Accessory Corner Twofer: SmallRig A7C II Wood Grip and Eyecup.
Subtitle: Aesthetics Playing A Part In Camera Preference Is An Odd Thing.
The Grip.
With the acquisition of my small village of small digital cameras I stopped trying to make my A7C II into an X100VI alternative. It is small for a full frame camera, but it is a brick of a thing compared to an X100VI.
Originally I bought a SmallRig base plate. I like the way it looks and courtesy of my beef mitts it gave my pinky a place to perch.
I really liked the SmallRig wood grip, but I avoided it to keep the camera’s size in check. Now that I no longer care about that I ordered a SmallRig wood grip from B&H.
Be warned that there are two grip models available. Wrote a post about it.
The Eye Cup.
This was an odd one.
One thing I have never thought while using my OF A7C or current A7C II is, “Why no eyecup?”.
Had occasionally read some bemoan the small EVF, but it did not bother me.
So why did I try it?
I am glad I imagined that you asked.
- It looked kind of cool in the pics.
- It was $19.
That is all it took.
Result?
I really like it.
- Like the pics it looks good.
- Attaches firmly.
- Tether appreciated just in case.
- Eyecup does not block swing out screen.
- Effective as an eyecup.
Put them together with the much better than it has any business being Viltrox 50mm f/2 Air and you have a special combination.
It has made a great camera even better. I see why the A7C II is topping sales charts in Japan years after its release. It is a tweener camera in every way.
- Not a rangefinder, but rangefinder-ish adjacent in look and feel.
- Not high resolution, but high enough.
- Near supernatural AF, especially after the AI subject detection firmware update.
- Solid without being heavy.
- Small without feeling insubstantial.
- A good looking rig in silver/black livery.
And with the grip and eyecup it looks and handles even better.
With the lens this new costume…
…has triggered something in me that I have not quite sorted out yet.
I have set all other digital and analog image capturing aside and have used it exclusively recently. I am sure it will wear off, but for now this kit is doing it for me. While not 100% certain why, I am working on a theory.
A aesthetic/feel/performance/keeper result loop.
Let me explain. (All of this is very subjective.)
Looks good so you pick it up.
Feels good so you take it out.
Performs well out and about.
You get home and you are met with a solid hit rate and image quality.
This all does nothing to put you off the good looks.
Repeat.
There are cameras that look and feel amazing.
The Leica M Type 240…
…I long cherished and enjoyed using for a good while comes to mind.
It nailed steps 1 (aesthetics), 2 (feel), 3 (performance), but the keeper results rate suffered as a natural byproduct of manual focus. Personal preference. Do not yell at me manual focus rangefinder aficionados. When I want manual focus it is fantastic. But for an every day carry camera AF is appreciated. As is (Again. Don’t yell at me. Personal preference) competent video… w/ AF. Where every day carry is concerned. <ahem> Personal preference. <cough>
Does the A7C II in fancy pants cosplay look as good? Heck no.
Good enough for me? Yep.
Look at cameras like the Nikon Zfc and Zf.
They look the business.
And due to a minor obsession with Nikon F film SLRs I should have been a no brainer. But nope.
I marched into my local camera shop seriously considering a purchase but the Zfc was a no the moment I picked it up. It simply did not feel like it looked at all. A bit light in the pants combined with controls not that far off the mark of its standard issue siblings quickly dissuaded me from going forward.
While the Zf packed a much preferred full frame sensor and felt better it still fell short and its even lighter in the pants rehousing of a 40mm lens did it no favors either.
Again. Personal preference. Hamish loves his Nikon Zf and I am very happy for him.
The Sony in its new costume?
Aesthetics. I genuinely likes the way it looks.
Feel. In hand this kit triggers my film SLR muscle memory.
Performance. The AF just does not miss.
Keeper results are the same as any other Sony camera I have used.
Add a reasonably sized and priced lens that captures images with a an SLR era look and feel to my eyes and you have quite the winning combination. The most mundane scene is captured wonderfully. And quickly if you wish. Point the thing in the direction. Press the shutter. Camera sorts it out. And picture.
Low angle? Flip out the screen and frame the scene.
Portrait? Put the thing up to your face and frame the pic.
Low light? No issue.
A quick pic during dinner? No problem.
Quick street scene? Yep.
And then there is this completely useless statistic where image capturing is concerned. Multiple folks, who were mostly not camera folks admittedly, have opined without prompting that they like the way the camera looks.
This has not happened before. Remarkable what bit of wood will do to dress up a thing.
Another real world advantage is the added bit of grip added by… well… the grip. While I had no complaints about using the A7C II with longer and heavier lenses before I must admit that it feels better in hand now. Same goes for the eyecup. Nice.
Anyhoo.
Worth switching systems? Heck no.
A must for those who already own Sony system lenses? Still no.
Already own a Sony A7C II… Then maybe.
Again. Personal preference.
Anyhoo. That was a fun distraction for me. If you made it this far, thank you.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 