Sony is announcing the A7 V, its first camera with a partially stacked sensor and various features borrowed from pricier Alpha models. It will be available body-only in late December for $2,899, and a kit including a new 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II lens is coming in February.
The A7 V is one of Sony’s most versatile all-purpose full-frame cameras, for enthusiasts and pros not looking to spend nearly $7,000 on an A1 II. The new A7 retains a 33-megapixel sensor like the A7 IV before it, but with a partially stacked design like Nikon’s Z6 III. Thanks to this tech, the A7 V can be used full time with its electronic shutter for totally silent shooting and blackout-free 30fps continuous bursts. While the Nikon Z6 III, as great as it is, had some controversies over its partially stacked sensor’s reduced dynamic range, Sony claims the A7 V’s sensor has 16 stops of latitude.
Other features of the A7 V include a new Bionz XR2 processor with a dedicated AI chip for tracking autofocus and subject detection (like the A7R V), a new tilt screen (also first introduced on the A7R V), improved five-axis image stabilization (rated up to 7.5 stops), up to one second of pre-capture in continuous burst shooting, and a speed boost button that allows on-the-fly faster shooting (borrowed from the A9 III). The A7 V’s OLED electronic viewfinder is the same 3.68-million dot resolution as its predecessor, but it now supports a faster 120fps, and the live view feed switches more quickly from the LCD when you put your eye to it. Sony also managed to squeeze a bit more life out of the new model using the same NP-FZ100 battery — rated for an estimated 630 shots using the EVF or 750 with the LCD (an increase of 110 and 170 over last gen).
The A7 V is designed as a hybrid for both stills and video, and its video chops have a significant improvement over the A7 IV. The new model records in oversampled 7K resolution to yield 4K 60p full-frame video, fixing one of the A7 IV’s biggest issues and oversights. The last-gen model relied on a 1.5x crop for its 4K 60p footage, whereas the A7 V now crops only to hit a high-speed 4K 120p for slow-motion work.
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As someone who owned and used the A7 IV professionally for about two years (before selling it to upgrade to another model), the A7 V has much of what I wish that camera could do for me. I got to use one for a very brief period, and being able to shoot silently in most situations like my other cameras is incredibly helpful for shooting freely in a quiet environment — like a wedding ceremony. One of my biggest gripes with my A7 IV was the delay while waiting for the live view to switch from the LCD to the EVF. The split-second moment of temporary blindness wasn’t egregiously long, but the A7 V’s faster switching brings it closer to the super-speedy feel of the pro A1 and A9 III cameras. I’m spoiled, I know, but once you adjust to it you don’t want to go back to a slower response time every time you pull up your second body.
The A7 V’s new screen and ergonomic improvements are also welcome changes. I still don’t love Sony’s grip feel, even though they’re my cameras of choice, but Sony makes the best articulating screens around, offering the best of both worlds for photo and video. Up until now, these excellent screens have been reserved for pricier models, and I’m excited for more people to have access to them.
It’s easy for the Sony A7 V to seem like a bit of a ho-hum update, kind of like last year’s A1 II upgrade was for pros. But Sony did a nice job focusing on refining and improving all of the base A7’s bread-and-butter features. It’s a greatest hits album of many of Sony’s recent new features. It’s a shame this line keeps getting pricier, as it’s launching at $500 more than the A7 IV’s original price and $200 more than the IV’s current tariff-inflated price, but new sensor tech is costlier sensor tech.
Sony was quick to innovate and iterate on its Alpha cameras for years, giving it a massive head start in the mirrorless world ahead of Canon, Nikon, and others. But it’s been feeling like that innovation has stalled a bit in recent models. Now that Sony has played all its latest cards across its current crop and given its A7 V samples of its latest tech, we’ll have to see if Sony’s next generation of cameras can make any of the big jumps forward like it’s been previously known for.
Photography by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
