I've had this for 2 months or so now. .The most honest thing I can say is that it's like having a cheat code on. Video, autofocus...image quality are sensational. Makes me think the a1ii and the a9iii are gonna be stupidly gd too.the a7r5 is incredible imo
Its £3000 now here in the UK about £1000 more than I wanted to pay, but its just got everything I could need for hybrid work. I plan on getting the Tamron 20-40mm and keeping that lens on permanently. My current lenses are 20 24 35 and 50. I reckon if I put it into crop mode at 40 im covered
Totally agree Dustin. Not only has Sony added some great features to this camera such as the rear screen and AI focusing, it’s the fact that it’s implemented and tidied up so many minor things that really makes it feel complete. I feel like I’m using a camera from a camera company rather than an electronics company. I’ll mostly use medium raw reserving the large raw for landscape/architecture/macro. I love that I can use medium raw and then use APSC mode to get extra length from the lens with the resolution staying the same.
"I feel like I’m using a camera from a camera company rather than an electronics company." That's a great line. I should have thought it up and used it ;)
You definitely brought up some good points and a great perspective about it being a camera from a camera company instead of an electronics company. You gave me an excellent thing to truly think about!!! Thank you!!! This camera on my to buy list!!!
Andy, good comments. I am looking forward to getting mine. About “…tidied up so many things…”, I can’t comment much because I have no experience with the Alpha series. That said, I’m a retired software engineer with 40+ years experience. What I learned in that time is that many engineers (software, hardware, etc) develop features they think are important but customers do not. My Panasonic GH3 is full of those features. It got so bad that I stopped using it and just got by with my iPhone for the last several years. I’ve watched many a7RV You Tubes over the last month or so. My constant reactions have been, “Damn that’s nice.” “Oooh, be still my heart”. “That’s a feature I can use!” 💕. And your comment was right on…. Unlike Panasonic (based on my experience), Sony is a camera company and not an electronics company. The a7R5 is mature and appears to have ALL of the major features that I want.
I remember some of your older videos where we both agreed that Sony needed to implement a smaller RAW option. I'm very glad to see that not only they listened, but that the result is really good!
Have to add something I did a test of: I like to do Bracketed captures for sunrise and sets. i went out to a favorite spot and tried the 5 at +/- 2EV Hand Held and got 30 separate shots 5 images each put together in both Lr and ON ONE Photo Raw all came out perfect. I guess the Pixel shift capture hand held development roiled over to bracketing-- So you can leave your sticks at home!
Dustin, thanks for the best body and lens reviews (on UA-cam or anywhere for that matter). Your reviews are comprehensive, meticulous and always spot on.
Update for me 9/5/23. Sony is running a sale with rebate and trade-in bonus for a total of $900 USD off om the A7RV, so today I traded my A7RIV in and bought the A7RV, a really nice upgrade to a high-resolution camera I have used around the world and loved the images I have made with it. . Looking forward to all the better features and performance. Have the Viltrox 16mm f1.8 coming too, both from my favorite mom and pop dealer Allen Camera, outside Philadelphia, Pa. Thanks for your always comprehensive and superb test/reviews. This will join my A1 and my A7SIII. Cheers and best to you.
I upgrade my A7Rii to A7RV after 7 years of using only the A7Rii.. I cant be happier. I still shoot my A7rii but man o man... technology move so fast in 7 years time. Especially the AF.. AF has advance so much over the years.
Watching this at 1440p on an iPad Pro 12.9 inch and I am blown away at the noise performance. None of those look unusable to me, even the higher ISOs have a pleasing grain. I might change my mind if I saw them for myself in a desktop monitor and maybe the 240ppi is helping, but that’s not obnoxious. Maybe you have Lightroom noise reduction switched on? In any case we’ve come a LONG way from what my old digital camera can do, where by the time you hit 1600 it’s utter trash and in practice you don’t want to stray beyond 200 if possible.
This camera came out 6 months too late for me. I liked the a7RIV, but it was missing too many QoL features that I was looking for. Hence why I went for the Nikon Z7II and have been very happy with it thus far (albeit without the nice selection of third party lenses on Sony, at least for now). But it's fantastic to see Sony address pretty much all of my complaints with this revision. They've finally done it.
Thanks for the comprehensive photo focused review. It would be a real help to know the limits of the A7RV and operate within the best range for this camera.
Thank you Dustin for the review, as always very nice and through! Probably worth mentioning that Sony added few welcome futters like focus stacking, expanded bulb mode and improved pixel shift mode. Looking forward for review of new Sony lenses - 70-200GM II and 24-70 GM II :)
I have this an the fx3… perfect combo. I like it a lot better than the A7IV. Not that it’s bad, it’s just if you want the extras and they have value to you. No brainer.
Excellent review Dustin. I certainly agree with your conclusion that the A7R5 is a very complete camera. My first Sony body was the original nex-7. This is when Sony first to introduced the e-mount system. Since then many of the Sony cameras have suffered with autofocus and image quality issues and actual camera performance. The A7R 5 demonstrates years of r&d that has produced a excellent result. Looking over a recent event shoot that I did I found that I had so many of the profile shots where you could hardly see the eye many of them the subjects had on glasses were perfectly and focus. Even in a recent partridge shoot with my mother the autofocus nailed her eye threw a pair of dark sunglasses. Not to mention how impressed I have been with the cameras ability to quickly transfer images onto my phone. It's not perfect but it is one of the best somebody cameras that I have ever used.
Hey Brother, late to this one :D. As always wonderful review. I just placed an A7RV on order… fixed several needs I’ve discovered with my A7iv… the first one being reach. One of the selling points of the Sony system is it’s lens eco-system, one of the drawbacks is no TC for 3rd party. I snagged a 50-400 for sub $1k and have been loving it, but I really need to get out to 600mm so I’ve been looking seriously at Fuji or Sony A6700 etc. I then ran across a thread on DPR applauding the A7RV’s secret Crop Mode weapon due to it’s 26mp resolution… this effectively gives all my lenses 2 different usable focal lengths. Even though you can just crop in post, the smaller file sizes and the improved AF at distances (BIF etc.) is an amazing feature. I was secretly waiting for a D500 replacement (Z800?), but this is a better solution. I’ve also found I haven’t been using my A7IV as much as my Z6ii since purchasing it and have had a hard time figuring out why till I looked at a higher rez screen on a friends camera… that was it! Because I feel the need to look at everything in post on the lower rez screens of the A7IV it’s a deterrent to me wanting to use it… seems shallow, but that was the reason. The A7RV has the same rear screen rez/dimensions as my Z6ii plus a 9mp EVF! I’m excited to test your M-Raw findings as well. The more I thought this through (and with the current rebates) I decided this was really everything I needed and wanted… such a flexible and well-rounded camera. This setup will give me the reach I’m looking for without purchasing another lens and roughly for the same price as getting an A6700 after selling the A7iv. When I bite the 200-600mm Sony bullet with the 2X TC I could get out to ~1800mm in crop mode! Thanks again Dustin, extremely informative review!
There are a lot of areas to cover like a book I got over 900 pgs. I have the A7s iii and this camera I found noise the same when doing Milky Way capture. This camera was way more sensitive to light at night, Siii 3200 but V had to come down to 800 and a faster SS of 2s vs the 8s both getting excellent sharp stars using NPF for accurate for each model. I only wish for the old playmemories Digital Filter I had on my A7S and A7rii (will never get rid of)- yes in camera processing a sky and foreground of different settings processed in camera with a RAW output. A lot of in store SONY reps never knew about, just bring it back!
Nice job on the review, as always! I've just spent some time with the camera and have been looking closely at the underexposure recovery, comparing it to the A7rii I also have. Even though the noise is about a half stop worse in the new camera, I'm really pleased with the ability to recover underexposed images. I've found that it's better to underexpose by 4 stops at ISO 100, than it is to correctly expose at ISO 1600. The A7rii could only benefit from a 3 stop push.
