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61mp BSI sensor like the a7R4
Faster image processor
AI real time tracking AF system - humans, animals, birds, insects, cars, etc...
16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a ... ial-review

Yes, it seems more like an "S" type update versus a full model number. Good to see they finally added focus bracketing.

E.J. Peiker wrote:61mp BSI sensor like the a7R4
Faster image processor
AI real time tracking AF system - humans, animals, birds, insects, cars, etc...
16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a ... ial-review

Blackout free shooting?

Brian E. Small wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:61mp BSI sensor like the a7R4
Faster image processor
AI real time tracking AF system - humans, animals, birds, insects, cars, etc...
16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a ... ial-review

Blackout free shooting?

Not sure but that would require shooting with a fully electronic shutter - I'm not sure if that sensor has a fast enough readout speed to shoot birds in flight without rolling shutter - time will tell

Brian E. Small wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:61mp BSI sensor like the a7R4
Faster image processor
AI real time tracking AF system - humans, animals, birds, insects, cars, etc...
16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a ... ial-review

Blackout free shooting?

This video, if you go to the shutter section answers the question, sort-of, the readout speed is too slow, as I feared for action shooting with fully electronic shutter which then makes no blackout more or less a moot issue.
https://www.dpreview.com/videos/1090860 ... ial-review

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Brian E. Small wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:61mp BSI sensor like the a7R4
Faster image processor
AI real time tracking AF system - humans, animals, birds, insects, cars, etc...
16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-a ... ial-review

Blackout free shooting?

This video, if you go to the shutter section answers the question, sort-of, the readout speed is too slow, as I feared for action shooting with fully electronic shutter which then makes no blackout more or less a moot issue.
https://www.dpreview.com/videos/1090860 ... ial-review

Thanks E.J.!  See you soon...............

Tony Northrup advises that we will not get excellent A7R V autofocus performance for birds in flight. This is disappointing. I hope firmware improvements help. If the biggest limitation of my current A7R IV is poor autofocus for birds in flight, then the A7R V might not be the right upgrade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96JDtUgxk4s

schlansker wrote:Tony Northrup advises that we will not get excellent A7R V autofocus performance for birds in flight.  This is disappointing.  I hope firmware improvements help.  If the biggest limitation of my current A7R IV is poor autofocus for birds in flight, then the A7R V might not be the right upgrade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96JDtUgxk4s

To be honest and use the nicest words possible - I would wait for a truly skilled bird photographer's opinion and not put a huge amount of faith in this

Thanks, E. J.

I will try to be more patient.  I hope the new A7R V autofocus engine can be put to good use for flying birds.  I can live with EVF blackout and lower (than A1) frames per second, but the A7R IV autofocus with my 200-600 is just not up to the task.

Further testing and firmware updates might show that this new camera is right for me.


Mike Schlansker

schlansker wrote:Thanks, E. J.

I will try to be more patient.  I hope the new A7R V autofocus engine can be put to good use for flying birds.  I can live with EVF blackout and lower (than A1) frames per second, but the A7R IV autofocus with my 200-600 is just not up to the task.

Further testing and firmware updates might show that this new camera is right for me.


Mike Schlansker

Just FYI, the a1 has no problem at all with the 200-600 on BIF and works reasonably well even with the 1.4x.

Thanks,  I might buy A1 if reviews for A7R V flunk bird tracking tests.  I'm worried I might be just before A1's update whatever that is.

I like built-in focus stacking for A7R V, but if it can't focus on birds in flight, then it is not a sufficient upgrade.

It's a lot of cash for a hobby.  But I have local access to excellent birding opportunities (Bay Area) and I hate it when the autofocus fails me at key moments.

E.J. Peiker wrote:16 bit color
9.44 million dot EVF
10FPS
8 stop IBIS
Focus bracketing - FINALLY!!!
Fully articulating rear LCD
$3900

An incremental upgrade to the a7R4 but certainly a modernization.

Camera updates reflect necessary advancements. Sony's 7R5 caught my attention. I lag one model behind, still use the 7RIII version. A two-step upgrade delivers a justified accumulation of worthy features. "Articulating rear screen" plus "Focus Bracketing" hold AMEN appeal (assuming focus-bracketing works equally well as manual rail focusing). GPS image-locating lingers on my wish-list. $4,000 price tag, yes it's sobering.

More than a decade of hindsight: A fleet of Sony products is currently owned. A greater collection of former Canon cameras plus a wealth of lenses collecting dust on the shelf. Each one dutifully "Product Warranty Registered" with the respective manufacturer.

Effectively, Sony and Canon have direct insight, name and address, to my ownership interests. Obviously a prime prospective customer.
Yet, it is striking that I've never been solicited to buy any new Sony or Canon product. Or received an advance announcement, possibly a special opportunity offering. If it were a car dealer the salesmen would beat my door down! Test drives galore!

A head-scratcher of equal magnitude: many years previous I recall E.J. Peiker offering to "write the manufacturer's user manual" free of charge! His skills at explaining the complex in understandable terms is beyond reproach! Clarity the god-send. To my knowledge... zero interest from Sony or Canon!

