FE - Organizer

I really wanted to like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, but it broke my heart and it shouldn’t have to break yours, too

5:00 pm | March 4, 2025

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070: Two-minute review

A lot of promises were made about the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, and in some narrow sense, those promises are fulfilled with Nvidia's mainstream GPU. But the gulf between what was expected and what the RTX 5070 actually delivers is simply too wide a gap to bridge for me and the legion of gamers and enthusiasts out there who won't be able to afford—or even find, frankly—Nvidia's best graphics cards from this generation.

Launching on March 5, 2025, at an MSRP of $549 / £549 / AU$1,109 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively, this might be one of the few Nvidia Blackwell GPUs you'll find at MSRP (along with available stock), but only for lack of substantial demand. As the middle-tier GPU in Nvidia's lineup, the RTX 5070 is meant to have broader appeal and more accessible pricing and specs than the enthusiast-grade Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, but of all the cards this generation, this is the one that seems to have the least to offer prospective buyers over what's already on the market at this price point.

That's not to say there is nothing to commend this card. The RTX 5070 does get up to native Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 performance in some games thanks to Nvidia Blackwell's exclusive Multi-Frame Generation (MFG) technology. And, to be fair, the RTX 5070 is a substantial improvement over the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070, so at least in direct gen-on-gen uplift, there is a roughly 20-25% performance gain.

But this card is a far, far cry from the promise of RTX 4090 performance that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang presented on stage at CES 2025, even with the qualifier that such an achievement would be "impossible without artificial intelligence," which implies a heavy reliance on DLSS 4 and MFG to get this card over the line.

If we're just talking framerates, then in some very narrow cases this card can do that, but at 4K with ray tracing and cranked-up settings, the input latency for the RTX 5070 with MFG can be noticeable depending on your settings, and it can become distracting. Nvidia Reflex helps, but if you take RTX 4090 performance to mean the same experience as the RTX 4090, you simply won't get that with MFG, even in the 80 or so games that support it currently.

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 — (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Add to all this the fact that the RTX 5070 barely outpaces the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super when you take MFG off the table (which will be the case for the vast majority of games played on this card) and you really don't have anything to show for the extra 30W of power this card pulls down over the RTX 4070 Super.

With the RTX 5070 coming in at less than four percent faster in gaming without MFG than the non-OC RTX 4070 Super, and roughly 5% faster overall, that means that the RTX 5070 is essentially a stock-overclocked RTX 4070 Super, performance-wise, with the added feature of MFG. An overclocked RTX 4070 Super might even match or exceed the RTX 5070's overall performance in all but a handful of games, and that doesn't even touch upon AMD's various offerings in this price range, like the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE or AMD's upcoming RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 cards.

Given that the RTX 4070 Super is still generally available on the market (at least for the time being) at a price where you're likely to find it for less than available RTX 5070 cards, and competing AMD cards are often available for less, easier to find, and offer roughly the same level of performance, I really struggle to find any reason to recommend this card, even without the questionable-at-best marketing for this card to sour my feelings about it.

I caught a lot of flack from enthusiasts for praising the RTX 5080 despite its 8-10% performance uplift over the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super, but at the level of the RTX 5080, there is no real competition and you're still getting the third-best graphics card on the market with a noticeable performance boost over the RTX 4080 Super for the same MSRP. Was it what enthusiasts wanted? No, but it's still a fantastic card with few peers, and the base performance of the RTX 5080 was so good that the latency problem of MFG just wasn't an issue, making it a strong value-add for the card.

You just can't claim that for the RTX 5070. There are simply too many other options for gamers to consider at this price point, and MFG just isn't a strong enough selling point at this performance level to move the needle. If the RTX 5070 is the only card you have available to you for purchase and you need a great 1440p graphics card and can't wait for something better (and you're only paying MSRP), then you'll ultimately be happy with this card. But the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 could have and should have been so much better than it ultimately is.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070: Price & availability

An Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 sitting on top of its retail packaging — (Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

How much is it? MSRP/RRP starting at $549 / £549 / AU$1,109
When can you get it? The RTX 5070 goes on sale on March 5, 2025
Where is it available? The RTX 5070 will be available in the US, UK, and Australia at launch

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 is available starting March 5, 2025, with an MSRP of $549 / £549 / AU$1,109 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively.

This puts it at the same price as the current RTX 4070 MSRP, and slightly less than that of the RTX 4070 Super. It's also the same MSRP as the AMD's RX 7900 GRE and upcoming RX 9070, and slightly cheaper than the AMD RX 9070 XT's MSRP.

The relatively low MSRP for the RTX 5070 is one of the bright spots for this card, as well as the existence of the RTX 5070 Founders Edition card, which Nvidia will sell directly at MSRP. This will at least put something of an anchor on the card's price in the face of scalping and general price inflation.

Value: 4 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070: Specs

GDDR7 VRAM and PCIe 5.0
Higher power consumption
Still just 12GB VRAM, and fewer compute units

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 is a mixed bag when it comes to specs. On the one hand, you have advanced technology like the new PCIe 5.0 interface and new GDDR7 VRAM, both of which appear great on paper.

On the other hand, it feels like every other spec was configured and tweaked to make sure that it compensated for any performance benefit these technologies would impart to keep the overall package more or less the same as the previous generation GPUs.

For instance, while the RTX 5070 sports faster GDDR7 memory, it doesn't expand the VRAM pool beyond 12GB, unlike its competitors. If Nvidia was hoping that the faster memory would make up for keeping the amount of VRAM the same, it only makes a modest increase in the number of compute units in the GPU (48 compared to the RTX 4070's 46), and a noticeable decrease from the RTX 4070 Super's (56).

Whatever performance gains the RTX 5070 makes with its faster memory, then, is completely neutralized by the larger number of compute units (along with the requisite number of CUDA cores, RT cores, and Tensor cores) in the RTX 4070 Super.

The base clock on the RTX 5070 is notably higher, but its boost clock is only slightly increased, which is ultimately where it counts while playing games or running intensive workloads.

Likewise, whatever gains the more advanced TSMC N4P node offers the RTX 5070's GPU over the TSMC N4 node of its predecessors seems to be eaten up by the cutting down of the die. If there was a power or cost reason for this, I have no idea, but I think that this decision is what ultimately sinks the RTX 5070.

It seems like every decision was made to keep things right where they are rather than move things forward. That would be acceptable, honestly, if there was some other major benefit like a greatly reduced power draw or much lower price (I've argued for both rather than pushing for more performance every gen), but somehow the RTX 5070 manages to pull down an extra 30W of power over the RTX 4070 Super and a full 50W over the RTX 4070, and the price is only slightly lower than the RTX 4070 was at launch.

