Excellent analysis. I upgraded from the r2 to the r4 as soon as the r4 was announced. Detail for fine art - architecture - macro - landscape is a huge increase. hence for anyone requiring the extra resolution the R4 is a no brainer. Also because of the high mp each prime lens becomes more versatile because of cropping & on super 35 mode in still one is still getting 26mp. I am not into 10bit so video is fine for me & I can use the stills for a lot of animation & panning in viedo processing. For those requiring more of a hybrid camera the 74 is the choice. The price difference is not that much now - given the r4 is an older model & also available 2nd hand
According to the Hybrid Shooter and others, the a7RIVA has improved AF performance versus the a7RIV. Not drastic, but much improved. This improvement was silently implemented by Sony.
Can anyone chime in, why would you spend the extra on the A7R IV over the A7 IV in a real world use comparison, is the extra megapixel really worth it for all the workflow downfalls of it? The give and take between two seems insanity inducing.. Great comparison!
Just saved me a $1000 going with the a7 iv. Birds are my passion so just the bird tracking alone seals it. I had the same experience buying a pair of Swarovski binoculars deciding between the much more expensive EL or Pure lines vs the more affordable SLC. I checked out both and qualitatively I simply couldn't tell the difference in viewing resolution so I went with the 15x56 SLC which is not only much bigger and some may say not the perfect birding size but it allows great wildlife and landscape viewing at a far greater range (and again I saved $1000)
I tested both cameras (with Sigma ART 24-70mm F2.8 and Sigma ART 35mm F1.2). The price was the same. A7 iv had everything better, except the resolution. I finally bought the A7 iv, but I am still not convinced that it was the right decision. However, there's one more thing. A single pixel on the A7 iv is better than a single pixel on A7R iv. This was especially apparent in poor light conditions. So although the A7R iv has two times more pixels, the amount of the details it captured was not two times more, because of the noise and also probably because of the limitation of the lenses and easier stabilization of the A7 iv. Depending on the conditions, it was a little more (but not two times) or the same in poor light.
Top notch as always, even when you are not really interested in a particular camera. It's always nice to watch a well done review in a world so full of shills.
Great video! I Currently own both and can attest to these results. However, not requiring a ton of video capabilities, I will be returning the A7IV. I shoot a lot of wildlife (mostly birds) and you cannot beat the amount of crop you receive with the RIV. Buffer speed hasn't affected me as much as I thought it would. I'll keep this until hopefully an RV comes out with CFExpress, lossless compressed, and bird eye tracking. Then this camera will be perfect for stills.
Sony A7RIV/A7RIVA are the BEST for still Photography if you want fx an image of a Landscape in a very large print ! I do 99.99% of my focusing manual and I NEVER use video, so I cannot see the point with the A7IV, I think that the A7IV are too expensive, much more expensive than the A7III was. I have a Sony A7RIV and a Sony A7RIVA, I love them very much and I can very highly recommend them !
You will not see a difference in prints. Check some guy his youtube video he compared 12MP A7SIII prints with Hasselblad 100MP prints. Most people thought the Sony was sharper.
my apologies you did briefly i m sorry . thanks for the information. i was undecided about which version to get , now i will just get the a7r4 thanks a lot
Thank you for the Video - i found it very helpfull. I have a 7III and probably i will buy a second camera for using for events. Then i didn't need to change the lenses during the event. The price is nearly the same (A7IV 2.800 Euro, A7RIV 3.300 Euro) - espacially when I consider, that the CF-Cards for the A7IV are at a very high price. Using 2 CF-cards in te A7IV for a backup isn't possible, when using 2 SD-cards the buffer of the A7IV isn't big enough: the A7RIV can take more (and each one with nearly double MPs) frames as the (newer) A7IV. I think, for me the A7RIV will be the better camera.
If you want to take high res photos of stills (landscape), you can always make panoramas by stiching photos. With my Sony A7III I could easily create high res prints to A2. The AIV will even extand the capabilities. And if you are a hobby photographer....how will you argument the higher res?
I have zero experience with underwater photography so I’m probably not the best person to give you an advice on this. I think they can both do well, considering the investment for a good housing and a good lens, perhaps it makes sense to get the A7 IV. But other people might be able to give you more information.
Good review Mathieu! One of the first reviews where the autofocus of these cameras is compared with practical results. Was looking for this kind of comparison.
I'm thinking now that such good image resizing programs are available, there is no need for higher megapixels unless ones workflow is concentrated on super high res photography and videography
Thank you Mathieu for your reviews!…could you speak to the speed of actions like waiting to review a picture, lag times after adjusting exp compensation or start up speeds for both… I have an a7r2 and it is frustratingly slow in these areas… and want to avoid that problem if i upgrade.
