I have had an on and off love affair with Sony cameras. I have, at present, a Nikon Z7, Canon R5, Fujifilm X T4 and this Sony. This may sound as if I have a bad case of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) but I have been using all 4 makes for some considerable time and I find that each make satisfies some different picture taking moods at different times. So, I have I never abandoned them, just making incremental improvements as they make changes that seem to make sense.I purchased the Sony A7RIII when it first arrived since that was the first time that they had a usable high resolution version of their A7 series. I quite liked it but was put off by the overly obtuse menus and the angular handling of the camera. It was not an easy camera to use and love. I immediately ... MoreI have had an on and off love affair with Sony cameras. I have, at present, a Nikon Z7, Canon R5, Fujifilm X T4 and this Sony. This may sound as if I have a bad case of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) but I have been using all 4 makes for some considerable time and I find that each make satisfies some different picture taking moods at different times. So, I have I never abandoned them, just making incremental improvements as they make changes that seem to make sense.I purchased the Sony A7RIII when it first arrived since that was the first time that they had a usable high resolution version of their A7 series. I quite liked it but was put off by the overly obtuse menus and the angular handling of the camera. It was not an easy camera to use and love. I immediately upgraded to the A7RIV because it was higher resolution and had much better handling (deeper hand grip) but those obtuse menus prevailed, although I was getting used to them. I was getting good pictures without the camera getting in the way and the autofocus was superb.But then I tried a Nikon Z7 and fell in love with the handling and excellent menu structure. However I did not like the pictures I took. I am not sure why but the camera kept failing me or getting in the way at crucial times (usually autofocus issues). However the new Canons came out (and I was a dedicated Canon shooter in the film days and early DSLR era) and decided I had to try one and bought the R6. I immediately sold my Sony and all the lenses and went back to Canon in a big way. I upgraded to the R5 which is a great camera, except for two significant things: size (it feels big to me) and RF lens availability. Canon lenses are either way too expensive or cheap and feel nasty with mediocre performance and you are restricted to what Canon produces and when they produce it.Which brings me back to Sony and this camera. Sony has two major things on its side: Size and available lens options. So I decided to buy back into the Sony ecosystem and bought this A version of the A7RIV. I am aware of the fact that they are probably going to replace it in the near future (although parts issues look as if this may be delayed for a while).And I love it. I have bought the odd Sony lens, but have bought into the Tamron f/2.8 lenses for this camera which makes for a relatively low cost hight performance full frame camera system. I easily slipped back into the arcane menu structure and set it up. It is no longer the king of autofocus (the R5 is just as good for me) but it is still in the top 3 and it is generally the camera I have with me due to its compact size and weight. I use the R5 to satisfy my speed needs and the Nikon Z7 languishes on the side while I decide what to do with it. My Fuji X T4 is used when I want that old shooting experience. That is my fun camera.Pros:1. Compact size and weight.2. Excellent battery life.3. High resolution and dynamic range.4. Excellent lens options from many manufacturers.5. Excellent autofocus, although no longer the best.6. Excellent out of camera JPGs (if set up to your taste).7. High resolution sensor allows you to crop in for those subjects out of reach with the lens you have on at the time.Cons:1. Still not the best ergonomics (angular body with buttons in odd places).2. Arcane and obtuse menu structure that has a longer than necessary learning curve (now updated in the A1, but still not that good).3. A little expensive for an older design, although the camera still performs in the top tier which is a tribute to its advanced technology.4. Sony software update process is unnecessarily complex.5. High resolution produces large sized images (you just need to be prepared for this).6. Sony lenses are really expensive (some of them are really good, but some of the older ones are slow and not that sharp).Overall I am back in love with this camera and despite its many flaws, it is my goto camera when going out. It does not get in the way of making good pictures.

The Sony a7R4 is absolutely superb; stunning resolution & great features wrapped in camera body oozing quality & excellence. So many features I'm not sure where to start but you can read those in other reviews. For me I particularly like being able to switch to APSC mode when using my prime lenses - gives me additional 1.5 crop reach (e.g. 85mm lens becomes 127.5mm) which is really useful. The massive resolution means I can crop heavily if necessary & the results are still impressive. I'd like to be able to select the RAW file size as you can with JPEGs, not a deal breaker as it makes me more considered when shooting. Customizable buttons means my priority features are at finger tip & adding those plus other key features to the My Menu tab reduces the need to search ... MoreThe Sony a7R4 is absolutely superb; stunning resolution & great features wrapped in camera body oozing quality & excellence. So many features I'm not sure where to start but you can read those in other reviews. For me I particularly like being able to switch to APSC mode when using my prime lenses - gives me additional 1.5 crop reach (e.g. 85mm lens becomes 127.5mm) which is really useful. The massive resolution means I can crop heavily if necessary & the results are still impressive. I'd like to be able to select the RAW file size as you can with JPEGs, not a deal breaker as it makes me more considered when shooting. Customizable buttons means my priority features are at finger tip & adding those plus other key features to the My Menu tab reduces the need to search through the menus. Size & weight is good, not overly large or heavy which makes carrying it around a doddle, grip size is just right. The camera has encouraged me to explore my photography further using the many features the camera offers & has helped me understand the intricate photographic process in doing so. Recommend spending time setting it up (there are some great tutorials on the Sony site) & revisit the functionality every so often, there's plenty to get to know on this camera & plenty to enjoy. Really pleased & impressed, thanks Sony!

Coming from an android phone user, I have been comfortable enough to take pictures with the ease of use of camera phones when I go hiking and traveling throughout my military career. After using actual photo editing software and realizing the difference in megapixels that I was lacking with my camera phone to an actual high end camera, I realized I needed something more robust and professional to what I wanted to do. My passion is landscape photography and this camera doesn't disappoint. The level of detail that you get after cropping the photo is breathtaking. I love the fact that I can also crop a photo to fit the narrative and style of composition that I want after taking a second look at the photo on a big screen monitor. I have tried the Canon 80D previously ... MoreComing from an android phone user, I have been comfortable enough to take pictures with the ease of use of camera phones when I go hiking and traveling throughout my military career. After using actual photo editing software and realizing the difference in megapixels that I was lacking with my camera phone to an actual high end camera, I realized I needed something more robust and professional to what I wanted to do. My passion is landscape photography and this camera doesn't disappoint. The level of detail that you get after cropping the photo is breathtaking. I love the fact that I can also crop a photo to fit the narrative and style of composition that I want after taking a second look at the photo on a big screen monitor. I have tried the Canon 80D previously and still wasn't impressed by the quality of the photo that I was looking for. 42 megapixel is plenty of what I wanted and being able to zoom into photos and not lose sharpness is great especially with landscape photography. One thing that I wish was different is the grip system and would have loved to get the Sony a7IV for that but the price and package that B&H provided for this camera when I bought it is something I could not pass up. I got a 42 megapixel camera $400 cheaper than a 33 megapixel camera. To also include a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, messenger bag, extra battery and SD card for $4,700 is something you won't be able to find anywhere else unless you look for used equipment. Even then, used/new on B&H is only a $200-$300 difference. This camera kit has definitely made me happy and would recommend this camera to anyone who is looking for more sharpness in their pictures and the satisfaction to know that you have bought into a great ecosystem for your photographic needs.