Sony a7CR camera review

Sony make a classy update to their compact full-frame mirrorless camera with this 61mp version.
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[@georgedres7914]

so i sold all my ‘amateur acting like a professional’ camera gear and settled on the a7cr with sony 40mm f2.5 and 24mm f2.8. After years of spending so much money on gear i am ecstatic at my 60mb single card mini hdmi camera - why?because i take it everywhere -its so light that i never hesitate bringing it with me. fantastic images - lightening fast autofocus - excellent lens selection all wrapped up in a compact body, perfection for the amateur that wont spend Leica money

[@Jawad.1]

You need 85mm F1.4 DG DN, also...!

[@owhale]

60mp you mean. I was wondering for 10 seconds to find out wtf ‘60mb single card’ mean.

[@nicedward7544]

I'm think about selling all of my gear and going back to a Rii with all manual glass all the time lol.

[@roninthegoat2810]

That’s the way I’m going to go too soon!

[@Boatzerama]

You sound like me, amateur pretending to be a professional. I sold my Nikon Z8 and 7 lenses and bought the A7CR and a 24mm GM f1.4 lens and just love it.

[@SpecialBrewCan]

The wonderful thing about the A7CR (as opposed to the A7CII) is that the medium RAW is 26mp, and with the APSC mode also being 26mp (until very recently the largest ASPC available) you have a Full Frame 26MP camera AND an ASPC 26MP camera ... in the same camera. Plus the 26MP means youre not committed to the 61mp but it's there when you want or need it.

[@Princeton_James]

Yup. That's why I'm returning my Cii for the CR. Wish I would have done better homework before having to return but at least I'm still in the return window.

[@BenSussmanpro]

I have this camera & several good lenses. My experience with the AI autofocus is mixed, for wildlife. Sure, a bird sitting on a fence with a blue sky background will be framed perfectly. Or if you have good aim for a bird in flight, usually not a problem. But latching on to a bird in a tree surrounded by leaves & branches is a 50/50 proposition. Also, with the 100-400 Gmaster lens, zoomed in to 350 mm , forget it!

[@JTTVee]

I would replace my a7iv with the cii but that 1/160 HSS killed it for me so I’ll be going for the a7cR

[@duvalpenny100]

Wow, it's like you read my mind. I was just trying to justify buying this 😂. (Currently have an A7C) My main hesitation is battery life. I'm sure battery life is fine, but I'm spoiled by my all day battery life in the A7C.

[@taylor1038]

It's really nice but the lack of dual card slots and AF joystick are deal breakers for me. :/

[@NetvoTV]

Is Sony 12-24mm F4 still a good buy or they will release a mark 2 soon and better wait?

[@cybernetennis]

Does it give a warning and not display the battery percentage with 3rd party batteries?

[@shivanksolaris]

How is this sensor compared to a7r3 test mule. Is there a big difference as the pixel density is higher. What are the tradeoff.

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

Nice & Thanks Sir :)

[@Kevon420]

The no full mechanical shutter is a bummer for me, I really dislike the affect of first curtain on bokeh at fast shutter speeds…it’s very annoying and ugly.

[@CC-gt3ro]

Please don’t test noise on sun day pictures..it must be done on night shots. Personally i think the price should be a little less. It is close to a7RV for professionals which has bigger evf, better screen and flip screen, full mechanical shutter, 1/8000, bigger grip, 8k24, dual card and faster dual compactflash card or dual sd card, better flash sync speed, a bit better stabilization, full hdmi connector. Sony must determine who is the target audience. Pro, hobbyst, fortune enthousiast, public? A pro would choose a7rV. People like me that have the a7c is because of the more affordable price and full frame combined in a small body. So it seems for fortune enthusiasts but the market is not so large. I would keep the a7cII at the price of the a7c, move the a7c to the price of a6700, then move the price of a7cR to the price of a7cII…and then it would sell a lot. I would lower the price of a7r5 with has not a fast sensor with low fps compared to a1 or a9 and even a7c has faster fps in both mech shutter and electronic. So i would down the price a bit to adjust better the target public.

