Sony A7CII

A couple of months ago, as you may have read in one of my previous blogs, I went on a family trip with the Fuji XT5 and came back with photos I really loved. There is something about Fuji colors and the huge library of film recipes available for it, that makes is so much fun to shoot with. When you shoot it right, you basically have straight out of camera jpeg files which you can post with no edits needed. This has proven to be the main selling point of Fuji for many photographers (including yours truly). But shortly after the trip, I had this sense of restlessness with my photography and my photos. I realized that I had become lazy and reliant on the Fuji colors and film recipes. As I was reviewing the photos I took with the XT5, I noticed that they looked good even if they do not have particularly strong composition. The colors and /or the film recipes I used became a crutch. A quick look at social media and you will see so many influences who are not really photographers posting photos that are getting a gazillion likes but once you remove the film recipes applied, you will see how not appealing and weak looking those photos really are. I am going to be honest here; I dislike photos with overcooked look or recipes that are over cooked and looked nothing like reality. I prefer photos with a more subtle looking recipe applied.

I also found myself wanting to have that full frame look once more where the stated focal length and aperture are what they are and there is no need to consider the crop factor. It’s not a Fuji interchangeable lens system problem but a ME problem. So, I started reading up and researching which full frame system I wanted to go back to as I am familiar with the 3 major brands (Canon, Nikon and Sony), having owned and used them all in the past. My criteria were body choices, brand reliability, lens line up, performance and after sales service in the Philippines. Sony was the logical choice for me, because it was the most mature full frame mirrorless system available and it met with all the criteria I set. It also helped that I have a couple of friends working in Sony Philippines, pushing me towards coming back to Sony. I also wanted something small and compact that I can bring along when I travel and not end up with sore shoulders and an aching back. The camera I settled on was the Sony A7CII. Why the A7CII and not the higher resolution A7CR? Well, the main thing is the price. I realized that I am not printing big prints and can better use the money on lenses. I started planning how to sell my Fuji XT5, and the 4 lenses I have for it when my friend/camera reseller posted a brand-new Sony A7CII for sale. I quickly DM’d him if he was open for a trade. He said yes and that he also had a mint Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II in his stock. Calculations and negotiations were quickly made and the next day, I was a happy owner of a brand-new Sony A7CII with the 24-70mm GM II.

I had used the Sony full frame mirrorless system extensively with the Sony A7III for 6 years (2018-2024) before going back to Fuji middle of 2024. I thought that the switch back would be easy, but I had a bit of a culture shock and had a learning curve familiarizing myself with the menu system and the camera body layout. Took me about 2 weeks to feel at home with it. Because I didn’t upgrade my body when using the A7III, I missed out on all the updated menu system and creative profiles and what not Sony incorporated into their bodies. I also realized that as good as the 24-70mm GM II is, despite its newer and more compact size, It’s still a bit cumbersome to carry around daily, specially paired with the compact A7CII body. I pulled the trigger on a Sony 24-50mm f/2.8 G, a really compact sized fast zoom lens perfect for everyday and travel. Part of the culture shock was the colors I was getting from the default settings. My eyes are so used to the Fuji colors that I was expecting that from my Sony. But I discovered that while I can’t get the Fuji colors straight out of the camera, I can tweak the creative profiles to get the colors I like, which are more true-to-life and realistic. With the crutch of SOOC Fuji colors and recipes, taken away from me, I find myself focusing more on composition, light and shadows, and other elements. I am also loving the snappy and accurate auto focus system of Sony. I honestly missed this! I decked out the A7CII with some accessories which helped personalized it for me. I look forward to spending more time familiarizing and shooting with the A7CII. I am pretty sure that the more I shoot, the closer I will be to getting more from this.

Side note: I have not completely left the Fuji ecosystem, my X100VI (X100 series) remains as my desert island camera because I love how it looks and the images it can produce, I can basically shoot everything I normally shoot (travel, food, documentary shots, portraits, candid events, etc..) with it. I also have a Ricoh GRIIx, which is a truly pocketable powerhouse, and it has basically become my take anywhere camera due to its size and image quality.

Here are some sample shots I took with the A7CII with the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II, Sony 35mm F/1.8 FE, Sony 85mm f/1.8 FE, Sony 24-50mm f/2.8 G