Sony α7 IV
The Sony α7 IV (model ILCE-7M4) is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera manufactured by Sony. It was announced[1] on 21 October 2021 as the successor to the Sony α7 III. Featuring a new 34.1MP (approx. total)[2] back-illuminated CMOS sensor inside, latest BIONZ XR™ image processor, Real-Time Eye AF tracking and 4K 60p video with Super 35mm mode[3]
Overview | |
---|---|
Maker | Sony |
Released | October 21, 2021 |
Intro price | $2,499 USD body, $2,699 USD kit (28-70mm Zoom Lens) |
Lens | |
Lens mount | Sony E-mount |
Lens | Interchangeable |
Compatible lenses | Full-Frame and APS-C E-mount lenses |
Sensor/medium | |
Sensor type | BSI-CMOS |
Sensor size | 35.9 × 23.9 mm (Full frame type) |
Sensor maker | Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation |
Maximum resolution | 7008 × 4672 (33 megapixels) |
Recording medium | SD, SDHC, SDXC, CF Express Type A memory card |
Flash | |
Flash | No |
Flash synchronization | 1/250 second (Full-frame), 1/320 second (APS-C size) |
Flash bracketing | Sony Mi-Shoe Mount |
Shutter | |
Shutter | Mechanical, Electronic |
Shutter speeds | 1/8000 s to 30 s, BULB |
Continuous shooting | 10 frames per second |
Viewfinder | |
Viewfinder | Yes, 1.3 cm (0.5 type) Electronic Viewfinder |
Viewfinder magnification | Approx. 0.78× with 50 mm lens at infinity |
Frame coverage | 100% |
Image processing | |
Image processor | BIONZ XR |
General | |
LCD screen | 76 mm (3 in) with 1.03M dots |
Battery | NP-FZ100 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery |
AV Port(s) | HDMI Type A (Full-size) |
Data Port(s) | USB 2.0 Micro-B, SuperSpeed 10Gbps USB 3.2 Type-C, 5GHz/2.4.GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 |
Dimensions | 131.3 by 96.4 by 79.8 mm (5.17 by 3.80 by 3.14 in) |
Weight | 658g |
Made in | Thailand and China |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Sony α7 III |
Successor | Present model |
Features
The camera features several advancements from its predecessor the Sony α7 III, also incorporating some pro features from the high-end Sony α1.
- 33 MP (approx. effective)[2] full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor
- 759 Phase Detection AF Points and 425 Contrast Detection AF points[4]
- Featuring Real-time Continuous Eye-AF Tracking for Human, Animal & Bird
- Improved UI Layout[5] (New menu structure) compared to its predecessor
- Closed mechanical shutter function (previously this feature debuted in α1) when the camera is turned off[6]
- Flip[4] 3-inch LCD vari-angle touchscreen with 1.04 million dots[5]
- 3.69-million dot resolution, 120fps refresh rate EVF[5]
- 5-axis optical in-body image stabilisation with a 5.5 stops of shake reduction[7]
- 10 fps continuous shooting (mechanical or silent)[8]
- Live stream through the USB Type-C connector in 4K(15fps) and FHD(60fps)
- 4K 60p recording in Super 35mm mode and up to 4K 30p recording with 7K oversampling is available in full-frame mode
- 15 stop dynamic range[9]
- Slow & Quick motion features up to 120fps
- 4K oversampled video from 7K resolution in 30p video mode[10]
- Battery life with NP-FZ100 is rated at approx. 580 images using LCD screen and approx. 520 images using EVF[9]
- Native ISO range is 100-51,200 and extended ISO range is 50-204,800[8][11]
- 10-bit HEIF[12] image option (using .heic container)
- Continuous burst shoot 10 fps with Compressed Raw and 6 fps with Uncompressed Raw[6]
- Weather sealed, magnesium alloy body
- No built-in flash[13]
- Multi Interface (Mi Shoe) shoe with Sony's unique metal shoe
- 3.68 million-dot (approx.) OLED Quad-VGA viewfinder is (1.6 times the resolution of the Alpha 7 III viewfinder)[1]
- Supports 4 different video file formats (XAVC HS 4K, XAVC S-I 4K, XAVC S 4K, XAVC S HD)[14]
- Dual SD Card Slots,[15][16] CFExpress Type A Slot (only SLOT 1)
1 2 | |||||||
Dual memory card slots of the right side of the Sony α7 IV, the camera supports the operation while both card slots are occupied, both card slots supports UHS-I and UHS-II class SD cards
|
Dynamic Range and Color Independent Testing
Independent testing by Gerald Undone using Imatest software and a Xyla color range chart demonstrates a dynamic range of 12.8 stops of light, which is approximately 1/3 of a stop better than the Sony A7s iii and approximately the same as the Sony a1.[17] It color matches fairly well with the Sony A7s iii and Sony a1, with the Sony A7s iii leaning a bit green, the Sony a1 a bit magenta, and this camera between the two (tested using DCS Labs -SW - CDM 28R - v15.2 A3 color chart) and with individual white balancing, the colors are very similar.[17]
Video formats
Camera is using in house developed AVC Video Format called XAVC. The format is compressed format achieving balanced quality and file size. Recording in color depth of 10-bits and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling is possible with Sony's XAVC codec.
