Image quality on A7 iv compared to A1?

[Russ]

Hi, OK I know that the A1 is a flagship model and the A7 iv more consumer branded but away from the fact that an A1 should be able to make a cup of tea should there be a great difference in the image quality of a subject taken from the same place with same settings with correct exposure?

Thank you, Russ.

[Pieter]

No.

That being said, there are of course use cases where you might get better pictures using an A1. E.g. if you want to print really large and can thus utilize every pixel you can get. But in that case you'd better get an A7R mk 4 or 5. Or if you benefit from 30 fps shooting, or from a good silent shutter.

[Russ]

Not sure what is going on with the reply from A but sends to Amazon and has nothing to do with the question asked. Thank You, Russ.

[XKAES]

If you read above the "A" -- it says "ADVERTISEMENT".  It's a NON-person -- who pays the bills.

[Russ]

No way is this advertising it is telling me I will find the answer to my question is it not?

[XKAES]

What?  You've never met a salesman that isn't "selling" you something that you don't want?  Where is the closet you have been living in?

Edited February 28 by XKAES

[FunWithCameras]

4 hours ago, Russ said:

No way is this advertising it is telling me I will find the answer to my question is it not?

First time I noticed this I reported it to the admins, and they explained that it was an automatic system that helps pay for the site. I just ignore it.

Regarding your original question: the A7 IV is the latest model in the A7 range. It is meant to be a good general purpose camera - not specialised to any particular purpose. It’s pretty good at that. It used to also be the entry point to Sony’s full frame cameras, but that has gotten confusing with the A7C range. 

Sony’s more expensive cameras are more specialised:

• the A7S is supposed to be “Sensitivity” - it’s more video oriented, but not as much as the FX3
• the A7R is supposed to be “Resolution” - it’s all about the number of pixels
• the A9 is all about SPEED - not a heap of pixels, but really fast (that was complicated for a while but A9 III fixed that!)
• the A1 is supposed to be able to do pretty much everything, think of it as the high end general purpose camera - they characterised it as “all in one”

The biggest difference between the A7 IV and the A1 is the stacked sensor, which lets the A1 shoot on electronic shutter, even with flash, and lets it shoot considerably faster than the A7 IV, with more pixels. 

These broad-brush characterisations get blurred when one range has been updated (eg:A7RV) but others have not (yet).

So, in summary, the A7 IV is a good general purpose camera, and a perfectly good place to start. The A1 is a superior general purpose camera for those who want more (more speed, more pixels, more price 🙂 ), and more silence - being able to shoot almost everything in silence can be a good reason to get an A1.

If you don’t need silence, then maybe start with an A7 IV - it may be all you need, and considerably cheaper than any of the specialised models.