Finally, this is a PCIe 5.0 x16 GPU, which means that if you have a motherboard with 16 PCIe lanes or less, and you're using a PCIe 5.0 SSD, one of these two components is going to get nerfed down to PCIe 4.0, and most motherboards default to prioritizing the GPU.

You might be able to set your PCIe 5.0 priority to your SSD in your motherboard's BIOS settings and put the RTX 5070 into PCIe 4.0, but I haven't tested how this would affect the performance of the RTX 5070, so be mindful that this might be an issue with this card.

Specs: 2.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070: Design

No dual-pass-through cooling
FE card is the same size as the RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Super FE cards

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition looks identical to the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 that preceeded it, but with some very key differences, both inside and out.

One of the best things about the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 FE cards was the innovative dual pass-through cooling solution on those cards, which improved thermals so much that Nvidia was able to shrink the size of those cards from the gargantuan bricks of the last generation to something far more manageable and practical.

It would have been nice to see what such a solution could have done for the RTX 5070, but maybe it just wasn't possible to engineer it so it made any sense. Regardless, it's unfortunate that it wasn't an option here, even though the RTX 5070 is hardly unwieldy (at least for the Founders Edition card).

Otherwise, it sports the same 16-pin power connector placement as the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, so 90-degree power connectors won't fit the Founders Edition, though you will have better luck with most, if not all, AIB partner cards which will likely stick to the same power connector placement of the RTX 40 series.

The RTX 5070 FE will easily fit inside even a SFF case with ease, and its lighter power draw means that even if you have to rely on the included two-to-one cable adapter to plug in two free 8-pin cables from your power supply, it will still be a fairly manageable affair.

Lastly, like all the Founders Edition cards before it, the RTX 5070 has no RGB, with only the white backlight GeForce RTX logo on the top edge of the card to provide any 'flair' of that sort.

Design: 3.5 / 5

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070: Performance

Almost no difference in performance over the RTX 4070 Super without MFG
Using MFG can get you native RTX 4090 framerates in some games
Significantly faster performance over the RTX 4070

A note on my data

The charts shown below offer the most recent data I have for the cards tested for this review. They may change over time as more card results are added and cards are retested. The 'average of all cards tested' includes cards not shown in these charts for readability purposes.

Boy howdy, here we go.

The best thing I can say about the performance of this card is that it is just barely the best 1440p graphics card on the market as of this review, and that DLSS 4's Multi Frame Generation can deliver the kind of framerates Nvidia promises in those games where the technology is available, either natively or through the Nvidia App's DLSS override feature.

Both of those statements come with a lot of caveats, though, and the RTX 5070 doesn't make enough progress from the last gen to make a compelling case for itself performance-wise, especially since its signature feature is only available in a smattering of games at the moment.

On the synthetic side of things, the RTX 5070 looks strong against the card it's replacing, the RTX 4070, and generally offers about 25% better performance on synthetic benchmarks like 3DMark Steel Nomad or Speed Way. It also has higher compute performance in Geekbench 6 than its direct predecessor, though not be as drastic a margin (about 10% better).

Compared to the RTX 4070 Super, however, the RTX 5070's performance is only about 6% better overall, and only about 12% better than the AMD RX 7900 GRE's overall synthetic performance.

Again, a win is a win, but it's much closer than it should be gen-on-gen.

The RTX 5070 runs into similar issues on the creative side, where it only outperforms the RTX 4070 Super by about 3% overall, with its best performance coming in PugetBench for Creators' Adobe Premiere benchmark (~13% better than the RTX 4070 Super), but faltering somewhat with Blender Benchmark 4.3.0.

This isn't too surprising, as the RTX 5070 hasn't been released yet and GPUs tend to perform better in Blender several weeks or months after the card's release when the devs can better optimize things for new releases.

All in all, for this class of cards, the RTX 5070 is a solid choice for those who might want to dabble in creative work without much of a financial commitment, but real pros are better off with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti if you're looking to upgrade without spending a fortune.

It's with gaming, though, where the real heartbreak comes with this card.

Technically, with just 12GB VRAM, this isn't a 4K graphics card, but both the RTX 4070 Super and RTX 5070 are strong enough cards that you can get playable native 4K in pretty much every game so long as you never, ever touch ray tracing, global illumination, or the like. Unfortunately, both cards perform roughly the same under these conditions at 4K, with the RTX 5070 pulling into a slight >5 fps lead in a few games like Returnal and Dying Light 2.

However, in some titles like F1 2024, the RTX 4070 Super actually outperforms the RTX 5070 when ray tracing is turned on, or when DLSS is set to balanced and without any Frame Generation. Overall and across different setting configurations, the RTX 5070 only musters a roughly 4.5% better average FPS at 4K than the RTX 4070 Super.

It's pretty much the same story at 1440p, as well, with the RTX 5070 outperforming the RTX 4070 Super by about 2.7% across configurations at 1440p. We're really in the realm of what a good overclock can get you on an RTX 4070 Super rather than a generational leap, despite all the next-gen specs that the RTX 5070 brings to bear.

OK, but what about the RTX 4090? Can the RTX 5070 with DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation match the native 4K performance of the RTX 4090?

Yes, it can, at least if you're only concerned with average FPS. The only game with an in-game benchmark that I can use to measure the RTX 5070's MFG performance is Cyberpunk 2077, and I've included those results here, but in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Dragon Age: Veilguard (using the Nvidia App's override function) I pretty much found MFG to perform consistently as promised, delivering substantially faster FPS than DLSS 4 alone and landing in the ballpark of where the RTX 4090's native 4K performance ends up.

And so long as you stay far away from ray tracing, the base framerate at 4K will be high enough on the RTX 5070 that you won't notice too much, if any, latency in many games. But when you turn ray tracing on, even the RTX 5090's native frame rate tanks, and it's those baseline rendered frames that handle changes based on your input, and the three AI-generated frames based on that initial rendered frame don't factor in whatever input changes you've made at all.

As such, even though you can get up to 129 FPS at 4K with Psycho RT and Ultra preset in Cyberpunk 2077 on the RTX 5070 (blowing way past the RTX 5090's native 51 average FPS on the Ultra preset with Psycho RT), only 44 of the RTX 5070's 129 frames per second are reflecting active input. This leads to a situation where your game looks like its flying by at 129 FPS, but feels like it's still a sluggish 44 FPS.

