Sony A7R IV A7R4a vs A74

[MrFotoFool]

I am still new to Sony; I bought an A74 and 200-600 (plus 1.4x) a few months ago. I use it for wildlife and the lens is stellar. I use Nikon SLR (two D850's) for my other shooting (with 15-30, 24-70, 70-200). I like my Nikons but am thinking it might be easier to use one system and also save weight with the new Sony 24-70 version 2. For the landscape and architecture I do with my Nikon setup I like the higher megapixel count (I print big) but I see the Sony A7R4a (high megapixel) is currenlty 500 bucks off.

My question is this: is the layout of the A7R4a essentially the same as the A74? I looked at the back online and it appears to have the same button layout (except for a custom button I don't use and the movie record button which I also don't use). Would it be a seamless transition moving from one body to the other? My only other concern (having big hands) is that I have read all other Sony bodies (including A7R4a) have a smaller grip than the A74 I have. Is it noticeably smaller?

Also, as I experienced (as well as others and discussed on another thread), the A74 appears to have a high rate of failure on card slot 1. Is this unique to the A74 or have people experienced this with the A7R4a?

 

[russellsnr]

I came from Canon to Sony just over two years ago, bought a Sony A9 and 200-600mm lens specifically for birds in flight photography but found I was taking more static bird images so I sold the A9 and bought the A7R IVa and have to say IMO the detail in bird feathers is so much more crisp for want of a better word, yes I lost the 20fps but find if needed the A7R IVa gets the job done. Sorry the rest of question I cannot give any comment on. Russ.

 

[Brownie]

I am still new to Sony; I bought an A74 and 200-600 (plus 1.4x) a few months ago. I use it for wildlife and the lens is stellar. I use Nikon SLR (two D850's) for my other shooting (with 15-30, 24-70, 70-200). I like my Nikons but am thinking it might be easier to use one system and also save weight with the new Sony 24-70 version 2. For the landscape and architecture I do with my Nikon setup I like the higher megapixel count (I print big) but I see the Sony A7R4a (high megapixel) is currenlty 500 bucks off.

My question is this: is the layout of the A7R4a essentially the same as the A74? I looked at the back online and it appears to have the same button layout (except for a custom button I don't use and the movie record button which I also don't use). Would it be a seamless transition moving from one body to the other? My only other concern (having big hands) is that I have read all other Sony bodies (including A7R4a) have a smaller grip than the A74 I have. Is it noticeably smaller?

Also, as I experienced (as well as others and discussed on another thread), the A74 appears to have a high rate of failure on card slot 1. Is this unique to the A74 or have people experienced this with the A7R4a?

The menus are different. The bodies are the same, I believe. The A7-IV has more advanced AF.

I shoot the A7 IV and A7R-III. While I find the A7-IV very comfortable, the R-III needs the pinky extender. That shouldn't be a problem with the R-IV.

I can tell you that upload times between the two are significant, it takes a lot longer for the R-III, and that's only at 42MP. I'm not sure I'd want to deal with the 60+ of the R-IV.

The biggest issue for me are the two different menus. I like the menu in the IV much better, but am learning to deal with the R-III. It's not as intuitive, but if I can do it so can anyone else. You just have to stop and think for a second when trying to remember where things are. The R-III and R-IV share the same menu.

Here's a link comparing the two at Mirrorless Comparison:

Sony A7 IV vs A7R IV (A7R IVA) - The 10 Main Differences and Full Comparison - Mirrorless Comparison

The A7 mark IV is the successor to the very popular A7 mark III, and brings a lot of relevant improvements, from a new sensor to the updated AF system and video capabilities. The A7R mark IV was released two years earlier and is the first full frame camera to ... Read more

mirrorlesscomparison.com

 

[HammyUK]

regards the slot failure, i was recommended to leave the cards in and download over usb c , which is totally logical now i do it all the time, saves damaging cards / losing them etc.

i have both cameras the a7r4a for macro / wide angle and when i need the extra reach (pixel crop) on slow moving birds , the a74 has the 200-600 on with a tc1.4 mainly for fast moving birds, i soon got used to the menu systems and find them both great.

 

[Brownie]

regards the slot failure, i was recommended to leave the cards in and download over usb c , which is totally logical now i do it all the time, saves damaging cards / losing them etc.

If I have to leave my cards in the slot because there's fear of damaging something by repeated removal and reinsertion, then Sony damn sure better step up to the plate and resolve the problem. Leaving the card in camera and downloading isn't part of my workflow. What about when I have to change a full card in the field?

