Sony α7 IV explained

Camera Name:	Sony α7 IV
Maker:	Sony
Sensor Type:	BSI-CMOS
Sensor Size:	35.9 × 23.9 mm (Full frame type)
Sensor Maker:	Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
Recording Medium:	SD, SDHC, SDXC, CF Express Type A memory card
Res:	7008 × 4672 (33 megapixels)
Lens Mount:	Sony E-mount
Lens:	Interchangeable
Flash:	No
Fsynch:	1/250 second (Full-frame), 1/320 second (APS-C size)
Shutter:	Mechanical, Electronic
Shutter Speeds:	1/8000 s to 30 s, BULB
Cont:	10 frames per second
Viewfinder:	Yes, 1.3 cm (0.5 type) Electronic Viewfinder
Magnification:	Approx. 0.78× with 50 mm lens at infinity
Coverage:	100%
Flbkt:	Sony Mi-Shoe Mount
Rearlcd:	3order=flipNaNorder=flip with 1.03M dots
Battery:	NP-FZ100 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery
Dimensions:	131.3by
Weight:	658g
Price:	$2,499 USD body, $2,699 USD kit (28-70mm Zoom Lens)
Date:	October 21, 2021
Complens:	Full-Frame and APS-C E-mount lenses
Interface Avout:	HDMI Type A (Full-size)
Interface Data:	USB 2.0 Micro-B, SuperSpeed 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Type-C, 5GHz/2.4.GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
Made In:	Thailand and China
Iproc:	BIONZ XR
Successor:	Present model
Predecessor:	Sony α7 III

The Sony α7 IV (model ILCE-7M4) is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera manufactured by Sony. It was announced on 21 October 2021 as the successor to the Sony α7 III. Featuring a new 34.1MP (approx. total)^[1] back-illuminated CMOS sensor inside, latest BIONZ XR™ image processor, Real-Time Eye AF tracking and 4K 60p video with Super 35mm mode^[2]

Features

The camera features several advancements from its predecessor the Sony α7 III, also incorporating some pro features from the high-end Sony α1.

• 33 MP (approx. effective) full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor
• 759 Phase Detection AF Points and 425 Contrast Detection AF points^[3]
• Featuring Real-time Continuous Eye-AF Tracking for Human, Animal & Bird
• Improved UI Layout^[4] (New menu structure) compared to its predecessor
• Closed mechanical shutter function (previously this feature debuted in α1) when the camera is turned off^[5]
• Flip^[3] 3-inch LCD vari-angle touchscreen with 1.04 million dots
  • 3.69-million-dot resolution, 120 fps refresh rate EVF 5-axis optical in-body image stabilisation with a 5.5 stops of shake reduction^[6]
• 10 fps continuous shooting (mechanical or silent)
• Live stream through the USB Type-C connector in 4K^(15 fps) and FHD^(60 fps)
• 4K 60p recording in Super 35mm mode and up to 4K 30p recording with 7K oversampling is available in full-frame mode
• 15-stop dynamic range^[7]
• Slow & Quick motion features up to 120 fps
• 4K oversampled video from 7K resolution in 30p video mode^[8]
• Battery life with NP-FZ100 is rated at approx. 580 images using LCD screen and approx. 520 images using EVF^[7]
• Native ISO range is 100-51,200 and extended ISO range is 50-204,800
• 10-bit HEIF^[9] image option (using .heic container)
• Continuous burst shoot 10 fps with Compressed Raw and 6 fps with Uncompressed Raw^[5]
• Weather sealed, magnesium alloy body
• No built-in flash^[10]
• Multi Interface (Mi Shoe) shoe with Sony's unique metal shoe
• 3.68 million-dot (approx.) OLED Quad-VGA viewfinder is (1.6 times the resolution of the Alpha 7 III viewfinder)^[11]
• Supports 4 different video file formats (XAVC HS 4K, XAVC S-I 4K, XAVC S 4K, XAVC S HD)^[12]
• Dual SD Card Slots,^{[13] [14]} CFExpress Type A Slot (only SLOT 1)

