For the past few months, the rumor mill has been churning out teasers and drips of the purported next-generation Sony a7 camera. Now, Sony has officially announced the new jack-of-all-trades camera, the Sony a7V. For Sony photographers seeking an upgrade to their now four-year-old body, the new a7V offers many of the features of the Sony a9III and a1II in a more compact and budget-friendly package. But will it deliver?
Sony’s a7 V: A Faster a7 IV or Cheaper a1 II?
Depending on who you are and what you’re looking for, the Sony a7IV is either a much faster option or a much more affordable alternative to the a1II. This is all in no small part thanks to Sony’s introduction of the partially stacked, 33-megapixel Exmor RS sensor and its pairing with the BIONZ XR processor in the a7V, which reportedly delivers up to 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter without any blackouts. This boost in processing speed promises not only to deliver faster shutter speeds and readout, but also vastly improve the camera’s autofocusing capabilities. According to a company representative, the result will be autofocusing speeds similar to those of the Sony a9III or Sony a1II – a very strong claim, given that I have used a Sony a7-series camera for both personal and professional purposes for years.
Another feature coming over from Sony’s flagship lines is Image Pre-Capture, which allows you to capture up to one second of images prior to pressing the shutter. During our briefing with Sony, their representative noted that this feature was introduced in the a7V in direct response to customers’ requests for a better entry camera for action sports and wildlife. A claim that I look forward to testing in real-world scenarios.
The Sony a7V is a camera intended for the advanced hobbyist who primarily shoots still images.
In terms of physical changes, Sony states that they’ve improved the grip of the camera over the a7IV by incorporating the same-sized grip that is found in the a7RV. It’s a small creature comfort that I wholly welcome as one of my literal pain points with the a7-series has been its ergonomics. The Sony a7V will also feature a new, fully articulating 4-axis LCD monitor on the rear, which can be set up for vertical or waist-level shots.
Lastly, the new a7V will feature two user-assignable USB-C ports, and a full-sized HDMI connection – the latter of which is a godsend if you use your cameras as a webcam or streaming device. That’s a feature that brands like LUMIX and Nikon have had for years now.
Big Claims, Interesting Choices, and Quiet Reservation
While speaking with Sony, one comment kept coming up, and I’ll paraphrase it thusly: The Sony a7V is a camera intended for the advanced hobbyist who primarily shoots still images. While the camera is packed with numerous video features, including Sony’s Dynamic Active Mode (read: enhanced digital image stabilization) and Auto-framing (borrowed from their ZV line of cameras), the company has omitted some key features that more video-centric consumers are looking for, such as open-gate video recording. Considering that this camera will be in direct competition with cameras like the Nikon Z6 III, the Canon R6 Mark III, and (to a lesser extent) the Panasonic LUMIX S5 II, a sub-$3k full-frame Sony camera without Open Gate for video seems like an odd choice. Additionally, Sony’s use of “AI-powered Autofocusing System” leaves me with more questions about what’s actually happening under the hood. If I were given the option, I’d prefer a robust look-up table that the processor can use to make calculations on its subject, rather than actual AI that pings a database in the cloud and uses my information, and frankly, my subjects’ information, to train an algorithm. The latter of which sounds like a personal identifiable information nightmare. If this is simply marketing speak, then I truly wonder how it will perform in real-world situations, especially when people of color are the primary subject in low light situations.
While I want to believe that the company has made these decisions to directly focus on the camera’s still image capabilities, I can’t help but feel like this might be a cover for not putting in every feature that the “content creator” community they built has been demanding in the next Sony a7 camera. Let’s hope that the new sensor and processor can truly wow us.
Sony a7V Key Features
- 33-megapixel Exmor R2 CMOS Sensor
- BIONZ XR Processor
- Up to 30 frames per second electronic shutter speed with Image Pre-Capture and Speed Boost
- 16-stop dynamic range
- 5-axis In-body Image Stabilization with up to 7.5 stop compensation
- 4-axis, fully articulating LCD Monitor
- $2,899