John, I am not familiar with the cameras you're looking at. But when I look at the progress of Sony tech in recent years, my advice would be to make sure you get these two developments:
- The dedicated AI chip for AF. Makes a pretty big difference vs their previous generation focusing.
- The latest IBIS implementation. Again, a big jump.
I know that the A1 II, A7R V, and the A9 III all have received these upgrades, but not sure about the cameras you're looking at.
johnahill wrote:
I posted a few weeks back about selling/trading my Fuji x100vi as I always wished for more flexible focal length option when out and about.
I want to trade for an A7c variant as an every day carry to work, but as I also have an A7r3 and A7r4 I'm unsure whether to go A7cR or A7cII.
A7cII feels like more of a direct replacement for the fuji.
Have handled both in stores but never shot with any of the A7c bodies.
Thoughts?
If I were you and had a7R3, a7R4, and X100VI, I would keep the X100VI and sell a7R3 to get a newer Sony body. You have two camera bodies that can use different lenses so I am confused as to how X100VI is a limitation.
A7r3 is going no where at the moment, I don't even have it to hand, it's 'on loan' to my cousin.
To be honest if it were not for AF updates, focus stacking and bulb timer I wouldn't be looking to upgrade my R3/R4 at all. Absolutely nothing wrong with the output from those cameras, but some of the newer usability features would be nice
It is always nice to have extra pixels when you need them. That's why I would go with the A7cR. You have 61mp if you want or you can shoot in medium raw and have 26mp. OR punch in via the crop mode 1.5x and still have a beautiful 26mp image. There's really nothing to lose by choosing the A7cR except a few more dollars up front.
I personally won't be purchasing any A7c camera since they aren't small enough to make a difference to me from shooting my A7R5. But for some people it makes a difference.
Landscapes/coastal scenes 40%
City scenes/walkabout 30%
Pictures of my daughter (entering teen 'don't take my picture' phase) 15%
Car shows 10%
Everything else 5%
I have a dedicated Infrared/full spectrum A7r which I only use for IR720 images
The newer mark II and R variants both have meaningful improvements over the original a7C. The new EVF is brighter with better magnification. Having a front dial makes the new body much more similar in handling to the larger a7* bodies. Those are two things I specifically noticed when switching from the orig a7C to the mark II. Choosing the II versus the R just depends on whether or not you actually want or need to deal with the larger files. 33mp is already a near 50% boost from the original 24mp sensor.
If you want something really small, the a6400 + 16-50mm is nearly the same size and weight as the X100 but gives you a zoom and the option to switch lenses.
mudlake wrote:
It is always nice to have extra pixels when you need them. That's why I would go with the A7cR. You have 61mp if you want or you can shoot in medium raw and have 26mp. OR punch in via the crop mode 1.5x and still have a beautiful 26mp image. There's really nothing to lose by choosing the A7cR except a few more dollars up front.
I personally won't be purchasing any A7c camera since they aren't small enough to make a difference to me from shooting my A7R5. But for some people it makes a difference.
Yeah for me a smaller body is about having something that fits in a combined laptop/camera bag so I can easily take a body to work (in the city of London). I wanted that to the Fuji but it always feels like a compromise
You haven’t mentioned it as a factor and I’ve not read much about the high iso performance of the A7CR. I’ve had the camera about 1 1/2 months and quite frankly I’m pretty disappointed with its ability in this category. It’s supposed to have the same sensor as the 7RV so I don’t know if that one performs better. If you never have to shoot above 3200 it might not be an issue for you. I expected much better from these latest Sony bodies. Granted the NR softwares are getting really good, to have to handle in post is no a plus.
JayT
Sep 03, 2025 at 07:38 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
johnahill wrote:
I posted a few weeks back about selling/trading my Fuji x100vi as I always wished for more flexible focal length option when out and about.
I want to trade for an A7c variant as an every day carry to work, but as I also have an A7r3 and A7r4 I'm unsure whether to go A7cR or A7cII.
A7cII feels like more of a direct replacement for the fuji.
Have handled both in stores but never shot with any of the A7c bodies.
Thoughts?
I think the question you should ask is if you can live with the low res EVF in the A7C series. You have a considerably better EVF in both the A7r III and A7r IV and you could get an even better one in the A7r V. The other issue to consider in my view with the A7C series cameras is the shutter. Are you fine with just electronic first curtain shutter or would a full manual shutter be better at times. The main drawback of EFCS is it can affect the bokeh at high shutter speeds (basically above 1/1000), so if you shoot shots where this would matter that is, IMO, another concern with the A7C series cameras.
