Several months ago I reviewed the compact Sony a7CII, which is in essence the internals of the a7IV though in a compact body more similar to Sony’s rangefinder style a6700 APS-C. Obviously Sony’s original a7C camera was popular enough to breed a successor, and, in fact, the lineup has expanded to include a new high resolution model which is the subject of today’s review. The Sony ILCE-7CR (or more commonly, a7CR) is the new high resolution option, taking the 61MP sensor from the Sony a7RV and housing it in a compact body. While the a7CR doesn’t inherit all of the larger a7RV’s features, it does get most of what makes that camera great at a lower price point nearly $1000 less. From the opposite perspective, the a7CR costs $800 more than the a7CII (33MP), so you are paying a premium for all of those extra pixels! So is the a7CR worth it? You can find out all of my thoughts in the video review below or in my thorough text review…or just enjoy the photos in the galleries.

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Thanks to Sony USA for sending me a review loaner of this camera. As always, this is a completely independent review.

In many ways it makes little sense to buy a compact camera and then attach a large lens to it, so here’s a list of great compact lens options for the a7CR that I’ve reviewed along the way (my reviews are hyperlinked).

• Sony FE 20mm F1.8 G
• Sony FE 24mm F2.8 G
• Sony FE 40mm F2.5 G
• Sony FE 50mm F2.5 G
• Sony Zeiss FE 55mm F1.8
• Sony FE 35mm F1.8
• Sony FE 85mm F1.8
• Samyang AF 18mm F2.8
• Samyang AF 24mm F1.8
• Samyang AF 35mm F1.8
• Samyang AF 45mm F1.8
• Samyang AF 75mm F1.8
• Sigma 17mm F4
• Sigma 20mm F2
• Sigma 24mm F3.5
• Sigma 24mm F2
• Sigma 35mm F2
• Sigma 45mm F2.8
• Sigma 50mm F2
• Sigma 65mm F2
• Sigma 90mm F2.8
• Viltrox AF 20mm F2.8

This isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list, but these are at least some of the lens that came to mind. Bottom line is that there are a wide variety of compact prime lenses that will enable you to really travel light, and most of these lenses are very strong optically as well. Here’s one from a the Viltrox AF 20mm F2.8 – a lens that costs only $150:

Here is a breakdown of some of the key features of the a7C2:

• 61MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI Sensor
• BIONZ XR Image Processor
• Shooting Up to 8 fps, ISO 50-102400
• 240.8MP Pixel Shift Multi Shooting
• 10-Bit Full-Frame 4K60p Video
• S-Log3, S-Gamut3, S-Cinetone, User LUTs
• 7 Stops of In-Body Image Stabilization
• 693-Point Phase Detection, 79% Coverage
• 2.36m-Dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder
• 3″ 1.03m-Dot Vari-Angle LCD Touchscreen
• Internal Mic + Inputs, USB Streaming
• Pixel shift multi-shooting (240.8MP)
• In camera focus bracketing (up to 299 frames)

The list is fairly similar to that of the a7CII with a few areas of differentiation. The sensor is obviously different, but I also noted that the burst rate is a bit slower (8 vs 10 FPS), the ISO is limited to 102,400 rather than 204,800, and there are fewer AF points (693 vs 759) along with a lower percentage of coverage with AF points (79% vs 94%). The real reason to buy the a7CR, however, is the resolution. Sony 61MP sensor is currently the best high resolution full frame sensor on the market and can produce absolutely stunning images.

The MSRP on the a7CR is $2998 USD, so it isn’t an inexpensive camera. But I would definitely spend the extra $500 for it over the similar resolution Sigma FP-L camera which I reviewed a few years ago. So is there a market for a $3000 high resolution compact camera?

Photos of the Sony ILCE-7CR

Photos taken with the Sony a7CR

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