The latest and greatest from Sony is finally here, and the Sony A7RV has the latest autofocus technology
While Sony a7R DRAW just announced, I was lucky to use it for about 1 week. During that time, I have been able to use this camera for a variety of tasks. I’ve shot a wedding, a baseball game, mountain biking, a studio portrait session, and even a newborn session.
Now before we get too deep into things, I want to give you a brief overview of this camera. Basically, the camera is really rocking the 61MP Full-Frame Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensor just like the sensor. Sony a7R IV. The key here is that they added the BIONZ XR Image Processing engine that was not released at the time of the a7R IV launch. The addition of this new processor gives the a7R V 8X more processing power when compared to the a7R IV.
They’ve also implemented 5-axis image stabilization in a brand new and updated body. With this new update you can achieve an offset of up to 8 stops. And while I haven’t really tested this feature to its full potential, I do understand that this 8-stop range is for body only. So don’t confuse that with some claims made by other manufacturers, because sometimes people will state the offset with the combined stabilized camera body and lens. So if you use a lens with optical stabilization built into the a7R V, you can expect to see even better results.
In terms of image quality, the camera has things like 15 stops of dynamic range, selectable raw size options ranging from Small, Medium, and Large, as well as raw file types and lossless compression. data and Bracketing AF capability up to 299 images. There’s also a Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode, where the camera takes 16 shots to create a single 240.8MP composite. While this has been available on cameras before, compositing has now been updated and will adjust for better scene movement, helping to eliminate ghosting when scenes include things like trees and grass blowing in the wind.
Sony has also updated its flash system to add a new flexible and precise external flash control. So, with P-TTL selected, the camera will be able to adjust flash output, white balance and exposure for each frame even when shooting at up to 10fps. This feature is useful for situations when you are tracking a subject from indoors to outdoors and need the camera to quickly adjust to changing conditions while shooting. Note here that this will only work when paired with a sony flash. Something like Sony HVL-F60RM and this will not work with aftermarket flash like Godox V1.
Now about the body, this camera is quite similar to Sony a7 IV with a repositioned movie-record button as well as a dial to switch between photos, videos, and S&Q. The Sony a7R v also has the same empty top on the left side of the camera. To me, it’s a kind of wasted real estate. I would have preferred if they used a Sony a9 or a1 setup here. The added left dial just gives you more options and can free up some custom buttons for other uses. And they already have this design designed for use on current models, so I’m not sure why they don’t use it for the latest releases.
But one thing they have changed is the rear screen. Some people like the tilting screen of the camera like Sony a9 and Sony a1. Others like the flip-out screen Sony a7s III and Sony a7 IV. With the new Sony a7R V, you get both. The 4-axis vari-angle LCD gives you the best of both worlds. And when it comes to use, it’s pretty awesome. Though if you’ve never used a flip-out screen, it might take you some time to get used to. Especially when combined with the tilt function. I kept getting into situations where I used the tilt screen as usual, then realized I needed more flexibility, so I flipped the screen out and had this awkward moment where the screen was flipped and tilted at the same time. at the time. I also don’t have the underlying memory for this monitor, so I keep putting it down the wrong way and there will be a brief moment of confusion as to why my screen is all black, just to quickly realized the screen was simply facing the camera instead of towards me. But I feel like these are just minor bugs that will resolve themselves with use.
From here, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the movie’s features, although I don’t shoot video so please bear with me. The A7R V can shoot 8k 24 and 4k 60. If you shoot In super 35mm crop mode, you can capture 4k oversampled 6.2k images with powerful active stabilization. There’s also more than 14 stops of dynamic range, beloved S-Cinetone, S-Log3, and 16-bit RAW output. It also has Breath Compensation, AF Assist, Focus Mapping, shock-free WB and unique Sony Σ (Sigma) shaped graphite heatsink for 30 minutes of 8K recording. But then again, I don’t shoot video and don’t have any basis for opinion, but I’ve heard these are good features.
Now, to upgrade the title feature. The Sony a7R V features a next-generation AI-based autofocus system. So what exactly does it mean? Yes, the camera features Advanced Real-Time Tracking with 693 high-density phase-detection AF points and can focus accurately in conditions as low as -4.0EV. The AI comes in with enhanced subject recognition. The a7R V can now reliably identify and track people, animals, birds, insects, planes, cars and trains. It does this with a new AI processing unit dedicated to artificial intelligence processing, including deep learning.
