Sony a7c or?

Nuzik

Nuzik

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It's been a while since i had a camera, and I'm thinking of getting back into it.
I don't take thousands of photos no plans to go pro and I think I'd rather an interchangeable system.

Ideally small but I'm really open to suggestions
I like the idea of the a7c seems good value for money and can be picked up used for about a grand.
What am I missing or what alternatives are there
 
The A7c is a nice compact body, but as it has a full frame sensors the lenses are still quite big. APSC cameras have slightly smaller sensors, so lenses designed for them can be smaller. The same applied to micro 4/3rds. What sort of lenses were you considering?

If size is a primary concern, I really recommend camerasize.com where you can pair up various body/lens combinations and compare their sizes, sometimes it can be surprising.
 
Obvious question is what are your priorities? Low weight and small size but with a general purpose zoom, or a fast prime? Will it be a walkabout travel camera or something for discreet people shots?

Sony make a compact lightweight 28-60 zoom, but you could also look at Samyang 75, 45 f1.8 and there are compact 28 and 35 f2/1.8s from Sony.
 
Lenses do make a difference to bulk and weight. Luckily for me I like mostly like primes in the 28 to 50mm range or at a stretch maybe 20-85mm. In that range I have the Sony 24mm f2.8 G, Sony 35mm f2.8 and Sony 40mm f2.5 G and the manual focus Voigtlander 35mm f1.4 and TTArtisan 50mm f2. All of these lenses are just about the size of an old film era prime. Moving up in bulk just a little bit I have the Sony 28mm f2 which is quite small and the Voigtlander 35 and 50mm f1.2's and 50mm f2. Slightly bigger again but not exactly humongous are the Sony 35mm f1.8 and 55mm f1.8 and bigger again but maybe still considered relatively small for what they are I have the Sony 20mm f1.8 G and the Sony 85mm f1.8.

This should give you a good idea of bulk, A7c and Sony 40mm f2.5 which is on the small side and A7c and Sony 35mm f1.8 on the larger side of things.

Compact Camera Meter

Compare unlimited number of cameras with lenses, see how compact or bulky a camera is and sort by height, width, depth and weight.
camerasize.com

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I have a couple of A7 mini SLR style cameras and with these lenses I don't find my Sony system to be significantly bigger than my MFT kit although a RF styled MFT camera and a pancake lens like the Panasonic 14mm f2.5 or 20mm f1.7 are small but IMO still need to go in a bag rather than a pocket so maybe the difference in bulk and weight isn't all that significant.

Compact Camera Meter

Compare unlimited number of cameras with lenses, see how compact or bulky a camera is and sort by height, width, depth and weight.
camerasize.com

2-Untitled-2.jpg

There's also the Sony A6xxx APS-C range.

Good luck choosing.
 
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Nuzik said:
It's been a while since i had a camera, and I'm thinking of getting back into it.
I don't take thousands of photos no plans to go pro and I think I'd rather an interchangeable system.

Ideally small but I'm really open to suggestions
I like the idea of the a7c seems good value for money and can be picked up used for about a grand.
What am I missing or what alternatives are there
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I recognize that user name ;) How’s things?

If you want FF an A7c’s as small as it gets. It’s a nice camera, although the viewfinder’s not the best and for me it’s more awkward to look through, but I’m a left eye shooter. The A7iii is worth a look too. Or just ‘borrow’ Dan’s Q3 while he’s not looking ;)
 
Good point about left eye shooting, none of the range finder types will really work for me for that reason.

A7III user here, they can be had new under a grand these days with offers and cashback.
 
I've also started looking at the Panny Lumix s9. Particularly with the 18-40mm



I understand that they have had some firmware updates now making it a fair bit better than it was.



Sony does have a evf where as the panny doesn't but the nanny has a better screen.



Both have a 24mp resolution with what seems to be the same size 1inch sensor.
 
All good comments. Just adding that if you can stretch to the A7Cii there’s a lot of usability improvements: better EVF, additional control dial, better menus.
 
I think the first thing, budget aside, is whether you want a Full Frame sensor or APSC and then if you'd be happy with a nice zoom lens or you want a few primes.

It isn't an easy choice at times unless you want something pretty specific.

Sony FE or E or Fuji X are all good choices though.
 
I'm not interested in crop ive had a few fujis and just never enjoy them.

This is why I've looked at the Sony a7c and the Panasonic s9
 
Nuzik said:
Both have a 24mp resolution with what seems to be the same size 1inch sensor.
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Neither have a 1” sensor, the 1” sensor nomenclature is a bit of a misnomer as the sensor is quite small and not 1”, it’s much smaller than full frame. Both the A7c and S9 have full frame sensors.

I know when Panny first entered the full frame market their autofocus was well behind other brands, I’m not sure what the S9 is like though. The Sony system is much more mature and therefore has a much larger selection of lenses available.
 
snerkler said:
Neither have a 1” sensor, the 1” sensor nomenclature is a bit of a misnomer as the sensor is quite small and not 1”, it’s much smaller than full frame. Both the A7c and S9 have full frame sensors.

