The a7R V is Sony's latest high resolution mirrorless camera, and while it shares the 60 megapixel sensor of the a7R IV, nearly everything else has been given an overhaul. If you demand detail, is this the camera to get? Check out our initial impressions.
As for the majority of you, I do photo for pleasure/passion, but I do not earn my living with photography. I have an a7ii since 2015. Only recently that I considered changing to a better and newer camera. However, prices are disproportionate in Canada (a7iv= 3300$, a7riii a= 3300$, a7riv a= 4500$, a7rv= 5300$). I told myself that I could take this opportunity to buy one or two lenses, but it's the same problem. The exchange rate is really not to our advantage in Canada. It is as expensive (and even more) to buy from EU or US now (new and used). So, I won't be buying new equipment for quite a while. I will continue using my trusty ans old a7ii. Photolab and Darktable still allow me to compensate for the age of the sensor... The good news though...the money I save will be invested in a trip. There are possibilities of making very interesting trips for 3500 to 5000$. My old a7ii will therefore will help me to bring back souvenirs that will last for many years.
I'm afraid that since I do not have perfect hearing and I cannot keep up with Chris's near 300 words a minute spiel I will have to wait for the written review. Can someone perhaps recommend some software to slow him down?
There's a Cog / Gear icon on the YouTube player, and if you click that you can change the playback speed to reduce it.
You can also click the "CC" button to enable auto-generated closed-captions at the reduced playback speed, which would make it even easier to understand.
We need a special, Someplace Else forum for those who insist: Sony, as of Halloween 2022, still screws up colors and for some reason refuses to fix them. Fuji, Pentax and the other two micro 4/3 camera makers make perfect cameras and to heck with people who just don't get it. Would save a lot of hot air for the rest of us.
Oh, so this is the place where we all say that Sony colors are amazing? My mistake then, I thought we were talking about tools with their strengths and flaws
Switching the modes between stills and video is great for stills photographers, and for videographers. This feature is a gift from heaven (actually from Japan) for us who often switch between stills and video.
The quick switching between stills and video on my A7IV is so nice to have that I really prefer it to my A1, on that one usability point alone. I hope Sony sticks to that going forward (and puts the new flippy-tilty screen on everything). I actually find I much prefer tilty screens most of the time, except when I don't.
As someone who owns an A7Siii, don't be put off by the 12mp sensor, although we bought the camera for video, of which it of course does a stellar uncropt job (just how do Sony squish so many high performance components into such a tiny body? - Ah, that's what Sony have done since inception!), on the occasion we have shot some photos, the results are excellent. I wish the idiots who spend £5000 every 5 years or so on "THIS IS THE BEST iPHONE WE HAVE EVER RELEASED" would realise that without an EVF for intimate composure and focusing and full size sensor and bright lens, oh, and the weight for stability, phones are technically unable to resolve detail. I have been pixel peeping my best Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (ooh, 8K video!) and iPhone 12 Mini photos, and great at 1x view, but second you crop or magnify, it all goes to pieces. Note so on a good DSLR or Mirrorless. Anyway, if you want to focus on video, A7Siii is the way to go.
mikegt: yes, the photo of Jordan. If the colors looks fine to you, then, let's agree to disagree. Judging colors is almost always subjective MILC man: sure, why bother then with the different color outputs from different sensors or lenses when we all have raw converters?
We a) don't know what this scene looked like in real life and b) we don't know how any other camera would have rendered this same scene.
This is completely useless and pointless. What you need is some blind tests, asking random people which they prefer, and from what I read Sony did extremely well in such blind, unbiased tests.
mihaikolf, if you are talking abut the skin tone, on my computer screen it looks fine. But like you said, color preference is subjective and you maybe used to another camera's color rendition although it may not be accurate also. At the same time, the image is SOOC jpeg with a 'standard creative style' profile. I don't know how many color profiles the A7rV has but for JPEG there is always something there that renders skin tones a generic 'beige' quality some prefer.
No one is "working on the RAW converter to try to get good colors" - colors, like exposure, contrast, highlight, shadow lifts are all subjective and should be adjusted to taste. No camera by no manufacturer can know how you want a specific image to look and what's your personal preference.
THAT'S WHY WE PROCESS FROM RAW. (Amazing, that it seems to be necessary to mention this in 2022....)
@4Photos, you look like the old school guy who thinks he can do better than companycamera Jpeg, and if you want to change the colours you still can. Do you know how many hundreds of photos you have to take of an event ? If you are retired and want to spend time to work on each photo, you can, but you globally won't do as well and have nothing else to do.
I don't process each and every image individually from RAW. You can set up your own color profiles and preferences and apply it to a whole batch of photos.
It's really not much different from doing it in-camera - except you can, if you choose to, make minor adjustments to those photos that need it, or just leave it as is.
But I don't hink we need to discuss the pros and cons of JPG only and JPG+RAW here, there are points to both sides.