For most games, this isn't going to be a deal breaker. While I haven't tried the RTX 5070 with 4x MFG on Satisfactory, I'm absolutely positive I will not feel the difference, as it's not the kind of game where you need fast reflexes (other than dealing with the effing Stingers), but Marvel Rivals? You're going to feel it.

Nvidia Reflex definitely helps take the edge off MFG's latency, but it doesn't completely eliminate it, and for some games (and gamers) that is going to matter, leaving the RTX 5070's MFG experience too much of a mixed bag to be a categorical selling point. I think the hate directed at 'fake frames' is wildly overblown, but in the case of the RTX 5070, it's not entirely without merit.

So where does that leave the RTX 5070? Overall, it's the best 1440p card on the market right now, and it's relatively low MSRP makes it the best value proposition in its class. It's also much more likely that you'll actually be able to find this card at MSRP, making the question of value more than just academic.

For most gamers out there, Multi Frame Generation is going to be great, and so long as you go easy on the ray tracing, you'll probably never run into any practical latency in your games, so in those instances, the RTX 5070 might feel like black magic in a circuit board.

But my problem with the RTX 5070 is that it is absolutely not the RTX 4090, and for the vast majority of the games you're going to be playing, it never will be, and that's essentially what was promised when the RTX 5070 was announced. Instead, the RTX 5070 is an RTX 4070 Super with a few games running MFG slapped to its side that look like they're playing on an RTX 4090, but may or may not feel like they are, and that's just not good enough.

It's not what we were promised, not by a long shot.

Performance: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070?

Buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 if...

You don't have the money for (or cannot find) an RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 4070 Super
This isn't a bad graphics card, but there are so many better cards that offer better value or better performance within its price range.

You want to dabble in creative or AI work without investing a lot of money
The creative and AI performance of this card is great for the price.

Don't buy it if...

You can afford to wait for better
Whether it's this generation or the next, this card offers very little that you won't be able to find elsewhere within the next two years.

Also consider

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti
The RTX 5070 Ti is a good bit more expensive, especially with price inflation, but if you can get it at a reasonable price, it is a much better card than the RTX 5070.

Read the full Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti review

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super
With Nvidia RTX 50 series cards getting scalped to heck, if you can find an RTX 4070 Super for a good price, it offers pretty much identical performance to the RTX 5070, minus the Multi Frame Generation.

Read the full Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super review

How I tested the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070

I spent about a week with the RTX 5070
I used my complete GPU testing suite to analyze the card's performance
I tested the card in everyday, gaming, creative, and AI workload usage

Test System Specs

Here are the specs on the system I used for testing:

Motherboard: ASRock Z790i Lightning WiFi
CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K
CPU Cooler: Gigabyte Auros Waterforce II 360 ICE
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR5-6600 (2 x 16GB)
SSD: Crucial T705
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum
Case: Praxis Wetbench

I spent about a week testing the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070, using it as my main workstation GPU for creative content work, gaming, and other testing.

I used my updated testing suite including industry standard tools like 3DMark and PugetBench for Creators, as well as built-in game benchmarks like Cyberpunk 2077, Civilization VII, and others.

I've reviewed more than 30 graphics cards for TechRadar in the last two and a half years, as well as extensively testing and retesting graphics cards throughout the year for features, analysis, and other content, so you can trust that my reviews are based on experience and data, as well as my desire to make sure you get the best GPU for your hard earned money.

Originally reviewed March 2025

Asus ROG Phone 9 FE is here with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset

2:56 am | February 5, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

The Asus ROG Phone 9 family has just grown today, as the ROG Phone 9 FE is now official. It was quietly launched by the brand in Thailand, where it's available to purchase for THB 29,990, which at the current exchange rates translates into $890 or €857. For that amount of cash, you're getting a single Phantom Black colorway. The device measures 163.8 x 76.8 x 8.9 mm and weighs 225g. The dimensions are identical to those of the ROG Phone 9 and ROG Phone 9 Pro, but the FE is 2g lighter. The ROG Phone 9 FE is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM...

Asus ROG Phone 9 FE is coming and it might be familiar

8:14 pm | January 20, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

Samsung uses the FE (aka "Fan Edition") line to bring out devices with decent high-end specs at lower prices than its proper flagships, and it now looks like Asus is a fan of this strategy. According to new certification documents from Malaysia and Thailand, Asus is working on the ROG Phone 9 FE, to complement the already available (even in the US now) ROG Phone 9 and ROG Phone 9 Pro. There's no doubt about the name, this appears in the certification documents very clearly. Unfortunately, specs for the FE model haven't been outed by these certifications, nor have there been any...

Asus ROG Phone 9 FE is coming and it might be familiar

8:14 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

Sony A1 II review – a refined flagship

5:31 pm | November 19, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Mirrorless Cameras | Tags: AI, FE, Pixel Shift | Comments: Off

Sony A1 II: two-minute review

Combine a dash of the Sony Alpha A1, a splash of the Sony A9 III, a sprinkling of all-new refinements, give it a stir, and voilà… you have the Sony A1 II, Sony's best-ever Alpha camera, and one of the best hybrid professional cameras available.

It's not quite as quick as the A9 III with its global shutter, unlimited flash sync speed and 120fps burst shooting, nor does it quite produce the same highly-detailed pictures as the 61MP A7R V; but the A1 II is the best Sony has to offer for detail and speed in a single camera.

That dash of the A1 is the same full-frame back-illuminated 50MP stacked sensor, powered by Sony's Bionz XR processor for 30fps burst shooting and 8K video up to 30fps with 10-bit 4:2:2 color depth, plus 4K 120fps slow-motion video.

The sprinkling of the A9 III (that upgrades this camera over the A1) is a like-for-like design, meaning a larger handgrip with a nicely-angled shutter button, a larger 3.2-inch multi-angle touchscreen with better color depth, more effective image stabilization now rated up to 8.5EV, Sony's AI processing chip, plus an additional custom button for the likes of an instant boost in speed for burst shooting.

Sony A1 II mirrorless camera's vari-angle screen pulled out to the side, outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — The A1 II's design is inherited from the A9 III, which means a chunkier handgrip and larger multi-angle touchscreen (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

Finally, the sprinkling of the all-new includes a new 'Auto' subject-detection autofocus mode, meaning you don't have to manually select the subject type ahead of time, though you still can if you'd rather. Users can also import custom LUT color profiles, in addition to Sony's popular S-Log3 and S-Cinetone color profiles that are built-in.

The message here is that there's practically nothing new in the A1 II, which is highly unusual for a Sony flagship camera, especially after such a quiet 2024 for the camera giant, with this being the first new full-frame Alpha this year.

