Sony A7C II Camera Review

[SECTION]INTRODUCTION[/SECTION]

The camera back is classic Sony, and there are no surprises here. One really useful feature is always the way the four way controller is set up, which allows instant access to drive setttings, including the self timer, the display on the monitor, the ISO setting and exposure compensation. It is all very tidy and no need for any change. The monitor itself is a touch sensitive LCD TFT and the Vari-angle design is highly practical. The Q menu button allows access to all the most commonly needed features and the main menu button is at the top of the back on a slightly sloping area.

The camera back is quite plain and devoid of clutter. There is the excellent Vari-angle monitor, the aforementioned four way controller, but no joystick for control of the focus position. Some users may miss this feature.

The baseplate has the battery compartment. The sizeable NP-FZ100 battery delivers a reasonable 530 shots when using the monitor or 490 when using the slightly more power-hungry EVF. Video shooters will be able to record up to 105 minutes continuously. It is useful to find that the same FZ100 battery is still being used. It has a very good level of capacity and is perfectly good as it is. Not having to buy another type of battery is a useful consideration. The battery duration is slightly different to the requirements of the 60MP version, but within the same ball park.

The left side of the camera has three access doors. These reveal the single SD card slot, which is UHS-I/II compliant, the USB-C connector, the HDMI micro connector (Type-D) and the microphone and headphone sockets. It is a good choice that these are actual hinged doors rather than flexible rubber that might wear with use. Other connectivity is via the multi-function interface on the camera top plate and the usual provision of WiFi and Bluetooth, the latter having the choice of 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands.

Notably, there is an efficient 5-axis IBIS system built in, good for 7 stops advantage, and there is also an Active Mode for movie shooting. Focus breathing compensation is built in, a valuable asset for videographers in particular.
 

Sony A7C II Key Features

• 33MP BSI Exmor R CMOS Full Frame sensor
• BionZ XR processing engine
• Shutter 30s to 1/4000s
• 10fps
• One SD card slot, UHS-I/II compliant
• JPEG/10-bit HEIF/RAW formats
• NP-FZ100 battery – 530 frames (monitor) 490 frames (EVF)
• Video 105 minutes recording
• 4K/30p no crop
• 4K/60p Super 35 format
• FHD/120p no crop
• 10-bit 4:2:2 colour
• Supports XAVC S-1, XAVC HS, S-Log3, S-Cinetone and LUTs
• EVF 0.39” OLED 2.36M dots, 100% coverage, 0.7x magnification
• Monitor 7.5cm (3”) LCD Touch Sensitive 1.036M dots, Vari-angle
• ISO 50-102400 (Extended)
• AF range down to -4EV
• Focus bracketing up to 299 images
• Metering range EV -3 to +20
• Subject detection: Human, Animal, Bird, Insect, Car, Train and Airplane
• WiFi
• Bluetooth 2.4GHz and 5GHz
• Compatible with Creator’s Cloud
• 10 Creative Look digital filters
• Picture profles for stills and movies
• 514g
• 24.0mm x 71.1mm x 63.4mm
• Dust and moisture resistance

Sony A7C II Handling

With two virtually identical cameras, handling differences may well be subtle. Switching from one to the other is virtually seamless and the generalised comments are given below accordingly. However, there are differences in video capability and also in noise levels. In the latter case, there is around a 3 stop advantage for the lower resolution A7C II, and this will be of especial interest to low light and night photographers. It is equally true that for many purposes the 33MP of the A7C II will be more than enough to produce exceptional quality images. File sizes will be smaller, speed of operation potentially higher and the demands on the computer systems used for post processing also less arduous.

There are no major issues with the handling, but the minor issue of the placement of the finger rest on the on/off switch is still too far clockwise to fall naturally under the forefinger for ease of operation. This has been so with the A6700, the A7C R and now the A7C II, which is understandable as they share the same design ethos. This is a basic error that could be very easily corrected by looking at the larger full frame bodies and copying their arrangement. It can be acclimatised to, but it doesn’t have to be designed like this in the first place.

