SONY ALPHA 7 IV

Not just another affordable all-rounder, but a real powerhouse

- Rod Lawton

www.sony.co.uk £2,399/$2,499

Traditionally, the Alpha 7 has been the range’s ‘vanilla’ camera, with the ‘R’ models adding resolution and the ’S’ models adding sensitivity. But there’s nothing vanilla about the A7 IV. While it technically supersedes the A7 III, this is an altogether more advanced camera that, we think, targets a higher-level audience.

The A7 III will continue in Sony’s lineup for now, with that model and the A7C offering the ‘beginner’ options for the full-frame Sony camera system going forward. We’ve only spent a few hours with the A7 IV so far, but it’s some way from an entry-level camera in its capabilities – and in its complexities.

Key features

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 the A7C, and it puts a bit of distance between the A7 IV and powerhouse APS-C cameras like the Fujifilm X-T4.

Then there are the enhanced video features. Again, the A7 IV doesn’t 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 colour grading later; and while capturing 4K 60p video 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 the A7 III, and only 25/24p 4K is full-width).