Sony A7 IV. Has anyone here tried it?

[jas007]

The Sony A7 IV is now a few years old. There may be a newer model coming out next year. I wonder if waiting would be a good idea?

[KhunLA]

Do you already have Sony lenses, another body, or is this a first buy in the Sony line ?

 

What your main interest or use going to be ?  Have you also considered APS-C  bodies ?

 

The viewfinder in the center of the body is enough to turn me off that model.

[jas007]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Do you already have Sony lenses, another body, or is this a first buy in the Sony line ?

 

What your main interest or use going to be ?  Have you also considered APS-C  bodies ?

 

The viewfinder in the center of the body is enough to turn me off that model.

I’ve never had a Sony full frame camera.  And no lenses.  I guess I’m just in the mood to try something different.  I’ll check out the APS-C bodies.

[KhunLA]

31 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I’ve never had a Sony full frame camera.  And no lenses.  I guess I’m just in the mood to try something different.  I’ll check out the APS-C bodies.

Have any photography experience ? Other interchangeable body and lens equipment, or is this all new to you ?  

[degrub]

If you need light weight, take a look at the lenses for micro four thirds cameras Olympus, OMD systems, and Panasonic.

 

Fuji XT series as well

 

if sports, Nikon, for autofocus speed and accuracy

 

Sony, A7r5 for high pixel count landscape or macro ( works well for slide/film digitizing if you need the pixels for printing ). See photopxl.com and search articles for “digitizing negatives”.
 

camera with IBIS for hand held shots is a real advance.

 

Have  search around photopxl.com for expert commentary and guidance.

 

you buy into the lens collection long term and pick the camera you need. 
 

Otherwise, if 90% for daily random use, just get an iPhone for versatility, competence, and convenience.

[Kinnock]

Recommend you try several cameras in the shop, as the controls and handling are very different.  I'm not keen on the Sony A7 controls, as I was used to film cameras .... they are also quite heavy and lenses are expensive .... but the image quality is excellent.  For 'full frame' sensor I prefer Lumix S series over Sony myself.

 

Although the Fuji X-T series suits me better - APS-C so bodies and lenses are a bit smaller, manual controls very much like film camera.  Latest X-T have IBIS and improved auto focus.  Only issue with Fuji is the mobile phone App, which is unreliable.

 

Micro 4/3 is even smaller and lighter, but image quality in low light not quite as good, and if you like the nice blurred background in portraits, Micro 4/3 is not ideal as you need special (very wide aperture) lenses to get the effect.

 

You need to like the way it handles and understand the interface clearly, so try in the shop before buying.

[Yagoda]

I use a Lumix G9 with either an 8-18, 12-60, or 50-200, all Leica. Takes great pics.

 

 

 

[KhunLA]

I'm a Sony line fan, and 2 lenses cover just about anything you'd need to take a photo of.  Actually just gave my 3rd camera kit, body & 4 lenses w/accessories, to my nice, as rarely used them.  Kept only 2 bodies & 2 lenses.  Smartphone fills in the gaps, ex; extra wide landscape, as one of the lenses I gave away.

 

Have 18-600mm covered, and since on an APS-C body, that's actually 900mm of reach.  

 

If not Sony, I'd consider Canon, lastly Nikon, as the others are having financial problems and may not be around long.   They've finally caught up to Sony's tech, after years of using Sony sensors.

 

As stated, can't beat a good smartphone for knockin' around.  iPhone or Google Pixel, and the latter would be my choice.   My POCO (Xiaomi) is and excellent knock around phone/camera, and why I bought that model.  Uses a Sony sensor, same with one of my drones.

 

Yep ... Sony fan 

 

 

[Henryford]

I recently sold my Canon 80d and was thinking of getting a mirrorless camera, maybe the Sony A7 IV or the Canon R6ii. But prices seem to have risen a lot in recent years. Either of those with just one decent lens is well over 100,000 baht. Not sure i want to invest that much in a system especially as the photos i get from my Samsung S23 Ultra are, for the most part, excellent.

[jas007]

13 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Have any photography experience ? Other interchangeable body and lens equipment, or is this all new to you ?  

 I hate to say it, but most of my photography experience was with film cameras.  Years ago, I had my own darkroom and shot mostly Tri-X Pan, although I did try developing a few rolls of Ektachrome, just for the heck of it.  
 

I’ve had a few digital cameras over the years, but they didn’t really get much use. Nikon D70, Nikon D300, some Pentax DSLRs.  I ended up either giving that stuff away or leaving it in the U S.  All I brought with me was a little Sony pocket camera.

 

Anyway, maybe I’ll buy something new.

[degrub]

Get something that you will carry with you all the time unless you are into photo projects.

[impulse]

Not exactly on topic, but I found 2 great 2nd hand camera shops in 2 malls around Chatuchak.  One is in MixT Mall 2nd floor and the other is in the Red Building (Bang Sue junction, I think)  They're both the same company.  Well worth a visit if you're at the weekend market anyway, and open during the week (BangSue Jct is closed on Monday).  Huge selection of mostly obsolete cameras, but they also have some current-ish models.  And tons of lenses, along with tripods and other accessories.  Obviously, hit and miss if you need a specific model.