The A1 II combines excellent A1 and A9 III attributes in a single camera, but there's little here to get excited about. Sony has slightly reduced the launch price compared to the A1 when it was announced almost fours ago, so that's something at least. However, Sony's hand has been somewhat forced by cheaper rivals coming onto the scene since the A1 – the Nikon Z8 and Canon EOS R5 Mark II, and compared to them it feels over priced. For instance, at the time of writing you can get two Z8's on sale for the same price as one A1 II.

Ultimately, Sony has created a polished upgrade over the first-gen model that's likely to please pros who rely on their gear daily in challenging situations. It may not be an exciting upgrade, but the Sony A1 II is up there with the very best cameras we've tested.

Sony A1 II: price and release date

Body-only price is $6,500 / £6,300 / AU$10,989
Available since late November
New BC-ZD1 charger and VG-C5 grip (sold separately)

The Sony A1 II went on sale from late November 2024 with a list price of $6,500 / £6,300 / AU$10,989. That's a fraction lower than the launch price of the A1 from all the way back in 2021. In one sense that's commendable on Sony's part, but on the other hand the market has changed, and the A1 series has now has accomplished rivals that offer perhaps 90% of the all-round package but cost much less. Sony needed to be aggressive with its pricing, and it has been to an extent, but the Nikon Z9 in particular looks very reasonable by comparison and the Nikon Z8 and Canon EOS R5 Mark II are cheaper still.

Price score: 3/5

Sony A1 II: specs

Sony A1 II: design and handling

Same design as the A9 III
Smart control layout with handy shortcuts to frequently used features
New dedicated mic for voice memos

In terms of change from the A1, you get a larger 3.2-inch multi-angle touchscreen, with the dual hinge enabling users to tilt and angle the screen for easy viewing at high or low angles whether they're shooting vertical or horizontal. That dual-hinge design also enables you to pull the screen further away from the body and its chunky viewfinder eye-piece, which can otherwise partially obstruct the screen (the A1 II comes with two eye-pieces, one of which has a larger cup).

While we're on the viewfinder, it is again a 9.44m-dot OLED display which is yet to be bettered, however this time the refresh rate is doubled from 60fps to 120fps for a smoother experience, or an even smoother maxi um 240fps refresh rate, albeit the resolution of the display drops.

The A1 II's handgrip is more rounded and all-round chunkier, and I feel like it slots into the hand better than the grip on the A1, though they are similar in depth. There are little refinements too, such as the shutter button being angled slightly differently and easier to press.

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Top plate of Sony A1 II mirrorless camera with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Sony A1 II mirrorless camera's ports, outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Sony A1 II mirrorless camera's memory card door open with card inside and autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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As on the A9 III, there's an additional custom button on the front of the A1 II, which is factory-set to act as a speed boost for continuous burst shooting. The idea is that you don't always want to be shooting at the maximum frame rate, which in this case is 30fps, but you might suddenly need that speed, and the button allows you to tick over at a lower frame rate and get an instant injection of extra frames when you need it.

One feature that caught my eye in the original A1, and has again here, is the max flash sync speed of 1/400 sec. That beats the Nikon Z9 for example, making the A1 II a more versatile camera for flash photography, especially if you like using a wide aperture. However, Sony's own A9 III is more versatile still, with what is effectively has an unlimited flash sync speed.

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Sony A1 II mirrorless camera outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Sony A1 II mirrorless camera with FE 28-70mm F2 lens, outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

The A1 II is also an extremely rugged weatherproof camera, with nicely designed rigid doors on the connection ports that stay out of the way when the ports are in use, while the dual memory card door features a push lock and is a better design than Nikon's, which can easily be knocked open.

Check out our A9 III review to learn more about the A1 II's design – the two cameras share practically the same design.

Design score: 5/5

Sony A1 II : features and performance

Improved image stabilization, up to 8.5EV
Same 759-point AF array, now with AI processing unit for subject detection
30fps burst shooting for up to 153 raw images, now with pre-capture

Sony has delivered one notable hardware improvement over the A1, adding an AI processing unit that was debuted in the A7R V. This should deliver better subject-detection autofocus for photo and video compared to the A1, though we haven't tested the A1 II against the A1, both of which share the same 759 AF point array, to see just how much of a difference it makes.

Having used Sony's previous professional Alphas, I was most keen to test out the new Auto subject-detection autofocus mode. Frustrated by what feel to me like unnecessarily complex subject detection choices that you need to manually select ahead of time – humans, birds, animals, car, insects, planes, trains and so on, I've called on brands to add an auto mode that simplifies the experience. Cue the A1 II and its new mode.

Compared to the dedicated subject detections modes that are still available, there's very little to choose between the performance of the new Auto mode. The Auto option performed equally well for me when shooting portraits of people, locking reliably onto my subject's eyes, and during a soccer game capturing the fast moving pro players in action. That said, I haven't conjured up a scenario specifically for the sake of testing potential weaknesses the Auto mode might have.

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Sony A1 II mirrorless camera's LCD screen displaying the autofocus modes, outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Sony also says the next-gen autofocus is able to recognize the head and body of humans / animals, and that its performance is 30% more effective than the A1's for detecting human and animal eyes, while the camera's autofocus can operate effectively in low light down to -4EV. Until recently if you'd asked me the best autofocus system available I'd say Sony without hesitation, but Canon's latest efforts in the EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II are mightily impressive too, especially the new sports priority modes. I couldn't tell you which is better now without running a direct comparison.

Closeup of the Sony A1 II mirrorless camera's drive mode dial, outdoors on a tripod with autumn leaves background — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

Another similarity between this camera and its predecessor is that both can shoot at a burst rate of up to 30fps for a similar length of time before slowing down – a little over 150 raw frames or close to 180 JPEGs. For such occasions, that speed-boost button is infinitely helpful for improving efficiency and workflow by enabling you to adapt your shooting rate.

The A1 II also gets a handy pre-capture feature. Pre-capture is nothing new, although Sony was late to the party, only introducing it to an Alpha camera with the A9 III. Put simply, pre-capture can buffer up to one second's worth of photos – in this case 30 photos – before you fully press the shutter button to start capturing a high-speed sequence. That one second of grace when you're slow to react could be the difference between capturing the moment and missing it completely.

Features and performance score: 4.5/5

Sony A1 II: image and video quality

50MP stills and 8K/30p video
4:2:2 10-bit color depth and Sony's S-Log3, S-Cinetone, plus LUT imports
Pixel Shift and Noise Reduction shooting modes

Sony's 50MP full-frame stacked sensor is a proven performer, delivering sharp stills with up to 15EV of dynamic range. The A7R V's 61MP sensor gets you marginally better detail, but the A1 II is a much faster performer. Furthermore, in-body image stabilization is improved over the A1, and you'll often get slightly sharper end results when shooting handheld, depending on the camera's shutter speed and how steady your hand is.