- All Intra-frame system that compresses each frame individually to achieve best quality.
- When recording 4K movies in the XAVC HS format is an optional which is using a HEVC codec (H.265) and has high compression efficiency.
- The camera can record movies with higher image quality than XAVC S movies but the same data volume.
- Camera can record in "Long GOP" codec (H.264) compression which is compressing multiple frames to reduce file size.
Video resolutions and modes
PAL modes and NTSC modes has different Recording Frame Rates and Record Settings.[14][15][16][18]
File Formats | Recording Frame Rate | Record Setting | APS-C S35 Mode
(Forced / Available) |
---|---|---|---|
XAVC HS 4K | 50p | 200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 10bit 100M 4:2:2 10bit 75M 4:2:0 10bit 45M 4:2:0 10bit |
Forced |
XAVC S 4K | 50p | 200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 8bit |
Forced |
25p | 140M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
XAVC S HD | 50p | 50M 4:2:2 10bit
50M 4:2:0 8bit 25M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available |
25p | 50M 4:2:2 10bit
50M 4:2:0 8bit 16M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
100p | 100M 4:2:0 8bit
60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
XAVC S-I 4K | 50p | 500M 4:2:2 10bit | Forced |
25p | 250M 4:2:2 10bit | Available | |
XAVC S-I HD | 50p | 185M 4:2:2 10bit | Available |
25p | 93M 4:2:2 10bit | Available |
File Formats | Recoding Frame Rate | Record Setting | APS-C S35 Mode
(Forced / Available) |
---|---|---|---|
XAVC HS 4K | 60p | 200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 10bit 100M 4:2:2 10bit 75M 4:2:0 10bit 45M 4:2:0 10bit |
Forced |
24p | 100M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 10bit 50M 4:2:2 10bit 50M 4:2:0 10bit 30M 4:2:0 10bit |
Available | |
XAVC S 4K | 60p | 200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 8bit |
Forced |
30p | 140M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
24p | 100M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
XAVC S HD | 60p | 50M 4:2:2 10bit
50M 4:2:0 8bit 25M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available |
30p | 50M 4:2:2 10bit
50M 4:2:0 8bit 16M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
24p | 50M 4:2:2 10bit
50M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
100p | 100M 4:2:0 8bit
60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
XAVC S-I 4K | 60p | 600M 4:2:2 10bit | Forced |
30p | 300M 4:2:2 10bit | Available | |
24p | 240M 4:2:2 10bit | Available | |
XAVC S-I HD | 60p | 222M 4:2:2 10bit | Available |
30p | 111M 4:2:2 10bit | Available | |
24p | 89M 4:2:2 10bit | Available |
Available Slow and Quick motion shooting modes in PAL and NTSC Mode:
File Formats | Recoding Frame Rate | Final Clip Frame Rate | Record Setting
(XAVC S) |
APS-C S35 Mode
(Forced / Available) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Slow and Quck
Motion |
50p | 50fps
25fps (2x Quick motion) 12fps (4.16x Quick motion) 6fps (8.33x Quick motion) 3fps (16.66x Quick motion) 2fps (25x Quick motion) 1fps (50x Quick motion) |
200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 8bit |
Forced |
25p | 50fps (2x Slow motion)
25fps 12fps (2.08x Quick motion) 6fps (4.16x Quick motion) 3fps (8.33x Quick motion) 2fps (12.5x Quick motion) 1fps (25x Quick motion) |
140M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
100p | 100fps
50fps (2x Quick motion) 25fps (4x Quick motion) 12fps (8.33x Quick motion) 6fps (16.66x Quick motion) 3fps (33.33x Quick motion) 2fps (50x Quick motion) 1fps (100x Quick motion) |
