yo! congrats on the Sony a7C II, seriously such a amazing camera. been thinking about your question and honestly, for street photography, the weight vs quality balance is EVERYTHING. i mean, you bought the C series for the size, right? so putting a huge lens on it kinda defeats the purpose... but then again, that GM glass is just too good. here is what i recommend based on the technical specs:
- Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM: absolute optical perfection. it has those XA (extreme aspherical) elements that basically eliminate onion-ring bokeh and it is insanely sharp wide open. but it's 524g!! that’s gonna feel really front-heavy on that tiny body after a few hours.
- Sony FE 35mm f/1.8: this is actually my top pick for you. it's only 280g so it balances perfectly. the linear motors make AF crazy fast—arguably faster than the GM in some scenarios cuz the glass is lighter to move. plus, the 0.22m minimum focus distance is wild.
- Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA Sonnar T*: if you wanna go ultra-stealth, this pancake lens is tiny. iirc it’s only 120g. it has that Zeiss contrast, but you lose a lot of light compared to the others. highkey, the f/1.8 is the move for the Sony a7C II. the GM is amazing, but the f/1.8 is the "sweet spot" for street... anyway hope that helps! peace 👍

Honestly before giving a solid rec I gotta ask, what kind of weather are you usually shooting in? Reliability is such a big deal for street photography because you never know when it's gonna start raining or getting dusty, and since the a7C II is pretty well sealed you want a lens that matches that. I'm always kinda worried about moisture getting into the electronics or the mount being stressed by a heavy lens. If you want something that basically stays on your camera forever without breaking or failing on you, here are my thoughts:

• Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 is my top pick for reliability. It has that rubber mount gasket which makes it safer in the elements than cheaper options, plus its light so it wont strain the mount.
• Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM is built like an absolute tank but the weight might be a liability if you're out all day.
• Sigma 35mm f/2 DG DN Contemporary has a great all-metal build which feels safe but I'm kinda unsure if the sealing is as good as the native Sony stuff. Yeah the GM is sharp but the f/1.8 is just so much easier to carry around. It works well tho.

Before I weigh in on the glass, I gotta ask: how much do you actually care about weather sealing and overall durability? Are you a fair-weather shooter, or do you go out even when the forecast looks sketchy? I'm asking because reliability is such a huge deal for me now. It totally reminds me of a trip I took to New Orleans a few years back. I was with a friend who had this beautiful setup, but he was so paranoid about his gear getting wet in the humidity that he barely took it out of the bag. Then, when he finally did, he tripped over a curb on Bourbon Street and his lens hood just shattered. It was this whole ordeal trying to find a shop that carried parts for his specific mount... we spent like half the vacation just riding around in Ubers instead of actually taking photos. It was a total nightmare, tbh. Anyway, let me know about your typical shooting conditions since you're using that Sony a7C II!

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