Sony Alpha 7R V review: Is this the king of full-frame still cameras?

It might be expensive, but the Sony Alpha 7R V full-frame mirrorless camera is probably as good as it gets today.

By HardwareZone Team - 24 Feb 2024

Note: This review was first published on 18 April 2023.

The Sony Alpha 7R V (A7R V) is the fifth and latest high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera from Sony. How can the newcomer surpass its predecessor, the A7R IV, which is still really superb despite being launched back in 2019?

The TLDR version:

Despite a hefty price tag and mediocre battery life, the Sony Alpha 7R V is probably the best full-frame still camera in the market right now.

Yes, the A7R V features the same 61-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS full-frame sensor as its predecessor as well as the 10 frames per second (fps) maximum shooting speed. Apart from these, Sony has improved pretty much everything else.

The A7R V now comes with a new and more powerful Bionz XR processor, which is said to extract finer details and more accurate colours from the image sensor.

In addition, the camera is equipped with an AI processing unit that enhances the A7R V's autofocusing (AF) system. This AI unit is able to process huge amounts of data, thus enabling it to recognise a wider range of subjects.

Not only will it recognise human forms and poses, it can more accurately recognise non-human subjects such as animals like birds, insects, squirrels as well as cars, trains, and aeroplanes. Plus, this AI unit is said to deliver more accurate automatic exposure, white balance and skin tones.

Furthermore, the A7R V's AF system features 693 AF points (up from 567 of A7R IV), which covers 93% of the vertical image area and 86% of the horizontal image area.

To ensure less camera shake, the A7R V now comes with an updated 5-axis in-body image stabilisation (IBIS) system that offers up to 8 steps of stabilisation. This is an improvement from the 5.5 stops of its predecessor.

Surprisingly, the A7R V's rear touchscreen display suffers a slight dip in resolution of 2.1 million dots - down from its predecessor's 2.36 million dots. On the other hand, the A7R V features a whopping 9.44-million-dot OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) - a big improvement from the 5.74-million-dot EVF found in A7R IV.

While A7R V's dual card slots accept UHS-II format like its predecessor, it now also supports the faster but more expensive CFexpress Type A cards.

Finally, the A7R V is able to capture 8K footage at up to 25fps or 4K at up to 40fps in 10-bit 4:2:2 colour, compared to the 4K at up to 30fps of its predecessor.

Design and Handling

Compared to its predecessor, the A7R V does not differ much in terms of design. But it seems to have received the same small quality-of-life changes of its recent A7 cousins such as the A7 IV.

The exposure compensation dial at the right shoulder of the A7R IV has been replaced by an unmarked lockable dial at the same location on the A7R V. By default, it is still the exposure compensation dial, which I prefer. But it can also be set to shutter speed, ISO, aperture, or focus mode, depending on your preference.

There is also a new Photo/Video/S&Q collar switch sitting underneath the shooting mode dial. This allows for quick toggling through the photo and video modes using your right index finger.

Plus, the dedicated video recording button is now sited behind the shutter release button. Previously, it was sited at the current C1 button, which is at the right of the EVF. This new placement minimises the movement for your thumb, which can be better used to adjust the rear mini-joystick for AF point control. As such, your right index finger becomes the only finger to use both still and moving images recording.

Overall, all the dials and buttons are strategically placed to be within reach of your right index finger and thumb for minimised search for buttons.

The high-resolution EVF looks as good as an optical viewfinder. Not to mention, the A7R V's tiltable and fully-articulating rear touchscreen display is a major improvement over its predecessor. It allows you to take more creative shots such as low-angle or high-angle shots without shooting blind.

The menu interface has undergone an overhaul. While it might take some time to acclimatise, the new interface actually allows you to find the options you want faster. You will be wondering why Sony had not overhauled the menu earlier.

Imaging Performance

For this review, we used the Sony FE 100-400mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS telephoto zoom lens to photograph birds and insects. For landscape and other shots, we used the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens primarily but managed to snag the new Sony FE 20-70mm f/4 G lens to test as well.

Regardless of the lens used, the AF performance is impressive, whether it is in bright sunlight or dim lighting conditions. More amazingly is its AI AF performance.

With the camera's subject recognition set to Animal, the A7R V was able to quickly recognise the body of a dragonfly, a cat or a squirrel with ease.

