Episode 3 of my irregular photo journal - This time with the new and hot Sony A7 IV
My first “proper” digital camera was a Sony. It was one of the first Sony DSLRs the company made called a200. My brother gave me this 8-megapixel beast roughly around the year 2010. I remember that the maximum ISO value on it was 800 and that I didn’t even have anything to edit RAW files with, so I just shot JPEG. Since then I had some Canons before I went Fujifilm all the way which is now my camera system of choice since 2014 when I started on the X-A1 and the X-Pro1. That choice has never felt wrong to me.
That being said I do like to play with different kinds of cameras when I get the chance and working in multiple camera stores for the last decade has definitely allowed me to do so pretty well. This lets me not have the typical buyer’s defensive attitude towards any brand or camera system. Except maybe Phase One there is not a single camera system out there I haven’t been able to try well enough to decide whether it is or isn’t the right choice for me. I shot a fair amount on Nikons, Canons, Panasonics, Leicas, and on, and on… One system in particular just never really sat well with me. Sony mirrorless. I can’t quite put a finger on the reason why though. When you read the specs on paper they’re terrific pieces of gear that would excite any camera nerd. When the A7 III came out being labelled by Sony as the “basic model” whilst outperforming many pro bodies on the market we were all just eagerly anticipating what the “non-basic” cameras do. Performance-wise Sony cameras are incredible machines and they do get the job done well. So why the hell do dislike using them so much?
I still don’t know what it was, but I think they fixed it. Because I loved using the new A7 IV. It felt great in my hand. The size and grip were just right (I mean, my main camera is the X-Pro3 so I am hardly the authority on camera grips with that brick as my daily), the new menu was finally making sense, the touch controls and the buttons were just so goddamn fluid and well thought out. Even the viewfinder, which was rather sad on the third generation, felt so much better. Don’t even get me started on the new AF system. It makes every other camera I’ve used until that point feel ancient. It is the same processor and AF system as the £6,499 Sony A1. When you tell it to track, it tracks. No hiccups, no breathing, no delays. Nothing. Just flawless. And I used it with the G-master 50mm f1.2 beast, which should not be a fast-focusing lens according to its equivalent units from the competition. It even felt lazy or too easy to shoot with at points. I didn’t have to worry about AF a single time during my time with it. It always did exactly what I intended to. I’ve only had it for a weekend for now, but I already know I’m going to borrow it again multiple times.
The only aspect I didn’t enjoy too much was the screen mechanism. I much prefer using a tilt screen compared to the flip one. Sony has to pander to the vloggers somehow though.
But by hot Sony A7 IV, I didn’t mean fast-selling even though it definitely is. I meant it literally gets hot. Too hot. When you’re in video mode the camera occasionally overheats and turns off only a few minutes into recording just 8-bit 1080p or even after just navigating the menus. I’ve seen multiple instances of the camera returning to the shop exactly for that reason. It’s a damn shame considering how great it is to use and the quality of the output. It’s not all doom and gloom though. The heat issues only show up in video modes, stills mode is unaffected and I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony was working on a firmware fix. The same processor is running inside of the A1 with no heat issues after all.
Is it a hit or a miss? I don’t know. If Sony manages to fix the heat issue then we’re looking at a certain winner. Not all units seem to be affected by this though so the people who already have theirs and are not experiencing this have a reason to celebrate. Good for you people. Have fun with it. I know I did.
The following images were all taken using the A7 IV and the 50mm f1.2 GM lens.