Hey Dustin! I just wanted to thank you for your definitive review of the A7rV. I've watched a lot of them on YT, but yours is by far the best when going over the photography features of this camera. I'm really glad you went over the MRAW and SRAW options. I totally agree with you, that this camera is a very complete system. I admit I was at first very dismissive of the the A7rV especially being an A1 owner myself, but after I was able to get my hands on one to test, I completely underestimated the capabilities of this camera. The flexibility of essentially a tri-resolution sensor, mixed with its AF improvements, rear screen design, and overall improved processing compared to the A7rIV, makes me really think about making this my secondary or B camera to my Sony A1. I'm curious, to see how it compares in dynamic range and high ISO performance when comparing it to the A7IV. I'm considering selling my A7IV to replace it with the A7rV if I can get similar or better high iso performance compared to the A7IV. I know that the A7IV has a larger ISO range, but I am curious about how they compare within the normal ISO range. This camera was a lot better than I had thought!
If I get A7RV as my first camera with 70-200mm F4 macro G ii and just use standard Yellow iPhone 15 to shoot closer things with its 13mm, 26mm and 52mm, is it good setup if I'm just hobbyist with good understanding of photography and compositions who want to enjoy shooting and use for personal products shots too? I choose Sony over other brands because they have the lens with unique feature I want like super tele with macro ability that I mentioned, power zoom lens and standard zoom that start from ultra wide 20mm and I love Sony as a brand too. I choose this over A7CII/R because of its good EVF and 4 ways tilt screen and smaller body don't give benefit with big lens other than weight saving and people still notice you have a camera, A7RV is like just as small but with a big EVF attached. Should I get another lens right away, I have the 16-35mm F4 PZ G in mind, or I should get something faster and prime that still light weight on gimbal? I don't really care for bokeh, that tele will able to do it too if I want to, I like my photos and videos to have story and creativity and not blur out the contexts. Also, have you wonder why put so many effort just to take photos and videos and not just use phone camera to record here and there if it's not your primary work and also your content not all will get pass down and value later? And what camera setup you bring in everyday life and travel, some people use less bulky and performance camera for their own life but use fancy gears for clients and travel, why, isn't everyday life is most parts of our life and important too?
some great grey import deals on this camera right now .. very tempting .. this truly is a great camera . thanks for your reviews Dustin , I don't know anyone who does reviews like you who I can trust & respect
The full size RAW to Medium RAW was exactly what I was hoping to see. It could be useful to configure one of the custom dials to a Medium RAW high burst rate setting. At full size RAW it's a bit rough dealing with strings of 123mb files. That works out to over 1gb per second of shooting. Sure you lose the cropping power, but on the other hand smaller files with some better color performance. If you shoot a static subject you can always swap back to full size image and drop the shutter speed and burst rate. I'm satisfied. What I'm eager to see is if some of the improvements in the A7RV make it into an A9III.
Dustin, this is your most informative review to date. Thank you! I currently use mostly an a7Riv but I have also used the a7Rv and intend to purchase it. What I learned from this review is that noise in medium compressed lossless RAW is noticeably less than in 61mp capture. For low light, astro, my 61mp a7Riv is actually superior to the a7iv 33mp. The noise is finer grain, easier to suppress in post without losing image detail. else has investigated this, and it is intriguing. Perhaps the new lossless compressed M 26mp will be better yet?
Very informative video. It is giving me a better understanding of my new camera. I have a question. What is the name of the desk tripod you are using? Thank you
Awesome review Dustin! I'm a vet here in California, and I'd recommend having those deciduous canine teeth extracted on your cat. They are basically persistent baby teeth on the upper canines and can cause serious problems for the adult teeth that are already erupting and trying to come in normally. Adorable cats though!
I'm debating between this and the A7 IV. The extra pixels are certainly awesome, but not a deal breaker. In terms of Autofocus, is the A7R V much better than the A7 IV? Thanks!
Hi Dustin. I am very confused about the real world benefit of 61mp vs 33mp. Seems like the 61mp benefit is just for cropping. Is there a real world image quality benefit when not cropping, in your experience? Thanks so much! Art.
For me it is important for testing lenses, but obviously my needs are much different than most people's. So yes, I would say the main benefit is cropping...though also the ability to have a very useful 26MP APS-C mode. That really does allow you to use even more lenses in a still useful way.
Amen on the knuckles rubbing against the lens. This is my biggest complaint since moving to Sony years ago. And I’ve always needed to use the pinky grip attachment when not using the vertical grip attachment. I think Sony cameras were designed for tiny hands.
Great review, as always. Also, am I the only person that uses my pinky underneath as a stability point of contact? I have yet to find a reviewer that does that.
Just another question, mostly from a Macro photographer's point of view On my existing FF body (A7R3), I often find myself cropping for the end result Instead, I could have used the crop mode on my A7R3, thus apart from not being concerned with the area I wouldn't be using anyway (and smaller files), also benefit for that extra DoF But the crop mode on the A7R3 would give me less than the 24MP of my a6300 - thus, lose somewhat in pixel density and therefore clarity My question here, with regard to the crop mode of this new A7R5 (26MP?) vs the native a6300 (24MP) Should I expect to see a fractional increase in terms of IQ whilst shooting with an A7R5 in crop mode (as opposed to my a6300)? Is a direct comparison as this feasible or am I missing something from the equation?
Thank you for the detail review of this camera. As tempting as the A7R V is after you showing the mRAW quality at 26MP, I am still going to hold back the upgrade from A7 IV and hoping for A1 II to have the 61MP and more features over the A7R IV.
A 20% resolution increase doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe in 2 or 3 generations they'll make a significant increase. Hard to imagine 80, 100mp stacked. But, tech can evolve a lot over time
I own the A7Cii and I recently compared it against my S5ii. I still like Panasonics colors better but I find the Sony AF to be much faster and this new AI processing is pretty much perfect. If you want anything in focus I cannot get this thing to miss. I happily sold my Fuji stuff. Little by little I'm moving over to 100% Sony. Good deals on this one now so the A7RV may be best for me.
Both cameras are awesome. They each have subtle strengths relative to the other, but for me the Sony wins for the whole ecosystem. So many more quality lens choices at a variety of price points.
Hi Dustin, thanks for another great review. How is it for attracting sensor dust please? I sold my A7R3a recently after 2 frustrating years because it picked up dust more or less every time I changed lens, despite every precaution outdoors lens changes permits, meaning unseen specks ruined much of my travel video footage. It was something you mentioned as a particular problem in your A7R3 review a few years back, but haven't mentioned since, though I hear people saying the lame non-ultrasonic sensor shaking Sony employs, using just the sensor stabilising motor, is completely ineffectual. This has been my A7R3 experience: not once has the sensor cleaning menu action ever removed a single speck, even afterultiple runs. I held onto my 24mm GM, Zriss 50mm, Samyang 75mm, and Samyang 135mm for Sony, hoping the newer bodies will be more dust resistant. Have they arrived there yet? Very many thanks! Jim
I know exactly what you mean about the a7R3. I had the same issues. Fortunately Sony has radically improved that area of design. Between the option to have the shutter doors closed down to protect the sensor and better coatings, I don't know that I've had to blow off the sensor more than a couple of times...and I obviously change lenses constantly.
Im an absolute begginer and i bought the a9 because i loved the 3 dials on top. Ive gone to a few parties at night and its ridiculous how these things just work the focus is so good and all you have to do is just tap on the screen. I think these days skill is more important than the camera 😅
thank u for the detailed video! however I would be happy to hear some comparison regarding in body ef. JPEG image quality (high iso/sharpness) as I have no time for raw post processing and so using JPEG. thanks
Thank you Dustin, always enjoying watching your in depth reviews before purchasing any gear. Curious if there is a difference in dynamic range by going to mraw or sraw, like the advantages you saw in high iso performance?
I'm still torn on whether to get this or the A1. So many things to love about the A1 but that price, even with the end of 2023 drop, is still very steep. Great review nonetheless. Didn't know you were a pastor Dustin!
HI DUSTIN, GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS.. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL OR IF POSSIBLE DEMONSTRATE, HOW MUCH CROP AN ACTIVE STABILIZATION MODE AND FOCUS BREATHING COMPENSATION MODE TOGETHER CAUSE ON A SONY 35MM 1.4 GM IN VIDEO MODE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BUY THIS LENS. YOUR GUIDANCE WILL HELP A LOT. THANK YOU....
You can actually see that in this video. Just compare the framing of the video without focus breathing compensation on and the one that shows it afterward.
Great review! Detailed, concise, and thorough. I will be buying this Sony to replace my Panasonic GH3 which is very long in the tooth. It promised to be a great combo cam. Sadly it did not prove to be that. While it decent videos and ok stills, it was a pain to use because it would only store ONE set of parameters for both. Barely usable. The a7RV is what the GH3 promoted, but did not deliver - a true combo cam that delivers great stills and video. Thanks again for a great review.
