If so, curious on how you use both and when you decide to use one over another. I have an A9i that I primarily use for kids sports, but recently got a good deal on a new A7Cii so I grabbed it. I haven’t used it yet and can still return it, and so far I don’t find it all that smaller than the A9.
Wondering for people who use both, if the A7Cii does anything better than the A9, besides higher resolution and a slightly smaller package? Trying to decide if it’s worth keeping both - plan was A9 for sports and A7Cii for everyday.
thats a tough call, i played with the a7c2 a month ago and same conclusion as you is not much smaller than my a7iv. and its a little brick ,ive just taken my a6300 away and left my a7iv at home and havnt missed it.
I have both A7CII and A9. A9 was my main Sony camera for everything until original A7C was released, and since then I've used A7C and now A7CII as my main daily camera, and A9 has been relegated to shooting events and fast action (mostly traditional Japanese summer festivals). I like to use all of these cameras in electronic / silent mode pretty much all the time (except in artificial light) and A7C / A7CII are not really suitable for action shooting in silent mode. My daily shooting is mostly of still subjects so A7C / A7CII work fine for that. I do think A7C / A7CII are sufficiently smaller than A9 and I much prefer the smaller cameras for daily walk-around shooting with relatively light and small lenses. I shoot them with manual focus lenses quite a lot, including CV E-mount glass and many adapted M/LTM lenses + others. A9 doesn't have the best dynamic range at base ISO and A7C / A7CII are much better in that regard as well.
My main subjects are my family including two young kids, so usually some movement going on. I assume the A7Cii is more than capable of movement, but not ideal for super fast action? I also have an X100V but the AF just doesn’t work great for what I need so I was hoping the A7Cii would supplement that in a little bit of a larger footprint.
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I have both A7CII and A9. A9 was my main Sony camera for everything until original A7C was released, and since then I've used A7C and now A7CII as my main daily camera, and A9 has been relegated to shooting events and fast action (mostly traditional Japanese summer festivals). I like to use all of these cameras in electronic / silent mode pretty much all the time (except in artificial light) and A7C / A7CII are not really suitable for action shooting in silent mode. My daily shooting is mostly of still subjects so A7C / A7CII work fine for that. I do think A7C / A7CII are sufficiently smaller than A9 and I much prefer the smaller cameras for daily walk-around shooting with relatively light and small lenses. I shoot them with manual focus lenses quite a lot, including CV E-mount glass and many adapted M/LTM lenses + others. A9 doesn't have the best dynamic range at base ISO and A7C / A7CII are much better in that regard as well....Show more →
Yeah, I think A7CII should do fine for shooting moving subjects too but in EFCS mode rather than with full Electronic Shutter (due to slow sensor readout). I just shoot mostly still subjects 95% of the time and very fast action just a few times a year so I go with my A9 when I'm planning to shoot action and with A7CII at all other times (except when I'm using my Fujifilm X-S10).
J-rad wrote:
My main subjects are my family including two young kids, so usually some movement going on. I assume the A7Cii is more than capable of movement, but not ideal for super fast action? I also have an X100V but the AF just doesn’t work great for what I need so I was hoping the A7Cii would supplement that in a little bit of a larger footprint.
J-rad wrote:
If so, curious on how you use both and when you decide to use one over another. I have an A9i that I primarily use for kids sports, but recently got a good deal on a new A7Cii so I grabbed it. I haven’t used it yet and can still return it, and so far I don’t find it all that smaller than the A9.
Wondering for people who use both, if the A7Cii does anything better than the A9, besides higher resolution and a slightly smaller package? Trying to decide if it’s worth keeping both - plan was A9 for sports and A7Cii for everyday....Show more →
I have both the A9 and the A7CII and I think you are asking a really good question that I also have thought about. I think @Juha Kannisto provides a good account of the differences and how they might be used.
I would say that the two cameras are slightly different in ways that may or may not matter to you depending on what you shoot.
The A7CII is somewhat smaller & lighter, has AI autofocus, modestly more resolution, and better IBIS. On the negative side, it has a non-stacked sensor that will create problems with banding when using the silent electronic shutter under LED lighting and will also produce rolling shutter effects with rapid movement, including some fast movements by children. You can avoid these problems by using the mechanical shutter, but then you lose the advantages of the silent shutter.
The A9 is also small but just slightly larger, has excellent tracking autofocus, but not AI autofocus, has excellent IBIS but not quite as good as the A7CII, has slightly less resolution but plenty for most purposes, can shoot more frames per second. Most notably, it has a stacked sensor with a fast sensor read-out which means that under most circumstances you can shoot with a silent shutter without worrying about LED lighting or a rolling shutter, a major advantage in many situations where I shoot (home, travel, commercial spaces). The stacked sensor does lose about one stop of photographic dynamic range at 500 ISO and below (per Bill Claff). At ISOs higher than 500, the two cameras have virtually the same dynamic range.
