Review: Sony A7 IV

4BYE wrote on Tuesday 18 January 2022 at 13:55  | reply

I was really looking forward to the A7 IV as a replacement for the A7R III so my wife would have a better camera for wildlife, action, BIF, etc. Although I really appreciate the A7R III for portraits, landscapes and more static subjects, that is where it performs less well. Less fun now that we visit bird hides and bird shows together, among other things, and she is becoming more and more interested in photography. My second-hand A9 is already in an exceptional class for that kind of photography.

In a "test" in which we had our young cats run towards the camera, it turned out that the speed of the A7 IV is rather limited at 5-6 fps and a maximum of 10 fps with lossy compression. The tracking AF was also extremely disappointing. While it immediately detects the cats' eyes, in a sequence where they run towards the camera only the first photo is sharp. Of course, we did the same under the same conditions with the A9 and A7R III. Even the A7R III performed better, although it cannot do Animal Eye AF and tracking at the same time. Given the short distance and speed, it is not the easiest test for a camera, but we could clearly see the difference.

Of course, many things have been improved on the A7 IV, but that also comes with a hefty price tag. I therefore wonder whether, regardless of our personal requirements, people will notice much difference in the end result between this new A7 IV and, for example, a (second-hand) A7 III/A7R III. For those who do need speed in fps, AF and tracking, etc., a (second-hand) A9 is still a great option.

After some arguing about returning the A7 IV, I have just managed to get my hands on a demo A1 in like-new condition. A completely different class, capabilities and unfortunately price tag, although a substantial amount has already been taken off and I sold the A7R III. In the end I am still extremely happy with it, given the early results, capabilities and my current lenses that I can use with it.

What I have not figured out yet, and this also applies to the A7 IV, is the possibility of, when changing lenses and switching off the camera, having the shutter placed in front of the sensor to prevent dust on the sensor. However, I have heard several people warn against using that. This seems strange to me, though, given that dust on the sensor is a thing compared to DSLRs. So it would be very welcome, but I will look into this matter further. People are afraid that the shutter would break and is ultimately more vulnerable than the sensor. Maybe there are people here who already know a bit more?

4BYE wrote on Wednesday 19 January 2022 at 14:10  | reply

@Rino thanks for your response.

Taking a photo at the "right moment" can be very difficult in some cases. Take a bird or something and then wait until it flies away for a nice action photo. By the time it starts to make a move, you are already too late. Olympus (I use that for macro/focus stacking) also has ProCapture. The moment you half-press the shutter, it makes up to around 30 shots in the memory that are continuously refreshed. When you then press the shutter, you also have the previous 30 images (or fewer, you set that yourself). Ideal for capturing something that you can hardly or not at all time or anticipate. In certain situations, more frames per second can make just the difference in an action sequence, giving you more choice to pick out that one. Fortunately, the digital trash can is patient, unlike the film era. Of course, you don't need that for very many segments of photography, but for others it can be really nice. When you see what has become possible by now from my Praktica MTL 3, those really are great steps.

I have now watched some extra videos and such regarding closing the shutter in relation to dust. They warn you to be careful, which is of course logical, but with normal use I don't think it should cause any problems. As you say, you had the same idea when loading film in the past.