What I've been thinking these several months. Will Sony spin off the R series to a medium format system? Sony does make medium format sensors. An increase in resolution for future models makes it sensible. The only issue is a second mount and need to increase production lines for lenses.
That’s an interesting question. It’s true that Sony has pretty much done everything in the full frame mirror less space. Can they make medium format accessible (and commercial) in a way that FUJIFilm has not fully achieved?
Dustin, is there any way you can take high iso shots (6400 to 12,800) with the same lens on A7iv vs A7Rv on medium Raw? The file size is almost the same and I assume many people would be curious how they stack up. If the A7Rv is the clear winner here, there isn’t any advantage the A7iv has for photos
Ooo.. u have satisfied my query on whether the down sampling of the 61mp to lower res will improve noise. Cuz thats what phones do to improve noise control. Thanks!
Great review, I would like to have you test for BIF. As the mirroresscomparison site found its BIF performance worse that the a7iv and a7riv. Would to have seen your test in it
I'm actually in the process of purchasing an a7RV, so I will do further tests, but I would be very surprised if the BIF is worse, as the a7RV has the AI machine learning that really helps tracking.
Hi Dustin, very useful review! Once conern I have about the a7RV is the file size (I don't need 61Mpx resolution, and the storage and procesing that brings), so I was very interested in what commented about the mRAW and sRAW, especially with respect to noise at higher ISO (I like to take photos in low light situations). I'm having a hard time deciding whether to go for the a7IV and the a7RV (the first is cheaper, does have better articulated screen than my A6600) but the second has an even more flexible articulated screen and some interesting AI-based features. Still, because photo in low light situations is something important for me, I was wondering whether you had an opinion as to what is best between the low light picture quality of the a/IV and that of the a/RV shooting in mRAW o sRaw... Thanks in advance!
I feel like investing in the a7RV is the better long term strategy. It has newer technology, the MRAW option gives you more versatility in terms of resolution, and having that high resolution can come in handy. You could also sell your a6600 as the 26MP APS-c mode is actually higher quality than your a6600.
Incredibly effective tool that's a pleasure to hold and do work with. You can rest assured that the AF won't disappoint 99.9998% of the time. It's crazy how smart this piece of tech is. Pair it with good quality gm or Sigma art glass and you'll be amazed.
Hi Dustin, thanks for the terrific review. One thing I was hoping would be addressed is my A7r4’s sensor is a dust and dirt magnet. Have they done anything to improve that? Hoping you’ll say yes. Once I get it really well cleaned again I almost hate to open the camera to change lenses.
Not better. It does have some newer focus algorithms, but the Alpha 1 is still the best focusing camera that Sony makes. More focus points, more processing speed, faster readout, etc...
How would you compare the ease of taking sharp photos with this high resolution camera compared with another, but older, high resolution camera, the 5DSR? I was gifted one and find it challenging for the exact reasons outlined in your past review (noise, bilurr, softness) and was wondering if it's worth learning to master it or if my time would be better served shifting to new technology?
A few factors help the newer camera. The inclusion of IBIS gives stability to shots. It’s much better in terms of high ISO performance. It has a better focus system. The 5DSr was fine under ideal conditions, but the a7RV is just an easy camera to use in a wide variety of situations.
Thank you Dustin, I really appreciate your reviews. I used to have an A7R3 and upgraded it to A7R5 two weeks ago. I think I will intensively use M-Raw option with this camera. İt is great option for me too :) Sony finally did it this time. Additionally, could you also review Sony 24-70mm GM 2.8 II and 70-200mm GM 2.8 II lenses, please?
Excellent objective review, Dustin. I would like to know your opinion about the lenses which I have for my Sony A7Riii. Is Zeiss 2.8/18, batis 2/25 and sony FE 4/24-105 usefull for the sony A7R V of should I buy for the Sony A7R V other lenses with more quality? All the best from the Netherlands.
Great review, one of the best I’ve seen of the A7RV, I have one question, does it work with the Sony 200-600?, I purchased the A9M2, because the A7RIV could not work well with the lens.
Hi David, I didn't do a lot of tests with the 200-600 (wrong time of year), but I haven't heard the negative focus feedback at all with the a7RV that I did with the RIV.
Great review as always Dustin! I’m left with one question please, do you know if you set it to medium raw and then punch in to apsc mode, if the image taken in apsc mode is still 26 MP? I saw another video saying this was the case but I’d rather have that confirmed by a more trusted reviewer! Thanks!
Thanks@@DustinAbbottTWI - I do weddings and have more hybrid ones coming up where having the extra versatility from a prime lens could be handy for the photo side. 61MP is too much so I really like the medium raw option and that's a real sweetener that it can maintain that in apsc mode! Thanks for your confirmation!
Imaging Edge can import the SML Lossless RAW but most photo viewers will not recognize the file type YET... Adobe LR/PS on CC 23 are not really working yet either but I have not updated in a while. Compressed RAW and Uncompressed RAW do work in PS LR.
Great review as usual. Have you tested any birds in flight or moving subjects? I have an A7RII and had a A7RIV for a few months. I liked the handling of the camera but the auto focus will still not up to snuff when shooting moving subjects. Any thoughts on this? Is this a good alternative to the more expensive A1? Thanks.
Great review. After viewing your video on the A74, I came out conflicted. Please do a comparison or the A74 vs A7R5. It might be the added cost gives you something far superior to the more affordable A74. I came out thinking that if I am to get a new camera body, I have to go with the A7R5. It's seems to be vastly superior in many way. Plus I like the idea of the 61mp sensor.
The dynamic range is not hugely different (about 1/2 stop advantage for the GFX), but I would favor the GFX for color rendition and tonality. I wouldn't say the noise is all that different.
Hi Dustin, thank you for this great review. Would you recommend this camera for wildlife photography and birds in flight? I purchased the Sony 200-600 for my a7rii some months ago and it turned out that I enjoy photographing wildlife more than any other type of photography. I'd like to have better autofocus though. An a9 would be suited for fast action, but I wouldn't want to have less megapixels than I have now and the a1 is way too expensive.
Great review, thanks! Given your confidence in med-raw quality, do you think med raw would produce equivalent crop capability as full-raw (assume like 50% crop)?
Camera manufacturers need to be working very hard on developing noiseless, high ISO. Imagine if you could shoot in almost any light with auto ISO on, and never worry about noise.
Hi Dustin, thanks for the very helpful and realistic breakdown and explanation. I intend to get the A7R-V for 3 personal reasons, much better EVF & LCD resolution (to compensate for my weak eyesight) and tilt screen option. I am wondering if I shoot stills in full frame medium Raw or medium jpegs 26MP (not aps-c mode), will the high ISO performance be better/less noisy compared to shooting in full 61MP? I ask because its a common understanding that less megapixel cameras have better high ISO performance than high megapixels cameras. For me high ISO is over 3200 I'd appreciate your input Thanks in advance
The quality of the EVF drops drastically when you put in focus.... And yes I have the anti flick turned off... the only way is to put standard quality monitor / evf ...
Been following you for quite sometime, I purchased the a7r5. Have an A1 I’m not going to say anything because I don’t test like you do. But being that you have both. Witch do you think does a better job with Photos
Would like to see if god permits a a7rv vs a1 showdown by you. I understand how much work goes into these productions and value your time. Thanks once again
The A1 sensor is slightly compromised by comparison by being stacked and having that very fast readout. In terms of just image quality the a7R5 would be a bit better.
Dustin, I have Tamron EF lenses because I'm a Canon user. Do you think by using the adaptor for EF to E mount will operate the Sony a7r V to that lenses?
I currently own the a9 and a7R4a. Do you think trading these 2 bodies for the a7R5 would be a good move? Apart from the a9's blackout free system, does the Rv's AF keep up?