[@christopherkorey2602]

Great review as always but battery is not rated for 700 shots. 490

[@christopherfrost]

I know. But I managed to get around 700 shots out of one battery charge

[@christopherkorey2602]

Great to know, Thank you @@christopherfrost

[@pmc7105]

Does anyone here know if this camera has a sensor cover to avoid dust when changing lenses? Also, can it be set to exposures longer than 30 sec.? I'm having trouble finding this info. Thanks.

[@jukeboxjohnnie]

Ive just looked on mine for you. Yes it does have a sensor cover for lens changes. It only goes to 30 seconds then bulb.

[@pmc7105]

@@jukeboxjohnnie Thanks for checking. I guess we can't always get everything we want. I hate having to mess around with a remote just to take a photo longer than 30 seconds, when it would be so easy to program a few more stops in there.

[@tom_nuyts]

thx for your insights... but this cam really is way too expensive...

[@apocryphal_man]

Sorry, but the rolling shutter even in 1080 is absolutely unusable.

[@jimsullivanyoutube]

Sh*t rolling shutter. Sh*t stabilization.

[@xray111xxx]

Awesome camera but horrible fit for my big hands. Price is par for the course.

[@davidrodgers5534]

Maybe you should do a separate video showing the most compact but still the best contrasty/sharp lenses to paid with this tiny little megapixel monster.

[@quintecent8903]

50mm 1.2 GM is optically perfect. Tested it. My 40mm 2,5 performs only good. Not perfect. For max quality I would choose all recent GM lenses. Especially those build after 2021.

[@davidrodgers5534]

While I understand what you’re saying and appreciate the sentiment you miss the entire point of the request. I have the 50 1.2 and it’s delightful but as a lens on this body it’s stupid it’s like strapping a 40 foot shipping container trailer onto Toyota Corolla. We all know the most expensive sharpest lenses offer the best performance that is why we choose them for our studio work but what people interested in this camera want to know is that of the dozen or more ultra compact primes by Sony and other third party vendors what are the best performers and require the the least amount of compromise when tested specifically with this body and sensor. I don’t want to snap something as big as my fist and is thicker than this camera by a good margin to use for fun street photography and nobody sane does either

[@davidrodgers5534]

While I understand what you’re saying and appreciate the sentiment you miss the entire point of the request. I have the 50 1.2 and it’s delightful but as a lens on this body it’s stupid it’s like strapping a 40 foot shipping container trailer onto Toyota Corolla. We all know the most expensive sharpest lenses offer the best performance that is why we choose them for our studio work but what people interested in this camera want to know is that of the dozen or more ultra compact primes by Sony and other third party vendors what are the best performers and require the the least amount of compromise when tested specifically with this body and sensor. I don’t want to snap something as big as my fist and is thicker than this camera by a good margin to use for fun street photography and nobody sane does either

[@quintecent8903]

@@davidrodgers5534 yes, yet the new gm lenses are actually quite compact if compared to the competition, regardless if third party or native. There is a good post /webpage you can find called : lenses to maximize the potential of the sony a7rv Check all the lenses in the "excellent" class and see which lenses are the most compact. Thing is: 50 f1.4 gm is almost the same image quality as yet significantly lighter and smaller. Primes significantly smaller than zooms, of course. Everything other than those gm primes or those huge af lenses offer significantly less image quality, especially wider open. The 40 2.5G for example is really good at F4 but if you want to use it at 2,5 count in really bad flaring and ghosting, a lot of chromatic aberrations, and weak corners. If that is good with you, use it. But there is no such thing as best / compact and cheap.