With humans, for example, we are no longer limited to face and eye detection. The new AI processing unit now uses detailed information about the human skeleton’s shape to track more than 20 different human body points, and it can recognize people and human movements as well as distinguish between objects with different postures. It can use this information to calculate eye movement, position, and nearsightedness.
In use, I noticed that when my subject was obscured by things in the frame, the AF would move to a different part of the subject’s body, even if their entire head was out of the frame. If I’m focusing on someone facing me, AF will lock their eyes as soon as they turn their head even slightly. Like when someone starts to turn around and you can’t see their eyes, but you can see that little curve when the eye sockets start. The camera can recognize that and lock it up. And although I could never see a situation where I needed to focus on this eye socket hint while looking at the back of the subject’s head, this gives you the confidence that as soon as the person That turn, you will be attracted to your eyes and ready to record your image. The new AI also allows you to focus and track subjects wearing masks or helmets as it no longer relies on the presence of faces and eyes.
With this new update, you will also see a 60% increase in eye AF performance and new AI processing power capable of locking onto the surface of the eye. So now you will have more images where the surface of the subject’s eye is in focus instead of that dull eyelash.
From here, ai added the ability to track all types of animals, not just cats and dogs. It is also capable of distinguishing between the head and body of an animal. So even if the animal is turned around, the system can recognize and track the animal’s head while calculating movement, eye distance and position. Similarly, the camera can recognize and track an insect’s head and body. For cars, trains, and planes, the camera can recognize and track the main edge of all three types of subjects.
Finally, Auto Exposure and Auto White Balance are also improved based on this AI processing. With the new enhanced subject recognition feature, the camera can make white balance and exposure decisions on the subject’s head and face. Even if the subject is turned away from the camera. Because again the camera is no longer dependent on the presence of faces and eyes.
Next, I want to talk a little bit about some hands-on experiences with this new autofocus feature. When photographing mountain bikers, the camera tracked them well while wearing helmets and glasses. It also tracked very well the profiles and backs of the drivers when going through the trees.
I don’t shoot a ton of insects either, but at a recent wedding I saw a bush full of butterflies and decided to take a few pictures and found the AF to be pretty good. I also find it difficult to photograph butterflies in flight, so I’ll probably continue to photograph people.
As for ordinary people with things like eyes and faces, I’m pretty impressed. The camera’s autofocus points felt much more sticky on my subject, even when there were a lot of people in the scene as well as when everyone was ahead of my subject. And for a creative portrait I did at a wedding, I came across this photo Hypercubeit’s a transparent mirror box filled with leds and AF that can easily lock onto my couple’s shadows without being confused by all the other stuff going on between them and the camera.
When it was my studio session, I let the kids pose in front of the custom backdrop I made Background by Jeremy Ellsworth and then they are lit with GVM 600D. I wanted a little gradient in color so I have a layer of blue gel on one half of the softbox. It’s a simple setup, but as you can see, my son has really long hair that covers his face all the time and the camera is super fast to find visible eyes and unlock. The transition of eyes when the children looked back and forth was also very quick.
For baseball images, and even mountain bike images, I feel like this camera is a blessing and a curse. I like the added resolution. The longest lens I have is 70-200 GM II and it’s nice to be able to switch to super 35mm mode and still have a good sized file. But coming from a Sony a9 and having used the a1 quite a bit, I found 10fps to be a bit limiting. I had to focus more on timing my images, which is fine and I can do it, I can only get more precise moments if I have a higher fps .
What I like
- The new AI Autofocus is awesome
- Flip screen with tilt is the best of both worlds
- The whole body feels more refined
- White balance and AI exposure work surprisingly well
What I don’t like
- Unused space on the left side of the camera
Overall, the Sony a7R V is a worthy successor to the popular a7R IV. The AI autofocus is more than just hype, and even with my brief time using the camera, I was able to tell the difference it could make. I am also delighted that they have developed a rear screen that can satisfy both types of users. If you’re a photographer who loves high resolution but also wants quick and precise setup, then the Sony a7R V should be at the top of your list.
