Two new models join Sony’s mirrorless family – the Alpha 7C II (model ILCE-7CM2) the successor to the A7C, and a new spin-off model, the Alpha 7C R (model ILCE-7CR). The two models target two separate groups – one is those looking for a compact yet feature-rich camera body, and the other is those looking for the highest resolution possible, but in something condensed and easy to carry around.
The design of the two is largely the same, with the body sharing the looks of the original A7C launched nearly three years ago. The biggest difference is that the A7C II has a silver top, while the A7C R is clad in all black. Underneath the skin is where the major changes lie.
Sony A7C II: Wide appeal powered by 33MP
Treat the A7C II as a smaller A7 IV, and you are not far off. It shares the same 33MP back-illuminated full-frame sensor, along with the Bionz XR image processing engine. Because of this pairing, the A7C II is perfectly suited for photography and videography enthusiasts.
It has the same excellent features as the A7 IV – great autofocus, image performance, and 4K video recording, but now it also features Sony’s latest AI prowess via the dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) processing engine. This enables a suite of high-end features such as robust subject recognition, real-time tracking, and AI-based Auto Framing.
That AI processing? Sony claims that it delivers a 40% performance improvement for photographing animals and birds, a 60% improvement with Eye AF, and a 20% reliability boost for AE versus the A7C. Not too shabby.
The performance of the A7C II is no slouch – it can capture up to 10 frames per second using its mechanical or electronic shutter.
For video, the A7C II record 4K video, but with 7K oversampling. This means you have some buffer space if you need to push the video to the max. Other features include 4K/60p video in Super35 format, 10-bit 4:2:2 colour sampling, records HLG, includes S-Log3 and S-Cinetone, and 120fps at Full HD. The last one will be perfect for slow-mo scenes.
The body of the A7C II only weighs 514 grams with the battery and memory card, which is unfortunately only a single-slot design – a UHS-II SD card slot. In comparison, the A7 IV weighs 659 grams with the memory card and battery.
Composing images with the camera can be done in two ways – via the articulating 3.0-inch vari-angle LCD with 1.03 million dots or the OLED viewfinder with 2.36 million dots.
A7C R: 61MP of compact full-frame goodness
Like the A7C II, the A7C can be treated as a compact version of a previous model – in this case, the A7R V. It shares the same sensor too – a 61.0-megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R full-frame image sensor.
When compared to the larger camera, the A7C R offers more in a petite body. At 515 grams all in, it is almost 30% in weight reduction to the A7R V. This means you get the same imaging power without feeling too fatigued while lugging it around.
It shares a lot of features with the A7C II as well such as AI processing, the same number of autofocus points (693), the same autofocus area coverage (79%) and even the same number of memory card slots – one.
However, the A7C R only captures up to 8 frames per second using its mechanical and 7 frames per second electronic shutter.
It can record 4K60 video and shares similar features as the A7C II. It is however missing the 8K video recording from the A7R V, so if you are looking for a super high-resolution video recording solution, this ain’t it.
Controls-wise, the A7C R is a twin of the A7C II, down to the same 2.36 million dot viewfinder.
The A7C II and A7C R are expected to have a recommended retail price of USD 2,199.99 (about RM 10,193.46) and USD 2,999.99 (about RM13,901.86) respectively. No news yet on when the cameras will be available for the Malaysian market.
