Sony is pushing camera and optical engineers to do more with their latest camera the Sony a7C, which seems to be targeting the high-end APS-C market of cameras that Fujifilm currently dominates. I published the first accurate size comparison here, but now camera size has added the Sony a7C to their comparison tool so I can also do accurate lens comparisons now too.
When comparing the Sony a7C to Fujifilm at 35mm the systems become very close in size when using the latest Samyang 35mm f/1.8 lens, which compares well to the Fujinon XF23mm f/2 and XF23mm f/1.4. On the other hand, the Sony Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 is quite a bit larger and heavier, but it is likely a better lens than the Samyang 35mm f/1.8.
For the popular focal length of 50mm Sony has the FE 50mm f/1.8 that again compares well to the Fujinon XF35mm f/1.4, but isn’t quite as small as the XF35mm f/2. If you step up to the superior Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 than the Sony camera system once again becomes quite large and heavy, but the Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 is a great lens by all accounts.
85mm is probably the most interesting of all to compare though because Sigma just released a new 85mm f/1.4 lens designed for mirrorless cameras that is very compact and lightweight. You can see the new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 below with the hood on, but if you picture the hood removed it is very similar in size to Fujifilm’s Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 on body. Even the older Sony 85mm GM on the end compares pretty well in size, but not weight.
Fujifilm is going to have to step up their engineering to compete with Sony in my opinion, because this focus on compact full-frame from Sony and even Sigma is going be a disrupter in the camera market. Maybe we will see Fujifilm slowly refresh their old prime lenses with more compact designs in the future since there are quite a few older lenses now, but we will see. As for zooms, Sony isn’t close to Fujifilm in size and weight if you compare zoom lenses, but Tamron is trying to change that with their incredibly unique zoom lenses that are compact, fast, and sharp.
Below you can see the current Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM attached to the minuscule Sony a7C. Sony’s option here is very large and heavy, but the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 really brings the size and weight down to almost the Fujinon XF16-55mm f/2.8. Fujifilm also has two other compact options the XC16-50mm and XF16-80mm f/4 which is a new compact design from Fujifilm so maybe we will see a smaller updated 16-55mm f/2.8 soon.
Sony has some other zoom options in this range like their new FE 28-60mm f/4-5.6 which actually is very small and light, but then we have to get into a lot of other features like IBIS etc… The point being that even full-frame zooms are starting to come down in size quite a bit with some compromises and there weight is getting better too.
Don’t get me wrong I do not think Sony can really endanger Fujifilm until they make their cameras more enjoyable to use and from what I have heard the Sony a7C isn’t quite up there with cameras like the Sony a7III for AF performance, but that is all coming. Competition is good for consumers and I can’t wait to see how Sony’s latest announcement forces Fujifilm to step up and meet the challenge.
Maybe we will see some price reductions in addition to size reductions and more IBIS in the future. There are certainly a lot of ways Fujifilm can fend off Sony and continue to grow against them. Fujifilm still has the superior product, but they need to take the a7C seriously. The Fujifilm X-T4 is a very polished camera that performs well in all respects, while the Sony a7C does have some limitations in this generation that might be baked into the price point.
Fujifilm X-T4: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
Fujifilm X-T30: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
Fujifilm X-E3: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony a7C: B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
Follow Fujiaddict on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube
Plus our owners’ groups
Fujifilm GFX Owners Group
Fujifilm X-H Owners Group
Fujifilm X-T Owners Group
Fujifilm X-Pro Owners Group
Fujifilm X-E Owners Group
Fujifilm X-A Owners Group
Fujifilm X100 Owners Group
via CameraSize
