Sony A7RV Review: THIS IS THE AF KING

Probably the most exciting feature for the new Sony A7RV has got to be that new 4-axis Multi-Angle LCD display. But it gets even more interesting when we actually take a look at what's inside the camera, especially that new AI processing unit that helps the camera recognise human faces and more, anywhere within the frame with crazy accuracy even for portraits and shots with lots of bokeh.

So we're back with another Sony review and today we're taking a look at the Sony A7RV and it's a still-photos centric camera that features a 61MP full-frame sensor. So we've had this camera for about three weeks now and we've had the opportunity to attend an event organised by Sony were we can test out the camera with various different stations setup for various different scenarios.

Speaking of being a still-photos focused camera, the A7RV is still a really capable video camera that can shoot up to 8K25P or 30P and up to 4K50P or 60P, which is honestly really surprising given its stance. We would say that compared to the previous A7RIV, there's not a lot of different upgrades from an optical standpoint. But the biggest difference has got to be the autofocus system.

Again, we're talking about 61MP here with a 10 fps burst for stills on the mechanical shutter. But the first impression we instantly felt was actually the weight. This weighs 723g with the battery and one SD card. It isn't the heaviest mirrorless camera out there but it certainly did feel it gained a little weight for sure. Without further ado though, let's talk about the design.

Design

So what can we say, it looks pretty much like any other Sony Alpha camera for it utilises pretty much the same body type.

The buttons layout is also pretty much similar to the previous A7RIV. The biggest difference, again, is that display. It now features a 4-axis Multi-Angle LCD display. This is a huge upgrade in our opinion. Compared to the previous generation stuff where you get that traditional flippy screen, this offers quite a lot more versatility. The main advantage is when you want to do low angle or high angle shots and having to tilt the display. With the flippy design, you'll have to swing the display out in order to do so, which makes the overall frame larger to manipulate.

But with this, you can just tilt it down and maintain the overall small profile of the camera. Great for stealth photo taking and just being more maneuverable all around.

In terms of card slots, you do still get dual UHS-II SD card slots and they also both support CFexpress A. For all your high speed data lovers, this is just simply great. The battery is still going to be the NP-FZ100 which will last you through a heavy shoot with not much issues for sure. For ports, you do get a full sized HDMI as well as your standard 3.5mm headphone and microphone jack with USB-C as Micro-B as well.

So overall, the design is pretty much almost the same as before. You might call it boring or you might call it iconic. The main difference again would mainly be that new display. We did however notice that the grip does feel quite a bit better on the A7RV. We aren't very sure but it does feel girthier and it simply fits in our larger hands a little better, making for a more comfortable experience.

As for the unseen internals, Sony has also claimed that this has a better heat dissipation design inside it that will withstand higher operating temperatures for a longer time. We couldn't really measure that in any manner of matter but we'll take Sony's word for it.

Functionality

The biggest takeaway here is the autofocusing capability. It's insane. This is thanks to the new AI processor that's within this A7RV that helps enhance the AF system as a whole. Sony claims that with this new AI processor, it has the ability to predict and understand human faces and poses and more and with that, it can communicate with the camera and enhance the performance based on the AF priority you've chosen to set it to.

Because of this, we found that the AF box tends to stick to the subject much better no matter what is in the frame and this holds true for even faces with masks on. The box is dead on that eye, not budging an inch. In addition, it can even focus on subjects that are strongly backlit with little to no issues at all. So of course, we put it to the test and here are some shots for you to take a look!

As you can probably tell, the photos were amazing and the autofocus was spot on. You do definitely have to select the right AF mode for the best effect however.

One new thing here that Sony has added, rather interestingly, is the fact that you can now also choose Insect as the recognition target for the AF system. We've only briefly tried this out but it seems to definitely work as it's supposed to be. More testing is needed however. All in all, you get a ton of AF options such as Human, Animal/Bird, Animal, Bird, Insect, Car/Train and even Airplanes. This is a well-rounded camera that can really capture just about anything.

IS

As for Image Stabilisation, you get up to 8-stops of In-Body Image Stabilisation here and that's honestly quite the number. In the past, you would have to pair it with a Sony G-Master lens to unlock that 8-stop threshold. But now, that's available in the camera body itself regardless of which lens you choose to rock. It goes without saying however that you would still want to shooter at a higher shutter speed whenever possible to reduce the amount of possible errors during that photo glory moment but this should give you an additional layer or security of grabbing that winning shot even in the most disadvantageous scenario.

Crop Factor

If you're just using this camera of stills, this is not something you'll have to worry about ever. You'll get the full 35mm sensor at your disposal no matter when. For video however, we do want to mention that if you're to shoot on 4K50P or 60P, there will be a 1.2x crop. It isn't that much for sure but still something to take note. You'll be relieved to know that you can shoot at 1080p100p or 120P without any crop.

Performance

Not too long ago, Sony hosted a small event at the Singapore Polo Club and we got to shoot various subjects in different scenarios, all with the Sony A7RV with Sony G-Master lenses. So we've insects to play with, models to direct and even a couple of horses doing their routine. It really put the autofocus system to the test and so here are the various moments we managed to capture that very day!

Some of you might notice and know that when you're doing street photography, you would usually encounter multiple subjects in frame. So how does the A7RV combat that? Well, what we've noticed is that the camera would actually still focus on the key subject no matter what happens in frame. But what if you want to focus on the other subject?

Well, you can simply tap on the screen to select your focus or you can actually save the faces from photos you've already taken and register it in the AF system. Why might this be beneficial you might ask? Well for example in the case of the wedding couple, you already know you would probably be on the grounds for the entire day of shoot. By registering their faces, you can actually simply tap a button and then select the subject you want to choose to focus on. When said subject is in the frame, the camera will instantly recognise that and focus in on the subject you've chosen. Conversely, when multiple registered faces are in your current frame, you can simply tap on the different subject you want to focus on and the camera will do just that. As long as they are in frame, of course. And yes, this works even under harsh backlit situations.

After all that testing, we can only really say that this camera is a beast when it comes to autofocusing.

Low-Light Performance

But now let's talk about low-light shooting.

We had the change to bring it to the Art Science Museum to test the camera out and even when we pushed the exposure down to -4 in a heavy backlit scene, the camera still knew to focus on the female subject in the frame. What can we say, it's just impressive. As for noise, we can't really say for sure as we only have experience with just shooting JPEGs but even at an ISO of 10,000, the photos looked great and that's coming from a 61MP sensor. We definitely have to test further for sure but for a start, it's impressive.

Overall

We're just really impressed. This is indeed an amazing camera and the technology that went into it really shows. The Ai processor really does make a difference and it changes the entire AF game across the industry. Not to mention all the other great specs such as the 61MP sensor, 8K video capability and more. But of course, it comes with a price, literally.

The Sony A7RV retails for S$5,749 here locally, in Singapore. That is a hefty purchase for sure but in comparison to the competition, it is actually competitively priced. This is definitely more of a professional tool more so than that of a fun camera. For the people that this is intended for, the investment very well makes sense.

The Sony A7RV is honestly a the new AF king.