Big test
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PERFORMANCE: ISO
100
800
1600
3200
6400
12,800
The A7R IV’s ISO range runs from 100 to 32,000, but can be expanded to ISO 50 at the low end and ISO 102,400 at the upper. Despite the camera’s huge resolution, results are very good. Perhaps it's a little noisier than the A7R III, but the extra detail seems tomitigate anything that’s lost. Noise is scarcely noticeable until you get to 3200 or 6400, and even then it’s quite fine. I would happily walk around with it at 800, only going lower if I wanted to extend exposure time. Even the highest regular settings of 16,000 and 32,000 can be braved without worry, and the extended ISOs can be used at a push. It’s a level of performance that means you can really trust the A7R IV’s 100 to 12,800Auto ISOmode.
25,600
32,000
51,200
works almost, but not quite, as well as the human version, simply because there’s more variety to deal with. I tested it at my local dog shelter, and it was routinely excellent, and able to ignore humans in the frame, prioritising the furries. When it comes to speed of shooting, as noted above, the A7R IV takes a slight hit, but that’s to be expected due to the amount of data being pushed around, and probably won’t bother the camera's target audience. The fastest 10fps burst mode is perfectly respectable, but falls to 6fps if you’re shooting uncompressed Raws – though that’s unlikely for action shots. You can shoot about 30 uncompressed Raws before the buffer fills, or around 60 compressed Raws or JPEGs. Depending on card speed, you’re then looking at about 30 seconds to a minute for the buffer to clear completely, though you can shoot a limited number of frames while it does. Again, it’s not the fastest, but understandably so. And practically, it didn’t cause me any problems in testing Basically, this isn’t an action camera, but it’ll do a decent job if you need it to. In terms of handling, Sony has made great leaps with the A7R IV, but for me, it’s still not as refined as it could be, or compared to other brands. On the plus side, there’s a huge number of customisable buttons and the overall feel of the inputs is superb – much better than on the A7R III. Specifically, the AF-On button is larger and easier to find with your thumb. The mode and exposure compensation dials on the top- plate can be locked, so there’s no creep in your bag, the front and rear control dials operate perfectly and the AF joystick,
Final word
Verdict The SonyA7R IV is a brilliant camera, and you could fill every page of this PN going through itsmasses of features. ItsAF and image quality are tremendous, as is the build. Handling could go up a notch, the Pixel Shift mode needs improvement, it would be good to havemore Raw options and the touchscreen functions are limited, but compared to the plus points, these can all be overlooked. It’s a beast of a camera, and with Sony’s lens support now very mature, difficult to rival in its sector.
THE BUILD QUALITY IS TREMENDOUS AND EVERY- THING FEELS SOLIDLY MADE AND SECURE
labyrinthine menus and, while this is well founded, it’s also something you can get used to over time. To help, the A7R IV supports a neat My Menu function, so you can log your most used settings. It’s easy to set up and a great benefit. The quality of a mirrorless camera’s EVF is a big factor, and the A7R IV’s 5.76 million dot OLED display is very good. It’s big and bright, and the sort of thing you can forget isn’t an optical viewmost of the time. The WYSIWYG nature means using manual or exposure compensation is very easy, and you find yourself looking at results on screen less often. Shooting in low light, I did find it less good than some competitors though – it seemed to show interference as the signal was boosted. Finally, build quality is tremendous. The A7R IV has additional weather sealing compared to its predecessor, and everything feels solidly made and secure. I used it through StormCiara and Dennis, and they didn’t bother it at all. Battery life was also excellent, and the camera can be charged and run via USB. KS
FEATURES Missing very few options you need.
24 /25 22 /25 23 /25 23 /25
HANDLING Could be refined, but very usable.
PERFORMANCE Not the fastest, but AF is amazing.
which sets the focus point, is large, grippy and great in use. What’s not so good for me is the overall feel of the camera’s grip. It’s large, and quite deep, but it lacks a hollow into which your fingers can curl, and this makes the hold less comfortable than it could be. The camera body is also quite short, so those with larger hands can find their little finger waggling off the bottom. Sony’s Alpha models have often been criticised by photographers for their
VALUE FOR MONEY A hefty price tag, but you get your money’s worth. OVERALL The Sony A7R IV is a tremendous top-end mirrorless camera.
92 /100
PROS Incredible image quality and AF, masses of features and great build CONS Handling could be better, Pixel Shift needs in- camera merge option
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