I like my A7CII a lot and since getting it I use it more than the A9, but I do find myself frustrated by the non-stacked sensor. I find that when I have grabbed my A9 instead of the A7CII, that the A9 seems to produce a less conflicted and less anxious shooting experience. There is a size difference but the A9 is still small and light compared to most other cameras. The A9 is the camera I have kept the longest. I think many people keep their A9--very few appear on the Buy-Sell Forum.
It is a tough choice. I hope Sony introduces a compact stacked sensor camera soon and I hope they maintain their recent emphasis on a return to "smaller and lighter" which was a major part of their original mirrorless appeal.
Does the A9ii improve on DR under ISO 500 or is it the same as the first gen?
chiron wrote:
I have both the A9 and the A7CII and I think you are asking a really good question that I also have thought about. I think @Juha Kannisto@ provides a good account of the differences and how they might be used.
I would say that the two cameras are slightly different in ways that may or may not matter to you depending on what you shoot.
The A7CII is somewhat smaller & lighter, has AI autofocus, modestly more resolution, and better IBIS. On the negative side, it has a non-stacked sensor that will create problems with banding when using the silent electronic shutter under LED lighting and will also produce rolling shutter effects with rapid movement, including some fast movements by children. You can avoid these problems by using the mechanical shutter, but then you lose the advantages of the silent shutter.
The A9 is also small but just slightly larger, has excellent tracking autofocus, but not AI autofocus, has excellent IBIS but not quite as good as the A7CII, has slightly less resolution but plenty for most purposes, can shoot more frames per second. Most notably, it has a stacked sensor with a fast sensor read-out which means that under most circumstances you can shoot with a silent shutter without worrying about LED lighting or a rolling shutter, a major advantage in many situations where I shoot (home, travel, commercial spaces). The stacked sensor does lose about one stop of photographic dynamic range at 500 ISO and below (per Bill Claff). At ISOs higher than 500, the two cameras have virtually the same dynamic range.
I like my A7CII a lot and since getting it I use it more than the A9, but I do find myself frustrated by the non-stacked sensor. I find that when I have grabbed my A9 instead of the A7CII, that the A9 seems to produce a less conflicted and less anxious shooting experience. There is a size difference but the A9 is still small and light compared to most other cameras. The A9 is the camera I have kept the longest. I think many people keep their A9--very few appear on the Buy-Sell Forum.
It is a tough choice. I hope Sony introduces a compact stacked sensor camera soon and I hope they maintain their recent emphasis on a return to "smaller and lighter" which was a major part of their original mirrorless appeal....Show more →
Great point. I just compared sizes and it’s definitely a step up, and the A7iv even further. Seems that even though old, the original A9 operates in a sweet spot.
I have the 40mm 2.5 coming that I was planning to use with the A7Cii, so maybe I’ll see how that looks on the A9 compared and I’m thinking the A7Cii might be redundant for my needs. Keep the A9 and my X100V for when AF isn’t too important and call it a day.
chiron wrote:
You can go to Bill Claff's site and look on the charts for Photographic Dynamic Range to check this out for yourself. Here's a link:
J-rad wrote:
Great point. I just compared sizes and it’s definitely a step up, and the A7iv even further. Seems that even though old, the original A9 operates in a sweet spot.
I have the 40mm 2.5 coming that I was planning to use with the A7Cii, so maybe I’ll see how that looks on the A9 compared and I’m thinking the A7Cii might be redundant for my needs. Keep the A9 and my X100V for when AF isn’t too important and call it a day.
Yes. If Sony would just ask me what kind of camera I want and then make it, everything would be fine.
I just got an A7CII to go along with my A9II and am in the process of configuring the camera to work similar to my A9II. The first difference I noticed is the fewer custom buttons and the options you can map to each button. I am still learning what the settings are on the A7CII, but I am trying to map the top red record button to Switch Focus Area. Can this be done?
I shoot mainly my family and the eye AF on the A9 can struggle to pick up the eyes in backlit conditions and when the heads are turned. I bought the A7CII mainly because I wanted the better AI AF and I like the smaller form factor, but it does look like the difference in button options will take some time getting used to.
That’s the lineup in our home. A9 and X100V. Life is good.
J-rad wrote:
Great point. I just compared sizes and it’s definitely a step up, and the A7iv even further. Seems that even though old, the original A9 operates in a sweet spot.
I have the 40mm 2.5 coming that I was planning to use with the A7Cii, so maybe I’ll see how that looks on the A9 compared and I’m thinking the A7Cii might be redundant for my needs. Keep the A9 and my X100V for when AF isn’t too important and call it a day.
