Sony A7 IV review | Digital Camera World

Sony A7 IV review | Digital Camera World

The Sony A7 IV signals a step up in ambition for Sony’s ‘vanilla’ A7 model. Traditionally, the Sony A7 has been the range’s entry-level camera, with the ‘R’ models adding resolution and the ’S’ models adding speed/sensitivity. But there’s nothing ordinary about the Sony A7 IV, and while it does technically superseded the A7 III, it’s an altogether more advanced camera that, we think, targets a higher-level audience.

The Sony A7 III will continue for now and we have a Sony A7 IV vs A7 III article that spells out the differences. The Sony A7C will offer an additional ‘beginner’ option for the full frame Sony camera system going forward. 

Specifications

(Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

Sensor: 33MP full frame Exmor R CMOS
Image processor: BIONZ XR
AF points: 759-point hybrid phase/contrast-detect
ISO range: 100 to 51,200 (exp. 204,800 stills, 102,400 video)
Max image size: 7,008×4,672
Metering modes: Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot (Standard / Large), Avg, Highlight
Video: 4K 30p full width, 4K 60p Super35 crop
Viewfinder: 0.5 type Quad VGA OLED, 3.69m dots, 100% coverage
Memory cards: 1x CFexpress Type A/SD UHS-II, 1x SD UHS-II
LCD: 3-inch fully articulating touchscreen, 1.04m dots
Max burst: 10fps, up to 828 raw+JPEG (with CFexpress Type A card)
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Size: 131.3 x 96.4 x 79.8mm
Weight: 658g (with card and battery)

Key features

Unlike the A7 III before it, which had a tilting screen, the Sony A7 IV has a flip-out vari-angle display. (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

Where do we start? How about the sensor? The A7 IV’s new 33MP sensor is hardly headline news by today’s mirrorless camera standards, but it’s a big step up from the 24.2MP of the A7 III and A7C, and it puts a bit of distance between the A7 IV and powerhouse APS-C cameras like the Fujifilm X-T4.

And then there are the enhanced video features. Again, the A7 IV does not challenge the big hitters in the mirrorless video camera market, but it’s a big step forward from the A7 III. Its 10-bit 4:2:2 capture makes the Sony S-Log3 mode much more useful for color grading later, and while the 4K 60p capture does mean switching to Super35 crop mode, the A7 III couldn’t do 4K 60p at all (come to that, 4K 30p comes with a 1.2x crop factor on that camera, and only 25/24p 4K is full width).

The Sony A7 IV has twin UHS-II SD card slots, but the top slot can also take the latest CFexpress Type A cards (not shown here) which are needed to exploit the full range of this camera’s burst shooting capabilities. (Image credit: Rod Lawton/Digital Camera World)

Perhaps the most spectacular advance, however, is the least obvious. The A7 III brought 10fps continuous shooting and an above-average buffer capacity for a general-purpose camera – but the A7 IV’s buffer capacity is just extraordinary. The combination of the new sensor, BIONZ XR processor and CFexpress Type A storage, give the A7 IV an essentially unlimited buffer capacity. It does have a limit of 828 consecutive uncompressed raw+JPEG files (828!) – but it’s effectively unlimited with a CFexpress Type A card. Effectively, this camera can keep going until the card fills up, the battery runs out or everyone else has gone home…

https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/sony-a7-iv-review

Steve Liem

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