Sony A7 IV vs A7 III - What is new and improved
Long waited Sony mirrorless full frame camera, the Sony A7 IV is finally released with an MSRP of $2499 Sony A1 and Sony A7S III are trickled down to A7 IV but at the same time there is a significant price increase over Sony A7 III which currently sells around $1700
Let's look at the advantages of A7 Mark IV over Mark III to see if there are enough pros to justify the price difference.
Advantages of Sony A7 IV over A7 III
New 33MP vs 24 MP sensor
Bionz XR processor more capable than the old Bionz X processor on Mark III
Fully articulated screen vs Tilting Screen
Better in-body Stabilization: 5.5 stops vs 5.0 stops
Full-width oversampled 4K from 7K, up to 30p
4K/60p with Super35 / APS-C mode (1.5x crop)
10-bit Internal video or HEIF stills capture
H.265 video, S-Cinetone color mode
Depth of field mask to aid manual focus during video recording
New Menu system taken from Sony A1 and A7S III with touch menus
Video and Photo menu settings are separated and more customisable
Full size Type A HDMI port
Lens Focus Breathing Correction: This is new to all Sony cameras. Camera automatically crops the video to compensate the effect of focus breathing on certain Sony lenses.
Higher resolution Viewfinder: 3.69M dots vs 2.360M dots
Better LCD screen with higher color accuracy
Improved AF performance (taken from A1 and A7S III) and Real time eye tracking
HUman, bird and animal Eye AF tracking works in Video. On A7 III, these only worked in Photo mode.
Gyroscopic stabilization
CF Express Type A support allows higher read&write speeds compared to even fastest SD cards.
S&Q Mode
More focus points: 759 vs 593
Full-time Bluetooth LE connection - constant connection to your phone, making it much quicker and simpler to transfer images to your phone
Deeper grip
Flexible control dial that replaces the dedicated EV wheel
New Mode dial to switch between stills, video, and slow-motion (S&Q)
Better positioned Video Record button
White balance sensor from the a7S III which deliver greater white balance consistency
Closable shutter as in Sony A1 helping to prevent dust build-up on the sensor
Webcam without the need for a software
Advantages of Sony A7 III over A7 IV
Lighter Body: 650 g vs 699 g
Slightly better battery life: 610 shots vs 600 shots
Smaller Body: 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91″) vs 129 x 97 x 81 mm (5.08 x 3.82 x 3.19″)
NFC vs no NFC
As you can see there are a vast number of improvement points over the Mark III and in our personal opinion, the Sony A7 IV justifies the price premium it has over its predecessor, A7 III.
You can also read our classic comparison of Sony A7 IV vs Sony A7 III cameras here.
New Sony Alpha A7 Mark IV
Sony A7 IV Key Specs Announcement Date: 2021-10-21 33MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor No Anti-aliasing (AA) filter ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50 - 204800) Sony E Mount Sensor-shift Image Stabilization( Up to 5.5-stops) 3.00" Fully articulated Screen 3690k dot Electronic viewfinder 10.0fps continuous shooting 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution 120fps High-Speed Video Built-in Wireless 659g. 129 x 97 x 81 mm Weather-sealed Body Replaced Sony Alpha A7 III Compare Read the Review Check Price at: Amazon B&H Photo
Sony A7 III Key Specs Announcement Date: 2018-02-27 24MP - Full frame BSI-CMOS Sensor ISO 100 - 51200 ( expands to 50 - 204800) Sony E Mount Sensor-shift Image Stabilization( Up to 5.0-stops) 3.00" Tilting Screen 2360k dot Electronic viewfinder 10.0fps continuous shooting 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution 120fps High-Speed Video Built-in Wireless 650g. 127 x 96 x 74 mm Weather-sealed Body Replaced Sony Alpha A7 II Compare Read the Review Check Price at: Amazon B&H Photo
