Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body

Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body Summary

The Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body has been designed from the ground up to create the definitive full frame hybrid in the mirrorless E-mount range. Sony has included a completely new 33 Megapixel full frame back illuminated CMOS sensor inside a new body design with technology ported over from their flagship Alpha 1 and A7S III camera. The a7 IV harnesses the power from the latest Bionz XR engine and boasts a fully articulating LCD touchscreen ideal for videographers portrait and wedding photographers as well as vloggers and any other content creators. No aspect of this camera has been left untouched with blistering speed improvements Autofocus and useability enhancements across the board.

Key Features

• New 33 Megapixel full frame back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor
• Latest generation Bionz XR image processing engine
• Improved low light performance and noise management with native ISO 100 to 51200 (expandable to 204800 for stills and 102400)
• Upgraded 5.5 stops 5-axis in-body image stabilisation system
• 10fps continuous shooting with AF/AE Tracking now up to f/22
• Uninterrupted shooting with over 828 JPEG + RAW images
• Dual card slots with 1x CFexpress Type A and SD UHS II
• 759 AF points (94% coverage) with 30% AF-S speed improvement
• Real-time Eye AF for Human/Animal/Bird
• Fully articulating 1.03 million-dot Vari-angle LCD touchscreen and new touch menu
• New dial with Stills/Movie/Slow and Quick Motion
• Upgraded 3.69 million-dot OLED viewfinder
• Improved grip
• Better connectivity with Digital Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe USB Type-C 1000Base-T Ethernet 5GHz WiFi and HDMI Type-A
• Remote control and focusing with Imaging Edge App

Key Movie features

• 4K/60p in Super35 format with full pixel readout without binning
• Full frame 7K oversampling 4K/30p
• Full HD 120p
• 10bit 4:2:2 with All-Intra compression XAVC-HS / H.265 at a max bitrate of 600Mbps
• S-Log3 and additional S-Cinetone with 15+ stops of dynamic range
• Top panel video record button
• Unique Sony AF assist from the FX6 Cinema Line with breathing compensation and focus map
• Live stream via USB

Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body in More Detail

New 35 mm full frame (35.9 x 23.9 mm) Exmor R CMOS sensor

In the heart of the a7 IV is a new full frame sensor with approximately 33.0 megapixels. Capture outstanding detail and resolution in JPEG HEIF and RAW in 3:2 format at up to 7008 x 4672 pixels.

Cutting edge Bionz XR image processing engine

The Sony a7 IV features a revised system architecture with enhanced processing performance from image capture through signal processing with the Bionz XR inherited from the Alpha 1 camera. Processing latency is minimised and image processing power is dramatically increased. User interface network and file management processing is enhanced for quicker responsiveness regardless of processing load.

15+ stops of dynamic range with wide sensitivity range

The A7 IV has a native ISO range of ISO 100 to 51200 which is expandable to 204800 for stills and 102400 for movies. Efficient noise reduction processing delivers higher resolution from the 33 megapixel image sensor. Resolution is complemented by high sensitivity with low noise plus approximately 15 stops of dynamic range at lower ISO’s for smooth natural gradations from shadows to highlights.

Image Sensor Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation

Optimised image stabilisation algorithms combine with a high precision stabilisation unit and gyro sensors to achieve up to 5.5-stops of shutter speed advantage on the updated A7 mark IV camera. This maximises quality of higher resolution images from the camera’s 33 megapixel sensor. The body also features an Active Mode with outstanding stabilisation for handheld movie shooting.

Fast Hybrid AF With Real-time AF Tracking

AI-based Real-time Tracking automatically maintains accurate focus with a subject recognition algorithm using colour pattern (brightness) and subject distance (depth) data to process spatial information in real time at high speed. Real-time Tracking is faster more accurate and more tenacious than before for Human/Animal/Bird with Right/Left Eye Select for humans and animals.

759 point full-area phase detection AF

Focus down to EV -4 using full frame 35 mm with 759 points (phase-detection AF) in a high-density focal plane phase-detection AF system covering approximately 94% of the image area for accuracy and unfailing focus.