Are you finding the eye AF materially better so far?
cameraman72 wrote:
I just got an A7CII to go along with my A9II and am in the process of configuring the camera to work similar to my A9II. The first difference I noticed is the fewer custom buttons and the options you can map to each button. I am still learning what the settings are on the A7CII, but I am trying to map the top red record button to Switch Focus Area. Can this be done?
I shoot mainly my family and the eye AF on the A9 can struggle to pick up the eyes in backlit conditions and when the heads are turned. I bought the A7CII mainly because I wanted the better AI AF and I like the smaller form factor, but it does look like the difference in button options will take some time getting used to.
I haven't really used the A7CII enough yet, but it does a good job of picking up the eyes when my kids heads are slightly turned. One thing I noticed is that is seems to pickup the eye closest to the camera. If a person is in front of another and the front person is not facing the camera and the back person is, it focuses on the front person's eyes. Has anyone else experienced this behavior and is there a way to quickly jump from one face to another?
J-rad wrote:
Are you finding the eye AF materially better so far?
I am about to make the same A9 to A7C II move. Smaller size, improved autofocus and slightly better image quality are tempting. A7C II would (maybe) be a better allround camera.
tuomkok wrote:
I am about to make the same A9 to A7C II move. Smaller size, improved autofocus and slightly better image quality are tempting. A7C II would (maybe) be a better allround camera.
How do you find the EVF experience in A7C II?
I have personally had no trouble with EVF experience on A7CII. I was already used to A7C EVF and A7CII is better with increased magnification. I use eyglasses all the time (I'm strongly nearsighted) and I just ram my eyeglass lens against the frame of the EVF and the view looks fine for composing and focusing purposes, including manual focus.
Sometimes when shooting outdoors when there is very strong light directly from the side (sun shining from low angle directly from the side) it becomes hard to see through the EVF but slight adjustments to shooting position can fix the problem easily.
It seems to be highly personal how people tolerate A7C and A7CII EVF vs. the other cameras with much bigger EVFs though.
tuomkok wrote:
I was also thinking of will I miss A9 after buying A7 CII? Should I keep the A9?
I have used A9 mostly for street and event photography, and lately especially for bird photography.
In my case I wanted to keep the A9 as mine is quite battered and I had bought it as new on launch day at high price. Wouldn't get enough in return if I tried to trade it in and I still find value in using it for event shooting. I shoot Japanese festivals like Awaodori, Eisa and Yosakoi with fast dance movements in the summer (not professionally but just out of enjoyment) and I think A9 remains more suitable for that purpose. I'm accustomed to shooting those in blackout free ES / Silent mode all the time with fast primes and wouldn't be able to shoot similar action in ES mode with A7CII due to slow readout of the sensor. Those big fast primes are also better fit on A9 from size / balance perspective.
I only shoot those kind of events around 5-10 times a year at most so my current usage of A9 is limited... For daily walk-around shooting I much prefer the A7CII with small primes.
I think I will also keep A9. I like the shooting experience with electronic shutter, and the market price of A9 classic is quite low compared to what in can do. If I later change my mind, I can easily sell it later any day via mpb.com etc.
One aspect in A9 is that the high ISO images are super easy to post process. Not just noise wise, but also colors and tonality. In fact, I rarely remove noise from my A9 images. I am taking about ISO6400-12800. It will be interesting to see how A7C II compares (I have no A7IV experience).
Now looking for a good A7C II offer
Juha Kannisto wrote:
In my case I wanted to keep the A9 as mine is quite battered and I had bought it as new on launch day at high price. Wouldn't get enough in return if I tried to trade it in and I still find value in using it for event shooting. I shoot Japanese festivals like Awaodori, Eisa and Yosakoi with fast dance movements in the summer (not professionally but just out of enjoyment) and I think A9 remains more suitable for that purpose. I'm accustomed to shooting those in blackout free ES / Silent mode all the time with fast primes and wouldn't be able to shoot similar action in ES mode with A7CII due to slow readout of the sensor. Those big fast primes are also better fit on A9 from size / balance perspective.
I only shoot those kind of events around 5-10 times a year at most so my current usage of A9 is limited... For daily walk-around shooting I much prefer the A7CII with small primes....Show more →
As you see, the A92 improves PDR a bit beginning at 160 and below.
The problem with going to the A92, at least for me, is that the body is significantly larger and chunkier than the sleed A9.
Funny you bring up the size. It is amazing how the A7/9 bodies have grown. I just picked up an A7riii and it feels so much smaller than the RV. The Riii in reality is not much bigger than my CR. Plus it has a better grip,more mp,MS,better EVF, etc... all for a third the cost of my CR. Funny how things go full circle. CR is gone now. The RIII is my EDC at least until Sony makes the CRii and gets rid of the flip screen.
