I’ve analyzed the Sony A7C over the last few posts, considering whether buying into a full-frame system made sense. Full-frame would slot perfectly between my APS-C Fuji X-system and the medium format Fuji GFX. While I’m blogging about this now, I tested the Sony back in March 2023. Ironically, my tests centered on portraiture, not my primary photographic subject. However, I bought the Sony A7C anyway since it seemed compelling and compact for full-frame.

I traded in a bunch of old equipment, enough to cover the A7C body and the Sony 24mm f2.8 lens. In early April 2023, with new gear in hand, I ventured downtown for my first urban landscapes with the new system. The coverage starts at the Ellis Bar on Congress Avenue and 2nd, a structure I featured before when I tested the Fujifilm GFX 50S II.

Across the street, I was attracted by the glow of a lone and empty food truck with two new skyscrapers in the background.

The only signs of life were at the bars on this quiet Monday evening on Congress Avenue. The A7C very cleanly captured the warm glow of this bar on Congress Avenue at ISO 2000 — no problem with a modern full-frame sensor.

The Sony A7C’s in-body image stabilization (IBIS) is less capable than the Fujifilm cameras. I find it difficult to get steady images under 1/10 of a second, while the Fuji easily worked at 1/4 of a second. I knew this limitation before buying the camera. Although weak IBIS is not a factor in portraiture, it’s essential for hand-held urban landscapes at night.

I love this glowing scene at the JW Marriott Corner Restaurant bar. The image quality is outstanding, and the sharpness and ISO performance are noticeably better than the Fujifilm APS-C systems.

I walked through the JW Marriott’s lobby and snapped this image of the check-in desk. It’s a tricky image since it requires a high dynamic range. I exposed the image with a negative two stops and brightened the shadows in post. Shot at ISO 100, there was no noise in the previously dark areas.

I continued to 6th Street for additional Sony A7C testing. There, I discovered a totally unexpected weakness. More on that tomorrow.

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