Thanks so much for these in depth and dependable reviews. I find myself adding your name into the search bar in combination with whatever product I’m considering. I do have a question on the a7r5 that I haven’t found much information on. So. The infamous rolling shutter. Video is not important to me at all but I tend to shoot stills with a silent shutter a good deal. I focus on bird photography with sometimes skittish ducks, warblers, etc. mainly small songbirds. I rarely shoot birds in flight and if I do I switch over to a mechanical shutter so BIF and crazy fast action isn’t something I need this camera to excel in. However. This has the slowest sensor readout in any current Sony camera body…is this going to cause artifacts and distortion, say if a duck is flapping its wings or a songbird moves its head quickly on a perch? Most of my images are perched or stationary birds but those quick little movements while perched are also very important to me. I don’t need to be able to freeze hummingbirds with a silent shutter, but I do need to capture a small songbird as it forages on a branch or blade of tall grass. Is this an unrealistic expectation with the silent shutter? Thanks again and, if you made it this far in my question, I look forward to hearing your opinion.
Hi Michael, that's a solid question, but I'm not sure that I tested the camera enough in that kind of setting to give you a quality assessment. I did this review in deep winter when there are very few birds or other animals in motion, so it's a little hard to assess things like that.
Hi , Is the Full frame Xtra fine 26 MP JPEG also benefitting in Low light on A7R5 compared to 61 MP JPEG. Can u suggest on it . i am basically a JPEG shooter and confused between buying a74 and a7r5 , i have good budget for a7r5 and will pull the plug for it , if 26 MP JPEG is also benefitting in low light. You can shoot in 61MP in good lighning for extra detail and resolution on A7R5 and switch to 26 MP for low light benefits if light goes down. i have seen and read that medium RAW benefit s in low light , but so should 26 MP jpeg too , just wanted to confirm with you on it . Thank you.
I believe that it does. Essentially you are downsampling in camera from the full resolution to the smaller resolution point, which allows for cleaner looking images on a pixel level.
@@sulev111 seems that many consider the a7iii a great camera for astrophotography . I have the a7iii that I would use for low light and astrophotography and the a7riii for landscape and most other uses. I am thinking about getting the a7rv to replace both. Thoughts?
Rented one to replace my Canon R5. Totally bummed to see they took out eye autofocus 🥺. In this day and age that’s crazy. I’ve gotten spoiled now be able to shoot in spot mode on a glass in models hand then push back button and nail her eye without changing settings. Figured I was doing something wrong, called Sony and they said nope it’s no longer in the menu system.
I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are saying. Human Eye AF has certainly not been removed from Sony cameras. If anything it is more robust than ever.
@@DustinAbbottTWI take a look in the menu there is no more eye autofocus that you can program the back button for. So you can’t shoot in spot focus (box is in subjects face but spot is in focus) the push back button to switch to subjects eye. I use this with models a lot if they are holding something I need in focus (ring) then I need the ring out and models eye in. Can’t do this with A7R5 but I can with A74. Sony tech confirmed they took out the manual eye autofocus 😫
Hmmm, I'm not exactly familiar with the scenario you describe, but it would be surprising if they are taking a step back on something in terms of focus.
@@DustinAbbottTWI absolutely love your YT videos! Was hoping you could explain a work around for this. All I get back is there is no way they would do this so I guess I’m not communicating the issue correctly. Thank you for your time Dustin and keep up the great work!
Perhaps it's enough (for your described situation perhaps even better..) to dedicate a buton (not anymore to Eye-focus, but) to temporarely go into another "camera memory custom" mode (not turn top wheel) where you have wideAF-with-human-recognition. I dont remember how this very creative option is called (especially in English, not my setting), and it is NOT like switching to o e of the 3 Custom modes of camera. (A week later: now I'm coming back because I know now that there is even a more strait forward af function that you can dedicate to a buton and replacing what you want to achieve (with the now absent eye-af-on-of) - but I again don't have the camera with me and again I would have to find the corrolating english designation of that ootion... It's safe to resume that the solution is even better then what you say officials had to admit has gone missing..yes but for better.
I've had this for 2 months or so now. .The most honest thing I can say is that it's like having a cheat code on. Video, autofocus...image quality are sensational. Makes me think the a1ii and the a9iii are gonna be stupidly gd too.the a7r5 is incredible imo
Its £3000 now here in the UK about £1000 more than I wanted to pay, but its just got everything I could need for hybrid work. I plan on getting the Tamron 20-40mm and keeping that lens on permanently. My current lenses are 20 24 35 and 50. I reckon if I put it into crop mode at 40 im covered
That's the way I felt the first time I did tracking with an a9. It was so effortless compared to anything I'd seen on DSLRs.
@@markshirley01 With those lenses you''ll enjoy this camera
Its an excellent second camera for my A1. I love using it and sometimes leave the a1 at home.
@@markshirley01 £3000 in the UK? Where?
Totally agree Dustin. Not only has Sony added some great features to this camera such as the rear screen and AI focusing, it’s the fact that it’s implemented and tidied up so many minor things that really makes it feel complete. I feel like I’m using a camera from a camera company rather than an electronics company. I’ll mostly use medium raw reserving the large raw for landscape/architecture/macro. I love that I can use medium raw and then use APSC mode to get extra length from the lens with the resolution staying the same.
"I feel like I’m using a camera from a camera company rather than an electronics company." That's a great line. I should have thought it up and used it ;)
You definitely brought up some good points and a great perspective about it being a camera from a camera company instead of an electronics company. You gave me an excellent thing to truly think about!!! Thank you!!! This camera on my to buy list!!!
@@DustinAbbottTWIAndy brought that perspective home!!!
Andy, good comments. I am looking forward to getting mine.
About “…tidied up so many things…”, I can’t comment much because I have no experience with the Alpha series. That said, I’m a retired software engineer with 40+ years experience. What I learned in that time is that many engineers (software, hardware, etc) develop features they think are important but customers do not.
My Panasonic GH3 is full of those features. It got so bad that I stopped using it and just got by with my iPhone for the last several years.
I’ve watched many a7RV You Tubes over the last month or so. My constant reactions have been, “Damn that’s nice.” “Oooh, be still my heart”. “That’s a feature I can use!” 💕. And your comment was right on…. Unlike Panasonic (based on my experience), Sony is a camera company and not an electronics company. The a7R5 is mature and appears to have ALL of the major features that I want.
I remember some of your older videos where we both agreed that Sony needed to implement a smaller RAW option. I'm very glad to see that not only they listened, but that the result is really good!
Exactly.
Have to add something I did a test of: I like to do Bracketed captures for sunrise and sets. i went out to a favorite spot and tried the 5 at +/- 2EV Hand Held and got 30 separate shots 5 images each put together in both Lr and ON ONE Photo Raw all came out perfect. I guess the Pixel shift capture hand held development roiled over to bracketing-- So you can leave your sticks at home!
That's pretty cool.
Dustin, thanks for the best body and lens reviews (on UA-cam or anywhere for that matter). Your reviews are comprehensive, meticulous and always spot on.
My pleasure!
Update for me 9/5/23. Sony is running a sale with rebate and trade-in bonus for a total of $900 USD off om the A7RV, so today I traded my A7RIV in and bought the A7RV, a really nice upgrade to a high-resolution camera I have used around the world and loved the images I have made with it. . Looking forward to all the better features and performance. Have the Viltrox 16mm f1.8 coming too, both from my favorite mom and pop dealer Allen Camera, outside Philadelphia, Pa. Thanks for your always comprehensive and superb test/reviews. This will join my A1 and my A7SIII. Cheers and best to you.
I'm really enjoying the a7RV - probably as much as I have enjoyed any Sony camera, including my A1
@@DustinAbbottTWI sounds great. Cheers and best to you.
Excellent video. I just purchased this camera and your video helped to better understand it. Thanks for taking the time to make it.
Glad it was helpful!
I upgrade my A7Rii to A7RV after 7 years of using only the A7Rii.. I cant be happier. I still shoot my A7rii but man o man... technology move so fast in 7 years time.
Especially the AF.. AF has advance so much over the years.
I can imagine what a huge upgrade that must feel like.
Watching this at 1440p on an iPad Pro 12.9 inch and I am blown away at the noise performance. None of those look unusable to me, even the higher ISOs have a pleasing grain. I might change my mind if I saw them for myself in a desktop monitor and maybe the 240ppi is helping, but that’s not obnoxious. Maybe you have Lightroom noise reduction switched on? In any case we’ve come a LONG way from what my old digital camera can do, where by the time you hit 1600 it’s utter trash and in practice you don’t want to stray beyond 200 if possible.
We've definitely come a long way.
This camera came out 6 months too late for me.
I liked the a7RIV, but it was missing too many QoL features that I was looking for. Hence why I went for the Nikon Z7II and have been very happy with it thus far (albeit without the nice selection of third party lenses on Sony, at least for now).
