Index
The Sony A7C is a full-frame mirrorless camera that was first introduced in 2020. It is known for its compact size, high image quality, and advanced features. It is equipped with a 24.2-megapixel Exmor R sensor and a BIONZ X image processor, which allow for fast and accurate autofocus, high-resolution stills and 4K video recording.
The camera also features a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system and a high-density tracking autofocus system, making it suitable for both stills and video capture. Additionally, it has a durable build and a range of customizable controls, making it a popular choice among professional photographers and enthusiasts alike.
- 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor
- BIONZ X image processor
- ISO range of 100-51200 (expandable to 50-204800)
- 10 fps continuous shooting with AF/AE
- Fast Hybrid AF system with 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast detection points
- 5-axis in-body image stabilization
- 3.0-inch tilting touchscreen LCD with 921k dots resolution
- OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.36 million dots resolution
- 4K movie recording at 30 fps with full pixel readout
- S-Log2/S-Log3 Gamma and HLG support for video recording
- Dual SD card slots (UHS-II compatible)
- USB 3.1 Type-C port and WiFi/NFC/Bluetooth connectivity
- Compact and lightweight body with weather-sealed design
- Shutter rated for 200,000 actuations
Key Features
- 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor: The high-resolution sensor allows for detailed and accurate image capture, with excellent low-light performance.
- Fast Hybrid AF system: The camera has 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast detection points, which provide fast and accurate autofocus, even in low-light conditions.
- 5-axis in-body image stabilization: It is equipped with a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system, which helps to reduce blur and improve image sharpness when shooting in low-light or with long exposures.
- 4K movie recording: The camera can record 4K video at 30 fps with full pixel readout, providing high-quality video footage with excellent detail and color.
- Compact and lightweight body: It is designed to be compact and lightweight, making it easy to carry around and handle.
- Weather-sealed design: The camera has a weather-sealed body, making it suitable for use in a variety of outdoor conditions.
- Customizable controls: It has a wide range of customizable controls, including buttons, dials, and a customizable function menu, which allow you to easily adjust settings and access frequently used features.
- OLED electronic viewfinder: The camera has a high-resolution OLED electronic viewfinder, which provides a clear and bright view of your subject, and allows you to compose shots with precision.
- Dual SD card slots: It is equipped with dual SD card slots, which provide additional storage and backup options for your photos and videos.
- Compact and lightweight body: The camera is designed to be compact and lightweight, making it easy to carry around and handle. It’s perfect for travel, street photography and everyday use
- High image quality: The 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processor provide excellent image quality and low-light performance.
- Fast autofocus: The Fast Hybrid AF system with 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast detection points provide fast and accurate autofocus.
- In-body image stabilization: The 5-axis in-body image stabilization system helps to reduce blur and improve image sharpness when shooting in low-light or with long exposures.
- 4K video recording: The camera can record 4K video at 30 fps with full pixel readout, providing high-quality video footage with excellent detail and color.
- Weather-sealed design: The camera has a weather-sealed body, making it suitable for use in a variety of outdoor conditions.
- Limited battery life: The battery life on the A7C is not as long as some other mirrorless cameras, which may limit the number of shots you can take before needing to recharge.
- Limited buffer: The camera’s buffer is small, which may limit the number of shots you can take in burst mode.
- Limited customization: While the camera has a wide range of customizable controls, some photographers may find that it doesn’t offer as much customization as some other cameras in its class.
- No built-in flash: The camera doesn’t have a built-in flash, which may be an inconvenience for some photographers.
- No dual card slots: The camera only has one SD card slot which may be a limitation for some photographers that need to backup their files frequently.
Build and Handling
It has a compact and lightweight build, making it easy to handle and carry around. The camera body is constructed of a combination of metal and high-quality plastic materials, which gives it a durable and solid feel. The camera features a weather-sealed design that helps to protect it from dust and moisture, making it suitable for use in a variety of outdoor conditions.
The camera’s layout and controls are well-designed, making it easy to navigate and adjust settings. It has a variety of customizable buttons and dials, including a customizable function menu, which allows you to easily access frequently used features. The camera also features a large OLED electronic viewfinder, which provides a clear and bright view of your subject and allows you to compose shots with precision.
The camera’s 3.0-inch tilting touchscreen LCD with 921k dots resolution is bright and easy to navigate, making it easy to review and share your images and videos. The camera’s dimensions are 5.0 x 3.8 x 2.5 inches and weighs approximately 503g (body only) which makes it very easy to handle and maneuver, even with larger lenses.
Performance
It is a high-performance camera that offers excellent image quality and advanced features. The camera is equipped with a 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X image processor, which provide fast and accurate autofocus, high-resolution stills, and 4K video recording.
The camera’s autofocus system is fast and accurate, thanks to its Fast Hybrid AF system that has 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast detection points. This allows the camera to quickly lock onto and track subjects, making it suitable for a wide range of photography and videography scenarios. The camera also has a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system, which helps to reduce blur and improve image sharpness when shooting in low-light or with long exposures.
The camera’s 4K video recording feature is also a major selling point, with the ability to record 4K video at 30 fps with full pixel readout, providing high-quality video footage with excellent detail and color. The camera also supports S-Log2/S-Log3 Gamma and HLG for video recording, which allows for more flexibility in color grading and post-processing.
The camera’s continuous shooting speed of 10 fps with AF/AE allows you to capture fast-moving action, and the dual SD card slots allows for additional storage and backup options for your photos and videos.
Auto-Focus
It has a fast and accurate autofocus system, thanks to its Fast Hybrid AF system. This system uses a combination of phase-detection and contrast-detection autofocus technologies, allowing the camera to quickly lock onto and track subjects. It has 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast detection points, which provide a high-density coverage of the image area. This allows the camera to focus quickly and accurately, even in low-light conditions.
