Sony A7R V verdict
Summary
On paper, the Sony A7R V is just brilliant. Is there anything this camera can’t do? From 8K video, to nex-gen AI subject recognition to 10fps with a massive buffer to that class-leading 61MP sensor. But are some issues, for me. The first is that this is a high-res camera spearing off into different almost unrelated territories. The second is that Sony’s lazy physical design is unappealing and doesn’t play to this camera’s strengths. Yes, lazy.
For
+61 million pixels
+10fps shooting with a giant buffer
+8K video
+Vari-angle screen
Against
-8K at 24p only
-The best AF tech in the wrong camera?
-Confuses Sony camera choice even more
-Generic physical design
The Sony A7R V is the company’s ‘resolution’ camera. That’s its speciality. However, this latest version muddies the waters somewhat with 10fps shooting inherited from the A7R IV but a much bigger buffer, and a new AI-powered AF subject recognition system better than anything else in the Sony range.
You might buy this camera for its 61MP sensor alone, but the high-speed shooting, 8K video and AI AF might make you choose it over other Sony ’specialists’ in the range. The Sony A1 has faster shooting and better video but less resolution, the A7S III is the video specialist but can’t go higher than 4K, the A9 II is the sports specialist but doesn’t have the A7R V’s AI AF. If you’re shopping for a pro Sony camera good luck. You’d better be good with bullet points and spreadsheets and multifactorial analysis.
I have written a hands-on review of the Sony A7R V on Digital Camera World, but you can find some of those opinions expanded on in more depth here.
Specifications
Sensor: 61MP back-illuminated APS-C Exmor R CMOS
Image processor: BIONZ XR + AI unit
ISO range: 100-32,000
Shutter speeds: 1/8000-30sec
Image stabilization: 5-axis IBIS, Active mode, up to 8 stops
Max image size: 9,504 × 6336 pixels
Max video resolution: 8K 24p
Continuous shooting: 10fps
Viewfinder: 9,444k dot EVF, 0.9x magnification
LCD: Tilting/vari-angle touchscreen, 3.1-inch, 2,095k dot
Memory: 2x SD UHS-II/CFexpress Type A
Key features
The standout feature of the whole A7R series has been resolution, and the A7R V doesn’t disappoint. Well, it does and it doesn’t. The resolution is the same as the A7R IV before it, so if that’s your main criterion, you won’t be especially impressed. 61MP is, however, a lot by any standards, so maybe we didn’t need more.
The 10fps continuous shooting is impressive too, though if that’s what you need, I think I’d lean more towards the Sony A9 II or – if you can afford it – the Sony A1. Nevertheless, 10fps for a 61MP camera is pretty remarkable, and even though the A7R IV did this already, the A7R V strikes back with a buffer 8x deeper. The old camera was fast in short bursts; this one is fast in loooong bursts.
The new AI autofocus system is also impressive, with the ability to recognize and track a whole range of subjects, including human body poses. What seems odd to me is that it should be introduced on a camera like this – but Sony may be doing what Nikon used to do, and introducing its best and latest tech on whatever camera happens to be next due for an update.
And then there’s the 8K video. It sounds like this should put the A7R V right at the cutting edge of video tech, though it’s not quite that simple. The 8K capture is more a by-product of the sensor resolution rather than a feature sought and delivered for its own sake. At this resolution, the A7R V has to work to a 1.2x crop and a 24fps maximum frame rate. It ticks the 8K box, but it’s far from convincing.
To me, it’s as if Sony has extended the A7R V in a whole bunch of directions it didn’t need to go. There are, however, some physical improvements too.
Build and handling
Physically, the A7R V is almost identical to the A7R IV before it, but with key differences in the viewing systems. First, the A7R V has Sony’s best and sharpest 9,444k dot EVF, which really is in a league of its own. Second, it has a flip-out vari-angle screen, a huge improvement over the tilting screen on the older camera.
There’s also a new Still/Video/S&Q lever stacked under the main mode dial, though to me, this doesn’t go far enough. This is a 10fps speed specialist, so shouldn’t this be on the drive mode lever too?
This is my criticism of the camera as a whole – there’s nothing in its exterior design to reflect or give more direct access to the A7R V’s specific capabilities. Instead, Sony will say its extensive custom button support will place every feature you need at your fingertips and can be adapted to any user and use case as a result.
I don’t agree. I think Sony’s designed one body, won’t invest in modifying it camera-by-camera and is dumping all the work on to the user. I know other people who love customising buttons, though, so this is just an opinion.
You may have gathered that I don’t like Sony camera design very much, and that’s true. I’ve used and tested every Sony mirrorless camera made so far (I think I may have skipped the A9 II) and to me they all share the same faults – a short grip that only lets you get three fingers around the camera and a generic control layout that’s utterly charmless. I bought and use a Sony A7R II for its resolution, but I don’t enjoy using it any more than I would enjoy driving a van.
I also bought a grip for my A7R II, not because I needed the extended battery life (useful as it is!) or the vertical controls, but because this camera (and its stablemates) are quite unpleasant to hold and use with big pro lenses without it. And Sony’s pro lenses are big.
Performance
I can’t fault anything about the A7R V’s performance. Its still image resolution is exceptional, its color rendition and exposure are fine. I didn’t test the 8K video because I don’t have computer hardware powerful enough for 8K editing and I don’t want to start messing with proxies – not if 24p is the only option. For good quality oversampled 4K you have to swap to a Super35 crop, which is hardly cutting edge, and makes the A7R V less appealing for 4K video than the much cheaper A7 IV, say, or even the A7C.
The AI autofocus works brilliantly, though there is a practical issue in that if you’ve got human selection switched on, it will always lock on to any humans in the frame. That’s annoying if you’re shooting a mix of people and object shots, for example at a wedding. No doubt there’s a button I can customize to temporarily disable/enable it as required.
Verdict
I have to give the Sony A7R V a good rating because it’s so very good at everything. This is the problem with rating products based on what they can do. The issues I have with the A7R V are not how well it does things, but why Sony had to pack in so much tech – at our expense – that we might not actually need or want. Often, camera users want one thing, not EVERYTHING.
The other problem is the whole buying decision. If somebody asks me which Sony camera to buy, I can’t tell them, because they all cannibalize each other’s features. Sports? So that would be the A9 II, except that the A1 is faster and the A7R V has the latest AF. Resolution? So that would be the A7R V, except that the A7R IV is just as good. Video? Obviously the A7S III, though both the A7R V and A1 will capture 8K not 4K and the Sony FX30 (don’t even GO there) is as good or better and cheaper.
Sorry, Sony, but it is a bit of a mess.