But it's fantastic to see Sony address pretty much all of my complaints with this revision. They've finally done it.
It's always tough when a company does what you want...a little too late!
But you do have access to those fantastic Nikon Z lenses, which really are the best in the industry.
Nikon is way far behind. I would not invest. Sony, Canon is the way to go.
Thanks for the comprehensive photo focused review. It would be a real help to know the limits of the A7RV and operate within the best range for this camera.
My pleasure.
Thank you Dustin for the review, as always very nice and through! Probably worth mentioning that Sony added few welcome futters like focus stacking, expanded bulb mode and improved pixel shift mode.
Looking forward for review of new Sony lenses - 70-200GM II and 24-70 GM II :)
I've got those lenses both coming mid-February.
Any shutter shock when using full mechanical shutter?
I have this an the fx3… perfect combo. I like it a lot better than the A7IV. Not that it’s bad, it’s just if you want the extras and they have value to you. No brainer.
It's a great camera.
One of those credible reviewers out there.
Thank you
Excellent review Dustin. I certainly agree with your conclusion that the A7R5 is a very complete camera. My first Sony body was the original nex-7. This is when Sony first to introduced the e-mount system.
Since then many of the Sony cameras have suffered with autofocus and image quality issues and actual camera performance. The A7R 5 demonstrates years of r&d that has produced a excellent result. Looking over a recent event shoot that I did I found that I had so many of the profile shots where you could hardly see the eye many of them the subjects had on glasses were perfectly and focus. Even in a recent partridge shoot with my mother the autofocus nailed her eye threw a pair of dark sunglasses. Not to mention how impressed I have been with the cameras ability to quickly transfer images onto my phone. It's not perfect but it is one of the best somebody cameras that I have ever used.
That's great anecdotal feedback.
Dustin, if you were in the market for a video camera, choosing between an FX3 or this A7RV, which one would you go for?
The FX3 is a dedicated video camera, though the a7RV is a very balanced all around camera (I bought one, myself)
It can be nice to see the m raw a7rv vs a full raw a7iv to see witch one is more noisy
Interesting idea.
25:00 I learned something new here. That is a good trick. If I need to go really high ISO, I'll use 26MP mRAW
I saw something similar back on the Canon 5DsR, so I was watching for it here.
Hey Brother, late to this one :D. As always wonderful review. I just placed an A7RV on order… fixed several needs I’ve discovered with my A7iv… the first one being reach. One of the selling points of the Sony system is it’s lens eco-system, one of the drawbacks is no TC for 3rd party. I snagged a 50-400 for sub $1k and have been loving it, but I really need to get out to 600mm so I’ve been looking seriously at Fuji or Sony A6700 etc. I then ran across a thread on DPR applauding the A7RV’s secret Crop Mode weapon due to it’s 26mp resolution… this effectively gives all my lenses 2 different usable focal lengths. Even though you can just crop in post, the smaller file sizes and the improved AF at distances (BIF etc.) is an amazing feature. I was secretly waiting for a D500 replacement (Z800?), but this is a better solution. I’ve also found I haven’t been using my A7IV as much as my Z6ii since purchasing it and have had a hard time figuring out why till I looked at a higher rez screen on a friends camera… that was it! Because I feel the need to look at everything in post on the lower rez screens of the A7IV it’s a deterrent to me wanting to use it… seems shallow, but that was the reason. The A7RV has the same rear screen rez/dimensions as my Z6ii plus a 9mp EVF! I’m excited to test your M-Raw findings as well. The more I thought this through (and with the current rebates) I decided this was really everything I needed and wanted… such a flexible and well-rounded camera. This setup will give me the reach I’m looking for without purchasing another lens and roughly for the same price as getting an A6700 after selling the A7iv. When I bite the 200-600mm Sony bullet with the 2X TC I could get out to ~1800mm in crop mode! Thanks again Dustin, extremely informative review!
You'll enjoy that ability to crop. It is very useful.
There are a lot of areas to cover like a book I got over 900 pgs. I have the A7s iii and this camera I found noise the same when doing Milky Way capture. This camera was way more sensitive to light at night, Siii 3200 but V had to come down to 800 and a faster SS of 2s vs the 8s both getting excellent sharp stars using NPF for accurate for each model. I only wish for the old playmemories Digital Filter I had on my A7S and A7rii (will never get rid of)- yes in camera processing a sky and foreground of different settings processed in camera with a RAW output. A lot of in store SONY reps never knew about, just bring it back!
That would be a nice feature. It's similar to Fuji's DR200 and DR400 settings.
Nice job on the review, as always! I've just spent some time with the camera and have been looking closely at the underexposure recovery, comparing it to the A7rii I also have. Even though the noise is about a half stop worse in the new camera, I'm really pleased with the ability to recover underexposed images. I've found that it's better to underexpose by 4 stops at ISO 100, than it is to correctly expose at ISO 1600. The A7rii could only benefit from a 3 stop push.
The RII has a great sensor for ISO sensitivity, but dynamic range has improved a bit in the RV
@@DustinAbbottTWI yes it has, I think the two things get conflated often. Very closely related, but not the same thing
Hey Dustin! I just wanted to thank you for your definitive review of the A7rV. I've watched a lot of them on YT, but yours is by far the best when going over the photography features of this camera. I'm really glad you went over the MRAW and SRAW options. I totally agree with you, that this camera is a very complete system. I admit I was at first very dismissive of the the A7rV especially being an A1 owner myself, but after I was able to get my hands on one to test, I completely underestimated the capabilities of this camera. The flexibility of essentially a tri-resolution sensor, mixed with its AF improvements, rear screen design, and overall improved processing compared to the A7rIV, makes me really think about making this my secondary or B camera to my Sony A1.
I'm curious, to see how it compares in dynamic range and high ISO performance when comparing it to the A7IV. I'm considering selling my A7IV to replace it with the A7rV if I can get similar or better high iso performance compared to the A7IV. I know that the A7IV has a larger ISO range, but I am curious about how they compare within the normal ISO range. This camera was a lot better than I had thought!
It's a very solid camera now. I'm impressed.
If I get A7RV as my first camera with 70-200mm F4 macro G ii and just use standard Yellow iPhone 15 to shoot closer things with its 13mm, 26mm and 52mm, is it good setup if I'm just hobbyist with good understanding of photography and compositions who want to enjoy shooting and use for personal products shots too? I choose Sony over other brands because they have the lens with unique feature I want like super tele with macro ability that I mentioned, power zoom lens and standard zoom that start from ultra wide 20mm and I love Sony as a brand too. I choose this over A7CII/R because of its good EVF and 4 ways tilt screen and smaller body don't give benefit with big lens other than weight saving and people still notice you have a camera, A7RV is like just as small but with a big EVF attached. Should I get another lens right away, I have the 16-35mm F4 PZ G in mind, or I should get something faster and prime that still light weight on gimbal? I don't really care for bokeh, that tele will able to do it too if I want to, I like my photos and videos to have story and creativity and not blur out the contexts.
Also, have you wonder why put so many effort just to take photos and videos and not just use phone camera to record here and there if it's not your primary work and also your content not all will get pass down and value later?
And what camera setup you bring in everyday life and travel, some people use less bulky and performance camera for their own life but use fancy gears for clients and travel, why, isn't everyday life is most parts of our life and important too?
Enjoy!
some great grey import deals on this camera right now .. very tempting .. this truly is a great camera . thanks for your reviews Dustin , I don't know anyone who does reviews like you who I can trust & respect
The full size RAW to Medium RAW was exactly what I was hoping to see. It could be useful to configure one of the custom dials to a Medium RAW high burst rate setting. At full size RAW it's a bit rough dealing with strings of 123mb files. That works out to over 1gb per second of shooting.
Sure you lose the cropping power, but on the other hand smaller files with some better color performance. If you shoot a static subject you can always swap back to full size image and drop the shutter speed and burst rate. I'm satisfied.
What I'm eager to see is if some of the improvements in the A7RV make it into an A9III.
Exactly.
What do you mean by better color performance on the smaller files?
Dustin, this is your most informative review to date. Thank you!
I currently use mostly an a7Riv but I have also used the a7Rv and intend to purchase it. What I learned from this review is that noise in medium compressed lossless RAW is noticeably less than in 61mp capture. For low light, astro, my 61mp a7Riv is actually superior to the a7iv 33mp. The noise is finer grain, easier to suppress in post without losing image detail. else has investigated this, and it is intriguing. Perhaps the new lossless compressed M 26mp will be better yet?