The camera also has a variety of autofocus modes, including Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot, Expand Flexible Spot, and Lock-on AF. These modes allow you to choose the autofocus area and tracking options that best suit your shooting situation. For example, the Wide autofocus mode uses a wide area to focus on the subject, while the Flexible Spot autofocus mode allows you to select a specific point in the frame to focus on.
The camera also has Eye AF, which automatically detects and focuses on a subject’s eyes, making it ideal for portrait photography. Additionally, it has Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF, which tracks and maintains focus on a moving subject, ensuring that the subject remains in focus even when they’re moving.
Image Stabilization
It is equipped with a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system, which helps to reduce blur and improve image sharpness when shooting in low-light or with long exposures. This system compensates for camera shake along 5 different axes: pitch, yaw, horizontal and vertical shift, and roll. This allows the camera to capture sharp images even when shooting in low light or with long exposures, without the need for a tripod.
The image stabilization system also works in conjunction with lens-based image stabilization systems, providing an additional level of image stabilization. This allows the camera to capture sharp images even when using lenses that do not have built-in image stabilization.
The A7C’s 5-axis stabilization is particularly useful when shooting in low-light, where a slow shutter speed is required to capture enough light, and also when shooting video, where the image stabilization helps to smooth out camera movements and create more stable footage.
Overall, the Sony A7C’s 5-axis in-body image stabilization system is a major selling point of the camera, and it’s one of the most advanced image stabilization systems available in a camera of its class. It allows the camera to capture sharp images even when shooting in low-light or with long exposures, without the need for a tripod, making it a great option for photographers who value image quality and versatility.
Low Light Performance
It offers excellent low-light performance, thanks to its 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processor. The sensor has a wide ISO range of 100-51200 (expandable to 50-204800), which allows the camera to capture images with minimal noise and excellent detail even in low-light conditions.
The camera’s 5-axis in-body image stabilization system also helps to reduce blur and improve image sharpness when shooting in low-light or with long exposures. This allows the camera to capture sharp images even when shooting at slow shutter speeds, without the need for a tripod.
The camera also has a variety of autofocus modes, including Wide, Zone, Center, Flexible Spot, Expand Flexible Spot, and Lock-on AF, which provide fast and accurate autofocus even in low-light conditions. Additionally, the camera has Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF, which tracks and maintains focus on a moving subject, ensuring that the subject remains in focus even in low-light conditions.
It also has a variety of shooting modes and features that are specifically designed for low-light photography, including a silent shooting mode, which allows you to take pictures without making any noise, and a built-in intervalometer, which allows you to capture time-lapse sequences in low-light conditions.
Overall, It offers excellent low-light performance, thanks to its high-resolution sensor, advanced image stabilization system, and fast autofocus system. It’s a great option for photographers who value image quality and versatility when shooting in low-light conditions.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Sony A7C is not as long as some other mirrorless cameras. The camera is powered by a NP-FZ100 rechargeable battery, which provides approximately 610 shots per charge when using the viewfinder and approximately 740 shots per charge when using the LCD screen. This is a bit lower than some other mirrorless cameras in its class.
It’s important to note that the battery life can vary depending on the specific shooting conditions and the usage of the camera’s features. For example, if you’re using the camera’s live view mode, recording video, or using the WiFi and Bluetooth, the battery life will be shorter.
To extend the battery life, you can use the camera’s power-saving options, such as turning off the LCD screen when not in use, or using the camera’s sleep mode to conserve battery power when the camera is not in use. Additionally, you can purchase an extra battery and keep it with you as a backup, so you can continue shooting when the battery runs low.
It is not as long as some other mirrorless cameras, but it’s still acceptable. If you’re planning to use the camera frequently, it’s recommended to have an extra battery to ensure that you don’t run out of power in the middle of a shooting session.
Value for Money
It is a high-performance camera that offers excellent image quality and advanced features, making it a great option for photographers who value portability and versatility.
The camera’s compact and lightweight body, fast autofocus system, and 5-axis in-body image stabilization system make it a great option for photographers who value portability and ease of use. Additionally, its 4K video recording, advanced autofocus, and image stabilization features make it a versatile and high-performance camera that is suitable for a wide range of photography and videography scenarios.
The camera’s price point is considered to be in the upper-mid range for full-frame mirrorless cameras, it is more expensive than some other mirrorless cameras in its class, but it offers some advanced features that other cameras in its price range don’t have.
It is a great option for photographers who are looking for a high-performance camera that offers excellent image quality and advanced features in a compact and lightweight body. While it’s not the cheapest camera in its class, it offers a good value for money, as it offers a range of advanced features and excellent image quality that are suitable for a wide range of photography and videography scenarios.
FAQs
Verdict
It is a high-performance camera that offers excellent image quality and advanced features in a compact and lightweight body. Its 24.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ X image processor provide excellent image quality and low-light performance, while its fast autofocus system and 5-axis in-body image stabilization system make it a great option for photographers who value portability and ease of use.
Additionally, its 4K video recording, advanced autofocus, and image stabilization features make it a versatile and high-performance camera that is suitable for a wide range of photography and videography scenarios.
The camera’s design and controls are well-designed, making it easy to navigate and adjust settings, and the weather-sealed body makes it suitable for use in a variety of outdoor conditions. However, the camera’s limited battery life and buffer, as well as the fact that it only has one SD card slot are something to consider.
Overall, the Sony A7C is a great option for photographers who are looking for a high-performance camera that offers excellent image quality and advanced features in a compact and lightweight body. While it’s not the cheapest camera in its class, it offers a good value for money, as it offers a range of advanced features and excellent image quality that are suitable for a wide range of photography and videography scenarios.