Dynamic range and color independent testing

Independent testing by Gerald Undone using Imatest software and a Xyla color range chart demonstrates a dynamic range of 12.8 stops of light, which is approximately 1/3 of a stop better than the Sony A7s iii and approximately the same as the Sony a1. It color matches fairly well with the Sony A7s iii and Sony a1, with the Sony A7s iii leaning a bit green, the Sony a1 a bit magenta, and this camera between the two (tested using DCS Labs -SW - CDM 28R - v15.2 A3 color chart) and with individual white balancing, the colors are very similar.

Video formats

Camera is using in house developed AVC Video Format called XAVC. The format is compressed format, achieving balanced quality and file size. Recording in color depth of 10 bits and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling is possible with Sony's XAVC codec.

• All Intra-frame system that compresses each frame individually to achieve best quality.
• When recording 4K movies in the XAVC HS format is an optional which is using a HEVC codec (H.265) and has high compression efficiency.
  • The camera can record movies with higher image quality than XAVC S movies but the same data volume.
• Camera can record in "Long GOP" codec (H.264) compression, which is compressing multiple frames to reduce file size.

Video resolutions and modes

PAL modes and NTSC modes have different recording frame rates and record settings.

Selectable video modes in PAL mode^[15] !File formats!Recording frame rate!Record setting!APS-C S35 mode (Forced / available)

XAVC HS 4K	50p	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 10-bit 100M 4:2:2 10-bit 75M 4:2:0 10-bit 45M 4:2:0 10-bit	Forced
XAVC S 4K	50p	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 8-bit	Forced
	25p	140M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
XAVC S HD	50p	50M 4:2:2 10-bit50M 4:2:0 8-bit 25M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	25p	50M 4:2:2 10-bit50M 4:2:0 8-bit 16M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	100p	100M 4:2:0 8-bit60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
XAVC S-I 4K	50p	500M 4:2:2 10-bit	Forced
	25p	250M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
XAVC S-I HD	50p	185M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
	25p	93M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available

Selectable video modes in NTSC mode!File formats!Recoding frame rate!Record setting!APS-C S35 Mode (Forced / available)

XAVC HS 4K	60p	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 10-bit 100M 4:2:2 10-bit 75M 4:2:0 10-bit 45M 4:2:0 10-bit	Forced
	24p	100M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 10-bit 50M 4:2:2 10-bit 50M 4:2:0 10-bit 30M 4:2:0 10-bit	Available
XAVC S 4K	60p	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 8-bit	Forced
	30p	140M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	24p	100M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
XAVC S HD	60p	50M 4:2:2 10-bit50M 4:2:0 8-bit 25M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	30p	50M 4:2:2 10-bit50M 4:2:0 8-bit 16M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	24p	50M 4:2:2 10-bit50M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	100p	100M 4:2:0 8-bit60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
XAVC S-I 4K	60p	600M 4:2:2 10-bit	Forced
	30p	300M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
	24p	240M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
XAVC S-I HD	60p	222M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
	30p	111M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available
	24p	89M 4:2:2 10-bit	Available

Available Slow and Quick motion shooting modes in PAL and NTSC Mode:

S&Q in PAL Mode!File formats!Recoding frame rate!Final clip frame rate!Record setting(XAVC S)!APS-C S35 Mode (Forced / available)

Slow and QuickMotion	50p	50 fps25 fps (2x Quick motion) 12 fps (4.16x Quick motion) 6 fps (8.33x Quick motion) 3 fps (16.66x Quick motion) 2 fps (25x Quick motion) 1 fps (50x Quick motion)	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 8-bit	Forced
	25p	50 fps (2x Slow motion)25 fps 12 fps (2.08x Quick motion) 6 fps (4.16x Quick motion) 3 fps (8.33x Quick motion) 2 fps (12.5x Quick motion) 1 fps (25x Quick motion)	140M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	100p	100 fps50 fps (2x Quick motion) 25 fps (4x Quick motion) 12 fps (8.33x Quick motion) 6 fps (16.66x Quick motion) 3 fps (33.33x Quick motion) 2 fps (50x Quick motion) 1 fps (100x Quick motion)	100M 4:2:0 8-bit60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available