[@bburchellphotos]

Automatic like for the USCSS Nostromo T-Shirt

[@greengraycolor]

It would be great to see to what extend higher resolution can be leveraged to further cut the size of the system. For example, what is the image quality of lower resolution system with longer range zoom (e.g. A7C2 +24-105 at 105, uncropped) vs this, high resolution camera with a shorter zoom (e.g. A7CR + 24-70 at 70 mm cropped to match 105 mm the field of view). Additionally or alternatively, it would be interesting to see a comparison of high res. shots from a shorter prime like 50mm cropped to match the field of view of longer prime like 85mm with uncropped, lower res shots from 85mm.

[@TheArtist441]

You'd also lose a bit of bokeh with the shorter focal length lenses + cropping, similar to the APC vs FF calculation, multiplying the F-stop number with the crop factor. It's all trade offs!

[@07SATS]

Wow, another outstanding review, YOU ARE KILLING IT my friend :). For sure its Leica Q3 alternative as long as you use a compact lens :), perhaps Christopher, you should do a review with A7CR+Compact lens as Leica Q3 alternative. For Image Quality which lens did you use? Curious to know.!

[@christopherfrost]

Sigma 40mm f/1.4 ART, stopped down to f/4, and showing a portion of the middle of the image frame. Doesn't get any sharper :-)

[@PhilipSalen]

As somebody who uses a Canon 7D Mark II, I'm incredibly impressed by how compact this camera is and about how much it offers.

[@_brushie]

Probably way lighter too. My 7D Mk I felt like a part camera, part self defense weapon.

[@TechnoBabble]

The difference is you could shingle an entire roof with a 7D Mark II instead of a hammer and then go shoot the Olympics with it. I love my Sony gear, but those old high end DSLRs are something else in terms of build quality.

[@IndigoEyePhotography]

In general, DSLRs have much bulkier bodies compared to their mirrorless counterparts, but that also meant that for any lens at least the size of a 24-70mm f/2.8, my entry-level DSLR had a more comfortable grip than even some full-frame mirrorless cameras.

[@VishwasRavindran92]

Ew canon.

[@didierdelobel8663]

@@TechnoBabble Sony A7CR is full magnesium (metal) body!!! Highly resistant!!!😉

[@benoittissier58]

Does the back pad not work as a joystick as with the A6700 ? With the A6700, the center button toggles between function mode and joystick mode.

[@emokia15]

The ability to crop so much is crazy. I have it now and I love how I can just bring one lens to attend a wedding and just CROP. The IBIS is also much much better than my a7iii, but cant compare to my OM 5. The viewfinder is well acceptable. I kinda miss the joystick but using the tracking is my alternative so have to change how I work to frame my shot.

[@michaeltuffin8147]

Real photographers don't need to crop.

[@martinpickard5818]

@@michaeltuffin8147 burk…..

[@m3photo726]

@@michaeltuffin8147How kind of you to chip in. You’ve just made many epic photographers throughout history very sad …

[@davexmit]

I'm really thinking hard about a compact full frame. Maybe the a7c2 makes more sense though.

[@sonacphotos]

I believe it does. Better low light. Much smaller file sizes. And don't need insanely sharp glass to resolve the max resolution.

[@adamadamis]

​@sonacphotos You can use smaller sizes with the A7CR if you want, similar to A7C II. And go full resolution when you need to. But you can't increase the resolution to 61MP if you have the A7C II.

[@zeastburg]

nobody mentions how LOUD the shutter is. If you turn off the mechanical shutter, you can’t shoot things in motion or in artificial light without visual artifacts. 😫

[@RubenvanKuik]

I would love to own this compact little camera for street and event photography, but I can't justify the cost while I still have an A7RII in perfect condition. Oh well, someday.

[@likeabarrel]

What about overheating when filming 4k60?