I've pre-ordered the A7Rv. I own the A7Riv(A) and I am not quite satisfied. What is apparent is that its 60mp advantage is always compromised handheld and though it is significantly better with a monopod it still doesn't reach its potential most of the time in the context of wildlife images which are one of my interests.
The attraction of the A7Rv to me is the greater stabilization that - if real - could harvest much more of the 60mp potential and may even reduce the need for excessive bursts. The "upgraded autofocus" (a phrase too often and too loosely uttered), would also help to harvest that 60mp potential. This body might take a better shot than the A1 in many contexts, and for a lot less money.
The electronic shutter is a shame but I've learned on the A7Riv to just stick with mechanical shutter for motion shots which in my limited understanding is a bit better (no pun intended) for color anyway. There are umm... adequate video options.
Question regarding IBIS for handheld video shooting. I believe in the past, Sony's IBIS when used for handheld videography was not the best. I understand that the IBIS for stills has a strong rating, but how is the performance for handheld videography? Does the video look more "shaky" than Nikon or Canon DSLRs?
At points 10:25 and 10:44 in the "initial review" video, one sees examples of hand-held tracking shots. Both are rather tightly framed, so they present perhaps worst-case tests and, yes, there is some "bobbing." Wider framed shots might appear steadier. The video does not discuss whether the A7Rv files include gyroscopic meta-data which, if rendered through Catalyst Browse, yields better stabilization, provided the lighting is good and the shutter speed is something like 1/60 or faster.
Check this video ( in French but you have much footage ). He is trying the A7r5 handheld in video, walking and then running. Impressive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wutX3kwiRW8 it starts at 14:28
@Younes B, That is fairly impressive stabilization from the French video. Still nowhere near what my old Olympus gear could do, but a lot better than my current Sony gear.
They can and do build faster sensors and they are in the A9 series and the A1 but I guess you knew that. Buy one of those if you want low rolling shutter on a FF camera or buy a camera with smaller sensor such as the OM 1.
This is a HIGH-RES camera first and a video-camera second. If your priorities are reversed, there are other options available, but I suppose you knew that.
At least on a Windows computer, Sony's Imaging Edge software (version: 1.106 ) will extract uncompressed raws, but Imaging Edge crashes when trying to extract compressed raws like the samples here.
Excellent work from Jordan and Chris as usual. I'm not happy with the price though, I know we're still at the 'mug trawling' phase, but the V is nearly a thousand pounds more than the IV currently, and £3899 is really hard to justify in the current economic environment.
Whilst I'm glad it's been released I think my A7R4 is likely to be my last new Sony camera. I just can't justify the A7RV price 😕
"Whilst I'm glad it's been released I think my A7R4 is likely to be my last new Sony camera. I just can't justify the A7RV price."
Thats the core of the problem - not only for *all* the traditional camera manufacturers, but for all "non essential sales" - The spending power of most people is erroding.
Even the stockmarket as a whole is tankig, for that kind of backup money/long time saving.
And this is all to the FED 's "quantitative easing" all the way back from 2007 until today.
I dont know what the politics thought when they decided that it was a good idea to be printing new money in an endless river, year after year - what could possibly go wrong??
I actually do know what they where thinking: Kick the bucket down the road! That will be someone elses problem!
Well, now its the whole worlds problem. And more that a few companies will go bust, no matter the quality of their products, as fewer and fewer people can afford to pay their prices.
Um you do know it's only for playback, as soon as you half press the shutter button it drops to 5.76Md, same as the A7RIV. A HDR high refresh 5.76Md EVF would have been far more desirable. The Canon R3 is the benchmark and even worse Sony's makes the EVF but won't use the tech in their own cameras.
Nice as the high res setting is, I run my A1 on standard res for longer shoots, as the battery drain on the high res setting is significant. As Chris said though, it is great for playback.
if your going to comment on the ibis at 8 stops then side by side compare with the em12 shooting video at 5 stops please. my bet is the 5 stops em12 will win. this is basic testing isnt it ?
Comparing FF cameras with m4/3 cameras is pretty pointless. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Great IBIS performance happens to be the forte of small size sensors (smaller mass to move).
The improved IBIS is of interest for Sony shooters, who own previous models and wonder if the improvement is enough to make them upgrade. So looking forward to the test results (not versus some other random camera makers, but versus A7r3 and A7r4).
its the same , they have only added computational stabilization on top of sensor stabilization with a crop on stills. everyone avoids the subject. in video its ok but its still now where near the 5 stops from olympus.
Any feedback on how it performed at 4k 60fps? Was rolling shutter bad there? I'm interested in using it for kids sporting events like basketball where I'd want to be panning it and tracking motion on the court.