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Portrait of a man within a veil — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Versus the 24MP Sony A9 III for sports, I really appreciated the higher resolution 50MP sensor which gives you extra scope for cropping into images, and which enables a 21MP APS-C mode – with which you effectively extend the focal length of your lens by 1.5x. The soccer photos below were taken from considerable distance with a 400mm lens, but I could crop in and frame exactly how a 600mm lens might look.

Once again Sony's Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode features, combining up to 16 shots for one larger 199MP composite image. It's not as effective as Canon's new in-camera AI upscaling feature in the EOS R1 / EOS R5 Mark II, especially if there's any movement in your shot. However, in situations such as still lifes in the studio it increases detail by up to 400%. Sony has also added a new Noise Reduction shooting mode that, like Pixel Shift, combines multiple images but in this case for a cleaner image, especially in low light.

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Ballet dancer in a white studio — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Dancer mid air in a white studio — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

Outright image quality is, in effect, the same as from the A1, which is a good thing, with clean images up to ISO 12,800 from the A1 II's ISO 100-32,000 range. The almost four-year-old sensor has stood the test of time. Where we really see improvements in image quality is in the positive effect of improved image stabilization for handheld shots and even more reliable subject-detection autofocus for shooting animals, vehicles, people, and so on.

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Head and shoulder portrait of a man with autumn leaves in the background, taken with the Sony A1 II — The Auto subject-detection mode worked fine in this portrait, with the focus pin-sharp on the eyes (scroll to next image to see a close-up). (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the eye in portrait of a man with autumn leaves in the background, taken with the Sony A1 II — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

As for video quality, again it's mostly as you were from 2021's A1: 8K up to 30fps, 4K 60fps in 4:2:2 10-bit from the full-width of the sensor, or 4K up to 120fps with a slight crop. Thankfully, the A1 was ahead of its time and the A1 II still holds up today, plus it throws in some new features such as 1/48sec and 1/96sec frame rates for true 180-degree shutter angle at popular cinematic frame rates. It also brings LUT imports (with support for monitor LUT display), plus AI-based Auto Framing à la ZV-E1.

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Manchester City player Jeremy Doke dribbling the ball, defended by Ola Aina — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

Having 50MP to play with gives more cropping potential, which can especially be handy for sports photography. There's even a 21MP APS-C / Super 35 mode which effectively extends your lens focal length by 1.5x.

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Image and video quality score: 4.5/5

Sony A1 II: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Sony A1 II?

Buy it if...

You want Sony's best-ever mirrorless camera, no matter the cost
It's a modest update of the flagship A1, but there's enough in here for certain photographers to merit the upgrade.

You need speed and quality
The A9 III is quicker, the A7R V has a higher resolution 61MP sensor, but the A1 II offers a compelling mix of speed and quality in one camera.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best bang for buck
New Nikon and Canon rivals offer almost everything the A1 II does, but for much less money.

You don't need a do-it-all camera
Portrait and landscape photography specialists can save by opting for the 61MP A7R V, while sports only shooters can look to the A9 II.

Sony A1 II: also consider

Nikon Z8

The Nikon Z9 should be the A1 II's rival, but the smaller and cheaper-still Z8 has a similar form factor to the A1 II and plenty of similar features, at least on paper. The two full-frame mirrorless cameras shoot high-resolution stills at 45MP (Z8) to 50MP (A1 II), 8K video, and both handle really well. Each camera has minor advantages over the other, but the most striking difference of all is price – you can pick up two Nikon Z8s for the price of one Sony A1 II.

Read our in-depth Nikon Z8 review

Canon EOS R5 Mark II

For speed and quality, Canon offers the EOS R5 Mark II, TechRadar's Camera of the year 2024 winner. It was a significant upgrade of the EOS R5, adding serious power under the hood to the 45MP stills and 8K video skills. A newly-designed stacked sensor and second processor improved speed, while new autofocus skills – including sports priority modes – are a match if not better than Sony. Canon's all-in-one full-framer is much cheaper than the A1 II too, although Nikon's Z8 is cheaper still. Overall, the new Canon model could be the most compelling of the three. Pros are spoilt for choice!

Read our in-depth Canon EOS R5 Mark II review

How I tested the Sony A1 II

Sony A1 II mirrorless camera in the hand — (Image credit: Future / Tim Coleman)

I tested a full-production model with final firmware, over two single week periods
Used with multiple lenses, including the FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens and 400mm F2.8 GM OSS
I used it with Sony's Creator Cloud app

I tested a final firmware version of the Sony A1 II ahead of launch, together with the new Sony FE 28-70mm F2 GM lens, for a week. I consequently used it after launch for sports photography. The A1 II's raw files were not readable in editing software at the time of testing.

I've been shooting with a CFexpress Type A card to get the best possible performance from the camera, and recorded burst sequences at TechRadar's standard camera testing settings: 1/250 sec, ISO 200, and continuous AF.

Sony's Creator Cloud app works with the A1 II, and I used the app to remotely shoot images with the camera and upload images too. I shot portraits of humans and animals with the various subject-detection autofocus modes.

I've also tested the A1 II for pro sports, and in a range of weather conditions and various times of day / night.

First reviewed November 2024

Deals: prices of Galaxy S24 FE, other FE devices drop, Moto razr (2023) back down to $350

8:41 pm | November 10, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

About a month ago, the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE was available at $650 for an 8/128GB unit with a $100 gift card from Amazon for an effective price of $550. Now that phone is available for $553, no gift cards involved. And the 8/256GB model is $635. Samsung Galaxy S24 FE $97/$75 offget Galaxy Buds FE for $50 Read our review 8/128GB - $553 at Amazon US 8/256GB - $635 at Amazon US Additionally, when buying an S24 FE, you can also pick up the Galaxy Buds FE...

Deals: prices of Galaxy S24 FE, other FE devices drop, Moto razr (2023) back down to $350

8:41 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II review: a spectacular portrait lens

7:00 pm | August 28, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Camera Lenses Cameras Computers Gadgets | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II: One-minute review

Sony’s G Master lenses are its flagship products, and it looks like the company is steadily working through its G Master range, replacing original lenses with G Master II versions.

The 85mm F1.4 is the first of four f/1.4 prime lenses to get this treatment, and the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is far more than a simple update. With a new and more sophisticated optical formula promising improved resolution and aberration control, a new dual linear motor autofocus system for a big step up in speed and responsiveness, and a 20% weight saving, Sony has really pulled out all the stops for its new premium ‘portrait’ lens.

