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We’ve had the introduction of the Mark II and Mark III versions of each camera and Mark IV version of the A7R and A7, and now the Sony A7R V has arrived. The Sony A7 was launched back in late 2013, as the world’s first compact system camera with a full-frame sensor. What’s also fantastic is that Sony doesn’t impose its shiny new, ultra-fast, ultra-expensive memory card format on you – but it does support it nonetheless. It’s pretty much a given that you will need to purchase at least one additional battery if you intend to use the camera for more than, say, half a day’s shooting at a time. That said, we’ll have to wait until we get a final retail version to conclusively assess battery performance.
With other Sony hangovers missing from the A7S III – buffer issues, clunky menus and the lack of an articulating screen – this camera makes us, as camera enthusiasts and professionals, feel heard. The 10fps continuous AF/AE works beautifully when eye-tracking a person walking towards the camera, and it also did a great job with a tabby cat, although it struggled with a black cat when positioned slightly off-angle. However, if you can afford it, the A7R IV captures a lot more detail and is more affordable than the newer A7R V. It means the A7R IIIA and Sony A7 III are capable of focusing on a fast-moving subject and keeping it sharp wherever it roams around the frame.A good alternative is applying stabilization in post-production using Sony's Catalyst Browse software, which uses the camera's gyroscopic data to smooth out your footage.
So what we’ve told you so far might be useful if you’re trying to just get a handle on which cameras do what, but what about if you’re a dedicated landscape photographer or perfected portrait photographer? The very best focusing system, however, is in the A7R V which has 693 phase detection points and the very latest subject detection options which include Human (Right/Left Eye Select) / Animal (Right/Left Eye Select) / Bird / Insect / Car / Train / Airplane, all of which work in stills and video mode. In Record Run mode this only advances the time code while recording, but in Free Run mode it advances whether the camera is recording or not. When setting the AF point is as tricky as it is here, it would make things a lot simpler and quicker.
On paper, these specs aren’t new, but with twice the readout speeds of the A7S II’s sensor, a back-illuminated structure that's able to ingest more light, and a new Bionz XR processor powering things along, the low-light boost isn't a surprise. There’s also space here for up to two groups of customisable settings – useful if you often find yourself shooting in a particular type of condition, such as low light. All this has happened in a comparatively short time, so although the A7 is the first and oldest camera in this series, it’s tech is still only five years old – and Sony was pretty good at making cameras and sensors then, as it is now. Enhanced detail reproduction and diffraction-reducing technology result in more natural outlines and less blur from diffraction, even when shooting with smaller apartures.
Starting from the top-left, there’s a C3 and menu button, with the latter firing up the welcome touch UI.
As is with all technology these days, development is continuous and this is no different for the Sony Alpha range of cameras.
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