[@jukeboxjohnnie]

Ive got one, I love it. Ive gone for the 16-35mm f4 PZ lens that did so well here, a great travel/family camera option. Its the first camera ive owned where the AF really does know what you want. its definitely a second camera though, I have a R5 and GFX for specific tasks

[@NetvoTV]

I plan to get A7RV with Sony 14mm F1.8 which can crop 2X to 28mm F1.8 Low Light F3.6 DOF and Tamron 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 which can crop 2X to 800mm, these will mainly use to take photo and pair with Panasonic HC-X1500 25-600mm camcorder mainly for video, it's a good minimal setups right? I know quite a lot already just haven't have dedicated camera gears, I can cover ultrawide to super tele, the A7RV has the unique 4 ways screen and croppable high res sensor, the tele with extension tube and magnification filter can get good ultra macro, travel, everyday and so on covered too, that camcorder can attach macro and even more tele too. But now I have a question, for me Tamron lenses has a golden rendering look and Sony lenses has cooler rendering look, is there profile setting I can set for each lens so the SOOC photos and videos will looks the same if not nearly identical?

[@idandavid1]

Hi Chris, hoping you can review the sony 28-60 lens you pictured with the camera in the beginning of the video. Thanks!

[@christopherfrost]

Patreon supporters have access to that review right now!

[@ironspike171]

Dear Chris, i know you are a Canon shooter when on a private trip, but consider this cam as your next investment. Highest resolution sensor available, newest AF tech annnnd: If you dare to use it on private shootings: its small and light on the go-go. Would be a GREAT update to your A7R3.

[@christopherfrost]

Heck I'd love to! But I have some other nice cameras lying around already ;-)

[@amayasnep]

Consider reviewing the old NEX or a6000, and maybe putting it up head to head against one of the newer Sony camera bodies. Would make for an interesting comparison to see how far Sony mirrorless cameras have come.

[@maggnet4829]

The a5100 + A6XXX sensor compared to the A6700 has lower dynamic range, what you mostly observe during recovering highlights. Besides that the A6700 has around half a stop better ISO performance. To be honest, it's not much of a difference, but makes it a little bit easier to edit raw files. The AI chip however creates a lot more pleasing colors for jpg, however, still not on a level of Olympus. Then again, some might prefer the warmer, earthier and somewhat more muted tones of the A6700.

[@mattnewman128]

Great review Chris. I have teamed my A7CR up with a Smallrig base plate (better than the supplied Sony grip) and the Tamron 28-200 and 17-28 F2.8. This is a very light do all kit, and the 61mp is great for cropping or getting the extra reach in APSC mode.

[@nickscott8488]

I think the size of the body is somewhat negated by the size of FF glass.

[@Laundry_Hamper]

Is that a bit of red paint on the Sony logo next to the grip, or something more...sinister?

[@DavidStella]

2:50 Sony should've let you keep it.

[@멸공-g1b]

Sony plays with customers. They intentionally removed joystic, 8000 shutter speed, some custom buttons making people thirsty after those. So those will be included on 'a7cr ii' and people will buy them again. You just have to wait.

[@Matadurr]

It’s amazing how much this body style has evolved since the early days of the NEX series. A camera like this or the regular A7C is exactly what I hoped the NEX series would one day turn into when I used to use an NEX-7. I ended up getting an A7ii/iii (can’t remember now…) years ago that is still serving as a great primary camera but I always yearn for that rangefinder-style body. Maybe when Sony improves further on this series and adds the higher-quality viewfinder and second SD slot (I’m sure they can fit one somewhere…) I’ll finally pull the trigger and upgrade. Amazed at the detail even to ISO 3200. Thanks for the review!

[@muzlee7479]

How can you not remember if it's an a7ii or iii? Those are two totally different cameras

[@Matadurr]

@@muzlee7479 because I haven’t used my camera in quite some time. 😅

[@warrenc2306]

it would have been nice to see this as a fix lens variant with a 35mm or 28mm. Add digital zoom to give additional focal lengths on those massive Jpgs and it could have been my first SONY camera. I also think SONY could had pulled a page from Nikon and added micro SD with the SD.