For all the improvements, though, there must be a few Sony owners who are a little disappointed that Sony hasn’t stretched to an f/1.2 lens rather than another f/1.4. Still, a best-ever f/1.4 is pretty good compensation, and the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is a truly spectacular performer.

The edge-to-edge resolution is extraordinary – you have to look closely to see any difference in edge detail at f/1.4 compared to f/8. This is a lens you could happily use wide-open all the time without giving a second thought to any impact on image quality.

It’s also completely free of bokeh fringing, or at least it was in all of our sample images, and this is an aberration that wide-aperture primes can be particularly prone to. It’s also extremely difficult to remove in software.

The new lens is not quite perfect for bokeh rendering and focus breathing. It’s still extremely good, with no visible onion-skin effect in bokeh balls (one of the many improvements Sony is touting) though there is a noticeable cats-eye bokeh effect near the frame edges at wide apertures (but then maybe next year cats-eye bokeh will be in fashion and everyone will love it…).

Focus breathing is still visible too, even though Sony says it’s ‘optically’ suppressed. Most modern Sony bodies support in-camera focus breathing compensation, though, so this may not prove an issue.

The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is equally impressive physically. It’s a little slimmer and 20% lighter than its predecessor, despite having more complex optics and more powerful linear AF actuators. You get a de-clickable aperture ring for both stills photography and video, with an iris lock (surprisingly useful) and two programmable function buttons. It handles superbly.

There will be a price difference compared to the original version, however. That’s probably to be expected, but it does make Sony’s premium portrait lens even more expensive to buy. You have to figure out how many more bucks you want to spend for all this excellence.

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II: Price and availability

The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 will be available in September 2024 at a UK price of £1,850 (pricing for the US and Australia is TBC), which is almost the same price as the outgoing first generation 85mm F1.4. We don’t yet know if the older lens will stay on sale, but if it does we would expect it to get heavily discounted, given the significant optical and technical advances in the new lens. The new lens does seem pretty good value then, though the third-party Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is little more than half the price.

Quick specs

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II: Design

• Physical aperture ring with de-click switch
• Two customizable function buttons
• 20% lighter than the original 85mm F1.4

The original Sony FE 85mm F1.4 G Master was a big old boy. The new lens is the same length but a few millimetres slimmer and a whole 20% lighter. That’s a significant difference – though this still feels a pretty big lens on an A7-series body, especially if you clip on the lens hood.

There’s little to distinguish the new lens from the old one, except that the aperture ring is now on a slightly slimmer section of barrel. This might make it easier to find with your fingertips without looking, but the location hasn’t changed.

The aperture ring has firm and satisfying click-stops at 1/3-stop intervals, and if you slide the Click switch to Off on the lower part of the lens barrel, it turns into a silky smooth iris control for video.

Are you the sort of person who likes function buttons on lenses? If you are, you’ll love this lens, because there are two of them. There’s also an Iris Lock switch, which does seem like a pretty smart addition – it’s all too easy to accidentally shift the aperture ring on a lens in stills photography, and easier still to change the iris setting while filming.

There’s really nothing to fault in the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II’s design. You might wish for a slightly smaller, lighter optic, but if you want an 85mm f/1.4 then the size goes with the territory. It’s also worth spelling out what’s inside this lens, as it includes 14 elements in 11 groups, with two ultra-high-precision Sony XA elements, two ED elements, internal focusing, and Sony’s Nano AR II coating.

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II: Performance

• Exceptional edge-to-edge sharpness even wide open
• No visible bokeh fringing in any of our test shots
• Some cats-eye bokeh and focus breathing
• Silent, super-fast autofocus

This lens’s edge-to-edge sharpness and aberration control is simply exceptional. Sony says the center sharpness has been improved over the original lens, but it’s the edge sharpness that left me most impressed. Even at f/1.4 the edges are clean and crisp, and show a level of detail that’s really rather impressive. There’s little to be gained from stopping down, so this is a lens on which you can use the aperture setting solely for its creative effect without worrying at all about its effect on image quality.

It was also great to see no sign of longitudinal color fringing, or ‘bokeh fringing’ in any of the test shots. Bokeh is obviously going to be one of the key selling points of this lens, and it does indeed render beautifully soft background blur and very subtle fall-off. The only chinks in the armor are noticeable cats-eye bokeh wide open and some focus breathing, even though Sony says this is suppressed.

The other aspect of performance to talk about is this lens’s AF. The dual linear motors in this new lens are a substantial upgrade over the Ring SSM system in the original lens, and this really comes to the fore with portrait subjects and face/eye tracking – especially if your subjects are a pair of flighty canines, as used in our tests.

It’s a real challenge keeping the eyes sharp when dogs make sudden and unpredictable movements, and even with a lens like this you’re going to get failures, but when the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II gets even an instant of stillness to achieve focus, it can nail the shot and deliver images with stunning clarity.

It’s one thing having one of the latest Alpha bodies with advanced AI AF and subject tracking, but you still need a lens like this one that can keep up. Indeed, Sony says the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II can keep up with the mighty Sony A9 III flat out at 120fps.

Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II: Sample images

Here's a further selection of shots taken with the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II showing its rendering style, focus breathing and bokeh rendering from f/1.4-f/16.

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Should I buy the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II?

Buy it if...

You want the best Sony 85mm lens there is
The original FE 85mm F1.4 G Master was good, but the version II lens raises the bar to another level. With superb resolution, both in the center and right to the edges, nice bokeh and responsive AF, if you miss the perfect shot it’s down to you, not this lens.

You’re trying to keep the weight down too
Usually, when you opt for a lighter lens you can expect some small compromise in optical quality. Not here. The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is 20% smaller than the original lens, but even better optically. It weighs in at a manageable 642g, which is impressive given all that exotic glassware.

You’re slowly upgrading to GM II lenses
Sony has already updated its ‘trinity’ f/2.8 professional zooms to the latest G Master II standards, and it looks as if it’s now turning its attention to its f/1.4 primes. These are pretty expensive lenses, especially if you already have the first-generation versions, but for many pro shooters it will be worth it.

Don't buy it if...

You already have the original FE 85mm F1.4 GM
At least not without taking a long, hard look. This new lens is pretty exceptional, but the ‘old’ one is extremely good too. Unless you can identify one or more areas where the original lens is deficient in ways that definitely impact your work, we’d suggest you might want to save your money.

