Why the Sony A7CII

A first look at Sony's newest compact full frame camera the SONY A7CII. Packed with amazing features and AI tech its bound to be a winner. I explain the reasons I picked up this camera and where it fits into my photography and content creation workflow. It just may be the camera you are looking for as well. Let's find out if it's right for you.
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#joedagostinophoto

[@sjsphotog]

Great points. I love the small form factor of my a6000, a6500 and NEX-7 so Im hoping I can save up for the a7cII as I was originally saving for the a7IV. Gotta check it out in person but Im sure its going to be great.

[@ChristianLawrence]

Great honest video, nice to see after all the sales videos on this camera

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you so much. That’s always been the direction I like to take. So I truly appreciate your words.

[@Camping-Turtle]

Nice vid. Really enjoyed it! Thanks.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you🔥📷

[@chrisburnard5157]

Just found your channel and excellent review, thank you, subscribed.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you so much for the support. I truly appreciate it.

[@kassayeatsime]

I like review like this which is genuine and useful

[@jobo991]

good review. almost sold. can you please make your nostalgic negative recipe for sony?

[@KaiBoogie718]

Love mine.. great vid

[@JamesCartist]

I like that you talk about the realities of the camera and what it can be used for, for me it is hitting the right marks, not a pro by any stretch but I do work to get it published and this would be a good fit because I can take it on set should I be filming.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

[@Maxhuertas]

I still have the original Sony a7c and still very happy with it, enjoy yours!

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thanks Max. Yeah looking forward to putting this camera to good use.

[@lastonmars]

Great thoughts! I just received my A7c2 and love it so far.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Now we just need Lightroom to update. Lol

[@lastonmars]

Indeed ! It will happen any time soon though@@JoeDAgostinoPhoto

[@jnxmck]

@@JoeDAgostinoPhoto tell me about it! Got mine last Wednesday, hoping Adobe get the update out ASAP.

[@007UA16]

Nice to see we got the Lightroom update!

[@jeffryesmeralda]

❤ Love the raw (unscripted) review, Joe! I might just get the A7Cii vs A7iv because of this vid. Thank you!

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you so much for the feedback. I truly appreciate it.

[@kayt4553]

Like your review ... it's all about small size which is what most reviews totally miss. It is amazing what Sony was able to pack into such a small body.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

It’s very feature rich camera. Definitely a great all around content camera for travel.

[@geuskoeman721]

Thanks joe

[@joeep46]

Thanks for the video, Joe. I like the way you deliver the information. Could the A7cr be a replacement for a Q2?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

I think in a lot of ways it may be better. However I really like the Q system. You'll save money though.

[@AronjAnderson]

Great video Joe, I feel exactly the same DSLR type vs range finder type.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you for watching

[@AronjAnderson]

@@JoeDAgostinoPhotoYour very welcome 🙏🏻

[@MartinV.]

Great Video!

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you

[@joytjhen670]

Hi Joe thanks for the video. Right now I'm using fuji XT5 as my main camera for weddings, and I'm looking for a Full frame camera to add to my gear, my option is between Leica SL or Sony a7cii, what do you think is better option for me? Thanks a lot, cheers.

[@bneil4059]

I love my Z8 but when I go on a walk in the autumn I’m slipping the A7CII into my hoodie front pocket and good to go.

[@KaramM]

What lens do you pair with it to make it so compact?

[@PuReXtremeGaming]

Great vifeo you seemed to confirm all my thoughts and suspicions on this camera, i thijk ill swap / return my boxed a7iv for this. As long as overheating is the eame or better and lowlight is the same, im moving!

[@PuReXtremeGaming]

The a6700 is annoyingly good spec wise it's like got fx3 video options on an apsc. Zv-e1 I've heard overheats and would be bad for photos. EEE

[@sashinger5230]

Already have the A7 IV but I think I'll get a an A7C II for backup and street as well. Seems like a great addition to complete my setup. 👌

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you for watching

[@chengo51]

Helpful video for me, you explain what I was searching for concerning viewfinder and screen. One thing missing though, does the shutter close when no lens are fixed on, I think so but a confirmation would be good. Also I like the doors to be solid and not these cheap / clumsy / flimsy rubber cowls you find everywhere else.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Solid doors and yes the shutter closes when powered off. They may be a setting on the menu to set it differently but I cannot remember as I type this. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching g.

[@billmartin1010]

Exactly where I came down. I actually owned a Leica Q3. Loved the camera. But the a7Cii gives me everything the Leica provides, PLUS the benefits of interchangeable lenses and a much more modern AF. Sold the Q3. Unless I'm shooting birds (which demands my Canon R5 setup), I'm shooting the a7Cii all the time.