 

I know there's a lot of 2nd hand camera shops scattered all over Bangkok, so I wouldn't make a special trip.  But if you're at the weekend market anyway...

 

[KhunLA]

1 hour ago, jas007 said:

 I hate to say it, but most of my photography experience was with film cameras.  Years ago, I had my own darkroom and shot mostly Tri-X Pan, although I did try developing a few rolls of Ektachrome, just for the heck of it.  
 

I’ve had a few digital cameras over the years, but they didn’t really get much use. Nikon D70, Nikon D300, some Pentax DSLRs.  I ended up either giving that stuff away or leaving it in the U S.  All I brought with me was a little Sony pocket camera.

 

Anyway, maybe I’ll buy something new.

OK, you have plenty of experience.  More than myself before I bought interchangeable lens camera.   Always had a point & shoot, or camcorder.    I use to work processing negative/film stock, before digitals became a thing.  

 

From what I read, they made great headway since the DSLRs, with the mirrorless, and when I bought in, Dec 2018, an older model Sony @6000.  The @6000 was a game changer, and Sony excelled in the tracking software.   As I stated, the rest have caught up in technology, since that release back in 2014/15. 

 

Impressive what they can do now.  So upgraded to @6400 when it came out, with better lenses.  F4 for knock around, and 200-600mm for wildlife.

 

As stated, now the smartphone have advanced to the level of digital cameras, unless specific use.  Though new iPhone & Pixel are damn close, though guessing most just use as point and shoot.  They really are self adjusting / automatic to most conditions, especially low light, night time shooting.

 

Require little to no editing.  If not for wildlife, or  few other special uses, a dedicated camera really isn't necessary, and they certainly aren't inexpensive.

 

Most people will only really need a good smartphone, and the convenience to carry around is a major plus.

 

My long lens gets a lot of use.  Middle one, much less, as smartphone is just convenient to carry.  Middle one gets used when O&A.  (both @6400)

 

Smaller kit (@6000) is the one I gave to niece, with a long and couple fast lenses. 

 

[impulse]

18 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

As stated, now the smartphone have advanced to the level of digital cameras, unless specific use.  Though new iPhone & Pixel are damn close, though guessing most just use as point and shoot.  They really are self adjusting / automatic to most conditions, especially low light, night time shooting.

 

Honest question, because I buy cheap smartphones...  Do they have a decent zoom performance? 

 

That's why I bought a Fujifilm HS30 EXR as a starter (2nd hand, bridge camera with good zoom) and liked it so much that I upgraded to a Nikon D5500 to try out interchangeable lenses.  With just 2 lenses, I exceeded my photography skillset and desire, for at least a few years.

 

Sadly, I left them back in the USA when I got called to China for a healthcare emergency (long story).  So now I'm looking for something decent that doesn't break the bank.  Almost bought a Lumix mirrorless, but went home to look up YouTube reviews and it was gone the next day.

[KhunLA]

42 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Honest question, because I buy cheap smartphones...  Do they have a decent zoom performance? 

 

That's why I bought a Fujifilm HS30 EXR as a starter (2nd hand, bridge camera with good zoom) and liked it so much that I upgraded to a Nikon D5500 to try out interchangeable lenses.  With just 2 lenses, I exceeded my photography skillset and desire, for at least a few years.

 

Sadly, I left them back in the USA when I got called to China for a healthcare emergency (long story).  So now I'm looking for something decent that doesn't break the bank.  Almost bought a Lumix mirrorless, but went home to look up YouTube reviews and it was gone the next day.

Not really, the less expensive ones.  Can't speak for the higher ends iPhone & Pixel.

 

My POCO X3 NFC,  has  64mp 'pro' lens ... but ... since I can't zoom in on the screen, it really hard to hit the focus of any particular subject, and it's just a guess when I tap the screen.  More miss than hit.  So the selling point is a bit moot.   Great if not trying to focus on a small critter or something, as you can still crop in for lots of detail.

 

POCO uses Sony Exmor IMX682 camera sensor.

One of my drones uses Sony IMX179 image sensor, kind of amazing for a cheap drone.

 

Here's one I did hit, using the phone, original & cropped in ... perched up in tree & on ground, so not impossible, but not the best either.

 

 

 

 

Here's a snap using the Sony long lens, of tree & owlet, even further away ...

... all from the veranda

 

 

[jas007]

On 7/7/2024 at 1:51 AM, Yagoda said:

I use a Lumix G9 with either an 8-18, 12-60, or 50-200, all Leica. Takes great pics.

 

 

 

That’s a nice picture.  The LUMIX cameras are interesting.  I’ve been looking at the S5II.  And the fact that Leica makes the Lumux lenses is also a plus.  I wonder if there’s much of a difference between the Leica lenses for Lumix and the Leica lenses it makes for Leica cameras? 

[degrub]

Leica licenses an optical  design to Panasonic for the m4/3 format and other cameras. They are not manufactured by Leica. The lenses give a “Leica look” to the images. Mechanical design and manufacturing tolerances may or may not be similar. Panasonic ( and Olympus ) use engineered polymers for most of their lenses to save on weight. 
 

A Leica lens is not the same as a Panasonic-Leica lens. Both will take excellent pictures though.

 

Leica also has a similar approach on some of their camera bodies which were licensed to Leica by Panasonic.