MrFotoFool
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- Name
- Fred Hood
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- Arizona
I rented an A7rV to see if the high resolution viewfinder is more enjoyable than my current A7IV (since I prefer the SLR viewfinder of my Nikon D850’s). It was overcast with off and on rain the three days of testing. This is ideal for photography and also favored the high contrast electronic viewfinder, though one sunny day might have given a more accurate test. I used my only Sony lens: 200-600 f5.6-6.3. I looked out my window through my A7IV before swapping the lens and looking through A7rV. The higher resolution viewfinder does not look much different to me.
First afternoon in an arroyo behind my Tucson condominium where a Cooper’s hawk on a branch came out blurry due to camera shake (shutter 1/100). This and subsequent shots indicate Sony’s claim of 8 stop IBIS is inflated. A javelina grazing on the lawn at sunset let me test high ISO. 8000 is good and quite useable and even 16000 is okay.
Second day at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, photographing captive mammals and wild birds. There are several focus detect modes; I enabled animal/bird combined, though you can set one or the other (only) as well as insect, automobile, etc. It worked great on mammals and birds but not on a captive snake or fish, where it reverted to the chosen center spot. When Sony says animal mode, they really mean mammal mode (which is why bird and insect are listed separately, even though birds and insects are animals, as are reptiles and fish). The general public often confuses animal for mammal as well, a pet peeve of mine. If a mammal turns its head away, the camera puts a larger box around its head and if it walks away it puts an even bigger box around its body, still tracking the animal.
Third day at Sabino Canyon, at the base of the Catalina Mountains and part of a national forest. More birds here and the eye detect focus works great. I do a scenic at 200mm then do the same shot with my Nikon D850 and 70-200 set at 200mm. The Sony I had to set to minus 2/3 compensation to keep from overexposing but the Nikon at 0 is still a bit darker (and cooler) than the Sony. Review in computer shows Nikon also has more contrast. All samples in this review are camera JPEG’s with no adjustment (except cropping on some animals). Obviously contrast, etc can be changed using RAW file (except I use Photoshop Elements which does not support A7rV RAW files, so I would have to convert to DNG).
My conclusion is that the new tracking mode for animals (including birds) is fantastic. The ergonomics and layout (which I find good but not great) are almost identical to my A7IV; I even pulled the grip off it and put it on the rental. In soft light or low light the electronic viewfinder of a mirrorless seems to be quite good, but in the brief moment the sun shone at Sabino I looked through it and found the electronic image unpleasing. FOR ME, an SLR is better in full sun and a Mirrorless is as good or maybe better in soft or low light.
Did I enjoy using it? The answer is yes. Did I enjoy it enough to sell my D850’s and go all-in with Sony? Probably not, though with their lens options it’s not out of the question. If you are a Sony user and like their gear then I imagine you would love an A7rV, especially for wildlife. If you do primarily still shots, get an A7rIV and save a thousand bucks. My next step may be to rent a Nikon Z9 and Canon R3, or just find an F mount telephoto for my D850 that I am happy with, or keep using the dual setup I now have.
First afternoon in an arroyo behind my Tucson condominium where a Cooper’s hawk on a branch came out blurry due to camera shake (shutter 1/100). This and subsequent shots indicate Sony’s claim of 8 stop IBIS is inflated. A javelina grazing on the lawn at sunset let me test high ISO. 8000 is good and quite useable and even 16000 is okay.
Second day at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, photographing captive mammals and wild birds. There are several focus detect modes; I enabled animal/bird combined, though you can set one or the other (only) as well as insect, automobile, etc. It worked great on mammals and birds but not on a captive snake or fish, where it reverted to the chosen center spot. When Sony says animal mode, they really mean mammal mode (which is why bird and insect are listed separately, even though birds and insects are animals, as are reptiles and fish). The general public often confuses animal for mammal as well, a pet peeve of mine. If a mammal turns its head away, the camera puts a larger box around its head and if it walks away it puts an even bigger box around its body, still tracking the animal.
Third day at Sabino Canyon, at the base of the Catalina Mountains and part of a national forest. More birds here and the eye detect focus works great. I do a scenic at 200mm then do the same shot with my Nikon D850 and 70-200 set at 200mm. The Sony I had to set to minus 2/3 compensation to keep from overexposing but the Nikon at 0 is still a bit darker (and cooler) than the Sony. Review in computer shows Nikon also has more contrast. All samples in this review are camera JPEG’s with no adjustment (except cropping on some animals). Obviously contrast, etc can be changed using RAW file (except I use Photoshop Elements which does not support A7rV RAW files, so I would have to convert to DNG).
My conclusion is that the new tracking mode for animals (including birds) is fantastic. The ergonomics and layout (which I find good but not great) are almost identical to my A7IV; I even pulled the grip off it and put it on the rental. In soft light or low light the electronic viewfinder of a mirrorless seems to be quite good, but in the brief moment the sun shone at Sabino I looked through it and found the electronic image unpleasing. FOR ME, an SLR is better in full sun and a Mirrorless is as good or maybe better in soft or low light.
Did I enjoy using it? The answer is yes. Did I enjoy it enough to sell my D850’s and go all-in with Sony? Probably not, though with their lens options it’s not out of the question. If you are a Sony user and like their gear then I imagine you would love an A7rV, especially for wildlife. If you do primarily still shots, get an A7rIV and save a thousand bucks. My next step may be to rent a Nikon Z9 and Canon R3, or just find an F mount telephoto for my D850 that I am happy with, or keep using the dual setup I now have.
