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I started photography a long time ago with a Sony Alpha 77, then with my first full-frame, the little Sony A7r . Fifteen years later, here I am back at Sony with the A7R V. Back to basics.
Since then, the A7 range has evolved in small steps. It’s only got better with time.
A 60-megapixel sensor I don’t need
We’re talking about a 60-megapixel sensor here. That’s enormous, and honestly I have no use for it. It fills up the memory card, it fills up the hard drive.
On the other hand, it lets you crop aggressively in post-production. And that’s always… handy. Especially if you’re walking around with a small 35mm: one crop and you’re effectively at 70mm. Useful in a pinch.
Autofocus that does (almost) everything for you
What I love about the A7s is the autofocus. It’s insane. The A7R V isn’t the fastest in the range, but for someone who doesn’t shoot professional sport, it’s more than enough.
I can photograph my kids running or on the swing with perfectly sharp eye focus, using a Sony 50mm f/1.2 wide open. Mind-blowing. It’s almost ridiculously easy to take great photos with this thing. The camera does everything for you.
Which doesn’t exactly reassure me about where things are heading — like with the self-driving car: what will be left for the craftspeople?
Excellent ergonomics, terrible menus
The handling is excellent. For normal-sized hands, at least — I can’t guarantee anything for mutant hands: the body sits very well, no fatigue over time.
On the other hand, Sony’s menus are catastrophic. Fujifilm’s too, for that matter. I don’t understand why nobody takes inspiration from Leica’s menus, which are exceptional: you hold down a customisable button and the menu opens directly to assign the function behind it. That everyone isn’t copying this idea baffles me.
I ended up selling everything
I’d invested in the full kit: a 24-70 GM II , a 70-200 GM II, the 50mm f/1.2 and a small 20mm f/1.8 (cropped to APS-C mode it gives you a 30mm for travelling light). Phenomenal quality.
And it’s precisely the weight that made me sell everything. With professional gear, you don’t take more photos — quite the opposite. Pros lug all that around all day in a big bag. For me, outside of family photos and the kids’ sports, it’s overkill.
If that clicks with you, I talked about it in Gear Acquisition Syndrome , and selling your camera gear is easier than you’d think.
Smaller, but never light enough
If you want a more compact body, there’s the A7CR: same sensor, smaller form factor. I’d recommend it. But the problem remains.
Like Fujifilm, manufacturers release smaller bodies while the lenses stay too big or don’t open wide enough. I thought for a while I’d found the answer with the Fujifilm X-E5 , the compact I was looking for — save for one detail. But the only brand I’m really drawn to now is Leica, with its M body and manual lenses. A tiny body, fast and ridiculously small lenses. That’s actually what pushed me towards my first Leica M .
Battery life, the real strong point
A word on battery life, which is very good: around 500 shots. The NP-FZ100 battery is shared across the whole range, so easy to find a spare. If you don’t shoot video, this is an extremely enduring body.
I use this camera permanently in continuous autofocus mode. It tracks the eye the whole time, without you ever having to think about it. Unthinkable on Fujifilm: like with my X100V , the battery is dead in under two hours.
You get the picture — I’m a Sony fan. For me it’s the best there is in autofocus, sensor and battery. The A7R V is exceptional for events or a bit of sports photography: stick Sony glass on it and you’ll make foolproof photos. But today, I’m looking for a full-frame I can carry everywhere. And this body isn’t quite that anymore.
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