I know when Panny first entered the full frame market their autofocus was well behind other brands, I’m not sure what the S9 is like though. The Sony system is much more mature and therefore has a much larger selection of lenses available.
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I'm lost there. The Sony and s9 are both ff and I thought sensor size was measured up. Which is give or take an inch. But I'm so out of it who knows.

I like the Sony it looks good the panny comes in different colours.

I assume the Sony has a quicker auto focus. But i was reading earlier that the a7 iii had a much better auto focus than the a7ii which made up for the a7 ii bad autofocus. Which I was confused at as I thought the a7 ii had a way better autofcus than the a7!
 
The 1in sensor size is a bizarre one because it's based on a CRT measurement or something odd, don't think of it as literal and just take it as a name. 1in sensors are the smallest of the 'large' sensors and used in cameras like the Sony RX10/RX100 series and the Panasonic FZ1000/FZ2000, TZ100, TZ200 series. From smallest to largest the sensor sizes are 1in, 4/3, APS-C, FF/35mm then MF.

I don't remember the mk2 bodies having a significant improvement in AF but it was one of the main improvements in the mk3 bodies from what I recall.
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
The 1in sensor size is a bizarre one because it's based on a CRT measurement or something odd, don't think of it as literal and just take it as a name. 1in sensors are the smallest of the 'large' sensors and used in cameras like the Sony RX10/RX100 series and the Panasonic FZ1000/FZ2000, TZ100, TZ200 series. From smallest to largest the sensor sizes are 1in, 4/3, APS-C, FF/35mm then MF.

I don't remember the mk2 bodies having a significant improvement in AF but it was one of the main improvements in the mk3 bodies from what I recall.
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Or to explain this better - you find these in the more expensive smartphones which is pretty self explanatory that's it's not great
 
JohnMcL7 said:
The 1in sensor size is a bizarre one because it's based on a CRT measurement or something odd, don't think of it as literal and just take it as a name. 1in sensors are the smallest of the 'large' sensors and used in cameras like the Sony RX10/RX100 series and the Panasonic FZ1000/FZ2000, TZ100, TZ200 series. From smallest to largest the sensor sizes are 1in, 4/3, APS-C, FF/35mm then MF.

I don't remember the mk2 bodies having a significant improvement in AF but it was one of the main improvements in the mk3 bodies from what I recall.
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The sensor from what I can see is the same in the a7c to the a7iii the a7iv uses a higher resolution sensor than that but that looks the same as the a7cii
All are the physical size of 23.9 x 35.9

Phase detection and good light the a7ii over the a7 is noticeable different.
 
If you can stretch it I'd advise the A7cii because you get a massive upgrade across the features- IBIS, EVF, IQ, forefinger dial, AI backed AF.
In some ways A7cii is actually better than A7iv too.

Otherwise A7c is still decent, very well built. I used mine in rain and snow with no issues. Plenty of small lenses available for e-mount so keeping things small wont be an issue as long as you don't need f2.8 zooms and f1.2 primes.
 
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Nuzik said:
Anyways bogging down with specs and sizes wasn't the point of a new camera.
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If that's how you feel then probably best to go into a shop, handle the cameras, tell them what you want, ask for advice - as long as you trust them to help then it should be good. But understanding specs can really help prevent disappointment after ownership starts.
 
ancient_mariner said:
If that's how you feel then probably best to go into a shop, handle the cameras, tell them what you want, ask for advice - as long as you trust them to help then it should be good. But understanding specs can really help prevent disappointment after ownership starts.
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This is good advice. I was all set on the A7c R but then I went into the store to try it and really didn’t get on with the EVF. It also didn’t feel lighter than the A7 type bodies. I know on scales there’s a difference, but I couldn’t really tell just picking them up and holding them. I ended up getting the A7RV instead.
 
snerkler said:
This is good advice. I was all set on the A7c R but then I went into the store to try it and really didn’t get on with the EVF. It also didn’t feel lighter than the A7 type bodies. I know on scales there’s a difference, but I couldn’t really tell just picking them up and holding them. I ended up getting the A7RV instead.
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My pockets are not that deep
 
Nuzik said:
My pockets are not that deep
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The point isn't that you should buy an A7RV instead, but rather you go handle it to see for yourself. If you love it then all is good. If it feels disappointing then at least you have done a real world test instead of just reading specs.
 
ancient_mariner said:
The point isn't that you should buy an A7RV instead, but rather you go handle it to see for yourself. If you love it then all is good. If it feels disappointing then at least you have done a real world test instead of just reading specs.
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But, you still need to look at specs etc beforehand as you said in an earlier reply Toni.

Otherwise what you are handling might not do what you want it to do or give you the results you might be after.
 
LeeRatters said:
But, you still need to look at specs etc beforehand as you said in an earlier reply Toni.

Otherwise what you are handling might not do what you want it to do or give you the results you might be after.
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That's true, but sometimes I get the feeling that only a couple of us here ever need stuff like 1/8000th shutter speeds. :p
 
Nuzik said:
My pockets are not that deep
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ancient_mariner said:
The point isn't that you should buy an A7RV instead, but rather you go handle it to see for yourself. If you love it then all is good. If it feels disappointing then at least you have done a real world test instead of just reading specs.
Click to expand...
^^^^ this (y)
 
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