Every year, our local camera store in Austin puts on Precision Camera University (PCU), a couple of days filled with back-to-back photography classes. Almost always, these classes are portrait-oriented. I’ve been to a few over the years, including the 2016 event where I shot behind the scenes.

I attended the 2023 PCU in Georgetown, a community 30 miles north of Austin. I was there for some portrait fun and to further test the Sony A7C that I considered only a week after I first played with it at the Q2 Portrait event I talked about a couple of days ago.

This time, I primarily use the Sony 50mm f1.4 GM, a high-quality but less expensive and noticeably smaller version compared to the 50mm f1.2 GM I used the week before. For this first portrait of Kenzie, the instructor recommended shooting with at least an 85mm focal length or longer. I borrowed the Sony 85mm f1.4 GM, which blurred the background even more than the 50mm.

PCU is wonderful for the classes and the availability of the major camera vendors on site. While I primarily tested Sony, I also considered Nikon and Canon for my full-frame camera investigation.

The most creative of my four classes was the one with backgrounds and multiple off-camera strobes. We had three sets with models to experiment with and adjust the lighting. For the mermaid portrait, we used a background with a beach scene and a strobe behind the model to simulate the rising sun.

In the next set, we have Katie with a spotlight on a mock stage. I used the Sony A7C and the 50mm 1.4 for both. To get a deeper depth of field, I shot at f5.6.

Towards the end of the second day, I decided to buy the Sony A7C. Another benefit of Precision Camera University is better than usual gear discounts for attendees. I traded in many old, unused Canon and Nikon DSLRs and lenses to fund a modest setup with the A7C and compact Sony 24mm f2.8 lens. I had a great experience using a 24mm equivalent on my Fujifilm X-S10 in Las Vegas and love the focal length.

For this final portrait, I used the Sony 24mm f2.8 on the A7C to test the intended configuration I would buy. Though the 24mm isn’t a classic portrait lens, I created distortion with a smartphone aesthetic to capture Lia outside in a wooded area.

Post PCU, I processed the RAWs to compare image quality and Sony’s color science. While I prefer Fujifilm’s out-of-camera color, I felt confident I could post-process the Sony pictures to achieve the desired look. Shooting portraits over multiple days at PCU and Q2 Stadium gave me the confidence that Sony would work for me. It was a big step, but I was finally filling the sensor size hole between my APS-C and medium format Fuji cameras.

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