Sony’s got a new member of its Alpha 7 range after announcing its new A7 IV full-frame mirrorless camera. If you’re looking to buy one, it’ll set you back at least R37,000 ($2,500) — local pricing hasn’t been revealed yet but Sony’s hardware will probably justify the cash.
A7 IV in our veins
In terms of design, it’s fairly similar to the Sony A7 III released at around this time last year, though it shares more of its layout with the A7S III. Internally, though, there’s a whole lot more going on. Sony has sprung for an all-new 33MP backside-illuminated sensor, powered by the Alpha One’s BIONZ R image processor, to deliver a camera that’ll capture 4K video at 60fps. Which is one way to make it attractive to content producers around the world.
The A7 IV takes snaps at ‘just’ 10fps, which is the same speed seen in the A7 III, but it’s capable of handling up to 828 RAW+JPEG images in a burst as long as users have a CFexpress Type A in the slot that supports it. There’s a secondary card slot that only takes SDXC UHS-II cards. The 3.68-million dot electronic viewfinder refreshes at 120Hz, the LCD rear screen flips out and there’s also five-axis in-body stabilisation for those lacking steady hands.
It’s the video where Sony’s newest Alpha 7 really shines. Previous models were capped at 4K at 30fps, with 8-bits of colour support. The A7 IV still only shoots at 4K but your video will run at 60fps and 10-bit colour depth. There’s no support for 16-bit RAW, but human and animal eye-tracking for video — a first for Sony — might go some way towards making up for that.
The $2,500 price for Sony’s new full-frame shooter is for the body only, but there’s also a kit version coming that ships with a 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens. Sony’s hardware is expected to hit the market in December this year.