S&Q in NTSC Mode!File formats!Recoding frame rate!Final clip frame rate!Record setting(XAVC S)!APS-C S35 Mode (Forced / available)

Slow and QuckMotion	60p	60 fps30 fps (2x Quick motion) 15 fps (4x Quick motion) 8 fps (7.5x Quick motion) 4 fps (15x Quick motion) 2 fps (30x Quick motion) 1 fps (60x Quick motion)	200M 4:2:2 10-bit150M 4:2:0 8-bit	Forced
	30p	60 fps (2x Slow motion)30 fps 15 fps (2x Quick motion) 8 fps (3.75x Quick motion) 4 fps (7.5x Quick motion) 2 fps (15x Quick motion) 1 fps (30x Quick motion)	140M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	24p	60 fps (2.5x Slow motion)30 fps (1.25x Slow motion) 15 fps (1.6x Quick motion) 8 fps (3x Quick motion) 4 fps (6x Quick motion) 2 fps (12x Quick motion) 1 fps (24x Quick motion)	140M 4:2:2 10-bit100M 4:2:0 8-bit 60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available
	120p (XAVC S HD Only)	120 fps60 fps (2x Slow motion) 30 fps (4x Quick motion) 15 fps (8x Quick motion) 8 fps (15x Quick motion) 4 fps (30x Quick motion) 2 fps (60x Quick motion) 1 fps (120x Quick motion)	100M 4:2:0 8-bit60M 4:2:0 8-bit	Available

See also

• Comparison of Sony α7 cameras
• List of Sony E-mount lenses
• Exmor R

External links

• DPreview - Full Camera Review
• PCMag Review

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sony Alpha 7 IV - Full-frame Interchangeable Lens Camera 33MP, 10FPS, 4K/60p ILCE-7M4 . 2022-09-28 . Sony Electronics . en.
2. Web site: updated . Mark Wilson last . 2021-10-21 . The Sony A7 IV is a late contender for mirrorless camera of the year . 2022-09-30 . TechRadar . en.
3. Web site: Bergreen . Marc . 2022-05-13 . Sony a7IV Review: Is It Worth The Upgrade? . 2022-09-30 . Shotkit . en-US.
4. Web site: updated . Mark Wilson last . 2022-02-03 . Sony A7 IV review . 2022-09-30 . TechRadar . en.
5. Web site: 2022-04-27 . Sony a7IV review: a solid all-arounder for every shooter . 2022-09-30 . Popular Photography . en-US.
6. Web site: Sony's A7 IV camera arrives with a 33-megapixel sensor and 4K 60p video . 2022-09-30 . Engadget . en-US.
7. Web site: The Autofocus on Sony’s A7 IV Makes This Camera Shine . 2022-09-30 . WIRED . en-US.
8. Web site: Nando Harmsen . 2022-01-25 . Our In-Depth Review of the Sony a7 IV . 2022-09-30 . Fstoppers . en.
9. Web site: Sony A7 IV Review . 2022-09-30 . Imaging Resource . en.
10. News: Sony a7 IV Review . en . PCMAG . 2022-09-30.
11. Web site: Sony Electronics' Alpha 7 IV Goes Beyond 'Basic' with 33-Megapixel Full-frame Image Sensor and Outstanding Photo and Video Operability . 2022-09-28 . www.sony.com . en-US.
12. Web site: Sony a7 IV review . 2022-09-30 . DPReview.
13. Web site: ILCE-7M4 Help Guide Sides . 2022-09-30 . helpguide.sony.net.
14. Web site: ILCE-7M4 Help Guide Specifications . 2022-09-30 . helpguide.sony.net.
15. Web site: Sony a7 IV: Digital Photography Review . 2022-09-30 . www.dpreview.com.