Start up can still be a bit slow, but I'd say it has improved over the 2nd generation. I haven't noticed any lag time when adjusting exposure compensation, or at least not to the point of bothering me.
I think Sony messed up by not allowing the A7R4 to lower the raw shooting capability to 40, or lower. It should have offered at least 3 settings. Csnon has this in most models I know of.61mp maybe very important for many situations, but not all, and its important to be able to use it with lower resolution , specialy for faster shooting or more room, etc.
The resolutions are very similar so the comparison are in video and speed and the A1 is simply better. My A7R IV is an unreal camera, but using it for fast action it is simply too slow, I set animal eye tracking and it locks onto the subject and gives me the eye box, but even with a slow moving subject it back focused every shot because the focus simply can not keep up. This is with a very shallow depth of field though with a close subject, with the subject further away it nails focus on every shot.
Funny I actually like the older color palette more, mostly for portraits. The new colors seem too yellow I comparison. Sony should stop tweaking the colors indefinitely and finally adopt their own signature.
If i am using A7R2, should I upgrade to A7R4 rather than A74? I am enjoying with A7R2 42mp but its focusing performance lag behind recent mirrorless camera. Especial when shooting kids
Thank you for your hard work you did an amazing job 👍 but I still cannot decide which one to buy especially with the R currently on sale on B&H and then RV is expected to be announced soon 🤦♂️
Not sure when the R5 will arrive. It depends on where you priorities are: - image quality with lots of details? A7R IV - more advanced video, better AF? A7 IV Personally, I think the A7 IV covers 99% of our needs.
Great comparison thank you. I am about to upgrade my 7iii but recent videos like this are making me lean towards the Riv rather than the iv I originally planned, mainly due to the resolution and the abilty as a prime lens user to heavily crop. I like the idea of the better screen and evf too. My biggest concern is file size though. I have an x360 HP with 2tb of space and 16gb RAM. So, plenty of space but will I face long delays in Lightroom? Any thoughts out there? Oh, I never use video.
Hmm, not sure honestly, I'm not an expert when it comes to computers. I can only compare with my older Macbook Pro (2018 model), and the A7R IV files worked fine in Lightroom. I suggest you ask in forums, hopefully you'll find someone that uses the camera with the same computer you have, or one that is comparable in specs.
Full credit to Sony in making 4K video look like 1080p . I don’t think many people care as long as they have 2 card slots and a big grip and a full size HDMI and a sixty fps without a crop and dynamic range 15 stops and AI autofocus,nobody cares about the actual resolution or photos which is why we buy an expensive camera and lenses.
I bought A7 IV with intend to replace A7R IV and ended up sold A7 IV instead. A7 IV auto focus is better and 33MP is more enough but there is one show stop issue is RAW file not supported by Apple IOS. I don’t like flip screen anyway, so decided to keep A7R IV and no regret.
Thanks for your work! Ive spent a lot of time searching useful info about A7RIV amd A7IV specs. You make it easier to decide but still im a bit confused so ill ask your opinion here. Im shooting only birds, BIF and still but after a lot of research im still unsure. Plan A: A7IV with 200-600 + 1.4 TC Plan B: A7RIV with 200-600 +1.4 TC Which one do you suggest and why? Thanks in advance!
15:20 like most RU-vidrs you assume we can see a IQ difference at 100% but most of us watch this on a tiny 720p mobile phone screen. You need to zoom in 400%
@@nubscrub A7 IV has better ergonomics, updated colors, faster af, faster storage, flip screen and better video. A7RIV has more pixels, but 99% of the people don't need that.
I did the same almost as you did. I received the 7R4 then viewed this video, then decided to return it untouched (I never opened the box) for exchange of A74 with a 80G CFA bundle, which will be arriving hopefully tomorrow. Cheers!
Thank you for this video! I'm an influencer and shoot with the Sony A7R mark 2 and hate the slow autofocus. Unfortunately, I still don't know whether it's A7 IV or A7R IV. I rely a lot on resolution but also on fast autofocus because a lot of images have to look authentic. Can you give me a tip which camera would be better?
what about shutter lag. A7iii was a stinker for that, lab testing said it was good but in the field it was fantastic at snapshots of the past. Great for American politics
I've just purchased a Sony A7R IV for £1500 brand new. I don't know too much about these cameras, but didn't want to overthink things, I haven't had a DSLR for over 10 years and am excited to be getting back into Photography. Yes, it's now a 3 year old camera, and there will always be better and better cameras, but for the price, and the kind of photography I will be doing (Landscape and maybe Street Photography) I am more than happy with my purchase. I will be buying a 16-35mm f2.8 and think that'll all be a nice set up. FYI, my previous DSLR was a Nikon D700 which I sold around 2013 (and which cost me £1700 brand new when I bought it in 2010 - so not bad price I paid for the A7r IV me thinks :) ).