New Real-time AF bird mode

In addition to Real-time Eye AF for humans and animals the a7 IV employs subject recognition technology for Real-time Eye AF for birds. Select your subject bird to be tracked and the camera automatically detects and focuses on the bird’s eye whether even in flight with optimised algorithms even with erratic movement.

4K movie recording with multiple formats

Record in-camera 4K at up to 60 frames per second in super 35 mode (APS-C Crop) with smooth slow-motion imagery. The a7 IV is also capable of capturing up to 3840 x 2160 in 4:2:2 10bit NTSC at 24p (100 Mbps / 50 Mbps). Recording formats include XAVC S XAVC HS XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and XAVC HS: MPEG-H HEVC/H.265 for various compression options.

Full pixel readout without binning for high-res 4K

Full frame and Super 35 formats can be selected for 4K movie recording with full pixel readout in Super 35 mode (approx. APS-C 16:9) without the need for pixel binning. This makes it possible to condense approximately 2.3 times the amount of data required for 4K movies resulting in high-resolution high-detail 4K with minimal moiré.

Expressive S-Cinetone

The camera now includes S-Cinetone which is the same colour matrix from FX6 colour and skin tones. Based on technology acquired through development of Cinema Line cameras S-Cinetone renders natural mid-tones for healthy-looking skin colour with soft colours and beautiful highlights.

Effective heat-dissipation

A newly developed heat dissipating structure in the a7 IV keeps temperatures within their normal operating range preventing overheating while maintaining compact body dimensions.

Independent stills and movie controls

Shooting settings now change according to the selected shooting mode with a record button on the camera’s top panel new control dial and new menu system.. This can be an advantage when you want to use different aperture shutter speed and other settings for shooting stills and movies.

Fast USB Type-C and 1000BASE-T connections

A USB Type-C connector supports fast SuperSpeed USB data transfer. This makes high-speed PC Remote data transfer available for smooth handling of large image files.

HEIF with excellent image quality

In addition to a range of RAW and JPEG formats the a7 IV includes the HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) format for smooth 10-bit gradations that provide more realistic reproduction of skies and portrait subjects where subtle natural gradation is essential. The advanced compression technology used by the HEIF format also maintains image quality that is on a par with the best JPEGs with approximately twice the compression.

CFexpress Type A and UHS-II SD card slots

Two media slots support high speed CFexpress Type A and UHS-II SD cards. These provide higher overall capacity and faster read/write speeds. CFexpress Type A cards are ideally suited to high-speed continuous still shooting as well as high-resolution high-bitrate movie recording. Recorded stills and movies can be saved to the memory media in numerous ways to match a wide range of applications and needs.

Comprehensive touch control

A revised menu structure has been added which provides easier navigation and touch-responsive menu operation with more intuitive control. Even more intuitive control is provided by Touch Focus and Touch Tracking so all you have to do is touch a subject on the monitor to initiate Real-time Tracking for that subject.

High-capacity Z-series Battery

Shoot up to 610 stills per charge with this optimised camera.

You can read more and compare the new model against the previous one in our Sony a7 IV vs a7 III blog here.

What’s in the box

• Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)
• Rechargeable Battery NP-FZ100
• AC adaptor
• Power cord
• Shoulder strap
• Body cap
• Accessory shoe cap
• Eyepiece cup
• USB-A to USB-C cable (USB 3.2)

Optional Accessories

• 160GB Type A CFexpress card - high speed high capacity Sony Tough memory card
• 80GB Type A CFexpress card - high speed Sony Tough memory card
• Sony Z battery NP-FZ100?
• ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone - an integrated Digital Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe mic with no cables or batteries required
• HVL-F32M Extern high power Digital Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe flashgun with no cables or batteries required
• XLR Adaptor Kit XLR-K3M - Digital audio with x2 Phantom-power capable XLR/TRS inputs

Sony a7 IV Mirrorless Digital Camera Body Sample photos

FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G Lens at 600mm. Exposure: 1/500 sec. f/6.3. ISO 10000

FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens. Exposure: 1/400 sec. f/2.8. ISO 100

FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens at 70mm. Exposure: 1/320 sec. f/9. ISO 100

FE 85mm f/1.4 GM lens. Exposure: 1/400 sec. f/2.8. ISO 100