In all other aspects, Sony have the handling of the A7C II totally sorted out just as well as its two siblings and it, unsurprisingly, handles just as well, giving the same convenient, efficient and pleasurable user experience.

[SECTION]PERFORMANCE[/SECTION]

Sony A7C II Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
 

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Sony Alpha A7C II Sample Photos

Lens Performance – The Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM II lens used for this review was also tested. The conclusion was:

At 16mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8 and f/4, outstanding at f/5.6 and f/8, excellent at f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11, fair at f/16 and soft at f/22.

At 20mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8 and f/4, outstanding at f/5.6 and f/8, excellent at f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good at f/2.8 and f/4, excellent at f/5.6 and f/8, very good at f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent at f/2.8 and f/4, outstanding at f/5.6 and f/8, excellent at f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/8, very good at f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 35mm, central sharpness is outstanding from f/2.8 to f/8, excellent at f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/2.8 to f/5.6, very good at f/8 and f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) correction is excellent, with the centre showing very low figures that reduce further as we zoom in. The edges show a little more CA, but still generally holding to less than one third of a pixel. This is unlikely to be seen in most images, but if further reduction is required then there are software solutions.

Distortion is obvious at 16mm, where it measures -3.22% barrel. By 20mm this has reduced to -1.73% barrel, further reducing to -0.43% at 24mm. By 35mm we have +1.87% pincushion distortion. There are now some zoom lenses with much lower distortion than this, but it will also depend on how much input the camera itself has on the end result. If distortion needs reducing, then, as with CA, there are software solutions.

Flare resistance is excellent, despite the lenshood being missing with the review sample. The hood will still be desirable as it also affords some protection to the front element, but in terms of flare then things are pretty much sorted anyway.

The bokeh of the Mk I version of the lens was beautiful, and increasing the resolution seems not to have diminished that quality. Bokeh is of course in the eye of the beholder, but this reviewer slightly prefers the result with the lower resolution A7C II, which may be slightly smoother in gradation. Either way, the rssults are extremely effective.

Vignetting is at a consistent and reasonably low level.
 

Sony Alpha A7C II ISO test images

ISO Noise Performance – For all low light users, and those who roam the dark hours seeking nightime images, this could well be the one. The 33MP sensor puts in a sterling performance, with very little noise being evident up to and including ISO 12800. ISO 25600 sees noise creeping in, this becomes significant at ISO 51200 and it falls over the edge of acceptablility at ISO 102400 and especially ISO 204800, where it is basically dead in the water, so to speak. Overall an exceptionally good performance.

Sony Alpha A7C II White-balance test images

White Balance – White balance performance is excellent, and AWB seems to be particularly capable in this latest crop of cameras. AWB is joined by Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, 4 varieties of fluorescent (Warm White, Cool White, Day White, Daylight), Flash, Underwater Auto, Colour Temperature and 3 custom settings. Of these, Daylight is useful for maintaining the colour of the oudoor ambient light, such as a sunset. Shade will avoid purple colour casts in shadowy areas of woodland, useful when hunting fungi and Cloudy will warm an image, giving an effect similar to a Cloudy or 81A filter on film.

Sony Alpha A7C II Digital filters

Digital Filters – There are the same digital filters provided as in the A7C R, under the title of Creative Look. These are identified by initials only, but we can get the jist of what they are as the effects are quite obvious. The options available are labelled ST, PT, NT, VV, VV2, FL, IN, SH, BW, SE, 1ST, 2FL, 3IN, 4SH, 5VV2 and 6BW. There is so much to explore. The BW selection is worth a mention as it produces a rather good black and white image with plenty of punch as it is, so with some post manipulation it has potential. The camera also has a section in the main menu labelled Picture Profiles and slots are available for the user to create particular profiles for both stills and movies. Although not billed in the menus as a digital filter, the Soft Skin Effect is a rather pleasing filter for flattering portraits, especially when added in a subtle way.

Source: Photography News
Sony A7C II Camera Review
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