[@patrick7691]

Leica Q 3

[@jukeboxjohnnie]

I have the smallish 16-35mm f4 PZ on mine, I wouldnt swap it for a prime

[@nicedward7544]

Rx1r ii.... One of the best fixed lens cameras ever. Awesome Zeiss 35 leaf shutter lens

[@Onghaeya-il1kz]

Thanks for the vid all the time I've been watching your ch (lov it) first time leaving comment I love take photos and videos when you review camera can you record sounds too? Or add your opinions on recorded sound quality? Thank you

[@MATCHLESS789]

Am I the only one who thinks these names are getting ridiculous? Well have Sony A7XBCTr in a decade or two.

[@andrewowen-price4496]

I tried an A7CR at a camera show and the shutter sound appeared to be very loud. Is that normal or was the sample I tried need some TLC?

[@noracallillc7577]

In your opinion, would you say the resolving power of M mount Voigtlander lenses meet up to the challenge of Sony's A7Cr sensor?

[@NoSuRReNDeR001]

R used to mean no AA filter... did that change? All the R camereas are supposed have NO AA filter and that was true up til the a7R4... again unless something weird happened?

[@movemountainstomanila]

Great review, helped me loads. Showing your age Chris, mini disk and aliens t-shirt…..😂😂😂

[@googlefriend7685]

Thanks for the video I ordered a6700 unfortunately lost in delivery any why off tracking the camera do they have GPS thanks

[@NighthunterNyx]

The big issue for me is the shutter and I am still on the bench.... despite this is the camera I craved for years.

[@rookietheone]

Hey Chris, I think you should do reviews of adapters too, you use them all the time, it'll be helpful for all.✌️

[@Soundwave857]

2:21 4K60 has a x1.25 crop same as the rV

[@michaell5806]

Much bigger viewfinder? Really!?

[@sclogse1]

I suppose you could compare this sensor wirh the resolution of Kodachrome 25. Nobody complained about lens resolution in the 1950's.... Wrist strap, baby...

[@TW-iu9zy]

… most of the 1950‘s photographer used Kodachrome 25 are dead. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@HappyHands.]

What was your wife fixing?

[@robertwlester]

Nice t shirt. very cool

[@damir10535]

What's cooking? :)

[@bikash3003]

Wow🎉🎉

[@willkendall294]

Love the MiniDisc player 😀

[@danfarmer_photo]

Great review Chris. A couple of other points. I have the a7RV, and a sneaky trick that works well, is the small and medium raw images. Both have great detail, and I use them both so much more than the full size raw images. But the trick is, when you are in medium, you can go to crop mode to get closer to your subject, but the resolution doesn’t drop again. Same in small. So you get two focal lengths (sort of) when shooting in these modes. I assume this camera would do the same being it has the same sensor. It’s a feature you wouldn’t think you’d need, until you have it, and now I find I use it often! Thanks again for your review. ✌️

[@GreenLightFlight]

Something that always bugged me about "digital teleconverter" in jpeg was the upscale to match the full resolution. Always wondered who would use that, why not just crop it and leave it? The raw croped picture would probably even be smaller in size than the upscale jpeg

[@danfarmer_photo]

@@GreenLightFlight You’ve missed the point. When you are shooting in medium (26 megapixel) and go into crop mode, because the sensor has so much more resolution, it doesn’t have to upscale it. It already has the resolution to spare. So the crop mode image is also 26megapixel. Also, not sure of your point around jpg. It works in raw. Thanks

[@GreenLightFlight]

@@danfarmer_photo for sure, fully understood what you were saying and think that's a great feature and tip for a7rv users. Sony always seems to think things through and implement every idea on the table. My comments was in regard to other cameras. It always boggled my mind as to why they'd bother upscaleing cropped jpgs in camera when there's no real benefit that I can think of, but quite a few drawbacks.

[@danfarmer_photo]

@@GreenLightFlight Ah yes, now I understand. Yes, I agree.

[@GreenLightFlight]

Question though, can you shoot in crop mode and still save the full size raw? That could be beneficial for composing your shot but still having headroom for adjusting it later. Like with safe areas or composition overlays, but allready punched on the viewfinder and jpg if raw+jpg

[@jjseandxcefree]

megapretzels

[@cameraprepper7938]

I like the design with the EVF in the corner very much ! But, I wish the EVF was larger with higher resolution, I misses a joystick and the flip-out screen makes the camera too thick.