It probably should be, yes.
Very informative video. It is giving me a better understanding of my new camera. I have a question. What is the name of the desk tripod you are using? Thank you
Glad it helps. Oben Tabletop Tripod shown in video: bhpho.to/3vL8YWy
Great review - thanks. What I can never understand is why manufacturers build in such vast ISO options when noise decimates the images?!
Different people have different tolerances for noise...and some of it is for marketing purposes.
With new noise reductions… noise issues are gone. Iso 12800 treated is like 5 years ago iso 3200
Awesome review Dustin! I'm a vet here in California, and I'd recommend having those deciduous canine teeth extracted on your cat. They are basically persistent baby teeth on the upper canines and can cause serious problems for the adult teeth that are already erupting and trying to come in normally. Adorable cats though!
Thanks for the feedback.
I'm debating between this and the A7 IV. The extra pixels are certainly awesome, but not a deal breaker. In terms of Autofocus, is the A7R V much better than the A7 IV? Thanks!
Frankly both cameras focus great, so if you don't need the extra pixels, the a7IV remains a strong camera.
Hi Dustin. I am very confused about the real world benefit of 61mp vs 33mp. Seems like the 61mp benefit is just for cropping. Is there a real world image quality benefit when not cropping, in your experience? Thanks so much! Art.
For me it is important for testing lenses, but obviously my needs are much different than most people's. So yes, I would say the main benefit is cropping...though also the ability to have a very useful 26MP APS-C mode. That really does allow you to use even more lenses in a still useful way.
20:27 the noise is obvious with ISO 1600 and it's quite noticable.
Higher resolution always results in higher visible noise, though there are options (as I detail) for reducing that.
Amen on the knuckles rubbing against the lens. This is my biggest complaint since moving to Sony years ago. And I’ve always needed to use the pinky grip attachment when not using the vertical grip attachment. I think Sony cameras were designed for tiny hands.
Exactly.
Great review, as always. Also, am I the only person that uses my pinky underneath as a stability point of contact? I have yet to find a reviewer that does that.
I can't speak for other reviewers, but I don't do that myself.
Wow! You really got me there! My first SLR was a Pentax Spotmatic F, around 1977.
That's cool!
Excellent work, as always, Dustin! Currently waiting for my a7r v to arrive. Can't wait for it!
Enjoy!
You will love it. Paired with the 135GM its excellent even in low light it just works!
Thank you ,very helpful. It would be good to see DR for Medium RAW and High ISO, especially for wedding or indoor events
I believe I do demonstrate high ISO MRAW here.
Just another question, mostly from a Macro photographer's point of view
On my existing FF body (A7R3), I often find myself cropping for the end result
Instead, I could have used the crop mode on my A7R3, thus apart from not being concerned with the area I wouldn't be using anyway (and smaller files), also benefit for that extra DoF
But the crop mode on the A7R3 would give me less than the 24MP of my a6300 - thus, lose somewhat in pixel density and therefore clarity
My question here, with regard to the crop mode of this new A7R5 (26MP?) vs the native a6300 (24MP)
Should I expect to see a fractional increase in terms of IQ whilst shooting with an A7R5 in crop mode (as opposed to my a6300)?
Is a direct comparison as this feasible or am I missing something from the equation?
That screen 🤩🤩🤩
(Fujifilm had something along those lines with the T100, alas they left it there.)
It's a shame, as the screen is great on the a7R5
Thank you for the detail review of this camera. As tempting as the A7R V is after you showing the mRAW quality at 26MP, I am still going to hold back the upgrade from A7 IV and hoping for A1 II to have the 61MP and more features over the A7R IV.
Hmmm, there's no guarantee that they can do a stacked sensor at the 61MP resolution
@@DustinAbbottTWI Just got to have… faith!😉
A 20% resolution increase doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe in 2 or 3 generations they'll make a significant increase. Hard to imagine 80, 100mp stacked. But, tech can evolve a lot over time
I own the A7Cii and I recently compared it against my S5ii. I still like Panasonics colors better but I find the Sony AF to be much faster and this new AI processing is pretty much perfect. If you want anything in focus I cannot get this thing to miss. I happily sold my Fuji stuff. Little by little I'm moving over to 100% Sony. Good deals on this one now so the A7RV may be best for me.
Another wonderful, well detailed review Dustin, thank you.
My pleasure!
Thanks again Dustin for another comprehensive real-world review. You are the best. Cheers
My pleasure!
Dustin I remember your review with the Canon R5 and you really loved it and now the Sony R5 is out how do they compare?
Both cameras are awesome. They each have subtle strengths relative to the other, but for me the Sony wins for the whole ecosystem. So many more quality lens choices at a variety of price points.
Hi Dustin, thanks for another great review. How is it for attracting sensor dust please? I sold my A7R3a recently after 2 frustrating years because it picked up dust more or less every time I changed lens, despite every precaution outdoors lens changes permits, meaning unseen specks ruined much of my travel video footage. It was something you mentioned as a particular problem in your A7R3 review a few years back, but haven't mentioned since, though I hear people saying the lame non-ultrasonic sensor shaking Sony employs, using just the sensor stabilising motor, is completely ineffectual. This has been my A7R3 experience: not once has the sensor cleaning menu action ever removed a single speck, even afterultiple runs. I held onto my 24mm GM, Zriss 50mm, Samyang 75mm, and Samyang 135mm for Sony, hoping the newer bodies will be more dust resistant. Have they arrived there yet? Very many thanks! Jim
I know exactly what you mean about the a7R3. I had the same issues. Fortunately Sony has radically improved that area of design. Between the option to have the shutter doors closed down to protect the sensor and better coatings, I don't know that I've had to blow off the sensor more than a couple of times...and I obviously change lenses constantly.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Great to hear that, many thanks!
Hi Sir what is the link to get this table tripod plz thank you
Oben Tabletop Tripod shown in video: bhpho.to/3vL8YWy
Im an absolute begginer and i bought the a9 because i loved the 3 dials on top. Ive gone to a few parties at night and its ridiculous how these things just work the focus is so good and all you have to do is just tap on the screen. I think these days skill is more important than the camera 😅
AF starting with the a9 definitely started to get ridiculously good.
thank u for the detailed video! however I would be happy to hear some comparison regarding in body ef. JPEG image quality (high iso/sharpness) as I have no time for raw post processing and so using JPEG. thanks
Hi
What is that tripod you are using?
Thanks
Oben Tabletop Tripod shown in video: bhpho.to/3vL8YWy
Thank you Dustin, always enjoying watching your in depth reviews before purchasing any gear.
Curious if there is a difference in dynamic range by going to mraw or sraw, like the advantages you saw in high iso performance?
The only difference might be in the noise levels.
I'm still torn on whether to get this or the A1. So many things to love about the A1 but that price, even with the end of 2023 drop, is still very steep. Great review nonetheless. Didn't know you were a pastor Dustin!
HI DUSTIN, GREAT VIDEO AS ALWAYS.. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL OR IF POSSIBLE DEMONSTRATE, HOW MUCH CROP AN ACTIVE STABILIZATION MODE AND FOCUS BREATHING COMPENSATION MODE TOGETHER CAUSE ON A SONY 35MM 1.4 GM IN VIDEO MODE. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BUY THIS LENS. YOUR GUIDANCE WILL HELP A LOT. THANK YOU....
You can actually see that in this video. Just compare the framing of the video without focus breathing compensation on and the one that shows it afterward.
Great review! Detailed, concise, and thorough.
I will be buying this Sony to replace my Panasonic GH3 which is very long in the tooth. It promised to be a great combo cam. Sadly it did not prove to be that. While it decent videos and ok stills, it was a pain to use because it would only store ONE set of parameters for both. Barely usable.
The a7RV is what the GH3 promoted, but did not deliver - a true combo cam that delivers great stills and video.
Thanks again for a great review.
I think you'll like the a7RV. I certainly do.
What I've been thinking these several months. Will Sony spin off the R series to a medium format system? Sony does make medium format sensors. An increase in resolution for future models makes it sensible. The only issue is a second mount and need to increase production lines for lenses.
