Why I sold my Sony A7SIII for the A7C
I bought the A7SIII. After spending a week with it a friend who was still waiting for their preorder offered to take it off my hands since I was debating whether or not to keep the camera. Ended up selling it to the friend and bought the Sony A7C instead. Here are my updated thoughts on the two cameras after using the A7C for two weeks.
TL;DR I was too broke to justify keeping the A7SIII lol. But also, I’m happy that I was finally able to just focus on buying the camera that I need.
Outline:
What is my use-case? Context for how this information might apply to you.
How am I doing financially? Context for budget.
Why I switched.
Major differences I noticed.
Conclusion - do I regret it?
Intro + Context:
The Sony A7SIII is probably the best camera that's come out during this year of amazing cameras. From the specs to ergonomics and general usability, it's the perfect camera for a lot of people. So why in the world would I sell it and switch to...the A7C?
My Use-Case:
My use-case is for personal documentation, passion projects, and perhaps some simple client work. I'm thinking 99% video and 1% photo. I do a lot of long-form recording as well as short bursts. I don't shoot a lot of slow-motion. I have a Blackmagic Pocket 4K for most of the heavy lifting since I absolutely love the image quality and most of the shooting experience. My shooting style is predominantly handheld and run & gun.
My Budget:
This is to give context to my personal budget for gear. I am not a big YouTuber with a large budget to invest into gear for the channel. I am a freelance videographer taking on next to no clients as I am transitioning my career away from the video industry entirely. I'm making enough to get by, but definitely no budget to splurge on luxuries.
Why I Switched:
So let's get to the meat. I decided to finally commit to a camera system and Sony seemed like the best bet. I was really looking forward to the FX6 announcement and A7IV, so I wanted to get started on investing in some lenses. Because of this I initially didn't pay any attention to the A7SIII. But once I started watching reviews, like most people, I became hooked. It really seemed like the perfect camera. Except when I looked at the image, it still lacked that character I feel like I get from my Blackmagic Pocket 4K footage, but that's for another day.
Long story short, I pre-ordered the camera, got it, and fell in love with it, is what I want to say, but that wasn't the case. The thing is, it just felt like a camera. I think I've used pretty much every modern day camera from every manufacturer, and I could absolutely tell that the A7SIII was a far better camera than everything else, but at the end of the day, it was and is just a camera. It doesn't mean anything if you don't go shoot with it.
And this is where personal context is key. Like I said, I mainly wanted a camera to shoot personal content with and maybe some small gigs here and there. Even if I bought this strictly for gigs, however, I don't have a steady stream of jobs right now and I've been turning down most of the ones that have been popping up. In the city I live in, we've also recently gone into a semi-lockdown with restrictions becoming tighter. I'm finding myself at home most of the time with nothing to film besides myself.
I think you can see where I'm going with this.
Basically, given the context of what I'm doing in terms of my day-to-day as well as my career, it felt so wasteful to use a $6500 (CAD) camera setup. I've been spoiled by 12-bit raw on my Pocket 4K so it felt impossible to go back to 8-bit, but after using this A7C for the past two weeks, I can honestly live with it.
A7SIII vs A7C (Real World):
Which brings us to this mini-section. What are the differences I've noticed between the A7SIII and the A7C? Well the main thing is the build quality and the camera body. The reason I mention this first is because the second I took the A7C out of the box and held it, it felt so cheap and so small compared to the A7SIII. It definitely did not feel enjoyable to shoot with and did not inspire me to shoot with it more. The memory card door is on the left of the body, which is different from all the cameras I've owned. The lack of a front dial to change my aperture or shutter speed was offputting. The lack of custom buttons felt bizarre too. The loud strap things, not sure what you call it, were not a problem on the A7SIII.
But after 2 weeks, I could care less and have become accustomed to all of these things. It's just because I was spoiled by the A7SIII and some other cameras I've used before.
Now this brings us to the similarities, because again, there were specific things I was looking for when switching to Sony. I just wanted a camera with great autofocus, unlimited recording, decent weather sealing, good battery life, and the option to shoot smaller file sizes for long-form recording. I also wanted full-frame because I wanted to buy full-frame glass for later when I pick up an A7IV or an FX-6. Both the A7SIII and A7C fit the bill when looking at it this way.
I suppose I've left out an important point, which is the move from 10-bit footage to 8-bit footage. Of course 10-bit is better, but because of my personal use-case, I actually don't really notice the difference. Because personal content is exactly that: personal. The content is infinitely more important than the image quality. So when I'm making my videos, I largely forget that I'm shooting in 8-bit and don't need to push the image that much. As for lowlight, my guess is that if I were to compare the footage side-by-side, the A7SIII would be a lot better, but again, in my use-case, I don't really notice the difference and the A7C's lowlight capabilities work for me.
Regret/Conclusion:
So finally, the most important question is, do I regret it? Yes, absolutely. Like I said, the A7SIII is a phenomenal camera and although I wasn't blown away by it because I'm so jaded, in hindsight, I miss it a lot. There's a confidence that comes with a solid camera like that, a feeling that you can take it into any situation and capture something amazing without having to fight little quirks. Which simply contributes to an overall enjoyment that's so necessary when doing anything creative.
However, I’m glad I was able to fend off my GAS. And honestly, the A7C fits my needs perfectly. Further, the trajectory of how my needs are evolving leads me to believe that I might not even need to pick up an FX6 in the future since I won't be doing a lot of client work. I might not even need the A7IV when it comes out. I might be perfectly content with the A7C for the next few years. But then again, if you love camera gear, that's not likely is it?
Anyways, thanks for your time and hope that gave you some value. Have a good one.