Sometimes I find myself shaking my head at what cameras can do these days. The jury is still out as to whether it’s shaken in disbelief or wonderment. That is the case with the long-awaited and fairly priced Sony a7 IV. It packs a lot of features that photographers have been asking for along with capabilities that are overkill. I think Sony’s next camera could take an entirely black or even stark white image and recover almost every detail.

Editor’s Note: This review has received updates as of July 2022.

Alas, It has been fun watching the community pine for the newest Sony a7 IV leading up to its announcement. Based on what photographers have been asking for online, they will be delighted with the versatility of this camera. Its premise is to build a bridge for hybrid shooters and make their creativity more attainable. While the video functionalities are sure to pique interest, this review will focus on its photographic capabilities. Does it live up to the beloved a7 series? There’s no question that it does. The short answer is it’s an excellent option for most genres of photography. It’s sweeping an even broader net at who this camera is for. Keep reading to find out why.

Table of Contents

Too Long Didn’t Read

Pros and Cons

Pros

Cons

Gear Used

Innovations

Tech Specs

Ergonomics

Build Quality

Ease of Use

Firmware Installation

Improved Camera Stability

Autofocus

Eye AF Isn’t Always Accurate (Update July 2022)

Metering

Image Quality

High ISO Images

Raw File Versatility

JPEG Quality

Extra Image Samples

Edited

Unedited

Conclusions of the Sony a7 IV

Likes

Dislikes

Too Long Didn’t Read

The long-anticipated Sony a7 IV is finally here and aims to bridge the gap for still photographers and videographers. It’s received a bit of a facelift with a beautiful, new OLED screen and a more comfortable grip. The updated face and animal detection with tracking is impressive and fun. It now comes with in-camera skin smoothing to significantly reduce post-processing time. Plus, its price is pretty great for an all-in-one option.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Face detection and tracking

Animal face detection and tracking

Bird face and eye detection

Metering

Updated OLED screen and menu

Comfortable grip

Suitable for a variety of applications

Weather-sealed and sensor dust issue is improved

Fast autofocus

Impressive Dynamic Range

Sharp – almost too sharp for some womens’ portraits

In-camera skin softening to combat incredibly sharp skin pores

Cons

High ISO performance could be better

Color noise in out-of-focus areas at lower ISOs

Shutter freezes and the camera becomes unresponsive at times when shooting bracketed

High burst mode currently only works if shooting compressed RAW

Gear Used

We tested the new Sony a7 IV with the Sony 35mm f1.4GM lens, Sony 50mm f1.2 GM lens, and Tamron 17-28mm f2.8 lens.

Innovations

As far as cutting edge, the new a7 IV isn’t revamping the world of mirrorless cameras. What it does is borrow some of the great features of the flagship a1 and is a welcome upgrade to the lower-tier lineup. The upgraded OLED screen, real-time human/animal autofocus, and impressive dynamic range are welcome additions.

Tech Specs

All technical specifications are provided by the manufacturer.

33.0 MP (appx/effective) full-frame Exmor R™ CMOS image sensor

Latest generation BIONZ XR™ image processing engine

High resolution with color reproduction accuracy & low noise

15 stop dynamic range for natural gradations

Creative Look / Soft Skin Effect

10-bit HEIF format (4:2:2 or 4:2:0)

5.5-step advantage 5-axis in-body image stabilization

828 continuous RAW+JPEG shooting

759 phase-detection AF points (94% coverage)

Improved AF-S speed / Improved low light AF down to EV-4

AF tracking for continuous shooting at f22

Real-time Eye AF for Human/Animal/Bird

More tenacious Real-time Tracking

4K 60p recording in Super35 format for slow-motion

4k 30p recording, 7k oversampling for high resolution

S-Cinetone™ and Creative Look for delivery work

10bit S-Log3 with 15+ stops o...