That’s an interesting question. It’s true that Sony has pretty much done everything in the full frame mirror less space. Can they make medium format accessible (and commercial) in a way that FUJIFilm has not fully achieved?
Is this the best podcast camera or is there a better one for that, videos + photos for podcasting?
I guess that depends if your photos require very high resolution. There are cheaper alternatives for shooting quality video plus good photos.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I always figured the more resolution the better but I guess too much resolution can be a problem
With this camera, you seem to get all the new features but also no 120 4K video
Dustin, is there any way you can take high iso shots (6400 to 12,800) with the same lens on A7iv vs A7Rv on medium Raw? The file size is almost the same and I assume many people would be curious how they stack up. If the A7Rv is the clear winner here, there isn’t any advantage the A7iv has for photos
I do plan on buying an a7RV soon, so that might be an interesting exercise.
Have you had a chance to evaluate the older Zeiss ZF lenses on the Sony A7R5?
I have not.
Nice video, thanks! But no one word for terrible rolling shutter in video...
I didn't really notice that either during my review or in the month that I've owned one more recently. Some things get a little exaggerated on UA-cam.
Ooo.. u have satisfied my query on whether the down sampling of the 61mp to lower res will improve noise. Cuz thats what phones do to improve noise control. Thanks!
My pleasure.
Great review, I would like to have you test for BIF. As the mirroresscomparison site found its BIF performance worse that the a7iv and a7riv. Would to have seen your test in it
I'm actually in the process of purchasing an a7RV, so I will do further tests, but I would be very surprised if the BIF is worse, as the a7RV has the AI machine learning that really helps tracking.
Hi Dustin, very useful review! Once conern I have about the a7RV is the file size (I don't need 61Mpx resolution, and the storage and procesing that brings), so I was very interested in what commented about the mRAW and sRAW, especially with respect to noise at higher ISO (I like to take photos in low light situations). I'm having a hard time deciding whether to go for the a7IV and the a7RV (the first is cheaper, does have better articulated screen than my A6600) but the second has an even more flexible articulated screen and some interesting AI-based features. Still, because photo in low light situations is something important for me, I was wondering whether you had an opinion as to what is best between the low light picture quality of the a/IV and that of the a/RV shooting in mRAW o sRaw...
Thanks in advance!
I feel like investing in the a7RV is the better long term strategy. It has newer technology, the MRAW option gives you more versatility in terms of resolution, and having that high resolution can come in handy. You could also sell your a6600 as the 26MP APS-c mode is actually higher quality than your a6600.
Incredibly effective tool that's a pleasure to hold and do work with.
You can rest assured that the AF won't disappoint 99.9998% of the time.
It's crazy how smart this piece of tech is.
Pair it with good quality gm or Sigma art glass and you'll be amazed.
That's pretty much it!
Hi Dustin, thanks for the terrific review. One thing I was hoping would be addressed is my A7r4’s sensor is a dust and dirt magnet. Have they done anything to improve that? Hoping you’ll say yes. Once I get it really well cleaned again I almost hate to open the camera to change lenses.
Yes - you do have the option to have the shutter blades come down at power-off and protect the sensor. It definitely makes a difference.
AI AF learning : Learning from what or whom ? I don't quite get this aspects. Where does it take a feedback from in order to improve ?
I think "learning" means that AI recognizes a subject and makes predictive calculations to help track that subject.
Sir autofocus is better than alpha 1 in this particular model
I was about to buy a camera
So i was confused
Not better. It does have some newer focus algorithms, but the Alpha 1 is still the best focusing camera that Sony makes. More focus points, more processing speed, faster readout, etc...
Hi Thank you . Cant imagine the "free wheel" on the exp comp . Is it lockakble ?
Yes
How would you compare the ease of taking sharp photos with this high resolution camera compared with another, but older, high resolution camera, the 5DSR? I was gifted one and find it challenging for the exact reasons outlined in your past review (noise, bilurr, softness) and was wondering if it's worth learning to master it or if my time would be better served shifting to new technology?
A few factors help the newer camera. The inclusion of IBIS gives stability to shots. It’s much better in terms of high ISO performance. It has a better focus system. The 5DSr was fine under ideal conditions, but the a7RV is just an easy camera to use in a wide variety of situations.
Thank you Dustin, I really appreciate your reviews. I used to have an A7R3 and upgraded it to A7R5 two weeks ago. I think I will intensively use M-Raw option with this camera. İt is great option for me too :) Sony finally did it this time.
Additionally, could you also review Sony 24-70mm GM 2.8 II and 70-200mm GM 2.8 II lenses, please?
Congrats on your new camera, and, good news, Sony is sending me both of those lenses when I have an available slot in mid-February.
Excellent objective review, Dustin.
I would like to know your opinion about the lenses which I have for my Sony A7Riii.
Is Zeiss 2.8/18, batis 2/25 and sony FE 4/24-105 usefull for the sony A7R V of should I buy for the Sony A7R V other lenses with more quality?
All the best from the Netherlands.
Those lenses should be fine. The Batis lenses are no longer top tier in terms of autofocus capabilities, but they are still good optically.
Great review, one of the best I’ve seen of the A7RV, I have one question, does it work with the Sony 200-600?, I purchased the A9M2, because the A7RIV could not work well with the lens.
Hi David, I didn't do a lot of tests with the 200-600 (wrong time of year), but I haven't heard the negative focus feedback at all with the a7RV that I did with the RIV.
@@DustinAbbottTWI thank you for your answer.
Great review as always Dustin! I’m left with one question please, do you know if you set it to medium raw and then punch in to apsc mode, if the image taken in apsc mode is still 26 MP? I saw another video saying this was the case but I’d rather have that confirmed by a more trusted reviewer! Thanks!
Yes, that's the case. It's a nice balance if you're shooting an event and want all of your files to be a similar size.
Thanks@@DustinAbbottTWI - I do weddings and have more hybrid ones coming up where having the extra versatility from a prime lens could be handy for the photo side. 61MP is too much so I really like the medium raw option and that's a real sweetener that it can maintain that in apsc mode! Thanks for your confirmation!
Imaging Edge can import the SML Lossless RAW but most photo viewers will not recognize the file type YET... Adobe LR/PS on CC 23 are not really working yet either but I have not updated in a while. Compressed RAW and Uncompressed RAW do work in PS LR.
Are you sure about that? I had no problem viewing MRAw in Lightroom.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I updated and M RAW works, the S and L are throwing errors.
Great review as usual. Have you tested any birds in flight or moving subjects? I have an A7RII and had a A7RIV for a few months. I liked the handling of the camera but the auto focus will still not up to snuff when shooting moving subjects. Any thoughts on this? Is this a good alternative to the more expensive A1? Thanks.
The a7RV doesn't have the burst rate or buffer depth of the Alpha 1 for sports, but the focus system is top notch.
Great review. After viewing your video on the A74, I came out conflicted. Please do a comparison or the A74 vs A7R5. It might be the added cost gives you something far superior to the more affordable A74. I came out thinking that if I am to get a new camera body, I have to go with the A7R5. It's seems to be vastly superior in many way. Plus I like the idea of the 61mp sensor.
I own the a7IV, and I like it, but the a7RV is definitely a superior camera in most every way.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Do you know that this camera costs more than my first new car? The Datsun 2000 Roadster in 1969. This almost makes he sick.
How does it compare to GFX 100s purely from image quality (noise, dynamic range, color) point of view ?
The dynamic range is not hugely different (about 1/2 stop advantage for the GFX), but I would favor the GFX for color rendition and tonality. I wouldn't say the noise is all that different.
Thanks Dustin for this review...
My pleasure!
THANK YOU DUSTIN! love your amazing reviews
My pleasure!
Hi Dustin, thank you for this great review. Would you recommend this camera for wildlife photography and birds in flight? I purchased the Sony 200-600 for my a7rii some months ago and it turned out that I enjoy photographing wildlife more than any other type of photography. I'd like to have better autofocus though. An a9 would be suited for fast action, but I wouldn't want to have less megapixels than I have now and the a1 is way too expensive.
It's not perfect for birds in flight, but you will still get keepers. For everything else it's fantastic.
@@markrigg6623 I got myself a used a1. It is a spectacular camera for wildlife and especially for birds in flight
Fine JPEG files are super nice! No color grade needed and no over sharpness on image quality. 👍🏼 Sony
It's a lovely sensor.
This Camera is incredible! i Love it!
I'm loving mine, too.
