Sony A7Riv

The A7Riv is an "All things to all men" camera having a 61MP full-frame sensor and every conceivable option and feature to suit everyone from the sports and wildlife photographer (both video and still) to the landscape photographer. No one owner will use more than a fraction of its features.

All of its many custom buttons and dials (and a very useful, multi-segment Quick Menu feature) can be programmed to suit the user's requirements and style - the permutations are infinite.

I myself will never use the vast majority of its features. As a static pictorial photographer, my choosing the A7RIV as a replacement for my APS-C format A6500 was determined by just four of them - the choice of aspect ratios (3:2, 4:3, 16:9 and 1:1) selectable quickly via a function button and dial, back-button autofocus with spot focusing area, 5-exposure bracketing at full stop increments, and dual UHS-II card slots to guard against card failure. Other advantages include a front dial which inter alia allows apertures to be selected with the camera held to the eye.

The intention was to use my 3 existing E-Mount APS-C format lenses, which the 61MP sensor makes possible with no loss of megapixels vs the 24MP A6500. But this was not utilising the A7R's full potential, and a Sony 24mm-105mm f4 zoom was subsequently purchased. Together, it and the A7Riv make a hefty package with a combined weight of over 3 lbs. This lens has a programmable function button and inbuilt IS which works in conjunction with the A7R's in-body, 5-axis IS. The AF/MF switch on the lens allows MF to be selected instantly on the rare occasions that it's needed, allowing a fully automatic AF mode to be used by default.

The A7 also allows legacy film camera lenses (which utilise the full sensor) to be used via adaptors, with both aperture-priority automatic exposure and SteadyShot operating. I have used a Micro Nikkor 55mm f3.5, one of the sharpest prime lenses ever, and with it the A7RIV produces images of medium-format quality.