As a happy owner of an A7Siii, not cheaper, same price! Got mine new with a used Sony 24-105 f4. Excellent combo for what we use it for. Just learning how to use Davinci Resolve Studio to colour grade. Wow, wot a lot of controls! (I know, I could cheat and use some Sony LUTs.) Anyway, if you are serious about video, A7Siii is the way forward, although one only criticism is the flip out screen is poor quality for the output the camera is capable of and a bit small. I hope on A7Siv they implement the same screen as the A7Rv and up the size and resolution, maybe even go OLED. This would reduce need to use an external field monitor when on location too.
Tracking and panning of sports activity is probably done best when done least. Game activity is hard to follow reliably through an EVF. Tight shots are apt to lose track of the ball or jerk around too much. Better to shoot fairly wide and, if desired, pan and crop digitally when editing. This reduces the rolling shutter problem and also allows the editor to track accurately, rather than "hit or miss" when tracking live. The smoothest and most reliable approach might be to shoot in 8k, do minimal panning when shooting live, and then introduce all the tracking in post, except that this would entail problems with over-heating and battery drain. Something like a Sony ax53 (4k, built-in 2-axis gimbal, plus digital stabilization) might be a far cheaper alternative, provided the lighting is good. Nowadays, lots of people use only their phones, and the viewers seldom perceive or care about any difference.
@ DavidSE: I don't think rolling shutter would be the main problem when doing telephoto sports, especially if you don't have a lot of training for this kind of video shooting. John Koch (above) has many valid arguments.
This feels like a great time to buy a lightly used A7Riv. You could probably get most of an excellent G master lens with the money saved and the files out of the camera will be identical in almost all situations. I don’t shoot Sony, but I tend to avoid marginal updates when possible. The chances are that the big update isn’t quite ready and will appear in the next model, and then you’ll kick yourself.
Thanks for this review; it's very useful. Has the operation of controls--like changing aperture, or camera startup--gotten noticeably faster compared the the RIV? I'm not concerned about burst speed, just how direct the controls feel. With my RIV, which is a great camera in most respects, controls often seem sluggish. Sometimes my exposure changes won't even register until the card is done writing....
Yes, but the AIV and V have much more data to move than the A9's, while the A1's overall speed is made possible by its stacked sensor, which is unique so far. So I'm wondering what the experience is like for people who have actually used the A7V.
I think the one in the video section is a probably a bee, although it's always partially occluded by the Aster, but I agree that the still shot they show immediately after that is a definitely a bee mimic.
I'm pleased that they kept the sensor from the A7Riv. I find it a good all-around performer, in terms of low light performance that doesn't feel like a bad compromise to get higher resolution. And subconsciously, I'm sure, it's a good thing when a new version keeps something you already love about the previous model - helps keep the gear envy to a minimum. That articulating screen, though... sure would be nice!!
Correct. I think it's the hoverfly called 'common dronefly' (Eristalis tenax). It seems to have a long tradition to be mistaken for a bee, though—its German common name is 'Mistbiene' (dung fly)!
I think you should have mentioned the ultrasonic sensor cleaning that was available in A1 and A7S3 only (and non-IBIS models like A6400) yet and that makes a huge difference on amount of the sensor dust in time. It is more useful than the closable shutter regarding the dust.
A lot to like here (especially the new autofocus)... was thinking of upgrading from the Sony A7r3, but the rolling shutter issue is somewhat of a disappointment... was hoping they could do a faster readout from the sensor to avoid (or at least minimize) that. Still the camera has a lot to offer... will wait to see your full review on it.
In mirrorless the body definitely contributes (you can see this especially in systems that let you turn off lens stabilization independently). The hope is that the combo in this case will be better.
Sony definitely activates the sensor stabilization for the viewfinder view when you activate AF or half press the shutter. I presume the improvements apply here.
for landscape and studio the RIV will do just fine. but the viewfinder is nice. bummer that res droppes when focussing. is that very annoying in actual use?
I can say after using the A1, the resolution drop in the A7RIV (previous model) was annoying. But I never missed a shot because of it.
Everyone here tells me the resolution drops on the A1 but I don’t notice that at all. I do know when you half press on the A1 the shutter speed seems to sync somehow with the actual shutter speed to simulate any banding that may occur if you’re shooting high frequency flickering LEDs.
Most recent Sony cameras including the new A7v can geo tag their images by getting the position from your smartphone. This uses less battery power than an internal GPS chip and works just as well, if not better because the chip/antenna doesn't have to work through a magnesium body.
Geotagging works well for me too. My only issue is the app doesn’t support multiple cameras at the same time. If you’re shooting with two bodies only one gets the location information.
@gracjangk It has worked flawlessly for me on an iPhone. Haven't started or used the app in several months and it still connects instantly every single time. On Android it tended to kill the app in the background randomly, but that was most certainly OnePlus that made that an issue.
Geotagging works fine. I have an A7 IV and the bluetooth LE connection can be set to remain connected to your phone when the camera is switched off which means when you switch it on again it syncs right away.
On older cameras it was less reliable. I also have an RX100 VII that used the old system and it would not always re-sync between powering off and on.
I assume the A7 RV works the same way as the A7 IV.
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