[@Sassafrassassassa]

did not see this one coming

[@Ivlodded]

nice nostromo shirt :D

[@molybdnum]

Can't wait to pick one up when it eventually reaches half-price, even if that takes 5 years.

[@jukeboxjohnnie]

if youre in the UK you can get it £2,300 grey, I did im happy with it.

[@KK-fi6ms]

This is more value for money than A7C2. Or rather, A7C2 is very poor value for money.

[@miggyloz806]

i disagree. at the price point, I'd spend a little more and get the A7rv

[@KK-fi6ms]

@@miggyloz806 Even better

[@Lowdown13blues]

How come nobody’s comparing this camera to the Leica Q3 yet ??

[@nicedward7544]

The Leica has the same sensor, worse AF, fixed lens, and costs 3x the sony. I'd rather have the rx1r ii for a wayyy cheaper fixed lens camera

[@Lowdown13blues]

@@nicedward7544 prob when the rx1r iii is out …

[@nicedward7544]

@@Lowdown13blues that leaf shutter 35 Zeiss is perfection

[@jan-martinulvag1953]

what lens did you use?

[@christopherfrost]

Sigma 40mm f/1.4 ART, stopped down to f/4, and showing a portion of the middle of the image frame. Doesn't get any sharper :-)

[@Lethorio]

I just don't understand who this camera is for. If you're a professional looking for a high megapixel Sony sensor, why wouldn't you just go for the A7RV? The compactness isn't going to be a selling point here, I don't think.

[@FotosyMas.]

In your autofocus test, your skin still looks yellow.

[@0action847]

Tracking and af on button is quicker than a joystick.

[@careylymanjones]

The A7cr DOES have a mechanical shutter. Sony's online user manual for the A7cr lists a menu option to select electronic OR MECHANICAL shutter. It lists maximum shutter speed of 1/4000 with mechanical shutter and 1/8000 with electronic shutter.

[@michaeltuffin8147]

No mechanical shutter is a deal breaker for me. Single card slot? eww. No thumbstick? wtf. Not worth 3 grand.

[@shang-hsienyang1284]

I will accept a single card slot if the camera can automatically backup to the cloud in the background, and this camera cannot.

[@I922sParkCir]

It has FTP tethering. If I ever need to shoot where redundancy is required, I have my A7C connect to a little portable FTP server in my bag. You can do something similar with your phone.

[@afferist]

шумы нужно в темное время суток тестировать, а тут светлый студийный образец, в R4/R5/A1 в тенях шумы лезут уже при iso400-800, прям как на кропах старых. 4к/60 с кропом идет, хотя в начале сказано наоборот

[@casualcoffeeshooter]

Он сказал, что «почти без кропа», а не вовсе без него. Сомневаюсь, что ваш коммент сможет привлечь внимание будучи на русском языке

[@afferist]

важен не язык, а факт, особенно про минимальный тест iso@@casualcoffeeshooter

[@drbeardo6960]

1🎉

[@Nonixification]

Why would anyone buy this over the a7 IV? More megapixel? That's not a good deal. Should cost £2000 maximum.

[@TW-iu9zy]

… of cause, it should. 😂

[@TechnoBabble]

Nearly double the resolution while being physically smaller and having better autofocus. Different strokes for different folks.

[@zakariasagor4707]

First comment

[@Robin_Polarstern]

In germany 🇩🇪 we would say „Nicht noch ein Staubfänger von Sony“ 😅

[@SapphicCode]

I like that Sony made this, but I do not understand who it’s for. There’s basically no compact FE lenses, so you’ll be cropping anyway, and- oh what’s the Sony a6700 doing here?

[@TW-iu9zy]

… many FE lenses are compact. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@alandargie9358]

Sigma lenses

[@KevinZJR]

So many compact FE F1.8 lenses. What are you talking about...