I have no extraordinary love for Sony or any other brand, and would be just as happy with a camera that isn't subject to some asinine problem like this. No one else has the issue, it's clearly an engineering or materials failure. To be honest I don't really hear about it much, and I don't believe it's as prevalent as it sounds.

 

[MrFotoFool]

If I have to leave my cards in the slot because there's fear of damaging something by repeated removal and reinsertion, then Sony damn sure better step up to the plate and resolve the problem. Leaving the card in camera and downloading isn't part of my workflow. What about when I have to change a full card in the field?

I have no extraordinary love for Sony or any other brand, and would be just as happy with a camera that isn't subject to some asinine problem like this. No one else has the issue, it's clearly an engineering or materials failure. To be honest I don't really hear about it much, and I don't believe it's as prevalent as it sounds.

My local camera repair shop says he has seen SD slot failures in other brands too, so it's not just Sony. However, he said it happens more often with Sony. I agree with you that it is unacceptable.

 

[AlphaWorld]

The A1 uses the same combo slot as the A7IV, but for both card slots. After well over a year, loading and removing CFeA and SD cards regularly, I haven’t seen the slightest problem.

Slots do fail. I remember that the old CF slots in DSLRs were prone to bending pins if mistreated (they had holes in the cards, and pins in the slots - lots of pins) - you would see plaintive cries from someone who had slammed a card into the camera and regretted it. SD and CFe card slots can’t have that problem, at least! Even so, I treat them with a bit of care. I hear one of the problems can be fragments of plastic from a card blocking part of the slot. I use mostly Sony Tough cards that don’t have the thin plastic ridges that break off - maybe that helps?

I still have an A7RIV, and yes, the menus are different, but it’s not too hard to cop, especially if you put the menu entries you use most into the My Menu. It is not a seamless transition, but it’s not bad. Of course, if you the same kind of menu’s, and a resolution close to your D850s, you could always get an A1

 

[Tim Mayo]

I've had the a7R IV (not the A revision) since launch and haven't experienced an SD Card slot failure as yet. In terms of layout they are very similar just a couple of minor differences like you mention with the record button and C1 buttons switching places. The a7R IV is also missing the dual top dial that lets you choose between still, movies and S&Q mode which also changes your exposure settings if setup. On the a7R IV these are all on the same dial and what you have set for stills is the same for movies (always frustrating!). The menus are very different but like Tony said you can program a lot into the My Menu and customize it so that you rarely need to enter the menus.

 

[MrFotoFool]

I have a followup question. What is the difference between the original A7R4 and the updated A7R4a? One source I read said the ONLY difference is a higher resolution back screen. Is this true?

 

[Jeff A]

regards the slot failure, i was recommended to leave the cards in and download over usb c , which is totally logical now i do it all the time, saves damaging cards / losing them etc.

i have both cameras the a7r4a for macro / wide angle and when i need the extra reach (pixel crop) on slow moving birds , the a74 has the 200-600 on with a tc1.4 mainly for fast moving birds, i soon got used to the menu systems and find them both great.

This is a subject that I am close to as my A7M4 is in the Warranty repair facility right now because of a POTENTIAL (yet to be determined) slot failure. So regarding using the USB connector as opposed to removing the card, wouldn't the USB port tend to get loose after repeated cable insertions? I have no clue, I'm just asking.

I have favored the use of a card reader because I don't have to fumble with the camera and chance dropping it while downloading images. The card reader has performed flawlessly, until it didn't!

 

[MrFotoFool]

I am going to repeat my previous question to see if I get a response by bumping this thread. What is the difference between the original A7R4 and the updated A7R4a?

 

[Jeff A]

Here MAY be your answer......
First, the teaser Text
"
A7R IV vs A7R IVA
The original A7R IV has been discontinued and quietly replaced by the A7R IVA. The changes are very subtle, with the most noticeable difference being the higher resolution of the LCD screen (2.36M vs 1.44M dots on the original model). Other details are included in the chapters below.

Now, the link to the whole article.

Google was my friend.

 

[AlphaWorld]

If I remember correctly, the only change was the screen, but that necessitated changes to things like fonts and menus because the new screen had more pixels. So there were a smattering of little things due to that, and it meant A7RIV and A7RIVa firmware was different.

The A7RIIIa had another change over and above the screen - it changed to USB-C, but the A7RIV already had that.