Sony a7r3 vs Sony a7r4 - upgrade or not?

[TonySferrazza]

Has anyone traded up to the Sony a7RM4 from the Sony a7RM3?  If so, what is your pros and cons of doing so? 

Any insight in:  IQ, ergonomics, file/data handling & buffering, and focus speed and accuracy, low-light and high-ISO noise

Thank you in advance!!

[PHDX]

Hi,I did do it and in a nutshell here are my pros and cons :

Pros :

- IQ is outstanding and better than the A7RIII . Let's be clear : the A7RIII is quite a good camera, but the MKIV gives even more detailed pictures. It is really impressive.

- The pixelshift is quite good and give outstanding results under good conditions.

- Focus speed and accuracy is excellent and eye / face detection works extremely well. 

- The IBIS is excellent : I was fearing some issues with hand held shoots, but it works quite well. I am impressed.

- The ergonomics are better on the A7RIV : I like very much the new grip, the new buttons, SD cards slot and the quality of the viewfinder.

 

Cons :

- Noise is coming earlier when increasing your ISO,  which by the way is not a surprise : the pixels are smaller. Same thing for diffraction. The 61 MP sensor is also more sensitive to shake than the 42 MP one. But so far, I did not find all that as a real issue.

- Linked to the comment above, you need to pair your 61 MP sensor with the very best lenses : it has a cost if you are not already equiped with a top class gear. 

- The use of SDXC class II cards is highly recommended if you want a good data transfer. And a good PC / laptop is welcome. I have no issue with mine using Capture One, but it is a high end gamer one chosen on purpose. 

- If you don't go beyond the A3 format printing or don't need to crop significantly, the 61 MP may be of little use.

- If you sell your A7RIII and buy the A7RIV, it is not a cheap switch.

 

All in all, do not be misleaded by the "cons" :  I have absolutely no regrets for having done the switch. The A7RIV has such a great potential !

 

 

[Chrissie]

1 hour ago, PHDX said:

If you sell your A7RIII and buy the A7RIV, it is not a cheap switch

I'm seriously considering being on the receiving end of such a deal. Not trading in my a9, but rather buying a used a7riii as a 2nd body ...  ?

[TonySferrazza]

On 10/11/2019 at 12:21 PM, PHDX said:

Hi,I did do it and in a nutshell here are my pros and cons :

Pros :

- IQ is outstanding and better than the A7RIII . Let's be clear : the A7RIII is quite a good camera, but the MKIV gives even more detailed pictures. It is really impressive.

- The pixelshift is quite good and give outstanding results under good conditions.

- Focus speed and accuracy is excellent and eye / face detection works extremely well. 

- The IBIS is excellent : I was fearing some issues with hand held shoots, but it works quite well. I am impressed.

- The ergonomics are better on the A7RIV : I like very much the new grip, the new buttons, SD cards slot and the quality of the viewfinder.

 

Cons :

- Noise is coming earlier when increasing your ISO,  which by the way is not a surprise : the pixels are smaller. Same thing for diffraction. The 61 MP sensor is also more sensitive to shake than the 42 MP one. But so far, I did not find all that as a real issue.

- Linked to the comment above, you need to pair your 61 MP sensor with the very best lenses : it has a cost if you are not already equiped with a top class gear. 

- The use of SDXC class II cards is highly recommended if you want a good data transfer. And a good PC / laptop is welcome. I have no issue with mine using Capture One, but it is a high end gamer one chosen on purpose. 

- If you don't go beyond the A3 format printing or don't need to crop significantly, the 61 MP may be of little use.

- If you sell your A7RIII and buy the A7RIV, it is not a cheap switch.

 

All in all, do not be misleaded by the "cons" :  I have absolutely no regrets for having done the switch. The A7RIV has such a great potential !

 

 

Thank you for your insight!!

I took the plunge!  I await arrival...

What glass are pairing it with?

[TonySferrazza]

On 10/11/2019 at 1:29 PM, Chrissie said:

I'm seriously considering being on the receiving end of such a deal. Not trading in my a9, but rather buying a used a7riii as a 2nd body ...  ?

Depreciating so quickly, you will get a steal...I'll keep mine!

[Landshark]

I gave my A7RIIIs to my daughters who are thrilled and I have upgraded to the A7RIVs, love them, and while the the IIIs were great the IVs are just a better camera overall, the ergonomics are much better the IQ is outstanding, the small increase in noise is slight and for me a non issue. Love them but as said earlier here for some the 61 mp  maybe overkill. The A7RIII is still an outstanding camera.

[tomcat]

On 10/11/2019 at 6:21 PM, PHDX said:

Hi,I did do it and in a nutshell here are my pros and cons :

Pros :

- IQ is outstanding and better than the A7RIII . Let's be clear : the A7RIII is quite a good camera, but the MKIV gives even more detailed pictures. It is really impressive.

- The pixelshift is quite good and give outstanding results under good conditions.

- Focus speed and accuracy is excellent and eye / face detection works extremely well. 

- The IBIS is excellent : I was fearing some issues with hand held shoots, but it works quite well. I am impressed.

- The ergonomics are better on the A7RIV : I like very much the new grip, the new buttons, SD cards slot and the quality of the viewfinder.

 

Cons :

- Noise is coming earlier when increasing your ISO,  which by the way is not a surprise : the pixels are smaller. Same thing for diffraction. The 61 MP sensor is also more sensitive to shake than the 42 MP one. But so far, I did not find all that as a real issue.

