Sony A7C photos at Springbrook Nature Center, Fridley (2021-08-12)

I finally got my Sony A7C camera! I had ordered it from Amazon, and I didn’t know it at the time of ordering, but Amazon requires a signature upon delivery. This was a problem, as I’m not home in the daytime. After the camera was routed to a locker, I had it re-routed to a UPS Access Point for an additional $6. I’ll never order another high priced item from Amazon. That was awful. I’m just happy that the nightmare is over.

Full Frame vs APS-C

So, a quick comparison between the A7C’s full frame vs my old camera the A6000’s APS-C lens. The image on the left was taken with a Full Frame lens (50mm) and the image on the right was taken with an APS-C lens (210mm). What we’re missing is nearly 50% of the field of view in the crop lens! It’s obvious to me, that in order to take advantage of the full frame, your lens has to also be full frame… and those lenses are simply not cheap.



Although they are expensive, at least you can use those lenses on other e-mount cameras. The lenses hold re-sell value (providing it’s not broken), while older Sony camera bodies simply do not.



Also, a couple of upgrades, going from the A6000, the new A7C has incredible auto focus using Auto Eye focus! Eye focusing is an evolution of Face Focus, but obviously much smaller focus area tracking the subject’s eye. The new camera also has Animal Eye Focus, but I haven’t used it yet (you need to toggle between Human and Animal Eye).



The LCD screen is very versatile. You can use it as a selfie screen, you can use it as a vertical shoot, or you can use it viewing it from underneath. That last part is incredibly important when a tall person is in front of you, but you can still take photos by holding the camera up and viewing the frame from the bottom. Amazing.



The new Sony Z Battery took a long time to charge… but once it’s full, it will last you days on one battery charge. I also love the fact that the new camera is weather-sealed, so you don’t have to worry when shooting in the rain (although I won’t recommend it).



Finally, the new camera won’t overheat and shut down, compared to the A7III of A6000. I don’t know how Sony did it, but the new camera design exhaust heat efficiently.



There’s probably a ton of other upgrades and improvements, but those are the ones that came to me immediately.



Now for some negatives. Since Sony designed this as “the world’s smallest full frame camera”, there are some sacrifices that they had to make. For example, removing some buttons and making the grip smaller. I personally don’t care about fewer buttons, and I think the grip is just fine. If I can hold it, I’m not complaining. I will complain that Sony removed the eye cup on the new A7C. That sucks. Fortunately, there are third party eye cup makers that addressed this problem. You’ll need to use your hot shoe, but since I don’t use flash, that won’t be a problem for me.



Anyway, earlier today, I took a quick hike at the Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley and took some test photos with my A7C. For the first time, in a long time, I’m very excited to take photos and frame things. I was hoping for some wildlife, but unfortunately, I only saw a squirrel, a bird, and some grasshoppers.



I was happy to see that there is a small amphitheater at Springbrook Nature Center. It has a seating capacity of 150 on concrete seats, but if guests don’t minding sitting on the grass, the total capacity could be as much as 250. This is perfect for a daytime local show or gathering.