Sony’s New a7C Mark II is Robustly Powerful, Compact and Affordable.
News | By Stephan Jukic | August 30, 2023
Sony has finally launched a dramatically improved successor to its Sony a7C camera from a couple of years ago, and it’s packed with powerful specs.
The new a7C Mark II has been announced alongside Sony’s a7CR model camera and both of these shooters from the highly-regarded Sony camera brand promise, and deliver, lots of performance in compact, superbly versatile designs.
Here’s a closer look at the cheaper of these two cameras, the a7C II. We go into detail about the truly remarkable a7CR in this second post.
The Sony a7C II
When the original Sony a7C emerged in 2020, it was considered a condensed and lighter variant of the a7 III. With the introduction of the a7C II, Sony is doing the same but in making the new cameras a slightly pared-down version of the Sony a7 IV.
The new camera offers a 33-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor with back-illumination and XR image processing engine that are all the same as those in the a7 IV. However, it’s more compact and with the potential for very broad appeal among photographers of all types and videographers too.
This full-frame camera runs a razor-sharp autofocus that’s as typically fast as you’d expect from a Sony shooter. It also shoots high-quality 4K video with 7K oversampling at speeds of up to 60fps in its Super35 format.
The a7C II tops its video chops off with 10-bit 4:2:2 color sampling, HLG recording and both S-Log3 and S-Cinetone.
Another useful video feature of the a7C II is the ability to shoot video at up to 120p, though only in Full HD. This makes it a useful device for experimental shooting situations and an in-camera timelapse feature adds to its abilities.
For photo enthusiasts, the a7C II delivers a ton of features for extreme photographic versatility.
Its advanced autofocus is AI-enhanced via its processing engine and lets the camera have features like subject recognition, real-time tracking and AI-powered Auto Framing.
The a7C II also offers a whopping 759 AF points that cover roughly 94% of its sensor space and can shoot as many as 10 frames per second with full AF/AE tracking activated. These AF capabilities work with both its mechanical and electronic shutter modes.
That last point is worth commenting on further because the a7C II doesn’t even have a fully mechanical shutter. Instead, it uses an electronic first-curtain version that mostly delivers the same results.
Sony’s a7 II delivered many of the same above specs as the new a7C II does, but this latest Sony camera’s dedicated AI processing technology and subject recognition technologies are wholly new features for this price range.
The a7C II also happens to deliver better AF despite its lower price and smaller size.
Sony itself claims that its AI-based AF enhancements in both the a7C II and the a7CR let these cameras perform 40% better for wildlife photography and 60% on Eye AF than their predecessors.
Finally, the a7C II’s host of peripheral features is also definitely worth noting. First among these is advanced internal image stabilization with seven stops of compensation if paired with an image-stabilized lens.
Additionally, the a7C II comes with anti-flicker and high-frequency flicker-free shooting modes, lossless RAW, several Creative Look presets and in-camera timelapse shooting.
It also has separate jacks for headphone and microphone connections while sporting an exceptionally ergonomic grip.
Another functional addition to the a7C II that any photographer could appreciate is a second, front command dial like those found in Sony’s pricier camera models. This feature is built into both the a7C II and the a7CR.
For all of its internal specs and features, the a7C II is small and light indeed. This little camera weighs just 18-1 ounces, or just over half a kilo and that’s with both battery and its single UHS-II memory card included.
Sony has given the a7C II a 1.03-million-dot adjustable LCD rear screen and a 2.36-million-dot OLED EVF with 0.7x magnification.
One unfortunate omission in the a7C II that the Aa7 IV does offer is a dedicated AF control joystick for even easier AF adjustments during shooting.
The a7C II is going for $2,199 for the body only or for $2,499.99 with a 28-60mm kit lens. The camera comes in partially grey or all-black versions and will be shipping in the fall.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