[@pw5391]

Hi, when a7cii video goes into 1.5 crop does the video quality decrease compared to full frame? or is there no quality effect just cropped in? Thanks

[@Sam-nf7jj]

Really enjoyed this honest review, finally someone who doesn't sell 1 camera

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thank you Sam. I do my best to deliver information based off of user experience not useless fluff.

[@Sam-nf7jj]

So would you recommend this to someone who is used to smaller cameras but wants this as there hybrid main camera? I own a sony a6400​@JoeDAgostinoPhoto

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

@@Sam-nf7jj absolutely. Think A6600 but full frame and just a touch bulkier. Nice feature set though for both photo and video.

[@LiroozShop]

Hello. Thank you for your excellent video. Considering that you shoot your videos at 24 frames per second, I would be very grateful if you could tell me what shutter speed you choose to comply with the 180 degree rule.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

On Sony the closest you can get is 1/50th.

[@RandumbTech]

I like rangefinder style too. When I walk out the door, I just grab the Q2. I totally get why you bought the A7C ii - it gives you a more creative experience.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Exactly 🔥

[@DannyDD1979]

Nice to see it paired with the 24mm G. Give me an idea what it'll look like with my 40mm G. Cheers!

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Just had the 40mm arrive today. Second time I’ve owned it. Lol

[@vladim_vladimych]

hello, tell me which lens do you use with the Sony A7Cm2 camera?

[@MattFitzgerald]

Good to hear some thoughts from a Leica Q shooter. That's the primary competitor for me. Now that you had some time with the Leica Q3 and it's video / crop capabilities, do you think the Q3 can replace a 28/50 combo on something like this A7CII? I've walked around with an M10R for so long and there is nothing better in the world for photography, but I unfortunately need video capabilities. The 2 in betweens are this A7CII or the Q3...

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Unfortunately I cannot comment on the Q3. I do not own one nor have I used it.

[@asim.antule]

Hello, I appreciate your honest feedback! I have a question for you regarding my camera plans. I am considering entering the Sony lineup and my primary focus will be content creation, wedding photography, product photography, and vlogging. After careful consideration, I have decided on the Sony A7 C-II camera paired with a 24-105mm G lens. However, I am facing a dilemma due to budget constraints. The overall cost exceeds my budget and I am contemplating whether to purchase a second-hand or open box 24-105mm lens while getting a new SONY A7 CII body. Can you assist me in choosing the best lens that will meet my needs and fulfill my purposes? I have watched numerous videos, but I believe you possess valuable knowledge and understanding about Sony cameras. I hope you can provide me with guidance. Waiting for your reply.

[@kameya87]

I love mine. Still trying to find a smaller lens than the 35mm gm. That 20mm you mentioned might be good

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

The 40mm is amazing. Sits wonderfully in the middle of the 35-50mm focal length. Small too.

[@stkuj]

I bought my a7rv to Japan thinking I would take all these cool photos, but TBH, I found it a pain to carry around b/c it was just too large and heavy. I totally get it. I'm thinking of the a7cii (but also want a ZV-E1 too).

[@fridadeivizsla2729]

me too.. but from a7 iv.. what you decided? :)

[@stkuj]

ZV-E1

[@kevinc.3717]

Hey Joe, Nice job! I too love photos and could care less about video but this camera will do the job for video if need be. I love my fuji cameras but still have the desire for FF and decent MP's which this camera offers. Enough said. This video is the straight up bomb and I will purchase one soon. I might go Sigma lenses because of $ at this point! God Bless!

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Tha is for watching and your feedback. Yeah it’s a great travel and content camera.

[@johnowens8530]

Great review thanks! How does it compare to your A6700?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

I only own the A6600. It’s a lot better. Lol

[@smooth111012]

I’m torn between two cameras, Leica q3 and Sony a7r v. I mainly shoot weddings, portrait and street and architecture

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

If your mainly shooting wedding the Q3 may not offer enough variety in focal lengths. I would say while it’s a fantastic camera it may not be the correct tool for the application.

[@williamgiasi2365]

Hi just curious if the sony color is much more harder to edit on lightroom and need lots of adjustment compare to raw files from Leica? I am an SL user here and considering to buy the a7cii 😆

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

While I can only speak on the SL601 I find the Sony files actually easier to grade. The SL is an amazing camera and love the files however at times I feel the LCD or EVF tends to lie to my eye when it comes to exposure.

