Sony Alpha 7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera with 28-70mm Zoom Lens Kit

Once again Sony proves to be the true leader of the hybrid/mirrorless cameras evolution race! This camera is an affordable alternative to A7s3, which allows good quality photos with its 33MP sensor as well as equivalent to its elder brothers’ (A7R4, A7s3, FX3) video capabilities (cuz let’s face it no one uses these cameras for external-raw on serious projects). At that price, this camera is a real tool that actually gets the job done and gets you the paycheck, everything else is for youtube tech reviewers, hobbyists and collectors.
Many criticize sony for saving on some features such as custom luts, heavy codecs, and monitoring capabilities, I think the situation here is similar to what happens in the world of mobile phones – iPhone just works despite all of its limitations, and Android manufacturers just throw more features and hardware to make a good impression.
As for this particular camera, it’s like a sequel to Avatar… after A73 everyone expected it to be better in every regard, and that’s exactly what Sony did. Its 10bit, its ALL-INTRA, its got h265 codec, its got the best eye tracking AF in the industry, its got slog3 and scinetone. There’s just not much room to improve to impress customers anymore!
I see thermals on this camera are often criticized here. I tell you this; the only occasion where I had it overheating was a 6-hour straight interview, which we shot in one piece in 4K 10bit 422. It overheated 2 times that day. 6 hours! For run-and-gun type of shoots, it never overheats.
Also a lot of negative comments from people who clearly have no idea how to use a professional camera. They complain about “sensor issues” and “bending” while they shoot with fluorescent light at 30fps and their shutter at 1/250, they complain about overheating without even checking the “High temperature” menu, they argue that a 33PM sensor should allow 60fps from the full size of the sensor…
To all buyers I’d suggest taking it for what it is – $2500 FF camera, that does 33MP photos and 10 bit FF video in codecs comparable to prores all this with the industry’s leading autofocus capabilities.
Amazing camera …as expected! Had to wait for my copy for 2 months after the preorder upon release though.

After a decade or more with my gen 1 A7 I decided to upgrade to the A7IV. If you’re coming from a A7II or A7 the upgrade is quite large. The autofocus speed is the biggest thing I noticed immediately. Even older lenses like my 55mm Zeiss is very fast on this camera.

The other thing I noticed is how this camera body is about twice as thick as the original A7. If you liked how small the A7 was well… expect the A7IV to be more of the thickness of most other cameras. The thickness from what I understand is the sensor stabilization which by the way the original A7 didn’t have. I used to use a monopod with the A7 because no stabilization meant handshake was a very real issue. With the A7IV I can get very sharp images in hand without worry.

One other thing. This camera’s ISO has some dual sensor business going on. It’s both a good and bad thing. It’s good because if you shoot at 100ISO or 400ISO your images will look almost identical on noise. The bad is if you shoot at 125, 160, 200, 250 or 320. Someone that doesn’t know this may get less sharp images when you need to increase ISO over 100. Do yourself a favor and just shoot at 100 and 400 for most instances then over 400 as usual.

I noticed reviewers complaining about the camera menu, but if your coming from another A7 you’ll understand the menu quite easily.

All other specs were about what I expected. The massive increase in AF points, better video recording, full HDMI slot, dual SD card slots, etc. Also no wall charger for battery… really Sony? Don’t be Apple please.

The a7iII is also a good choice if you need to lower the price tag. So far the a7iv has done every thing the reviewers said it would do. My personal advice is, ignore all those guys who tell you to do this first. Get to know your camera and then figure out what settings work best for you. Sony, Cannon, Nikon, Fuji, etc all make good cameras. Unless there’s really a compelling reason to switch systems, stick with the one you know.. Spend you money on good glass, rather than the latest camera. My old Sony A99 has about taken one too many bounces. It took me a long time to decide it was time to move to mirrorless. I’ve alway thought mirrowlless for digital cameras was the way to go. I stuck with old Sony SLT cameras because I could sue my Minolta lenses on them. Now I’m slowly getting a new lens collection.

Upgraded from Sony A73 and was very happy I did

Auto Focus is a step up from the a7iii and it feels much more ergonomic as well. It’s easy to use for beginners as it has a new menu set up too. Definitely recommend and is my favorite go to camera videos so great as well as it has 10bit color.