Review: Sony A7R V

The 2019 A7R IV ushered in impressive resolution. Responsive autofocus. And a sturdier body. 

So what direction did Sony take with a camera line already at the top of its class?

Well, the A7R V has been upgraded in several core areas to help it overcome challenging situations.

The newly developed AI processing unit better tracks fleeting subjects like vehicles and insects. The reimagined back screen tilts, twists and flips for greater angle flexibility. And the redesigned sensor stabilisation unit counters 8 stops of camera shake.

But how do all the new specs and features stack up in the field?

For this month-long review, I put the A7R V through its paces across Victoria. To withstand the gusty sand dunes of Wilsons Promontory. To capture curious wallabies on Phillip Island. And to test the handheld stabilisation amongst the Otways forest.

Here’s how it stacked up.

Body

Overall, the A7R V body is a subtle evolution over the previous generation. However, there are a few minor differences—and one major one.

The position of the buttons and dials remain largely unchanged. While the video record button has now moved to the top plate.

The A7R V has had a few connectivity upgrades too. It now sports a full-sized (not micro) HDMI port, while USB-C transfer speeds have doubled to 10Gbps. Plus, Wi-Fi now supports 2x2 MIMO (multiple in, multiple out) to improve wireless tethering. 

The major body change comes in the form of the new fully articulating 4-axis back screen. 

It now tilts, twists and flips out to the side for greater viewability when shooting high, low or vlogging in front of the camera. I found this screen versatility particularly helpful as I crouched down low to photograph wallabies through the grass.  

The EVF isn’t overlooked either. The 9.44 million-dot OLED viewfinder offers 0.90x viewfinder magnification — that’s up from 5.76 million-dot and 0.78x magnification on the A7R IV.

For the menu system, Sony has rearranged options as vertical tabs with sub-categories and sub-menus. It’s not perfect, but it is a solid useability improvement to jump around setting areas on the fly.

On a final note on the body, let’s look back to the original A7R that launched in 2013. The first A7R heralded a new era of full-frame resolution and portability. The body was just 48mm deep and weighed only 465 grams.

Four generations later, the A7R V has been bulked up to 82mm and 723 grams. 

That makes the A7R V thicker than the Canon 5D Mark IV—a full-frame DSLR that was 76mm deep. (While even the A7R IV was a more modest 665 grams.)

That incremental bulk each generation has ushered in many worthwhile perks. Such as the more comfortable grip, sturdier weather sealing, improved connectivity—and the redesigned back screen.

Worthwhile tradeoffs? I’d say so. But today’s pro mirrorless bodies aren’t the svelte units they once were.

Autofocus

The new AI processing unit powers improved subject recognition accuracy and expanded subject recognition options. While the number of phase detection points has shot up from 567 to 693.

In addition to humans, animals and birds, the A7R V now recognises insects, cars, trains and aeroplanes. Plus, heads and bodies are now recognised in addition to eyes for the human, animal, and bird settings. 

To test the improved animal focus, I hiked out to Cape Woolamai on Victoria’s Phillip Island. 

It was early evening as curious wallabies darted around the track and skitted off into the brush. Looking through the EVF, a green box locked on over the wallaby's face, helping to track the creatures through shrubs and grasses. 

The 61MP resolution—introduced in the previous generation—worked a charm too. I only had a 70-200mm lens and couldn’t get closer than about 20m away. But thanks to the reliable focusing, I could still crop in and retain sharp detail at a printable resolution.

Another helpful feature is the new focus bracket drive mode. If you need to focus on near and far subjects—and a narrow aperture won’t work—the a7R V will automatically shoot a series of images as it shifts focus points through the frame. 

Focusing bracketing has already been available on Nikon and Canon bodies. So it’s a welcome addition on this landscape-focused Sony.

Image quality

The A7R V retains the same 61MP sensor as its predecessor. While the improved Bionz XR processor enables complex AI algorithms to improve focus, exposure and white balance. Despite the extra processing power, burst speeds remain largely unchanged from the previous generation.

By far, the most noticeable jump in image quality will come through the updated image stabilisation unit. The new body provides 8 steps of stabilisation to detect and correct camera shake.

The stabilisation worked a treat as I took handheld shots amongst the tree canopies on the Otway Fly walk. There were plenty of people vibrating the elevated walkway and there wasn’t time or space to set up my tripod.

Instead, I bumped up my ISO to 400, used shutter speeds of around 1/40 seconds and regularly captured crisp shots handheld at 200mm. To see how far I could push the stabilisation, I tried one 188mm scene at 1/13 seconds where I got a mix of useable and blurry frames.

If you need to do exposure or focus blends, a tripod is still your best bet for perfectly aligned frames. But the new stabilisation is brilliant for handheld shots on the go.

And if those 61MP RAW files are a bit too much to handle?

The A7R V can now shoot Medium or Small RAW files too. These are 26MP and 15MP downsampled versions of the full frame—which have more detail than images shot with 26MP or 15MP sensors.

Video

Powered by the Bionz XR processor, the A7R V can (at 1.24x crop) shoot 8K video at 24p and 4K video at 60p. (The A7R IV was limited to 4K video at 30p—despite sharing the same 9504x6336 sensor.)

The A7R V now supports 10-bit 4:2:2 video—a welcome improvement on the A7R IV’s 8-bit 4:2:0. While Active SteadyShot offers electronic stabilisation by cropping in to use a changing region of the sensor.

On the hardware side, there’s a new dedicated dial beneath the main mode dial making it easy to switch between stills and video. On the front of the camera the new visible light and IR sensor helps with auto white balance performance.

Wrap-up

So what should we make of the next generation in the A7R line?

On the surface, you can take identical photos on the A7R IV and the A7R V. If you tend to shoot still studio scenes or take steady landscape shots on a tripod, save yourself the money and choose the A7R IV.

But the key word here is can. It doesn’t necessarily mean you will.

Because the A7R V does a much better job of tackling more challenging scenarios, if you’re on the move and need to overcome environmental uncertainties—like heavy winds, fleeting subjects, low-light and slow shutters—the A7R V will handle those tougher situations for you. 

At $5,899 AUD, the Sony A7R V is a pricey piece of gear.

It will take care of (almost) everything for you—so you can focus on capturing the decisive moment with ease. And sometimes, having that confidence behind you is worth every single cent.

The wrap-up

Overall

The A7R V has been upgraded in several core areas to help it overcome challenging situations. If you’re coming from an A7R III or earlier, you’ll find the A7R V a (very) solid upgrade. 

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