The Sony RAW-captured noise test images utilized the "Uncompressed" RAW setting and were processed in Capture One with the Natural Clarity Method and the sharpening amount set to 30 (low). Sony MILCs have been praised by many in the video industry for including high-end features found in their mirrorless full-frame cameras. The older A7C had a CIPA-rated battery life of around 740 shots when using the LCD screen and 680 when using the viewfinder, whereas the newer, more power-hungry A7C R only offers 520 shots when using the LCD screen and 470 when using the viewfinder.

Image size after compositing is approx. 60.2 million (9504 x 6336) pixels for 4-image shots, and approx. 240.8 million pixels (19008 x 12672) for 16-image shots.

What are the differences between the Sony a7C and a7 III?

The auto exposure sometimes needs a tweak – this was taken with -2EV compensation – but you can zoom in to see the excellent detail in the squirrel. (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

SteadyShot (IBIS) is available for enabling more stable video to be recorded, increasing handheld video production quality.Sony's colour profiles are split into 'creative looks' and 'picture profiles', with the former most suitable for stills and the latter for video, although either can be applied to both stills and video.

A larger, higher resolution screen, perhaps even 16:9 rather than 3:2, would have made the A6600 more competitive with its main rivals. The rear LCD is the same as on the a7 III, a nice but lower resolution model with about 921,600 dots. Exactly like the A7 III, the A7C uses a hybrid AF system which employs both phase-detection and contrast-based auto-focusing. In the A7C R both HEIF and JPEG formats are available, although you can't select both at the same time. Whichever format option you select can then be captured independently or simultaneously with RAW.

Side of the Camera

The one newly developed feature I didn’t like as much as the older versions was the compact eye-level viewfinder. A 2.36-million dot OLED EVF, it has a high enough resolution, but I wasn’t quite as comfortable looking through it as I am with the one on my Sony a7R IV. I suspect I’d be able to get used to it, over time, but I'd still prefer something slightly larger. Sony A7C review: Image quality and video The Sony a7C's Focus Area options are Flexible Spot (S, M, or L point size selectable), Expand Flexible Spot (uses focus points around the spot as a secondary priority area for focusing), Center, Zone (9 selectable large AF areas) and Wide (all points active). I'm very particular about image quality, and my Sony cameras are always set to capture uncompressed RAW images, ensuring no compromise. The vari-angle screen is a welcome feature, however, especially for vertical shooting – and the A7C now supports vertical video, so if you shoot video for smartphone or tablet display, it stays vertical – you don’t have to rotate it later in post production.

To be honest, we would rather have seen Sony continue to roll-out the new menu that made its debut on the A7S III. The Sony a7 III is a very popular camera, and those already familiar with it now have a very good understanding of the a7C. Also illustrated is that even the JPG image being created with noise reduction turned off appears to have some noise reduction applied. The a7C gets the a7 III's excellent up to 693-point focal-plane phase-detection AF system, originally inherited from the a9. There is a Multi Interface Shoe / flash hotshoe on top of the A7C R for connecting an external flashgun or a compatible accessory such as the ECM-B1M digital shotgun microphone, but as with the A6700, this new camera does not feature a built-in pop-up flash.Inside, though, the A7C is rather conventional. The 24MP sensor is the same as (or a close relative of) the sensor in the A7 III, and the video is capped at 8-bit 4K at 30p. By today’s standards this is very ordinary indeed, though Sony says the bit depth has been kept to 8-bit to produce manageable file sizes for capture and editing. The relatively low processing demands mean the A7C does at least have no recording limits – and its 4K video is ‘oversampled’ full width 6K, so the quality should be good. You may want to format your Sony-destined memory cards during shoot preparation instead of during a shoot. The new fully articulating vari-angle design that's been inherited directly from recently released A7S III is a big improvement on the A6600's 180-degree flip-up design, proving much more versatile for vlogging and movie shooting in general. There are 13 ISO settings available on the Sony A7C. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting for both JPEG and RAW formats. JPEG