Sony Introduces its Compact Full-Frame a7c

VidThreeNorth · Sep 14, 2020

I thought about adding this to the previous discussion, but that was fill with speculation and some digression, so I am posting to a fresh topic.

Some people who have only read what I have posted to this forum might believe that I am a fan of Sony. Actually, I am not. It's an ok company which is doing a good job lately, but I have had long standing issues with it. In particular, lately, I blame them for influencing the marketing of Blu-ray (which is theoretically not subject to their control, but I believe they are still "influential") which has been a disaster for everyone, resulting in the fact that all desk computers that have optical drives STILL come with DVDs. This is a company that does still make mistakes. I say this because, I think this camera is not what I would have pushed to market at this time. It is not a horrible mistake, and certainly will not be the company's "downfall", but I just don't think it was the camera to bring forward right now. Ok, maybe I'm just wrong about this. That can also happen. . . .

Anyway, here's a link to DP Review's first look at it:

"Sony a7C initial review: Compact size, big sensor image quality",
by Richard Butler, Published Sep 15, 2020 by DPreview.com
"Sony a7C initial review: Compact size, big sensor image quality"

According to DP Review:

"The Sony a7C will be available from October 2020 at a price of around $1799 USD ($2399 CAD) or with the new collapsible 28-60mm F4-5.6 kit zoom for around $2099 USD ($2699 CAD)."

[2020-09-18 I changed the title from "Cheap" to "Compact"]

Derrel · Sep 14, 2020

Ouch! $1,799 at intro for a 24 MP full-frame...way more expensive than we had been lead to hope for....originally the word was $898 to $999 and was then re-adjusted to $1,999...but $1,799....no... the new Nikon Z5 is $1,399...and the Nikon D610 can be had as a complete-with-lens-and-grip-and- spare-battery kit for around $900.

$2,399 Canadian? Lead balloon time.

VidThreeNorth · Sep 15, 2020

Derrel said:
Ouch! $1,799 at intro for a 24 MP full-frame...way more expensive than we had been lead to hope for....originally the word was $898 to $999 and was then re-adjusted to $1,999...but $1,799....no... the new Nikon Z5 is $1,399...and the Nikon D610 can be had as a complete-with-lens-and-grip-and- spare-battery kit for around $900.

$2,399 Canadian? Lead balloon time.

Actually, that might be the only good thing about releasing this right now. They have at least a month to decided whether to put it on a holiday season sale.

VidThreeNorth · Sep 17, 2020

It is worth it to read the Imaging Resource Sigma interview when thinking about this camera. I had the idea in the back of my mind that I thought this camera was aimed at the local Japanese market, and after I read about how the Sigma fp is selling in Japan, and why, this camera makes more sense.

Imaging Resource Sigma Interview

I think I should say generally that what I would consider a "better idea" right now is a camera to replace the Sony a5100. The Sony a6000 came out before the a5100, but the a5100 had support for Sony's XAVC-S video Codec -- a Pro Codec with 50 mbps at 24, 25 and 30 1080p. This was a huge move and put that camera -- a near-bottom priced camera, at the top of video capability for ILC. Shortly after, they released an upgrade for the a6000 which also gave it the XAVC-S Codec. So these two "budget priced" cameras had Pro video support, arguably beyond the top costing ILCs of the competition, including the the Canon DSLRs even after adding the Magic Lantern "unofficial" upgrades, and set Sony up in what would become a two-brand competition for leadership in video against Panasonic.
[2020-09-17 09:05 typo corrections]
[2020-09-18 15:48 another typo.]

Now we get to today, and down in the lowest MILC prices, all the competition have "new" cameras with 4K video. That includes Fuji, Canon, and Olympus. But Sony 4K video starts at the next price level up (a6100). Personally, I think the Sony cameras are fine for video because the XAVC-S can be up-scaled fairly successfully, but consumers "on advice" of their local experts, or even on their own inexperienced research are going to have "4K video" on their check-lists and are not going to understand that those particular Sony models could well be enough for them.

I don't expect the a6100 to drop that low before the gift season, so that is why they need a new camera down that low. Giving up the entry level market is not a good idea. That is how they got so strong in the first place.