Sony A7C II And A7CR: Small, AI-Powered, Affordable
Nearly three years after the release of the Sony A7C, a compact full-frame mirrorless camera, Sony has returned to the series with two new cameras: the Sony A7C II and the Sony A7CR.
Sony a7CII
Experts compare the Sony a7C II to the highly successful a7 IV, only in a compact body. At the heart of the Sony a7C II is a 33MP full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor and Sony BIONZ XR processor, just like the Sony a7 IV. The difference is that the a7C II is equipped with a new autofocus based on artificial intelligence with object recognition. The camera also improved the 5-axis IBIS stabilization with up to 7 stops of compensation, and added several additional video features such as M-LUT and auto framing.
The a7C II’s video recording options are similar to the a7 IV’s, shooting 4K at up to 30fps full frame or up to 60fps in Super35 with oversampling and 10-bit 4:2:2 color. S-log3, Creative Look and S-Cinetone profiles are available. To record sound, there is a Mi-shoe interface with 4 channels.
The camera has a compact body of 124 x 71 x 64mm and weighs 525g. Those who are used to working with the viewfinder will appreciate the 0.39″ XGA OLED viewfinder with a resolution of 2.36MP with x 0.7 magnification and a refresh rate of 60 or 120 k / s. There is also a 3-inch 3:2 vari-angle LCD touch screen.
Powered by a Sony Z battery, USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 up to 5Gbps with fast charging power, 3.5mm microphone and headphone interfaces, one UHS-II SD card slot and HDMI type D, Wi-Fi and NFC.
Sony a7CR
The Sony a7CR is being called the little sister of the a7R V. The Sony a7CR offers 61MP resolution, full-frame 10-bit 4K60 video in a compact package and the same new Sony BIONZ XR image processor. The camera can record 10-bit 4:2:2 video at up to 4K 60fps in full frame with a 1.2 crop. There is a 3-inch LCD touch screen, electronic viewfinder, Sony Z battery, USB-C PD, two 3.5mm jacks and an HDMI output.
The camera can shoot bursts at up to 8 fps using EF/AE, for a total of 36 photos per burst in RAW format. You can also switch between full-frame 60MP and 26MP APS-C photos when shooting in RAW.
Unlike the a7C II, the a7CR can record 4K video at up to 60fps in full frame, albeit at a crop of 1.2, with full binned pixel readout. You can record 4K with 6.2K oversampling in Super35 format with 10-bit 4:2:2 color in XAVC S-I and XAVC HS codecs. The camera supports 16-bit RAW video output via HDMI – the company plans integration with the Atomos Ninja V and Ninja V+ and plans a special announcement about this soon.
Video can be shot with S-log3, Creative Look and S-Cinetone, the Mi-shoe interface provides up to 4 channels of audio recording, and offers the same list of advanced video recording features as the a7C II. The body of the a7CR measures 124 x 71 x 64 mm and weighs 525 g. The screen, viewfinder and all interfaces are the same as in the a7C II.
