CameraLabs: Sony a7RIV In-Depth Review

Godran finished his Sony a7RIV review and it a long one. Overall he sounds impressed by the value and below you can find excerpts from the video:

  • New Weather sealing
  • The new exposure composition lock is nice
  • The buttons are larger and feel better
  • Would like backlit buttons
  • Moving the back scroll wheel to the top feels better to Gordon
  • More room between lens mount and grip which is welcome
  • UHS-II for both slots is nice and should have been the case before
  • The new smart hot shoe is useful with the new shotgun mic
  • Hopes the new hot shoe is on other cameras
  • Samer wired connectivity as before
  • Still Bluetooth and wifi, but wifi now has 5ghz too
  • Z battery is great still
  • Sony has one of the longest battery lives around
  • The grip lets you use two Z batteries
  • The 5.76MP OLED EVF looks amazing in use
  • The back screen is still very much the same and only angles up or down
  • Would like it to angle out or flip
  • The touch interface is still poor and hasn’t been improved
  • Playback doesn’t let you swipe or zoom
  • Interval timer built-in
  • Larger denser AF than ever before with 567PDAF over 74% fo the frame in a square area
  • Crop mode has 325PDAF points covering the entire frame with 27MP images
  • -3EV AF
  • Real-time eye AF for humans and animals
  • AF is so good that you can trust it to automatically work unlike others
  • Eye AF works in movies and should have been available in other models
  • 10FPS for 68 frames
  • Continuous eye AF works very well
  • Can be used for sports/action/wildlife without an issue
  • The interface is like the a7RIII
  • Specs the same as a7RIII
  • Super 35 is the best way to use if to video like the previous camera
  • 4k up to 30p
  • The camera uses 6k of data instead of 5k like the previous
  • 4k super 35 24p is 1.6x crop and 1.8x crop for 30p
  • 1080p up to 60p and 120p with sound and AF
  • Sony has very flexible slow motion
  • No 10-bit or 60p etc…
  • Best phase-detection around for video
  • The new 61MP BSI Full Frame sensor leapfrogs its rivals
  • The camera still uses basically the same IBIS that gives 5.5 stops of stabilization
  • Great for very large prints and crops
  • When comparing the old and new model Gordon found that there is a visible increase in detail up till 400 ISO where there is more noise
  • By 1600ISO there is almost no difference between the a7RIII and a7RIV and by the highest value you could argue the a7RIII is better
  • You should shoot the a7RIV at below 400ISO to fully benefit
  • a7RIV JPEG engine does a good job keeping images clean up to 1600ISO
  • The upgraded pixel shift can give you a lot more resolution
  • Pixel shift photos still need special software
  • You don’t get quadruple the detail with pixel shift, but it’s good for archiving still subjects
  • Subject and technique matter a lot
  • Nonobvious things move in pixel shift like foliage in the breeze so it’s best to use indoors
  • Should be able to process pixel shift images in the camera
  • When pixel shift works you won’t get 240MP, but there is certainly more than 61MP for the right subjects
  • The a7RIV is an impressive body that brings a lot of speed and handling to tempt D850 owners
  • The body tweaks are welcome
  • Still frustrated with the touch screen and video not being upgraded
  • The new mic is great for video shooters
  • If you want video the LUMIX S bodies are better
  • Overall he recommends it, but if 42MP is enough then look for a deal on the Sony a7RIV

Follow SonyAddict on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and YouTube

Sony a7RIV: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony RX100VIII: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony VG-C4EM grip: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
XLR-K3M Mic Input: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
ECM-B1M Digital Audio Shotgun Microphone:
B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

This entry was posted in Sony a7RIV. Bookmark the permalink. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.
  • FCC disclosure statement: this post may contain affiliate links or promotions that do not cost readers anything but help keep this website alive. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!