Your budget is feeling the squeeze
The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art may not equal the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II in every area, but it’s an extremely good lens in its own right and just half the price. If your main concern is getting the best at all costs, the Sony is fine, but the Sigma arguably delivers almost as much for a lot less money.

You need to travel light
The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is 20% lighter than the first generation version, but at 642g and 107.3mm in length, it’s still a big lens. Sony has yet to extend its range of compact primes to the 90mm focal length, but there is always the 297g Sigma 90mm f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary – which is not just smaller and lighter but vastly cheaper too.

How I tested the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II

• I checked for edge-to-edge resolution across the aperture range
• I tested bokeh quality wide-open and stopped down
• I tested for bokeh fringing
• I tested the focus breathing suppression

Sony makes some pretty bold claims for the performance of the Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II, so I was keen to try these out. In particular, Sony highlights the new lens’s resolution, so I checked its center and edge performance across the aperture range from f/1.4 to f/16, using a highly detailed subject at infinity.

Sony also says the new lens creates excellent bokeh, which I tested with a controlled lighting setup with bright lights in the background across the aperture range. The Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM II is also claimed to have no bokeh fringing – also known as longitudinal chromatic aberration – where out-of-focus outlines can show clear color fringing. This is a problem for lenses designed for blurred backgrounds, so I found a subject which would test this tendency properly.

One of the biggest steps forward in the new lens is its autofocus performance, which Sony claims is three times faster for photography and seven times better at tracking AF for movies, thanks to twin linear actuators. The first version of this lens used a Ring SSM system. I tried this out using a pair of extremely tricky canine subjects – humans can be told to stay still, but dogs generally do what they like!

Lastly, I wanted to try out this lens’s focus breathing. Changes in apparent scale during focus pulls can be extremely annoying for videographers, and while Sony says the new lens optically suppresses focus breathing, it’s also compatible with cameras that can apply focus breathing compensation – so if Sony is still hedging its bets here it sounded like something that needed testing.

Affordable Samsung Galaxy Watch will skip the FE naming

3:02 pm | April 8, 2024

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: FE | Comments: Off

Samsung is working on a cheaper wearable, and initial rumors suggested it will be based on the Watch4 but will be named Galaxy Watch FE. A new report from leakster Max Jambor on X reports the FE name is incorrect and the wearable will simply be called Galaxy Watch4 (2024). The specs of this new watch should be similar to the Watch4 - largely introducing the very same wearable from 2021 will enable a far lower price tag. When reviewing the original Watch4, we loved the build and the OLED panel. It was the first Samsung smartwatch with Wear OS, which makes it a great candidate for...

Sony A7C review: Tiny full-frame with compromises

6:00 pm | February 19, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: AF, FE, LCD, SD | Comments: Off

Two minute review

Sony needs little introduction as a major player in the mirrorless camera market. Not only did the company release the first-ever full-frame mirrorless camera with the A7R, it also briefly laid claim to having the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame mirrorless camera with the Sony A7C when it was announced in September 2020, before that honor was taken by Sigma with its fp and fp L models. This camera is completely different to other full-frame Sony cameras, with looks and handling more comparable to the A6000 series of APS-C cameras. And while the A7C may not be one of the best cameras available, it could comfortably be one of the best travel cameras currently available.

While from the outside the A7C looks like a slightly larger Sony A6600, the internals are almost identical to those of the Sony A7 III. Much of the performance is identical, and both cameras feature the same 24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor, which is capable of producing excellent image quality. Continuous shooting is available at up to 10fps, which is pretty impressive for a camera that’s aimed at vloggers and content creators.

Sony A7C on top of a wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Sony A7C Specs:

Sensor: 24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor (35.6 x 23.8mm)
AF points: 693-point hybrid AF
Video: 4K up to 30fps
Viewfinder: 2.35m-dot
Memory cards: SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I/II
LCD: 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen, 921k-dot
Max burst: 10fps
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C
Size: 124.0 x 71.1 x 59.7mm
Weight: 509g (with battery and SD card)

With those users in mind, the A7C is capable of capturing 8-bit 4K video at up to 30fps. While this is sufficient for producing videos for sharing on YouTube, it’s a little underwhelming, and possibly rules the camera out of a professional video workflow. That said, you can capture Full HD video at up to 120fps for slow-motion footage, although this is only going to be attractive if you typically output videos at 1080p.

The A7C is an intriguing option that will likely divide opinion. It may be a couple of years old now, but it can still hold its own against the competition and remains Sony’s smallest and lightest full-frame camera. It’s arguably a bit too expensive for what it is, however, at £1,850.00 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399.00 body-only.

Let’s take a closer look at what it has to offer so that you can make up your own mind about whether this is the Sony camera for you.

Sony A7C release date and price

Announced in September 2020
Costs £1,850.00 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399.00
Launched alongside the FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 kit lens

The Sony A7C was announced in September 2020. The camera body is available with a silver top plate, which was the only option at launch, or in all-black which is arguably the more appealing of the two options.

The price of the A7C has naturally come down since its launch, and it’s now available body-only for £1,850 / $1,799.99 / AU$2,399. The camera shares many features, and indeed its sensor, with the Sony A7 III, which has now been superseded by the A7 IV; the A7 IV isn’t a great deal more expensive than the A7C, but offers much more in terms of performance and handling.

Sony A7C at an angle — (Image credit: Future)

The A7C was released alongside the FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6, a compact lens that’s the perfect partner for the camera on account of its size and weight; typically for a kit lens it has a variable maximum aperture and a limited focal range, and there are many vastly better FE optics available to be paired with the A7C, although they’re mostly a lot bigger than the 28-60mm.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Sony A7C: design

Follows the APS-C A6000-series design
Vari-angle LCD screen
Weighs just 509g body-only with a battery and SD card

Measuring 124.0 x 71.1 x 59.7mm, and weighing just 509g with a battery and SD card, the A7C was the smallest and lightest full-frame camera at the time of its launch, which is impressive given that the A7C is, to all intents and purposes, a smaller and lighter A7 III. The smallest full-frame mirrorless camera title has since been claimed by the Sigma fp and fp L models, but where the Sony A7C does have the edge is that it features a built-in viewfinder – more on that later.

The small and lightweight body means it’s best to pair the camera with smaller FE lenses that naturally balance well with it. This isn’t a huge compromise, because while you could shoot sport and wildlife with the A7C, it’s more suited towards travel, landscape, portrait, and street photography. For sport and wildlife, there are much more capable models available in the Sony A-series lineup, most notably the Sony A1 and Sony A9 II.

