Well, a familiar face as it were. And a good person to ask a couple of questions.
Nikon vs Sony. I've always been a "basic" shooter. I mainly shoot in aperture priority now with auto ISO and manually adjust the few settings I use. When I shot events it was manual with auto ISO. I've never even bothered with saving custom settings. Loved my old D700. I tried Nikon Z and briefly had both a Z5 and Z7II. They were easy enough to set up for my shooting style.
How difficult would it be to set up an A7CR or A7RV how I would want it? I was playing with the A7CR the other day and we had to find a Sony "expert" to figure out why a center press on the 4-way controller didn't let me move the AF point. Apparently, the AF mode the camera was currently in didn't allow it. Got me thinking. The "C"s don't have a joystick and truth be told even on bodies with them my thumb goes back to the 4-way like my old Nikons and Olympus bodies anyway.
Do you have any favorite small primes? 20mm - 40mm range that can resolve the 60mp? (with AF)
Have a favorite wide prime around 15mm? (manual is OK for this one)
Anything in 135-150mm range that wouldn't be really too big for a "C" body? Zoom or prime.
I have no interest in getting into an "x lenses are better", but interesting lenses are another story. Looking at images I took in Greece, 80% could have been covered to the 20-70mm f/4, that's interesting.
Sorry I haven't gotten back to this sooner! You ask good questions and I see others have answered them, too, but I'll throw my oar in the water too anyway.....
I am a fairly "basic shooter" as well; and like you I don't bother with the custom settings, as my requirements are not that complex in the first place. I shoot in Manual mode, often but not always using Auto ISO and autofocus. Thankfully with mirrorless technology shooting in manual focus is not as difficult these days for older eyes as it had been, thanks to Focus Peaking and such. Auto ISO is really helpful much of the time but there are indeed situations in which I'd better to still control the ISO oneself. I always shoot in uncompressed RAW.
A while back I bought an A7C in anticipation of doing some traveling over the summer of 2023, which unfortunately for one reason or another didn't happen after all. It did give me the experience of using that camera body, though, and I eventually realized that I have been totally spoiled by first the A7R IV, then the A1 and the A7R V, as the latter bodies all offer features and functionality that I use each time I'm shooting. The "joystick" is one example, but also I like having a control wheel in the front of the camera, too, and two card slots. Anyway, I found myself reaching for the A7C far less frequently than for one of my other cameras.
Time went on and I eagerly looked at the specs for the new A7C II and the A7CR..... Indeed, Sony had remedied some of the issues about which I was concerned, and it was really nice that they'd bumped up the sensor and megapixels on the A7CR..... Still I hesitated, no longer quite so sure that I wanted to simply trade in my A7C for one of the newer bodies. Eventually I realized that, no, I actually didn't, there were still some sticking-points for me (that EVF, for one thing!) and that I much prefer the features and functionality available with the other two cameras and the size difference between the new A7C series and the others really is not all that significant, especially when putting a fairly large or heavy lens on the body.
I did trade in the A7C.....on a new lens (16-35mm GM II) and I think that for me this was the best direction in which to go.
As for lenses: I have the 12-24mm, now also the 16-35mm zooms, and the 20mm prime. (All Sony). From there I jump up to the 35mm f/1.4 GM prime in Sony and the f/1.2 manual focus Voigtlander. All of these pretty well cover my wide-angle shooting needs. I tend to shoot either macro/closeups or wildlife with long-reach lenses -- kind of going from one extreme to the other!
Sony's wonderful 135mm f/1.8 lens was one of three lenses I bought that first day. I had every intention of buying something else but that lens sang a siren song to me and I brought her home. Wonderful lens! Yes, a bit heavy, but not unbearably so and although I never tried it on my A7C I don't think it would be overwhelming with one of the two newer A7C models. Definitely capable of resolving the high-resolution of the A7CR!
Over time I eventually added more lenses, but a couple which I put on hold for a while were the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM and the 70-200mm f/2.8 GM. Neither had reviews which suggested that I should get these lenses immediately, and I learned that there was a strong likelihood of one or both being replaced by an updated version, so I waited..... And I am glad that I did!
That 24-70mm range is one of the most versatile lenses in any camera system and I really missed having one for so long. Now Sony offers a couple of choices: 20-70mm or 24-70mm. I went with the 24-70mm GM II almost as soon as it was available and I love this lens. Definitely a lens which can be used in so many shooting situations and certainly an outstanding one for travel. The 20-70mm lens, though, offers just that extra wee bit of range which in a travel situation might be even better.
Most of my lenses are Sony, but I do also have a few Voigtlanders because they are just so terrific even if they are manual focus; they have a unique character all their own. I also have a novelty Meike circular 6mm lens which I use every now and then for something different.
For me the compact size of the A7C, the A7C II and the A7CR seemed to be so appealing, but for several reasons in the long run I realized that for my shooting style and needs that the A7R V and the A1 are far more suitable, So whenever I next travel, one of those will be accompanying me on a trip after all.....