100M 4:2:0 8bit
60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available |
File Formats | Recoding Frame Rate | Final Clip Frame Rate | Record Setting
(XAVC S) |
APS-C S35 Mode
(Forced / Available) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Slow and Quck
Motion |
60p | 60fps
30fps (2x Quick motion) 15fps (4x Quick motion) 8fps (7.5x Quick motion) 4fps (15x Quick motion) 2fps (30x Quick motion) 1fps (60x Quick motion) |
200M 4:2:2 10bit
150M 4:2:0 8bit |
Forced |
30p | 60fps (2x Slow motion)
30fps 15fps (2x Quick motion) 8fps (3.75x Quick motion) 4fps (7.5x Quick motion) 2fps (15x Quick motion) 1fps (30x Quick motion) |
140M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
24p | 60fps (2.5x Slow motion)
30fps (1.25x Slow motion) 15fps (1.6x Quick motion) 8fps (3x Quick motion) 4fps (6x Quick motion) 2fps (12x Quick motion) 1fps (24x Quick motion) |
140M 4:2:2 10bit
100M 4:2:0 8bit 60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available | |
120p (XAVC S HD Only) | 120fps
60fps (2x Slow motion) 30fps (4x Quick motion) 15fps (8x Quick motion) 8fps (15x Quick motion) 4fps (30x Quick motion) 2fps (60x Quick motion) 1fps (120x Quick motion) |
100M 4:2:0 8bit
60M 4:2:0 8bit |
Available |
References
- "Sony Electronics' Alpha 7 IV Goes Beyond 'Basic' with 33-Megapixel Full-frame Image Sensor and Outstanding Photo and Video Operability". www.sony.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- "Sony Alpha 7 IV - Full-frame Interchangeable Lens Camera 33MP, 10FPS, 4K/60p | ILCE-7M4". Sony Electronics. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- updated, Mark Wilson last (21 October 2021). "The Sony A7 IV is a late contender for mirrorless camera of the year". TechRadar. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Bergreen, Marc (13 May 2022). "Sony a7IV Review: Is It Worth The Upgrade?". Shotkit. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- updated, Mark Wilson last (3 February 2022). "Sony A7 IV review". TechRadar. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "Sony a7IV review: a solid all-arounder for every shooter". Popular Photography. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "Sony's A7 IV camera arrives with a 33-megapixel sensor and 4K 60p video". Engadget. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Sony a7 IV Review: The Best Hybrid Camera for the Money!, retrieved 30 September 2022
- "The Autofocus on Sony's A7 IV Makes This Camera Shine". WIRED. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Nando Harmsen (25 January 2022). "Our In-Depth Review of the Sony a7 IV". Fstoppers. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Sony A7 IV Review // Good but Not What You Were Expecting???, retrieved 30 September 2022
- "Sony A7 IV Review". Imaging Resource. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "Sony a7 IV Review". PCMAG. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "Sony a7 IV review". DPReview. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "ILCE-7M4 | Help Guide | Sides". helpguide.sony.net. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- "ILCE-7M4 | Help Guide | Specifications". helpguide.sony.net. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
- Sony a7 IV Review: The Best Hybrid Camera for the Money!, retrieved 22 October 2022
- Sony a7 IV First Impressions Review, retrieved 30 September 2022
- "Sony a7 IV: Digital Photography Review". www.dpreview.com. Retrieved 30 September 2022.