Sony A7RIV Review: Sony At Their Best, But Is Its True Potential Limited?

Sometimes we can be a bit critical of Sony’s cameras, but when they do something well, they really do it well. Case in point, the Sony A7RIV. This is by far, our favourite Sony camera.

There have been a few design changes here that we think will carry down to the new A9 II and other Sony cameras. First off is a larger grip that will no doubt be a big plus for users with larger hands. Adding on the external grip will make the camera feel fantastic, but even without it, the A7RIV’s grip is still better than previous Sony cameras’.

The exposure dial is now lockable to prevent accidental changes and everything else just feels more robust and solid. There are two UHS-II card slots here, but we would have preferred to see an XQD slot.

Sony’s done a better job with the weather sealing on this camera, with the covers for the ports closing more tightly to prevent stray drops of water from entering.

The electronic viewfinder has also been improved tremendously, with a 5.76-million-dot OLED display that’s clear, bright and vibrant. It’s not the best, but it gets the job done. Of course, you still get the great Sony eye tracking AF technology. Nobody beats Sony in terms of tracking human eyes.

The camera’s fast as well, 10fps continuous shooting and you’ll be able to do 68 frames before the buffer fills up. Resolution is beautiful, you’ll actually have to print out the photos to be able to see how good the details are.

With the 61MP sensor, Sony has staked its claim to be the first full-frame camera on the market with this large a sensor. Photos look fantastic, it’s really a sight to be seen if you’re using the right lens.

And yes, you do need to be using the right lens because some lenses don’t perform well. G-Master lenses are good, but the 135 f/1.8 really stands out here. It showcases what Sony can do optically with their lenses.

Another feature is the improved hot shoe which allows users to use Sony’s digital shotgun mic. It’s definitely an interesting accessory, you don’t require a cable or anything, everything goes through the hot shoe and sound quality is pretty good.

So why did Sony choose to come out with this camera now? Well, because they make a lot of sensors for other camera brands. And with the megapixel war starting up again, they probably wanted to get a headstart on everybody else. But it means people who want a Sony camera now have the option of going for the A7RIII if they don’t require as many megapixels, or the A7RIV if they really want the newest and best.