[@APTechs]

Which one would you recommend a7c2 or a7s3 for video KZbin content purpose? A7s3 has been the king 👑 for a while, would a7c2 take the top spot for video? Which one has better ibis?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

There’s pros and cons. Newest AF and AI processing is going to go to the A7C2. Sharper video as well. However not as good in lowlight as the A7SIII which is king. IBIS will go to the A7C2 for sure. Bottom line is if you need a hybrid camera then A7C2 is perfect in that regard. If you need no crop 60 or 120fps then go with the A7SIII.

[@APTechs]

Thank you for your swift reply. Much appreciated

[@qilaqil16]

Hello! Just wanted to ask how do u transfer raw files and 4K videos? I can’t seem to view them on my iPad, Mac and iPhone. Do u have any idea ?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

For clients sometimes I’ll use WeTransfer or Dropbox.

[@michaelmillward8006]

Hi Joe, I've been looking for a smaller rangefinder type body. I bought the X100v but must be one of the only people not to like it very much ( rubbish focusing and nightmare menu system). Tried the Q2 but it's like a brick, so didn't invest in it, it might be small but heavier than my A9. Wondering though would the A7CR make more sense in the small body option as the higher pixel count would mean those small fixed focal length lenses could be used at different effective focal lengths by cropping in camera or post.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

All good points. My only remarks to have you consider would be that using those small lenses and cropping will get you a similar framing however, compression will not be the same then if you used the actual lenses themselves.

[@thijsvanmenen9307]

You are not the only one. Just sold my x100v to generate some money to buy the a7cii.

[@ChristianLawrence]

Same here 😊 just sold my x100v. Been waiting for the new version of the a7c to be released. I was set on A7cr, but now feeling that A7cii may be the better option to sit along side my canon r5. Will get the 24 and 40 for travel and street photography.

[@DannyDD1979]

Same... I just sold my X100V last week. Form factor was cool with the retro styling but the autofocus was hot garbage. Sticking with my Sony setup.

[@robertoalfalla256]

Currently Shooting My X-Pro2 for Street and some food. Looking at this or the A7CR. Worth giving Sony a chance?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Absolutely. The Sony bodies are just so feature rich. Honestly the system is smaller than the XPro 2.

[@scotthenry3904]

Are you swapping from the Q2 to the A7Cii? Or do you still plan on keeping the Q2. I would like to see more of an in-depth comparison.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Thanks for watching Scott. Definitely not switching one for the other but rather adding the Sony to the group. I don’t know if the cameras directly compared to one another. They are different megapixels one as a fixed lens one is not one has a flip screen one doesn’t, one has superior AI tech and auto focusing capabilities. One does not one has superior specs one does not. However, there were something to be said about the Bill quality of Leica, and how it is more of an instrument rather than a tool.

[@scotthenry3904]

@@JoeDAgostinoPhoto sounds good. Sony just needs to update the rx1r ii. It would blow the X100V and Q3 out of the water if they did it right. Just worried they won't because of the A7cii.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

@@scotthenry3904 a new RX camera would be on the top of my list.

[@Thunderbird1337]

I also though about it long time whether A7CII or A7IV is the better choice for me, and finally decided for the A7IV because of a couple of NO-GOs of the A7CII: 1. Viewfinder is worse (smaller, lower resolution) but more importantly it has no eyecap (and the aftermarket eyecaps are all way too big, ugly and blocking the hot shoe) 2. The too small grip 3. The fact that you can't turn up the flip screen without first flip it to the side. That's very annyoying for people who often want to turn up the screen, e. g. when you are shooting often near the ground. And even if you flip the screen out and turn it up, it's beside the camera (you're looking to the side) which is unusual and makes it harder to level the camera. There are other reasons like missing joystick, less buttons and missing 2nd card slot which are dealbreakers for other people, but personally these points don't bother me so much like the points mentioned above. It seems the A7CII is more meant for vloggers or for people who absolutely want to have the smallest FF camera option and therefor are accepting to lose some major convenience features. What really speaks for this camera is the newest AF system. But personally I'm not willing to lose all the convenience of a A7IV just for the newer AF and 144g less weight.

[@USGrant21st]

A7Cii looks attractive to me because of it's compactness. But I have huge reservations. I tried several Sony cameras (A7/ii/iii/Rii/Riii) before and never was happy with colors. I've been a Nikon user for years and unless the colors are on par with Nikon I won't move to Sony. So I'm waiting for Lightroom support of A7Cii raw files to be see whether I like the colors or not.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Colors are 100% different now than they were with those you've mentioned. Same as the A7IV. Colors are fantastic.

