Sony A7CII Thoughts After Two Months
PROS:
The A7C was already one of my favorite cameras of all time and this improves on it a lot more than I thought when just seeing the specs. The added front dial alone makes it many times easier to control than the older model, and lets me use my typical Sony setup that I’ve grown accustomed to (aperture on front dial, shutter speed on rear dial, and ISO on the scroll wheel).
This is the quickest operating Sony camera I’ve owned. I think they kind of lulled me into forgetting how fast cameras can be going from off to on and taking photos. The A7RII was slow as heck with each subsequent model I’ve owned getting faster and faster (A7III to A7C to A7RIV). This new Sony is at a level of speed that makes it hard to go back to using the A7RIV which I still own (for now).
The autofocus is superb. I still haven’t really put it through its paces since I got the camera in the winter and the lack of light plus uncooperative weather has made it tricky to go out and shoot, but from what I have shot it’s nearly flawless. It’s way better than any camera I’ve owned before. It also has some really neat autofocusing modes, like the ability to focus on the eyes of birds. I’m not really around birds close up all that often but it worked really well at an exotic bird place in Jersey I went to recently.
The camera is 33 megapixels, which is a nice compromise between feeling like it’s sometimes too much (61) or too little (24).
The in-body image stabilization is really good. It’s certainly the best I’ve used in any camera so far…although to be fair I’ve never used a Nikon/Canon/Fuji/Olympus body with IBIS, only Ricoh (GRIII), Panasonic (GX7 and GX85), and Sony.
It can lower the shutter when switching lenses so dust doesn’t get in there. Not gonna lie it seems kind of dangerous and something that could potentially damage the shutter, but so far it’s kept the dust out.
CONS:
The viewfinder isn’t great. I’ve never really been an EVF snob since I’ve been shooting on mirrorless EVFs for over a decade now (I had a V1 back in 2013), but going from the A7RIV to this makes it kind of stick out. I also recently handled an A7RV, which really blows it out the water. With autofocus lenses it’s no problem, but using manual focus lenses is more difficult. On the plus side, it automatically goes into peaking mode when you manually focus, even when using adapted lenses or lenses without electrical contacts.
The camera only has one card slot. Not a huge dealbreaker considering every other camera I own aside from my A7RIV is the same in that regard. A second slot even if it was a micro would have been great though. A nice thing about the A7RIV is that I’ve never left home without a memory card because even if I forget one there’s always another in there.
No joystick. Again, not completely necessary but it’s nice to have. Most of my subjects aren’t humans (or animals, or other things that the camera can instinctively detect) so there are plenty of times I want to position the focus point myself.
Slow flash sync and shutter speed. This camera is like the A7C before it in that it only flash syncs up to 1/160. It also only shoots up to 1/4000.
Still don't love the flip screen because it makes quick waist-level shooting a pain in the ass. I wish they went with the A7RV style screen.
Speaking of, all the new perks on this camera make me want to use it a ton more than my A7RIV, but it also makes me want to get an A7RV. Maybe I'll sell my X100V since the prices are nuts right now...
SAMPLE PHOTOS:
Sony 85mm f/1.8 | ISO: 250, f/2.8, 1/125 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/160 sec
Sony 85mm f/1.8 | ISO 5000, f/1.8, 1/50 sec
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 @ 20mm | ISO 3200, f/2.8, 1/125 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 100, f/2, 1/160 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 12800, f/2, 1/50 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/640 sec
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 @ 32mm | ISO 320, f/2.8, 1/20 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 100, f/1.8, 1/500 sec
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 @ 37mm | ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/40 sec
Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM w/ K&F Concept Black Diffusion 1/4 Filter | ISO 8000, f/1.4, 1/50 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 250, f/1.8, 1/125 sec
Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 | ISO 250, f/2, 1/125 sec
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 @ 20mm | ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/40 sec
Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM | ISO 8000, f/1.6, 1/50 sec
Tamron 20-40mm f/2.8 @ 20mm | ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/320 sec
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