The CII is perfect for me! 💯

Tbh I didn’t understand why the mechanical shutter should mean better low light performance. I didn’t find any evidence of that… apart for some problem with light interference with led or neon which may cause more artifacts when reading the file but that is not digital noise, and should not impact the low
Light performance in the raw file. I even asked ChatGPT lol and it denied electronic shutter has any negative impact on noise in low light… and all the tests and comparison basically confirm the two cameras are basically the same in image quality… it does affect rolling shutter tho but i don’t even care that much, still compensated by the compact and light body and the awesome ff sensor and ai af.

Here in 2026 wishing I could still access the raw files

Dope video! You've touched on some topics in depth that i have not heard from other youtubers. Real world experience was super helpful. Thanks! Currently shooting a7RV, and looking to get an a7Cii...but I think I'll wait!

Oh man I’ve been following your IG for years but for some reason just now found your YT channel. I think it finally appeared on my feed because I've been researching the A7CII.  Subbed 🤙🏽

Very helpful video.

Last night i tried both a7iv and a7cii with same lens and same setup, but a7cii disappointed me. A7iv tends to work better on the low light situation.

I was in a dilemma returning my a7cii due to its size and but your video helped.

Going to keep the A7iv for atleast few more years.

Enjoyed this video! I am currently deciding between the A7IV and the A7cii. This was helpful! Thanks!

I would be interested in seeing a review on the A7RV for astro.  I’ve read it does surprisingly well for being high megapixel.

are you able to do an indepth testing? with efcs on a7cii and full mechanical shutter on a7iv? hope you can do a comparison on dynamic range, iso test and noise test on same time and same scene when you have time please.

I got the A7cii, I liked it for the first couple of months, Now Not as happy as it lacks a couple of things that are better with my Panasonic, But since I have got a couple of Sony lenses I will consider swaping it with A7-5, If the later has Shutter angle.
(Panasonics always had the right stuff, So that's now become my main cam, and may be A7-5 for Photo only). I will keep both as they are very differnt.

A really solid and very in depth real world review. I really love the rangefinder layout of C series, but man... that is disappointing to hear.

I’m very happy with my A7C ii..it’s my backup to A7Rv, it’s light, it’s fast, autofocus’ accurate…. I understand it has one card slot, small EVF and don’t use it in rain.  Actually I take my Nikon when I go to mountain or wild.  Buyers should read camera specs carefully before selection and not blame the camera after the acquisition.

One change between the A7IV and A7CII is that they removed the built in raw filtering - 'star eater'. It's a huge improvement for astro, look at 'fervent astronomy' for his reviews using the A7RIV and A7RV. In practice it means you need to do your own noise filtering, but you don't get missing/weird stars, or green tinted night skies

I own a pair of A7Cii's and I've never run into any issues with the e-front curtain.  I love the smaller form factor and rangefinder style.  I've also had my Sony cameras out in downpours and did not have any problems with the weather sealing.  Perhaps you got a lemon?  Any-hoo, I'm not shooting what you shoot, so that's probably the difference.

There's nothing inherent to an electronic front curtain shutter that would change the noise levels. The mechanism of capturing photons is the same as a mechanical shutter.

I'm watching this on a MacBook Pro 2010, and the video is so dark that I can barely see you.

Exactly! I think I commented on your other vid about the A7C II. I ended up with an A7 IV instead A7C II because I found out it doesn't have a true mechanical shutter. It's a HUGE deal breaker to me. Also the buffer size is much smaller in the A7C II so it's not ideal for wildlife and motorsports I shoot. I've been in the Sony system in a year and I found none of the model is perfect lol. A7R V is too slow(sensor readout). A1 lack of AI autofocus, focus bracketing, bulb timer over 30 sec and so on. A9 III suck at dynamic range and only has 24 mp. They all almost perfect but lack of something. That's why I am super excited about the upcoming A1 mark II. That might just be THE "perfect" camera lol. Also, I shoot astro with the Nikon Z6 II. It's HA modified by the Spencer's camera. I freaking LOVE it for astro landscape! The sensor readout noise is lower than the A1 and A7 IV(check DxOMark). It has awesome features for nightscape. I took it to harsh weather condition all the time and no problem with it. Highly recommend it for  astrophotography!

k bay, my Hawaii home :)

I was very close to buy a Sony A7CII/A7CR camera, because I like the design with the EVF in the corner, which I wish all cameras have ! But the EVF have too low resolution and magnification, also there are no joystick and the A7CII/A7CR are more expensive than A7IV/A7RV, so you pay more and get less !