[@paullafleur6112]

Interesting. I've been Nikon SLR and DSLR user for decades. Agree Nikon colours are beautiful. Now weighing my options moving to mirrorless. Want something very compact - A6400/6700 or A7C(II) or A7CR. Excuse my ignorance, wouldn't you be able to get good colours from Sony RAW files via Lightroom/Capture One/Darktable or whichever software you are using? Maybe I'm missing something. I want to avoid regretting a move to Sony because of disappointing colours

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

@@paullafleur6112 thank you for your comments, Paul. Sony had less than favorable colors with their first generation of mirror cameras. It took a lot of work to get the colors dialed in whereas other camera companies seem to edit files effortlessly. That hasn’t been the case for Sony for quite some time now. the colors are accurate and very pleasing just like other systems. I’ve shot Nikon and canon for many years and I don’t feel like Sony colors are any different at this point.

[@paullafleur6112]

@@JoeDAgostinoPhoto Thank you for the response. Cool. That is reassuring to hear. I won't discount Sony then and keep my options open. Thanks for sharing your experience

[@USGrant21st]

@@paullafleur6112 I'm using LR and DXO for RAW conversion. DXO is doing a better job regarding colors than LR. You can do a lot of color manipulation in LR and DXO. In fact, DXO PL has profiles for a lot of different cameras you can apply to any other supported camera. Applying Nikon tone curves to Sony does look better. Nevertheless, Sony colors still they not nearly as good as coming from Nikon NEF files. And NEF files don't require any color surgery, just boost saturation and vibrance a bit and they look fantastic. Also Sony AWB is very often wrong, that's another thing that needs fixing in almost every image. There is something else going on I can't quite put my finger on. Nikon images show volume, what some people call 3D. Sony images look flat, some people call them digital looking. My suspicion is the color transitions in highlights and dark areas. Nikon preserves the colors very well, Sony files turn those areas into white/gray quickly. So Nikon NEF files look more like film.

[@jtes1442]

The size is perfect. I just wish it had a joystick and the shutter had the same abilities as the A7IV and not a neutered version.

[@PuReXtremeGaming]

What's neutered

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

I somewhat get it but the trade off feels worth it. I rarely top out at 1/8000th of a sec for Shutter speeds if ever. Sonys focusing system is kinda fool proof. Placing it on wide with eye detection is more accurate then placing a selectable box on your target. Especially if there is movement. Plus you can tap and drag the focus point if you choose even with your eye in the viewfinder. I enjoy the enhanced Cine style menu system plus the ability to load custom Luts. The enhanced focusing AI algorithm is great.

[@MensHealthMedia]

Ummm, the camera you showed as the main camera you’re using is the A7RIV. Not the A7IV like you mentioned 🤨

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

Yes I realized that after I posted. However the words are true. I use the A7IV for everything. A minor problem of too many cameras on the table at the same time. 😂 lol

[@smooth111012]

Have you not thought of doing a wedding with Leica

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

There have been a few times I will supplement with a Leica Q but never a full wedding

[@18yearsoldnot]

Still skeptical about Sony colours. They seem to have masked the green frog skin with fake tan

[@jmk868]

"fixed lens camera" OK

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

What do you mean

[@quang5DCameras]

Why you keep Sony A7RIV? It's overkilled, Overspend $$, you don't need that. Better sell it.

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

I have no idea how you came to that conclusion.

[@quang5DCameras]

@@JoeDAgostinoPhoto You even said A7RIV is Overkilled. So why spending money to get a device that you barely used? Unless you have too much money to spend. or Is it only to do KZbin review then leaving to dust cover...

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

@@quang5DCameras my man why are you so concerned about what I spend my money on. You’re coming off a bit troll like. Secondly I stated the A7R series of cameras are amazing for landscape and large print work. Some of the photography I am interested in and compose. I also use the A7R for product and food photography. You basically took one sentence from the video and picked the portion you wanted to hear and threw out the rest. Unlike other “KZbinr” photographers I happen to be a working professional and purchase my gear. It is not given to me as I am not sponsored by any camera brands. I post user type reviews for the people that may find a benefit hearing opinions from non biased reviewers. If that’s not for you then simply move on. Have a good day. I can’t believe I’m going back and forth with which is probably a bot since your user name is suspect.

[@delphimiranda]

Overkilled or overkill ?

[@JoeDAgostinoPhoto]

@@delphimiranda60 mpix can be overkill for wedding work was my opinion.