DON'T buy the Sony A7CR yet.

If you've been looking at the Sony A7RV and now see the cheaper baby brother Sony A7CR, don't buy it just yet, it's missing some key features which might still make the A7RV a better buy.

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If you have a question or want to chat, use the Instagram or Twitter links above, thanks!

[chrisbrockhurst]

I just think the price is wrong on this camera, it needs to be priced lower to succeed.

[Cthames]

The value of A7CR is it gives much of the A7RV, (61MP!, IBIS, Autofocus, etc.) in a smaller body at 75% of the cost, (-$1000). The “doesn’t have this or that” talk makes me say if you need/want all the bells and whistles buy it in the A7RV. I’m pretty sure Sony says that as well! Those who value the common features of both that separate it from other models but don’t need the things that make the A7RV $1000 more expensive (joystick, extra C buttons, better flippy screen, better EVF, better battery, 1 extra IBIS stop, 8k video, etc.) are going to jump all over the lower priced A7CR.

[dwightlooi]

Funny thing is I'll buy the A7Cr even if it is the same price as the A7RV and it has the same reduction in features. Why? Because size is worth something; size alone is worth $1000. I want a small, full frame, camera! The EVF is just fine, as is the one of the non-R A7 cameras. It doesn't affect picture quality so I don't care. More importantly, the A7Cr has smaller, thinner grips! I like smaller thinner grips and I dearly miss the ergonomics of the original A7/A7R before they repeatedly make the grips and body thicker and bigger. Finally, all the slight reductions in shooting speed, IS or the missing card slot? Meh, I was on the A7RII for 8 years and it didn't bother me.

[kevjmu]

I respectfully disagree. I sold my A7RIII and purchased A7CR w/ light Sony 16-35 F/4 it weighs 847 grams 😮 with my Q3 the A7CR is a perfect travel setup. I don’t think answer is so black and white it depends on the type of photography one shoots. It’s not ideal for wedding but it’s great for travel photography & landscape photography ❤. Total travel weight A7CR w/ two lens & Q3 = 2.25 kg😊 covering 16mm-105mm f/4 and fast F/ 1.7 prime❤

[glaxouszanofi]

Here in the Philippines, I find the compactness a significant advantage. The public places here are a bit allergic to professional looking cameras (typically large bodies and evfs are in the middle). Thus I remember being called out and asked for a permit using an a7IV, even for the sake of photoshooting my family lunch and not even commercial purpose. They keep implying that the place holds the right to ask permit and deny the use of pro cameras for privacy reasons.

Now, I borrowed an a7c from a friend and been to almost all public places shooting random strangers and places without ever being approached by security.

Well I guess for the disadvantage of ergonomics, I'll go for compact this time (a7cii / a7cr) for that reason alone of not dealing with any weird prohibitions.

[jason_chan]

I was fully intending to get the A7C, but once I looked through the EVF of the A7RV, I was immediately sold. It’s not even close.

[mauricecolyer]

Had the A7RV, nice camera. Sold and bought the A7CR, worked well for me. I never worry about view finders - bottom line is, with autofocus you can "point and shoot", literally. Doesn't really matter how bad your eyesight is, the camera does it for you. Lot of nonsense talked about needing to have super dooper viewfinder. Most images can be corrected in software, if necessary.

[ATruths]

I have the Sony A7RV and the Fujifilm X-T5. I think the Fuji is a better buy then the Sony A7RC. It even shoots 6K along with having the dual slots, better screen and EVF. The X-T5 is like a mini A7RV for me.

[nickscott]

The compactness of the a7cr is negated by the FF lens sizes. Unless you use some of the smaller Samyang lens and maybe the Tamron 20-40mm. Alternative is APSC, the sigma 18-55 APSC on the Sony A7CR would give you a crop at still 26mb. More than plenty for most use cases.

[jws]

the A7Rv is a 61mgp and a 26mgp aps-c in one body, traded in my A6600 on the Rv with the black friday discount and Sony's cashback...and I can stil use my aps-c lenses on the Rv 26mgp.

[daveericson]

Own the a7r5, I also bought the a7cr because of its size. I took it out once and it became obvious to me that although it's smaller and lighter which is nice the evf up until this point I wasn't concerned with was a real issue. With the a7r5 when you look at the photo you've just taken the image through the evf looked fantastic when checking details and focus etc, whereas on the a7cr I couldn't tell at times if I had nailed focus because of the resolution, the lcd screen wasn't so much of an issue. Equally as was mentioned once I put a bigger lens on it lost its small size attraction. Now realise that the a7r5 really isn't as big as I imagined and the compromise on size isn't enough reason for me to keep the a7cr, so I'm sending it back

[collodionpositive]

Great, this convinced me to get the A7CR over the A7R V, as will be using it mostly on a tripod for video the EVF and handling aren't really a concern. Used the £900 saved to put towards a lens instead :)

[RebeccaHargate]

I just (today) picked up my new A7r5. I was tempted. Didn’t like the lack of flexibility of the LCD. Don’t like the location of the A7cr viewfinder. And I didn’t want to hang my pinky off the bottom where it barely fits on the A7r5.

[Jonathantuba]

As a photographer, I would have bought the A7CR as a small lightweight additional body if it had been fitted with a tilt screen, but having previously owned the A7iv, I hate the flip screen. I am not buying any more cameras so fitted. The A7Rv is fine with its multi-angle screen, but I still prefer the standard tilt screen as on the A1, A7iii, etc.

[herokme]

the single card slot and body design (no joystick, low quality evf, small body, etc) still make me heavily lean towards the “non C cameras”. definitely think the price should be a bit lower! great review 🔥

[JasonMorrisphotocinema]

Did the video mean to end like that? I was just getting settled with my popcorn and it ended. Please gimme more

[DucYamR]

I agreed that the A7CR should be a lot lower. In California that’s $3250 after taxes and shipping. You can get a used and fairly new A7RV for $3000.

[Georgie_B_]

Hi Chris, have you done a side-by-side comparison of the colours and the exposure level? Are they exactly the same? Thanks so much!

[ChargedPulsar]

You are using your right eye, you can find centered evf useful.
Some people use their left eye, in that case, left positioned evf will be more convenient.
Important little detail. Can’t say anything about resolution though.

[vinitha]

There will always be, “ for a $ xxx more “ you get so and so . 61mp with almost 80-90% of the features of 7v for a 1000 bucks less is an amazing deal . Specially the a7cii