The first thing you notice about the A7C is that it looks like the Sony A6600. This is a rangefinder-style design, with the electronic viewfinder positioned at the top-left of the camera’s rear, the LCD touchscreen below, and several direct-access controls to the right. On the top of the camera, you’ll find the mode dial, exposure compensation dial, video record button, and shutter button on the top of the small grip.

Sony A7C on top of table with flip out screen out to the side — (Image credit: Future)

The overall design, which includes a small and awkward-to-use viewfinder, alongside the 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen and top-mounted shutter button, suggests that the A7C is designed more for use with the LCD screen than with the viewfinder. The EVF is clear enough in use, but the display is simply too small for a full-frame camera and is uncomfortable to use. In bright conditions especially, it’s better to have than not, but a larger viewfinder with increased magnification would make a world of difference here.

Conversely, while the 2.95-inch vari-angle touchscreen only has a resolution of 921k dots, it’s comfortable to use for shooting both photos and video. Plus, it can be swung outwards to change the angle, and rotated forwards, making it ideal for vlogging. This is also useful for general video shooting and, of course, for stills, enabling you to comfortably shoot from high or low angles.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sony A7C: features and performance

Real-time AF tracking and Eye AF
Up to 10fps continuous shooting
5-axis in-body image stabilization

While the A7C is undoubtedly a camera that’s capable of producing excellent image quality, the feature set is, on the whole, rather underwhelming. The features on offer can’t be complained about, but there’s nothing that makes this camera stand out or gives it the ‘wow’ factor. To put it bluntly, if the A7C was a car it might be a Toyota Corolla; it’s dependable, and does everything you need it to do, but it’s far from being exciting.

For the many photographers who make minimal use of all of the bells and whistles their cameras have to offer, this will be ideal. That said, let’s take a look at a few areas where the A7C provides features that even the most demanding photographers would be happy with, and the first is autofocus performance, with 693 hybrid AF points covering approximately 93% of the frame.

Birds eye view of Sony A7C top plate — (Image credit: Future)

Autofocus locks positively onto subjects most of the time thanks to 693 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection AF points; the number of active points is naturally reduced when shooting in APS-C mode. Then there’s Real-time AF tracking, where the camera uses AI to track moving subjects for both photos and video. Another useful AF feature is Real-time Eye AF for both humans and animals, which performs well, and makes shooting portraits at wide apertures incredibly easy.

When it comes to performance, 5-axis in-body image stabilization provides up to five stops of compensation for both photos and video. For stills, you can shoot handheld at shutter speeds of up to five stops slower than you would normally for a given lens/focal length. For video, image stabilization helps to provide smoother footage when shooting handheld.

For photographers who enjoy shooting at high frame rates, the A7C offers up to 10fps continuous shooting. Sony claims that you can capture around 215 continuous shots when shooting in JPEG Extra Fine, or around 45 uncompressed raw files. Another potentially useful feature, and one that’s more commonly found in professional cameras, is wireless tethering to a computer over 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi. This allows you to transfer images for instant viewing and/or editing, which can be useful when shooting in a studio.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sony A7C: image and video quality

24.2MP full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS sensor
Video features could be better
Excellent high-ISO handling

There’s one area where no one is going to be complaining about the A7C, and that’s image quality. Photos can be captured in 14-bit raw, with compressed and uncompressed options available, alongside JPEG. Dynamic range is good, particularly at the base ISO of 100, with the camera able to capture detail throughout reasonably high-contrast scenes. Dynamic range, like all cameras, naturally reduces as ISO levels are increased, with the best results in a wider sense up to ISO 1600.

The native ISO range covers ISO 100-51,200, with an expanded range of ISO 50-204,800. In terms of noise handling, the A7C is a great performer with usable results up to ISO 25,600. ISO 12,800 is markedly better, with the best results at ISO 100-1600, although even up to ISO 6400 images retain impressive levels of detail, with low color and luminance noise.

Back LCD screen of Sony A7C onto of a table — (Image credit: Future)

Video quality is good overall, as you’d expect from a Sony A-series camera, but it’s not breathtaking, and some of the specs in this area are mediocre at best, especially when you consider that the camera is aimed at vloggers and content creators. On the plus side, the A7C offers S-Log2, S-Log3 and HLG modes as well as both microphone and headphone sockets.

As you’d expect, you can shoot video at up to 4K, but this is limited to 8-bit, 30fps at 100Mbps. This is perfectly adequate for producing videos for YouTube, but it wouldn’t stand up in a professional workflow. 10-bit 4K at 60fps or higher would be beneficial, but to put this into perspective even the new Sony A7R V only offers this level of video, which also seems lacking for such a high-end camera. On the plus side, 4K video is oversampled 6K, and you can shoot at up to 120fps in Full HD to capture slow-motion footage.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Should I buy the Sony A7C?

Sony A7C on to pf the table with lens attached — (Image credit: Future)

Buy it if....

Don't buy it if....

Also consider

Sony A7 IV
The Sony A7 IV will cost you a bit more at £2,399 / $2,498 / AU$3,499, but for your money you get a newer 33MP sensor, and 4K video up to 60fps in 10-bit. It’s a slightly bulkier camera that weighs more, but the onboard technology and the handling are significantly better. Plus, the viewfinder is leagues ahead of the A7C’s, and the vari-angle LCD screen provides the same level of convenience.View Deal

Fujifilm XT-5
If you’re looking for a small and lightweight camera that punches well above its weight, the Fujifilm XT-5 is worth considering for both photography and video. The 40.2MP BSI X-Trans sensor is APS-C, but Fujifilm cameras are well known for being able to match, and in some cases exceed, the performance of full-frame mirrorless cameras. The body-only price is the same as the A7C, but it’s packed with the latest Fujifilm technology. View Deal

How I tested the Sony A7C

I tested the Sony A7C over several days, with a focus on travel and the outdoors, to put the camera through its paces in situations it’s been designed for. I took photos in a variety of lighting conditions in order to test factors such as dynamic range, autofocus, ISO handling and, of course, how easy and comfortable the camera is to use for its intended purpose, alongside more general shooting.

Most shooting was handheld as this fits with the travel aspect of the camera while necessitating the use of a variety of settings to achieve correct exposures. Photos were taken in different shooting modes according to the subject being photographed – for example, Shutter Priority for panning shots and Aperture Priority for general shooting. I used several different lenses to assess how well they balanced with the A7C’s lightweight design.

With nearly 30 years of photographic experience and 15 years working as a photography journalist, I’ve covered almost every conceivable subject, and used many of the cameras that have been released in that time. I’ve also used and reviewed almost every full-frame Sony A-series camera since the launch of the A7R, so I have first-hand experience of the development of the system.

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