If neither of those issues bother you, then I think essentially trading your A7r IV for an A7Cr would get you a smaller camera that would be nice for traveling. It is pretty easy to put a small kit together with either the A7r IV (I do it with my A7r V) and three or four lenses.
You know the sensor and the output you will get with the A7Cr (it will be exactly the same as your A7r IV) and I see the choice as basically are you will to trade some important functionality (better EVF and full manual shutter) for a smaller sized cameras. Either choice could make very good sense depending on your personal preferences.
If you don't crop much, get the A7CII. a little faster, and better high iso noise performance than the A7cR. I have two of them, and pretty use them for all my shoots, both photo and video.
Steve Spencer wrote:
I think the question you should ask is if you can live with the low res EVF in the A7C series. You have a considerably better EVF in both the A7r III and A7r IV and you could get an even better one in the A7r V. The other issue to consider in my view with the A7C series cameras is the shutter. Are you fine with just electronic first curtain shutter or would a full manual shutter be better at times. The main drawback of EFCS is it can affect the bokeh at high shutter speeds (basically above 1/1000), so if you shoot shots where this would matter that is, IMO, another concern with the A7C series cameras.
If neither of those issues bother you, then I think essentially trading your A7r IV for an A7Cr would get you a smaller camera that would be nice for traveling. It is pretty easy to put a small kit together with either the A7r IV (I do it with my A7r V) and three or four lenses.
You know the sensor and the output you will get with the A7Cr (it will be exactly the same as your A7r IV) and I see the choice as basically are you will to trade some important functionality (better EVF and full manual shutter) for a smaller sized cameras. Either choice could make very good sense depending on your personal preferences....Show more →
Hi Steve.
I think the sensor and output of the A7CR is exactly the same as the A7RV, not the A7RIV. Isn't that so? I believe it is the A7CII that has the output and sensor of the A7RIV.
Sep 03, 2025 at 08:34 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
I think the sensor and output of the A7CR is exactly the same as the A7RV, not the A7RIV. Isn't that so? I believe it is the A7CII that has the output and sensor of the A7RIV.
No, the A7r IV, A7r V, and A7Cr all have the same 60 MP sensor. It is the A7 IV (not the A7r IV) that has the same sensor (the 33 MP sensor) as the A7C II.
Sep 03, 2025 at 08:50 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
3catsinky wrote:
If you don't crop much, get the A7CII. a little faster, and better high iso noise performance than the A7cR. I have two of them, and pretty use them for all my shoots, both photo and video.
If you downsize the A7Cr (or A7r IV or A7r V) files to the same size (i.e., the same number of pixels) as the A7C II (or A7 IV) there is very little difference in high ISO performance.
A big turn off for me with the A7c series cameras is that the screen has to flip out to the side to be viewed at different angles. So depending on how you shoot something to bear in mind
mudlake wrote:
It is always nice to have extra pixels when you need them. That's why I would go with the A7cR. You have 61mp if you want or you can shoot in medium raw and have 26mp. OR punch in via the crop mode 1.5x and still have a beautiful 26mp image. There's really nothing to lose by choosing the A7cR except a few more dollars up front.
I personally won't be purchasing any A7c camera since they aren't small enough to make a difference to me from shooting my A7R5. But for some people it makes a difference.
I agree with Eric. The A7CR is a bit smaller than the A7RV, not really by much. The reduced size and weight may be important for some but there are tradeoffs. The A7RV has MUCH BETTER EVF, slightly better IBIS, dual cards, more customizable buttons. For me personally, the tradeoff for the reduced size and weight is not worth it.
Sep 03, 2025 at 09:40 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
Douglas L wrote:
I agree with Eric. The A7CR is a bit smaller than the A7RV, not really by much. The reduced size and weight may be important for some but there are tradeoffs. The A7RV has MUCH BETTER EVF, slightly better IBIS, dual cards, more customizable buttons. For me personally, the tradeoff for the reduced size and weight is not worth it.
I share this view as well, but realize others may view the tradeoffs differently.
So far as I remember, the big advantage of the cr is the ability to do pixel-shift with the already higher resolution sensor. The cII has the higher ultimate frame rate, it doesn't fill up the buffer as quickly, and you can get full-width 4k out of it's video. Otherwise, they're the same camera, so, if none of that matters to you, then it really comes down to sensor resolution and what you're comfortable spending.
If you lined up the CR and standard R models, the CR is significantly smaller. Perhaps weight they are in the same ballpark, but the CR might compromise elsewhere, it does has a distinct size difference.
