chiron
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 p.2 #3 · A7C Shipped! (Now Received! -- First Impressions) | |
I have now had my A7C for a few days and have formed my impressions. I like the camera a lot, and I am going to keep it. Following is what I think about it:
1. Size---it is smaller and it feels both smaller and lighter in use. It is handier than my A9 or A7R4. I like picking it up, and the slight simplification of the controls also makes it quicker to use, probably because of the modes that one chooses to use it in.
It does not feel like a NEX-7 in the hand. It is thicker and a bit boxier. So that was a little bit of a disappointment, but probably inevitable given the full frame geometries. It seems very well-made with high quality fit and finish.
2. Image quality---Image quality is excellent. At the ISOs at which I mostly shoot, it seems to have slightly better IQ than the A9 and to handle low light images better than the A7R4. Colors seem very lovely to me, which I missed a bit when I sold my A7III. It is nice to have them back. I've posted a sample below.
3. Autofocus---AF is excellent, better than the A7III, better (I think) than the A7R4, not quite as good as the A9. Real Time Tracking and Eye AF change the way I shoot, and this is a strong implementation of both. The scan rate is not as fast as the A9, so silent shutter is not friendly to LED lights, which produce banding, and presumably not to the kinds of motion that produce rolling shutter effects. There is still a place for the A9, and I expect that the A9 series is still the body where Sony will produce the next generation of interesting photographic innovation.
4. EVF and LCD---The EVF is fine and very useable. I did not have any difficulties in actual use with either its size or magnification, though one will notice that it is smaller than the other EVFs in the 7 and 9 series cameras. I did have a small problem, as Juha also notes above, with the absence of an eye-cup, in exactly the situation that Juha describes--strong sunlight coming from the left. In that situation, I needed to position my hand to block the sunlight from interfering with the EVF. Small problem, but an eyecup would fix it. This is not a problem with the EVF per se. The LCD seems fine to me. I didn't notice anything different about using it except that it is a bit smaller, as one would expect. This didn't matter to me in use.
5. Lenses used---I have been using the Sony smaller lenses with it--the 28/2, 35/1.8, 55/1.8, and 85/1.8. These fit the camera and feel good in the hand, and focus very quickly and accurately. Although I haven't used them as much, the 20/1.8 and the 24/1.8 also fit very well. All of the Loxia, many of the Voigtlanders, the Sony 35/2.8, the Samyang 1.8 series and the Samyang 18/2.8, and the Tamron 2.8 series of lenses should all fit this camera especially well. Perhaps surprisingly, the Batis, which I have tried on, also handle very well on the A7C--they have more diameter than the above lenses but are quite light and also short (w/o their hoods on) and the combination is nice in the hand and nicely balanced in terms of handling. But they are of course a bit larger than the preceding lenses.
6. Overall---My impressions are very favorable. I have used it for family portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and animals, and it has handled all of those situation very nicely. This camera, to me so far, is distinguished by being very useable and transparent. It is quick to be picked up and easy to shoot while still providing outstanding image quality and superlative controls over shooting. It's autofocus is really excellent and makes it easy to get sharp focus exactly where you want it; it is sticky and will capture moving subjects accurately. The A7C does not include any major technological innovations, but it is very, very useable and I think that is where Sony has in fact innovated with this camera. Its size, lightness, and excellent autofocus are the keys to this heightened usability. It is a perfect travel camera, great family camera, and an excellent take-anywhere camera that is well integrated and will easily yield very high quality images.
Here is a sample from my first day of shooting with the A7C. This is a straight unprocessed and unadjusted image:
Unadjusted image from A7C
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