Buy a Sony A7c or a Sony A7III?: Use case 2 cents 4 weeks on.

Yep. Another A7c post. And another A7III/A7c comparison. I would not argue if someone said that I am bit obsessed with this camera. What on Earth could I have to say this time? Welp. This time instead of a contrast run down I cut to the chase on which I would buy when.

If I had to choose a camera today would I buy a Sony A7c or a Sony A7III?

The choice of these two cameras is not arbitrary. I have documented why Sony is objectively best for me over time. Without getting too long winded hopefully here is a recap why.

• Lens choice.
  • While there are many great Sony lenses, and I have owned a few, Sony currently has an embarrassing riches of quality, reasonably priced zoom and prime third party glass to choose from.
• That is all the reason I need actually.
  • I could bring up AF and other features, but other brands are closing the gap. It is only a matter of time before someone sufficiently clones or betters an A7III feature wise at a similar price point… and then Sony being Sony will likely release an A7IV that resets expectations again. But it will take years to close the third party lens gap with other brands. Sony options have been out so long they fill the used market also.

There are many great Sony choices. For me the A7III and A7c are the minimum requirement feature set Sony cameras. Now that I have had the A7c for a few weeks I have more thoughts on who I think each of these cameras are for.

The two cameras share so much that I will not spend much time on similarities. The main focus here will be an updated differences list just added to Part 1 of my A7c review. Items that do not sway me one way or the other like thumbstick and smaller EVF will not be included here.

• One card slot.
• Shutter Part 1: 1/4000s top mechanical shutter speed. Would be more of an issue for me if the silent e-Shutter did not go up to 1/8000s.
• Shutter Part 2: There is currently no way to activate a mechanical front shutter. This means banding (sample below) with HSS flash. So no midday flash fill. I would think this could be addressed with firmware later.

So on to my recommended use cases.

Companion/travel full frame stills and video camera also used for adapting legacy glass and the occasional serious shoot.

• Sony A7c
  • Its small size makes it perfect for this. It also possesses great stills IQ and video features.

Value oriented solo stills camera.

• Sony A7III
  • For me the A7III is the total package for stills. The A7III would do just fine for the occasional video work as well with no crop 4K and fantastic AF.

Value oriented solo video camera.

• Sony A7c
  • Not everyone has the resources necessary for the top of the line A7SIII. But if you were willing to give up some features like a second card slot and top tier low light (the A7c and A7III are just fine in low light for me) the A7c gets some of the best A7SIII upgrades that older Sony models like the A7III do not possess:
    • Fully articulating screen.
    • No time limit 4K recording.
    • Upgraded Eye AF in video.
    • Gyro data capture for post processing stabilization.

Backup full frame FE mount camera (My situation).

• Sony A7c
  • I initially picked up an A7II as a back up FE body to my A7III when it went on sale. Though a bit hesitant to embrace the A7c at first I began to see that the A7c would be a perfect video capable back up camera that also offered improved video features and different form factor.

Well that wraps it up. I fully expect that those with different priorities or experiences will disagree. Your mileage may vary.