It had been pipe-dream for a long time — climb the 13,700 feet to Teakettle Mountain in the Colorado Rockies and photograph the bizarre natural arch at the summit of the mountain. This arch is a perfect eye in the rock, big enough to put your body through. It’s a cinematographer’s dream but also a nightmare due to the altitude and three-hour approach scrambling up loose rock slopes. This was the testing ground we pitted the new Sony Alpha 7 IV Camera against while shooting a segment of the new launch video. This was a verifiable test to see how it would compare to the other cameras we had been shooting.
To be perfectly honest, after spending much time using the Venice, Alpha 1, a7R IV, and a7S III and knowing that the new Sony a7IV was a bit more “pro-sumer,” my expectations weren’t as high. I was expecting a throttled back feature set and sub-tier performance considering the price point. However, in using this new camera in a professional setting, I found my preceding notions to be the furthest thing from reality. Here are a few points on the features of the camera.
Ergonomics
The camera fits perfectly in your hand just like its older brothers and sisters. There’s not much to say here other than perfect. I do appreciate the general continuity in size across the Alpha line over the last couple of years.
Ruggedness
I was curious if this body had the same weatherproofing as its bigger brother and sister cameras in the line. After getting caught in the rain and snow on this adventure, I can confidently say it passed the test. The buttons are actually more minimal than the other models, which is huge for us because it means there are less places for water to get in.
Image Quality
The 33 MP sensor on the Sony a7IV is a nice upgrade and fits beautifully in between the A7sIII and the A1. It gives you all of the necessary resolution needed to make prints while saving drive space. Also, the image quality is extremely clean. The blacks are true and the highlight management and dynamic range is exceptional.
The camera handles low light better than expected. It’s obviously not the A7SIII due to the smaller pixel micron size, but the processing is beautiful even at higher ISO’s. I would rate it just below the A1 but still, as a lowlight photographer, I’m impressed. Outside of low light-specific work, I would choose this camera for photography. I did not expect this.
Conclusion
Overall, the camera exceeded my expectations in just about every way. Compared to the last in its line, it’s a very strong improvement. When considering the vast majority of consumers, this camera will give them a taste of the A1 and the A7s3 without the expense. For me, as a professional, I never would have thought that I needed this in my bag but I have been proven wrong. Gram for gram, dollar for dollar — in my opinion — the Sony a7IV has the highest value in the Alpha line. I hope this gets in the hands of a lot of up-and-coming creators who will use it for positive change and all their adventure dreams.
The new Sony Alpha 7 IV Camera will be available for preorder soon.