As a result, the A7R V was able to capture a sunbird in full flight at a focal length of 400mm handheld. It was lovely to be able to capture its beautiful wings' spread. In addition, the A7R V's IBIS worked well to help prevent camera shake at this long focal length too.

The A7R V captured this sunbird in its majestic flying motion. Shooting info: 400mm at f/5.6, 1/8000s, ISO 1600

In addition, we were able to capture this carpenter bee in full flight flying around and sniffing up nectars from the flowers. Considering how small and how fast the carpenter bee was flying, we are really gobsmacked that the camera managed to capture this image as it picks its next flower.

Despite the carpenter bee being so small and fast, the A7R V was able to capture this shot of its flight. Shooting info: 400mm at f/5.6, 1/1600s, ISO 1600 (50% crop)

As you might expect, the A7R V's AI AF works wonderfully with cats too. Despite having a string dangling in front of this community cat, the A7R V was able to render her eyes sharp at the moment she was trying to reach out for the string.

Even with obstacles, the camera was able to focus on the cat. Shooting info: 70mm at f/2.8, 1/500s, ISO 12800

The quality of the still images taken by the A7R V is probably the best I have seen from a full-frame camera. The images are all incredibly sharp straight out of the camera, even if you shoot in JPEG.

The details, even in the shadow areas, in each still image are just incredible. Plus, colours are vibrant without being oversaturated with skin tone accurately rendered.

The A7R was able to render skin tones accurately. 70mm at f/4.0, 1/250s, ISO 400. Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement for smoking, but to prove how it handles foreground and background elements while preserving the skin tone with finesse.

A thing about Pixel Shift Multi Shot

The A7R V has a Pixel Shift Multi Shot (PSMS) mode. It allows you to shoot 4 or 16 still images to create a final whopping 240.8-megapixel image with the assistance of AI.

Unfortunately, this AI composite photo is not in-camera created. You have to use Sony Imaging Edge Desktop (free, available on Windows and macOS) to create the composite image.

To add to the inconvenience, the camera or the app does not tag your PSMS images as such. You have to remember what you shot and find them yourself. Plus, processing of one composite image takes at least one minute, on my 2020 high-end iMac with 40GB of RAM.

The difference in details is undoubtedly better in the composite photos, whether it is the 4-shot or 16-shot composite. But I’m not too sure if it is worth the hassle, as I think the original photo is good enough. So the question is whether it is good enough for you.

Pixel Shift Multi Shot with 4-image composite.

Pixel Shift Multi Shot with 16-image composite.

Noise Performance

However, the A7R V's noise performance is probably going to be more than good enough for everyone. In fact, it is seriously excellent. There are very few noise artefacts all the way to ISO 6,400.

Luminance noise only becomes slightly visible at ISO 12,800, but detail loss is minimal. In fact, photos taken at ISO 25,600 are still good enough for small prints, Instagram or Facebook posts.

However, we will not recommend shooting anything above ISO 25,600, unless the situation warrants it. This is because there are visible noise artefacts with substantial detail loss.

Apart from its superb image quality, the operation of this camera is top-notch too. Startup and shutting down of the camera are also immediate, compared to the average 2 seconds for each operation in most mirrorless cameras.

Using a UHS-II SD card with a rated writing speed of 299MB per second, the A7R V was able to shoot 120 RAW images in 15.1 seconds before the buffer ran out. This is an amazing performance that is suitable for shooting sports and wildlife.

Battery life is probably the biggest Achilles' heel (other than its price tag) of this camera though. It is rated at a mere 440 still images (using EVF) on a full charge. By comparison, its predecessor's rated battery is around 530 stills.

In real-life situations, I was able to shoot around 497 stills with the A7R V, and its battery level dropped to 20 per cent. You probably want to get an extra battery if you are shooting a full working day.

Conclusion

The Sony A7R V offers intelligent and quick AF while having a large buffer of RAW images. It can practically recognise everything and photograph them with great detail and sharpness.

It also handles superbly with easy access of buttons and dials with your right index finger and thumb. Both the improved EVF and the new tiltable and fully-articulating rear touchscreen display are a joy to use for composing your photos.

At S$5,749 (body only), the Sony A7R V is seriously quite expensive. In fact, it is S$750 more expensive than its predecessor at launch. Still, Apart from its hefty price tag and mediocre battery life, we have to say the Sony A7R V is probably the best full-frame still camera in the market right now.

You can get the Sony Alpha 7R V from the Sony Store Online.