NewsSony A7 V is official: 33MP partially stacked, $2,898 body

Announced this morning. Headline specs as I read them: 33MP partially stacked sensor, the new BIONZ XR2 processor with the AI unit built in (so no separate chip like the A7R V and A1 II have), 30fps with the electronic shutter, and $2,898 body only. There's also a new FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II as the kit lens.

I've had my A7 IV since 2022 and mostly use it on a tracker at 20 seconds, so readout speed is irrelevant to me. What I care about is whether base ISO and high ISO files are any different at 33MP versus the IV. Nobody has real raw files yet, so for now it's spec-sheet speculation.

Anyone ordering on day one?

Pre-ordered about ten minutes after the page went live. My A7 IV loses too many shots at indoor football with the kids, the AF just lets go of small players when they cross each other. If the A1 II style tracking is really in there, it pays for itself for me.

Not selling the IV yet, it stays as second body until I'm sure. For events I care about two things only: AF holding on the right person, and a readout fast enough that I can leave the mechanical shutter alone in a gym under cheap LED lights. The spec sheet says yes to both. We'll see.

I will also try the new kit lens in a shop, just from curiosity. If it's sharp, it would be a nice small option for family days where I don't want to carry the 24-70. Will report back when it arrives.

rjhowell said:

Nobody has real raw files yet, so for now it's spec-sheet speculation.

Which won't stop anyone, mind. Give it a week and there'll be forty videos telling us it's a revolution...

I've been doing this long enough to remember people swearing the A7 II was the end of DSLRs, then the A7 III was the one to finally buy, then the IV, and now this. Each one was better, I'm not daft. But the honest list of people who need a faster readout is short: sport, birds, kids running about indoors, events under bad lighting. Everybody else is buying a better spec sheet for the same pictures. My A7 III does landscapes, street and the odd portrait with a Helios on the front, and the files from 2018 still print beautifully at A3. If dmitri's AF holds on his kids, good for him, he's exactly who it's for, and I'd tell him to buy it. I'd tell a landscape chap with an A7 IV to buy a better tripod. I'm still perfectly happy with mine. Just saying

did they fix the menus or is it the same maze

Same menu system as the IV from what I can see. If you hated it before, you will hate it now. Some things they don't change, I think because the pros would complain more than the forums.

lol ok staying with fuji then

For my work this is the interesting one. I run an A1 II as the main body and an A7 IV as backup, and the gap in AF behaviour between them has always been the annoying part. When I have to grab the IV mid-shoot it doesn't track the same way and I have to change how I work for twenty minutes. If the A7 V gets close enough, it becomes the backup and the IV gets sold.

Clients don't care what camera you use, but I care that both bodies behave the same when I swap. $2,898 is fine for that. The 33MP bump means nothing to me either way.

The thing I'm actually watching is cards. If it wants CFexpress Type A to keep up with 30fps bursts, that's another few hundred dollars of cards per body at current prices, and I don't see those prices going anywhere but up. I'll wait for buffer numbers before I order, but I'll probably order.

cdalton_photo said:

The 33MP bump means nothing to me either way.

Same, but for the opposite reason lol. Every time Sony launch something I get the urge to go full frame and then I remember what the lenses weigh. Hard pass, the a6700 will do me. Reckon the Aus price will be painful tho

ellie_v said:

then I remember what the lenses weigh

and what they cost. the body is the cheap bit, it's the 24-70 GM II and the 85 and the 35 and then a Tamron for the long end 'because it's only £1,200'. anyway. Told myself I wasnt going to open this thread. Opened it. honestly the R V does everything I need so I'm safe this time... probably. UK price will be about £2.8k I reckon, which is a lot of Portra

cdalton_photo said:

If the A7 V gets close enough, it becomes the backup and the IV gets sold.

That's the use case where it makes the most sense to me too. For astro it's hard to see what I'd gain. I'll wait for someone to measure read noise at ISO 3200 and 6400 before I think about it.

Partially stacked. Is that like being partially pregnant? ;)

Kidding... mostly. FWIW the Z8 has had a stacked sensor for a while now and I'd never go back to a slow readout for birds. Out here a roadrunner will cross the frame faster than you'd believe and the old sensors turned them into bananas. So IMHO Sony did the right thing here, partially or not. Price is what it is with the tariffs. Congrats to those who ordered.

• Walt

rjhowell said:

What I care about is whether base ISO and high ISO files are any different

They won't be, much. It's an A7 IV with a faster sensor. That's fine, it's what most people needed. If you shoot landscapes, buy a used IV for a lot less.

Anyone know the weight vs the IV? My A7CR plus the 20-70 is already the most I'll carry up something like the Garibaldi Lake trail, but I've been eyeing the full-size bodies purely for the grip. My little finger hangs off the A7CR with gloves on. If it's within 50g or so of the IV I might actually think about it in the spring.

Haven't seen a final number I trust yet. Looks the same size as the IV in the pictures, so I would assume close. If the grip is what you want, any of the full-size bodies will be a big change from the A7CR. Try one in a shop with gloves on, honestly that's the only test that matters for you.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but would this be a big upgrade from my Canon R50?? Everyone on YouTube says full frame is the only way to get real background blur and this seems like a good time to switch!

kevinlearns said:

would this be a big upgrade from my Canon R50??

Yes, and about £3,500 once you add a lens anyone would want. Buy a 50mm f/1.8 for the R50 first.

What mfrost said. Background blur is mostly the lens and how close you stand, not the sensor. A cheap fast prime on that R50 gets you most of the look. Get close to the kids, put some distance between them and the background, and shoot at f/1.8. You'll be surprised.

Ok that makes sense, thank you!! Going to look at the RF 50 then. The video I watched made it sound like crop was useless lol. My wife will also be very happy that I'm not spending three thousand dollars this month

kevinlearns said:

full frame is the only way to get real background blur

It isn't. Crop isn't useless. f/1.8 on crop is fine. f/1.4 on full frame is better though, I'll say that. Different look. Once you've shot the 50 GM wide open you don't really go back.

the AI unit thing is what i'd care about. my R6 still loses singers behind mic stands constantly. if sony's subject detection actually holds a face with a mic in front of it that's a real feature. idk if anyone tests that tho