Great review, thanks! Given your confidence in med-raw quality, do you think med raw would produce equivalent crop capability as full-raw (assume like 50% crop)?
I don't know if I completely understand your question. You would have much fewer pixels to crop from, though the quality is still good.
Hi Dustin, if you do raw shots in lightroom with your sony cams, which profile do you use, adobe standard? Thx.
Typically standard, though for landscapes I'll sometimes go with landscape. I also have built custom color profiles for everything.
Fantastic Review. Thank You. Your spoken English is amazing.
I hear that quite often. Many people for whom English is not their first language seem to have an easier time understanding me.
Excellent reviews as always!!!
Thanks again!
Camera manufacturers need to be working very hard on developing noiseless, high ISO. Imagine if you could shoot in almost any light with auto ISO on, and never worry about noise.
There's some "physics" to overcome there, but things are improving.
@@DustinAbbottTWI It's going to be difficult, sure, but how nice would it be to shoot above 100,000 ISO with no noise?
Hi.does sony lens 50 mm fit with this camera?
Which one?
@@DustinAbbottTWI a7R5 camera
my dream camera ngl
It is a great one. I ended up buying one and thoroughly enjoy it.
Dustin, Does this Sony have a screen on sensor for protection from dust and touch? Thanks
You do have the option for the shutter to cover the sensor when it is powered off.
Hi Dustin, thanks for the very helpful and realistic breakdown and explanation. I intend to get the A7R-V for 3 personal reasons, much better EVF & LCD resolution (to compensate for my weak eyesight) and tilt screen option.
I am wondering if I shoot stills in full frame medium Raw or medium jpegs 26MP (not aps-c mode), will the high ISO performance be better/less noisy compared to shooting in full 61MP?
I ask because its a common understanding that less megapixel cameras have better high ISO performance than high megapixels cameras. For me high ISO is over 3200
I'd appreciate your input
Thanks in advance
Looks like you already answered it around 25:00 and 31:00. thank you for covering that aspect, really important for me
I ended up buying one and regularly use MRAW when the higher resolution is not needed. It’s very useful
The quality of the EVF drops drastically when you put in focus.... And yes I have the anti flick turned off... the only way is to put standard quality monitor / evf ...
I have the same problem.
Been following you for quite sometime, I purchased the a7r5. Have an A1 I’m not going to say anything because I don’t test like you do. But being that you have both. Witch do you think does a better job with Photos
I notice that images are sharper but may be do to improved ibis
Would like to see if god permits a a7rv vs a1 showdown by you. I understand how much work goes into these productions and value your time. Thanks once again
The A1 sensor is slightly compromised by comparison by being stacked and having that very fast readout. In terms of just image quality the a7R5 would be a bit better.
@@DustinAbbottTWI even tho the a1 has Dual Bionz XR to capture that data.
@@DustinAbbottTWIThank you Dustin, your opinion is highly respected. I just didn’t want to admit to myself. But thanks for clearing that up for me.
Dustin, I have Tamron EF lenses because I'm a Canon user. Do you think by using the adaptor for EF to E mount will operate the Sony a7r V to that lenses?
They do work reasonably well. Not as good as native lenses, of course, but the adapter technology has improved quite well.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thank you
I currently own the a9 and a7R4a.
Do you think trading these 2 bodies for the a7R5 would be a good move?
Apart from the a9's blackout free system, does the Rv's AF keep up?
The AF system keeps up, for sure, but obviously you are going to double the burst rate with the a9.
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks Dustin.
Decisions Decisions!!
@mstphoto99 did you get the A7rV? How is the autofocus compared to the a9? Kind regards
Dustin whats the startup time like - thanks
It didn't really stand out to me one way or another - pretty much like the two FF Sony cameras I own (A1 and a7IV).
Thanks so much for these in depth and dependable reviews. I find myself adding your name into the search bar in combination with whatever product I’m considering. I do have a question on the a7r5 that I haven’t found much information on.
So. The infamous rolling shutter. Video is not important to me at all but I tend to shoot stills with a silent shutter a good deal. I focus on bird photography with sometimes skittish ducks, warblers, etc. mainly small songbirds. I rarely shoot birds in flight and if I do I switch over to a mechanical shutter so BIF and crazy fast action isn’t something I need this camera to excel in. However. This has the slowest sensor readout in any current Sony camera body…is this going to cause artifacts and distortion, say if a duck is flapping its wings or a songbird moves its head quickly on a perch? Most of my images are perched or stationary birds but those quick little movements while perched are also very important to me.
I don’t need to be able to freeze hummingbirds with a silent shutter, but I do need to capture a small songbird as it forages on a branch or blade of tall grass. Is this an unrealistic expectation with the silent shutter?
Thanks again and, if you made it this far in my question, I look forward to hearing your opinion.
Hi Michael, that's a solid question, but I'm not sure that I tested the camera enough in that kind of setting to give you a quality assessment. I did this review in deep winter when there are very few birds or other animals in motion, so it's a little hard to assess things like that.
@@DustinAbbottTWI That’s completely fair, thanks for the response. I think I might just need to rent/buy this one and try it out for myself.
Hi , Is the Full frame Xtra fine 26 MP JPEG also benefitting in Low light on A7R5 compared to 61 MP JPEG. Can u suggest on it .
i am basically a JPEG shooter and confused between buying a74 and a7r5 , i have good budget for a7r5 and will pull the plug for it , if 26 MP JPEG is also benefitting in low light. You can shoot in 61MP in good lighning for extra detail and resolution on A7R5 and switch to 26 MP for low light benefits if light goes down.
i have seen and read that medium RAW benefit s in low light , but so should 26 MP jpeg too , just wanted to confirm with you on it . Thank you.
I believe that it does. Essentially you are downsampling in camera from the full resolution to the smaller resolution point, which allows for cleaner looking images on a pixel level.
How would you rate this camera for astrophotography versus the a7iii?
I would personally prefer it. Better handling, a better screen, but then the ability to shoot even at MRAW and get higher resolution than the a7III.
a7III has some circular banding. I wouldn't recommend it for astro.
@@DustinAbbottTWI so you would say that the noise level using MRAW would be better than the a7iii?
@@sulev111 seems that many consider the a7iii a great camera for astrophotography . I have the a7iii that I would use for low light and astrophotography and the a7riii for landscape and most other uses. I am thinking about getting the a7rv to replace both. Thoughts?
@@geopixer I believe even SRAW is better than A7iii.
Is the 10fps in full resolution?
Yes it is.
Rented one to replace my Canon R5. Totally bummed to see they took out eye autofocus 🥺. In this day and age that’s crazy. I’ve gotten spoiled now be able to shoot in spot mode on a glass in models hand then push back button and nail her eye without changing settings. Figured I was doing something wrong, called Sony and they said nope it’s no longer in the menu system.
I'm not sure I understand exactly what you are saying. Human Eye AF has certainly not been removed from Sony cameras. If anything it is more robust than ever.
@@DustinAbbottTWI take a look in the menu there is no more eye autofocus that you can program the back button for. So you can’t shoot in spot focus (box is in subjects face but spot is in focus) the push back button to switch to subjects eye. I use this with models a lot if they are holding something I need in focus (ring) then I need the ring out and models eye in. Can’t do this with A7R5 but I can with A74. Sony tech confirmed they took out the manual eye autofocus 😫
Hmmm, I'm not exactly familiar with the scenario you describe, but it would be surprising if they are taking a step back on something in terms of focus.
@@DustinAbbottTWI absolutely love your YT videos! Was hoping you could explain a work around for this. All I get back is there is no way they would do this so I guess I’m not communicating the issue correctly. Thank you for your time Dustin and keep up the great work!
Perhaps it's enough (for your described situation perhaps even better..) to dedicate a buton (not anymore to Eye-focus, but) to temporarely go into another "camera memory custom" mode (not turn top wheel) where you have wideAF-with-human-recognition.
I dont remember how this very creative option is called (especially in English, not my setting), and it is NOT like switching to o e of the 3 Custom modes of camera.
(A week later: now I'm coming back because I know now that there is even a more strait forward af function that you can dedicate to a buton and replacing what you want to achieve (with the now absent eye-af-on-of) - but I again don't have the camera with me and again I would have to find the corrolating english designation of that ootion...
It's safe to resume that the solution is even better then what you say officials had to admit has gone missing..yes but for better.