I own both. The A7RIV is better ONLY if you need the resolution. Oddly enough the A7RIV can shoot 10fps & the A7IV can't (that's unacceptable). The insanely large files the A7RIV create are unusable unless you're a pro, you can't use them online without severe downgrades. The A7IV is AMAZING in lowlight, the A7RIV is absolutely terrible.
Stop looking at 100% magnification looking for noise and you'll be fine. One camera cannot be amazing and the other absolutely terrible. That is complete nonsense, you are not comparing a FF and a m43 sensor...
Light Image Resizer. Compress the images, and you're done. I compress all images on my laptop. Quality is pretty much the same, file size is reduced by 80 to 95%, depending on how much I like the image =).
I have the A7rivA and use it mostly for wildlife. Looking to switch to the A7IV asi like the articulated screen and it has better autofocus but I'm unsure if I'd miss the pixels.
I have both and use it for the same thing. Don't do it. The RIV wins hands down. The autofocus does not compensate enough for the pixel loss and dynamic range. Just my opinion.
If you use a zoom lens like 200-600mm with a TC then the A7 IV is the winner since the AF will be superior. But ofc the RIV has more cropping capabilities. For prints, even 12MP photos can be printed on huuuge formats. So 33 is more than enough.
I feel like instead of only discussing MegaPixels in relation to image quality and printing we should also talk about the sensor and the end result regarding sharpness and overall quality. 33 is plenty. Cropping in is fantastic. But some cameras just take better images.
Great comparison, thanks! Do you have any figure for the shutter life expectancy for the A7iv? I know the A7R series is rated for 500.000 shots but I can't find any info about the A7iv.
Image quality is the same, whereas the A7R V has more to offer for video (10-bit internal recording, 8K, 4K 60p etc.). The autofocus of the mark V version is a step up, the EVF is larger with more resolution, so all in all I would say the A7R V if the better choice.
Thank you for such a great review! Can I ask which one you would recommend for someone just beginning their photography journey? These are the 2 I’m deciding between, happy to invest in GM glass but undecided on the body due to high MP and file size but also is it worth the extra $ with the features on the IV for someone who’s new? 😅
Don't think about it too much, and get the one that costs less. If you're just starting in photography, either of these are more than you need. Enjoy the journey and the learning process, I'm sure you'll have a great time either way.
Edit: some grammar errors! @@cjtubongbanua2367, it depends on your use case. If you need high resolution work and need to crop in, A7R4 but buy it used on Ebay or aftermarket. You can get it about same price as new A74. I got mine for $2600. If you’re a hybrid shooter and need both stills and videos, then A74. I also have both of them and use them as the design was intended for. I see a lot of users use it not for its strengths but for its weakness. Part of this to blame is Sony Marketing doesn’t do a good job to provide a buyer’s guide for their customers so they leave it to mostly user errors to determine the narrative. For example, why would you buy the A7S3 for stills. But if you shoot only video, it’s A7S3 or FX3? For sports or wildlife where subjects or animals are fast moving, you need the A1 (if you have the money) or the A9i/9ii, not the A7R4/4a. Good luck!
As always a really informative review! Nice to see that you guys own films by the great filmdirectors of the past. I sometimes feel like a dying breed in these Netlflix ages...
Have you encounter eye af focussing on the eye lash? Mine always focus on the eye lash not on the iris. Also the LCD freezes sometimes. Is it possible that firmware update would fix this in the future? Thanks
That’s a shame. I never had a problem with my copy of the A7 IV, even before the firmware update. I know about it because other people asked me about this, and also DPreview wrote about it. Not sure why some users are affected. Could it be related to certain lenses, perhaps?
Thank you Mathieu for the excellent analysis. A friend of mine is offering me the A7R lVa in a very low price and he didn´t use the camera. Here in Argentina it is too expensive to buy one. I´m a film maker not a photographer. Questions: 1) Did you record with the A7R lV in 4K in a place where the temperature was 30ºC? You compare both cameras recording at 21ºC I remember. 2) If you use the A7R lV in 100fps ¿does the sensor crop the image? It is happens to me with my A7 Sll.
What amazed me about your comparative review in reference to the Sony a7iv, there was NO mention of OVERHEATING when shooting video for an extended period of time. Many other reviewers & recent owners have complained about overheating issues of the Sony a7iv. Have you really tested this camera in real life shoots, or are u just going off printed specs from Sony? Please let us know.
You’re wrong. I DO mention overheating and also SHOW YOU the camera’s LCD with the recording time exceeding TWO HOURS. How about you REALLY watch the review, instead of questioning if I really tested the camera?
