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Sony Alpha 7C announced: A compact full-frame mirrorless camera for $1799

Sony Alpha 7C announced: A compact full-frame mirrorless camera for $1799

Sony has recently announced the Sony Alpha 7C, which is by far the smallest camera model in the Alpha range of full-frame mirrorless cameras. This model is also known as the Sony A7C model. Combined with  an FE 28–60mm F4–5.6 lens, the Sony α7C achieves uncompromising full-frame quality with the world’s smallest and lightest camera and lens system.

This camera will provide you with powerful performance and an extraordinary image quality. The company has been able to maintain a compact body for the Sony Alpha 7C by placing the electronic viewfinder on the top left corner of the camera’s back panel, rangefinder-style. In this article, we will look more into details about the A7C.

Sony Alpha 7C Detailed Overview

Models

The Sony Alpha 7C will be available in two models: ILEC-7C and the ILEC-7CL. The ILEC-7C comes with the body only whereas the ILEC-7CL comes with a FE 28-60 mm F4-5.6 zoom lens.

Design

Sony Alpha 7C dimensions

The design of the Alpha 7C looks similar to that of the Sony A6400. It has a dimension of 124.0mm x 71.1mm x 59.7mm and weighs 509g. This camera also has a bigger sensor as compared to similar-sized  APS-C interchangeable-lens cameras and therefore results in better images. Bigger sensor allows increased light collection for professional-quality images and also capture better details.

The Sony Alpha 7C was designed to be compact, lightweight, and portable which is clearly reflected in the design of the camera. The ILEC-7CL model also comes with a FE 28-60 mm F4-5.6 zoom lens which Sony calls “the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame zoom lens” that complements the compact body of the camera. The lens measures just 45 mm when retracted.

Sony Alpha 7C lens

The camera comes with a 2.95-inches TFT monitor that is adjustable with an approximate rotation angle of 270-degrees. The viewfinder is a 0.39-inches XGA OLED electronic viewfinder with 2.35m dots, 100% field coverage, and 0.59x magnification.

Dimensions124.0mm x 71.1mm x 59.7mm
Weight509g
Display Screen2.95-inches TFT touchscreen monitor
Viewfinder0.39-inches XGA OLED electronic viewfinder

Also read: Best Camera for Photographers Available in Nepal

Camera Sensor

The Sony Alpha 7C comes with a full-frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm), Exmor R CMOS sensor of 24.2 megapixels and has a aspect ratio of 3:2. You can use this camera to continuously shoot at up to 10fps with AF/AE tracking and up to 8fps in live view mode. It can capture RAW (Compressed/Uncompressed), JPEG (Extra fine/Fine/Standard), RAW & JPEG image qualities. It has an standard ISO range of 100 – 51,200 which will ensure great low-light photography.

Sensor Aspect ratio3:2
Number of pixels24.2 megapixels (effective), 25.3 megapixels (total)
Sensor Type35-mm full frame (35.6 x 23.8 mm), Exmor R CMOS sensor
Anti-dust systemYes

Auto focus

The Sony A7C uses AI-based real-time tracking for fast-paced subjects and has 693 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection AF points which covers about 93% of the image area. This camera also uses a Real-time eye AF because of which focus stays on the subject’s eye even when a face is partially hidden, looking down, or even backlit, for reliably impressive portraits. This real-time eye AF works with both humans and animals.

real-time eye auto focus

Video Recording

The Sony Alpha 7C can record 4k videos at 30 fps max and a 1080p video at 120 fps max. There is no time limit to video capture and the video recording formats are limited to 4:2:0 8-bit and 100Mbps bit rates. To adjust the dynamic range, this camera supports HDR (HLG) and S-Log 3/2, S-Gamut profiles.

Recording formatXAVC S
Video CompressionXAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
Audio Recording FormatXAVC S: LPCM 2ch
Movie Recording System (XAVC S 4K)3840 x 2160 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 30p (100 Mbps/60 Mbps), 3840 x 2160 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 24p (100 Mbps/60 Mbps), 3840 x 2160 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.) 25p (100 Mbps/60 Mbps)
MOVIE RECORDING SYSTEM (XAVC S HD)1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 120p (100 Mbps/60 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 60p (50 Mbps/25 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 30p (50 Mbps/16 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, NTSC) (Approx.) 24p (50 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.) 100p (100 Mbps/60 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.) 50p (50 Mbps/25 Mbps), 1920 x 1080 (4:2:0, 8 bit, PAL) (Approx.) 25p (50 Mbps/16 Mbps)

Sony Alpha 7C price and availability in Nepal

The price of Sony Alpha 7C begins at $1799.99 for the body only model, while the price of the camera along with the lens is $2099.99. It is better to get the model with the lens if you are looking to buy lens in the future as the lens cost $500 if you buy it separately. Both the models are expected to be available in Nepal in late October.

Sony Alpha 7C modelPrice (US)Price (NPR equivalent)
ILCE-7C (Body only)$1799.99Rs. 211,410
ILCE-7CL (Body + 28–60 mm zoom lens)$2099.99Rs. 246,660

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Robin Gurung

Robin is a BSc. CSIT graduate, interested in tech and digital marketing. His hobbies includes watching movies and traveling.