Possibly it is an example of cultural difference, east-vs-west? Never reach out for anyone's help or advice, it might otherwise suggest "a weakness in our capability"?

I remain baffled.

For a different reason I went through my images of Osprey taken in different years. The best BIF image was taken with Sony a7R III in 2020. I sold it as a friend convinced me that the Mark IV was much better for BIF and they don't upgrade the firmware of the Mark III as it is too old. In retrospective I should have kept the Mark III instead. I got ready to buy the Mark V but it looks like the upgrade is not worth the extra money, at least that's what I learned from different sources.
I'm keeping an eye on an affordable used a1 but there is virtually nothing on the market  yet. Or dump all the Sony and buy a Z9 $2000 cheaper than Sony a1 from my long time local camera store.

Karl Egressy wrote:For a different reason I went through my images of Osprey taken in different years. The best BIF image was taken with Sony a7R III in 2020. I sold it as a friend convinced me that the Mark IV was much better for BIF and they don't upgrade the firmware of the Mark III as it is too old. In retrospective I should have kept the Mark III instead. I got ready to buy the Mark V but it looks like the upgrade is not worth the extra money, at least that's what I learned from different sources.
I'm keeping an eye on an affordable used a1 but there is virtually nothing on the market  yet. Or dump all the Sony and buy a Z9 $2000 cheaper than Sony a1 from my long time local camera store.

Ace Photo has a pre-owned Sony A-1 listed for sale. https://acephoto.net/sony-1/

Thanks Jeff. I'm still sitting on the fence, Nikon Z9 new or Sony a1 used. Even Sony a7R V is not fully out, I will have to wait until reputable Photographers will test it for Birds and Wildlife.

Karl Egressy wrote:Thanks Jeff. I'm still sitting on the fence, Nikon Z9 new or Sony a1 used. Even Sony a7R V is not fully out, I will have to wait until reputable Photographers will test it for Birds and Wildlife.

I have the Sony A1 (two of them actually).  Even with the latest firmware up-date, which was supposed to address bird-eye focus, the bird-eye or animal-eye focus still does not work with the confidence that you would hope.

On the other hand, if I/you were to buy the Z9, certainly I (maybe you also) would develop some kind of anxiety syndrome if I didn't also buy the new Nikon 600/f4 with built-in 1.4x.  The $k15.5 for the lens is a bit outside my budget, now that I'm retired, but that is what I would be going with now, if I could afford it.

I hope Sony will make more of an effort to make the eye AF work with greater reliabilty, but recent experience in Patagonia with Pumas, and in Spain, with small warblers (at close to minimum focus distance) has been a bit disappointing.

Phil Shaw wrote:

Karl Egressy wrote:Thanks Jeff. I'm still sitting on the fence, Nikon Z9 new or Sony a1 used. Even Sony a7R V is not fully out, I will have to wait until reputable Photographers will test it for Birds and Wildlife.

I have the Sony A1 (two of them actually).  Even with the latest firmware up-date, which was supposed to address bird-eye focus, the bird-eye or animal-eye focus still does not work with the confidence that you would hope.

On the other hand, if I/you were to buy the Z9, certainly I (maybe you also) would develop some kind of anxiety syndrome if I didn't also buy the new Nikon 600/f4 with built-in 1.4x.  The $k15.5 for the lens is a bit outside my budget, now that I'm retired, but that is what I would be going with now, if I could afford it.

I hope Sony will make more of an effort to make the eye AF work with greater reliabilty, but recent experience in Patagonia with Pumas, and in Spain, with small warblers (at close to minimum focus distance) has been a bit disappointing.

Phil, were you utilizing the focus limit switch on the close in subjects?  That makes a huge difference in my experience.

DP Review has named the Sony 7R V as Best High-end Camera of the year.
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/68677 ... 2?slide=14

signgrap wrote:DP Review has named the Sony 7R V as Best High-end Camera of the year.
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/68677 ... 2?slide=14

Not surprising, even though the headline spec hasn't changed (61 megapixels) virtually every quibble that I have had with the a7R series has been addressed.  Every day I discover new things that have subtly been changed for the better.

E.J. Peiker wrote:

signgrap wrote:DP Review has named the Sony 7R V as Best High-end Camera of the year.
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/68677 ... 2?slide=14

Not surprising, even though the headline spec hasn't changed (61 megapixels) virtually every quibble that I have had with the a7R series has been addressed.  Every day I discover new things that have subtly been changed for the better.

That's an impressive endorsement! Especially suited to a person as myself who is coming from the 7R III version. Inherent quality of any product, whatever the endeavor, ultimately revolves around subtle changes and improvements that collectively deliver a package of overall excellence. The understated balance of features sensed by eye and hands. Camera buttons, as an example, with a better feel, sense of touch, metrics that possibly involve only a scant size difference or depth of push.  E.J.'s product-viewpoint clearly suggests goodbye $4,000. We only live once.