Earlier this week, Sony announced the launch of their latest generation of the Sony alpha 7 series camera, the Sony a7V. Fans of the a7 series have been waiting on Sony’s next-generation “do-it-all” camera, but there may be some trouble in paradise if you’re using third-party lenses with the new camera. Does this mean that Sony is discontinuing access to its popular camera system, similar to Canon? Not quite but let me explain.
The (Third-)Party’s Over?
This week, several outlets and social media content creators began receiving their review copies of the Sony a7V. Sony Alpha Rumors has reported that YouTube personality Kai Wong discovered an issue where Chinese-made third-party lenses were not being recognized by the camera and would not allow the camera to activate the shutter. In short, when paired with a third-party lens, your new $2900 camera could become a very silly-looking paperweight. The immense impact of such a change on Sony’s FE platform would be devastating to many photographers who have come to rely on the Sony full-frame E-mount platform, signaling a very anti-consumer shift by the company.
…we’re beholden to you, dear reader, and not an algorithm.
Our Testing So Far
We at The Phoblographer also received our A7V this past Tuesday and have begun testing the camera with both Sony and third-party lenses. So far, we have successfully used the Sony a7V with the Viltrox 85mm F2.8 EVO, Viltrox 135mm F1.8 LAB, and AF 28mm F4.5 lenses, as well as the Sony 24-105mm F4 G OSS lens. With only a full day with the camera, our testing hasn’t been the most intensive yet, but we can confirm that the camera has been working consistently and without issue using both original Sony-branded lenses as well as Viltrox lenses (a Chinese lens manufacturer).
Here are some shots shot with the three Viltrox lenses mentioned above, all images are SooC jpeg files:
While Sony has agreements with various third-party manufacturers to produce auto-focusing lenses for their E-Mount cameras, Sony (and every other camera manufacturer) has never guaranteed that a lens or other accessory will work on their cameras. I’ve encountered that issue when testing Canon cameras and non-Canon strobes, as well as Nikon and non-Nikon lenses. Yes, when I first bought my Viltrox AF 14mm F4 AIR, I needed to wait for a Viltrox firmware update before it worked with my Sony a7III. All of which is to say, even when manufacturers allow other companies to make lenses and accessories for their products, there’s never a guarantee that things will work or work well when they do – just look at the Zeiss Loxia lenses.
While I don’t doubt that Kai and others might find that some, or even all, third-party lenses will not work on a camera that was just announced, it is something to consider when buying any new piece of gear – sometimes it pays off to wait for the dust to settle before you pony up nearly $3k. As for the team here at The Phoblographer, we will ensure that we test this camera with every possible combination of camera and lens that we can get our hands on. We’ll be sure to report fairly and honestly on how it performs, because unlike clout-chasing content creators (not throwing shade at Kai – I don’t know him and I like his channel), we’re beholden to you, dear reader, and not an algorithm.