The Sony a7C – the new entry-level full-frame

Just a couple of months after unveiling the much awaited a7SIII, Sony decided to revamp their lineup by changing the standards of what the entry-level full-frame camera should be, especially now that they have a flip screen in their arsenal. 

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Enter the Sony a7C, a full-frame camera compressed into an APS-C-sized body, making it smaller and lighter than the a7III, but with almost the same features. One thing that made it significant is the addition of the tilty flippy screen that’s also used in the a7SIII. 

Look around the screen though and you’ll see how they were able to downsize this camera. They moved some buttons here and there, and moved the viewfinder to the left side. They left the a7C with only one custom function button instead of four and removed the joystick, which is pretty disappointing since that is useful in AF. There’s also only one SD card slot, but they retained the mic input, headphone out, mini HDMI and USB-C ports. 

Inside is a 24.2 megapixel sensor that’s cradled by Sony’s 5-axis Sensor shift technology. That makes the a7C the smallest full-frame camera with In-Body Image Stabilization which is a great deal since at this size, you’ll want to shoot handheld most of the time. It can shoot images at 10fps at up to 177 frames RAW, compared to the a7III’s 89 frames. 

For video, it has 4:2:0 8-bit internal recording that shoots 4K at 30fps, and 1080p at up to 120fps. Externally, it can record 4:2:2 8-bit for both 4K and FHD but the 1080p can only do up to 60fps. It also has HLog and S-Log3 for those who are more picky with their colors. 

Sony also revealed a new, smaller, standard zoom lens in the Sony FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 and a smaller flash called the HVL-F28RM. They also took note of software advantages for the a7C including remote shooting from laptops or phones, and the capability to make it a high-resolution webcam.

They are aiming the a7C for YouTube creators, travel vloggers, and hobbyists looking to move into the bigger stage. However, despite scrapping a few buttons and shaving of size from the body, they couldn’t price it more attractively. The a7C comes in at $1,798 body only, or $200 cheaper than the a7III. This is a very small decrease compared to when Canon and Nikon introduced their entry level full-frames which proved effective in moving people into the full-frame market. 

The Sony a7C comes in all black or with a silver accent. You can see more of the a7C here or you can view the video below.