- Linked to the comment above, you need to pair your 61 MP sensor with the very best lenses : it has a cost if you are not already equiped with a top class gear. 

- The use of SDXC class II cards is highly recommended if you want a good data transfer. And a good PC / laptop is welcome. I have no issue with mine using Capture One, but it is a high end gamer one chosen on purpose. 

- If you don't go beyond the A3 format printing or don't need to crop significantly, the 61 MP may be of little use.

- If you sell your A7RIII and buy the A7RIV, it is not a cheap switch.

 

All in all, do not be misleaded by the "cons" :  I have absolutely no regrets for having done the switch. The A7RIV has such a great potential !

 

 

Yes, the poster hit it.

Ergonomics are better, but an firmware update in menu organizing would be welcome. Especially the back button AF is a pleasure.

You need an superfast Calls II card, mine V60 struggled with video in 4k, so an "V90"  is needed IMO.

You enhance image quality by using "the best" lenses you can get. Not always GM lenses are needed. I´ve tried some lenses  from different manufactuerer, i leaned from  Sonyfriendboys in the last few weeks. My personal findigs in practical usage for landscape and people photography are:

The new Tamron 17-28 III is almost as good as the 16-35GM if you do not need the missing mm in local lenght

Also my 24-105 G compares well with the 24-70 GM

The 100-400mm is optically better than my 200-600, but worser, if I use the 1.4x extender with the 100-400. Also AF gets worser witht he converter added.

The 70-200 4 is as good as the GM version. Only the AF works a little bit faster

My heavy 50mm sigma art lens is still ahead of the Sony model

And the 1.8 85mm compares well to the GM and the Zeiss Batis.

With the 135mm GM I just took some shots, but I´m surprised that it beats the sigma just in AF perfomance, but the shots look equal.

I will look forward on the 65mm Voigtlander macro, a friend ordered it last week.

And my brand new order, the 24mm GM, I´m waiting for.

 

Who is willed to share lens experience with the A7 R IV ? I would like to read...

 

G

Tom

 

[PHDX]

On 10/20/2019 at 11:09 AM, tomcat said:

Yes, the poster hit it.

Ergonomics are better, but an firmware update in menu organizing would be welcome. Especially the back button AF is a pleasure.

You need an superfast Calls II card, mine V60 struggled with video in 4k, so an "V90"  is needed IMO.

You enhance image quality by using "the best" lenses you can get. Not always GM lenses are needed. I´ve tried some lenses  from different manufactuerer, i leaned from  Sonyfriendboys in the last few weeks. My personal findigs in practical usage for landscape and people photography are:

The new Tamron 17-28 III is almost as good as the 16-35GM if you do not need the missing mm in local lenght

Also my 24-105 G compares well with the 24-70 GM

The 100-400mm is optically better than my 200-600, but worser, if I use the 1.4x extender with the 100-400. Also AF gets worser witht he converter added.

The 70-200 4 is as good as the GM version. Only the AF works a little bit faster

My heavy 50mm sigma art lens is still ahead of the Sony model

And the 1.8 85mm compares well to the GM and the Zeiss Batis.

With the 135mm GM I just took some shots, but I´m surprised that it beats the sigma just in AF perfomance, but the shots look equal.

I will look forward on the 65mm Voigtlander macro, a friend ordered it last week.

And my brand new order, the 24mm GM, I´m waiting for.

 

Who is willed to share lens experience with the A7 R IV ? I would like to read...

 

G

Tom

 

You are right, not only the GM lenses can be used with the A7RIV, and we see more and more good E mount lenses coming from other brands such as Sigma or Tamron. 

A few tests with my gear and some family/friends lenses with the A7RIV body :

- I did own the 35 mm Zeiss Loxia and sold it back : too soft with 61MP. I have now the Sony 35 mm F1.8 and it works well. It is may be the best 35 mm prime choice for the RIV body. I tried the Sigma 35 F1.2 which is definitely a high quality lens,  faster and a little sharper than the Sony F1.8 but much too big and heavy to carry in my bag.

- My 24 GM f1.4 gives very good results . It is in my opinion one of the best GM lenses.

- My 50 mm Zeiss Loxia is quite good. I did not expect that and it is a good surprise. I also tested my daughter's Sony 55 mm F1.8 : it is good but not as it is with her A7RII.

Despite the large number of 50 mm lense choices  available on the market, I am still waiting for a very good (not heavy and bulky) one to pair with the A7R IV. 

- The 110 mm Macro Voigtlander, which by the way is one of the sharpest lens (all along the aperture range) I ever owned, behave very well with the R IV.

- The 135 GM behaves also very well. Paired with the R IV, it provides fabulous portrait pictures.

- I do agrre with you for the 100-400 GM. I did not see any issue so far (without the 1.4 converter I also own) except that noise coming earlier with the 61MP sensor, you need good light conditions to shoot clean pictures.

- My daughter's 24 105 Sony seems to behave well. The only drawback is distortion which can be corrected of course but at a price of lower IQ.

- I also tried the 28 75 Tamron from one of my friends and it was surprisingly good : not perfect of course but usable if you are not too demandind for corners sharpness. For family or events pictures, it can be an unexpensive all around lens choice. Tamron seems to do a great job with good quality lenses at affordable prices ( not like the GM lenses).

Philippe