a couple of minutes, discovering the place all of the dial and button customization decisions are. And there are lots of them. In addition to dials, you may customise every of the customized perform 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 probably the most wanted capabilities and settings utilizing easy gestures on the touchscreen.

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You too can have completely different settings relying on which capturing mode you are utilizing. So – for example – in ‘Clever Auto’ I might contact the display, and it’d focus after which instantly seize the picture with out urgent any buttons. Within the guide, I might change between both having it focus after I tapped a degree on the display or having it observe an object after I tapped it on the display.

In addition to all of that, you’ve got received just about all of the ports you would 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 displays and the digital multi-interface shoe on the highest for these instances you need to use fancy flashes or multichannel XLR audio inputs.

Arguably, the one factor it is lacking on the ports aspect of issues is a second SD card slot. It is positively one thing you miss whenever you’re accustomed to having two, for these instances you get so engrossed in a shoot that you simply 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 part for superior topic recognition – to ship pictures and video that look nice in nearly any situation.

For videographers, the power 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 top quality, data-rich video footage. Your solely limits are how a lot cupboard space you will have and whether or not your storage is quick sufficient.

While you mix this with Sony’s glorious topic monitoring, the AI topic recognition and 5-axis in-body stabilization – it delivers in buckets. You possibly can see a number of instance clips within the embedded video above, or head over to YouTube for the total 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 mix of phase-detection and contrast-detection autofocus. With that, and the AI processor with the ability to detect and observe people (even when their face is hidden), animals, bugs and numerous automobiles, and it turns into fairly exhausting to overlook your shot.

What’s extra, you may 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 capable of take photos with beautiful, pure and easy bokeh (background blur) with out actually having to strive. Regulate the ISO, faucet to focus, snap a shot, increase – tasty bokeh.

Verdict

It might not have the tremendous high-resolution sensor of the A7CR, however the A7C II would not have as excessive a price ticket both. I believe the A7C II will tick lots of containers for a lot of completely different individuals. Whether or not you are a photographer or videographer, having this degree of sensor and capabilities in a product this small, light-weight and transportable is a dream.

As with lots 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 have a look at what it provides you – notably when it comes to autofocus, real-time monitoring and picture readability, it is a value price paying. It is an distinctive small digital camera and one I might be joyful to have in my equipment bag.