The full-frame 33MP1 Exmor R™ back-illuminated CMOS sensor delivers outstanding speed and superb image quality. The use of copper wiring contributes to higher transmission speeds and faster AD (analogue to digital) conversion, while fast sensor readout enables 10-bit 4:2:2 4K recording up to 60p11. The sensor also provides improved color reproducibility, low-noise performance at all sensitivities, 15+stop dynamic range and increased AF (autofocus) speed and precision performance. Experience improved levels of color gradation and detail rendering as well as soft, natural-looking human skin textures.
The BIONZ XR engine, also used in the Sony Alpha 1 and Alpha 7S III models, provides up to an 8x2 increase in processing speed. The engine concentrates real-time processing of AF (autofocus), image recognition and image quality adjustment to minimize processing latency for greatly increased movie and still processing power. User interface, network and file management processing is distributed to deliver fast response regardless of real-time processing load.
Building on the capabilities of the back-illuminated Exmor R™ image sensor, the powerful BIONZ XR™ processing engine reveals even higher subjective resolution combined with exquisite detail and texture even in medium and high sensitivity ranges. Impressively low levels of noise are achieved throughout the standard range of ISO 100-51200 (expandable to ISO 50-204800 for stills and ISO 100-102400 for movies).
Taking advantage of the camera's full dynamic range of 15 stops, the Alpha7 IV uses image data from the sensor's 33-megapixels1 to render remarkably delicate detail in landscapes and scenery. This stunning image quality is based on Sony's unrivaled experience at the front lines of both still-image and movie creation.
The Alpha 7 IV gives you an impressive range of video recording options. Full pixel readout without binning allows 4K 60p11 recording in Super 35 mode providing high-resolution smooth footage that can be edited to 2x and 2.5x slow-motion when rendered to 30p or 24p in post-production, and 4K 24p or 30p full pixel readout without binning in full-frame with 7K11 oversampling. For highly detailed and rich 4K content.
Thanks to the increased2 33MP1 resolution, the Alpha 7 IV oversamples 7K11 when recording full-frame 4K11 movies at up to 30p, resulting in high-resolution, highly detailed 4K11 for beautifully expressive, rich images. Select the mode that best suits your purpose, and let the camera deliver.
The Alpha 7 IV supports S-Cinetone, based on expertise gained through development of the VENICE CineAlta professional cinema camera line. This look is responsible for the beautiful skin tones for which Cinema Line cameras like the FX9, FX6 and FX3 are widely acclaimed. It delivers natural mid-tones for healthy-looking skin color, plus soft colors and gorgeous highlights. It's easy to create a more expressive look for your movie imagery without post-editing, since S-Cinetone is processed in-camera.
For the first time in the Sony Alpha series, the Alpha 7 IV provides compensation for focus breathing. Focus breathing is any change in a lens's angle of view that corresponds to changes in focus. Sony's original Clear Image Zoom technology is used to automatically maintain a consistent angle of view for more movie-like focus transitions. This feature can be used in conjunction with Active Mode image stabilization to shoot stable, consistent imagery.
Answering requests from professional creators, the brand-new Focus Map16 feature lets you easily visualize depth of field (DOF) and which areas are in and out of focus when you're in movie mode. In use, focus information (depth map) is overlaid on the display of the live view in real time. Areas in focus and within the set DOF appear translucent, while areas out of focus behind the DOF appear blue and those in front of the DOF appear red. Focus Map can be used in autofocus and manual focus modes and greatly enhances the ability to check focus and map depth of field.
The AF Assist function, inherited from the Cinema Line FX6, lets you seamlessly switch to and from autofocus and manual focus during movie shoots. When this feature is turned on, rotating the focus ring temporarily switches operation from autofocus to manual focus to allow you to deliberately shift your focus to a different subject. Autofocus is resumed when ring rotation stops.
The Fast Hybrid AF system, combining 759 phase-detection AF points6 and 425 contrast-detection AF points with a wide coverage of roughly 94% of the image area for both stills and movies, has evolved even further to achieve greater speed, accuracy and tracking performance. This vast collection of data is analyzed in real time by the latest powerful BIONX XR™ processing engine to achieve the AF system's impressive results.
The superior power of the BIONZ XR™ processing engine has led to improvements in both Real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking9 features. Improved face detection translates into 30% better eye-detection accuracy compared to Alpha 7 III. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is used to detect and track the eyes and face of the subject (human, animal or bird)10 with extremely high precision. Real-time Tracking allows you to select your subject and then leave tracking to the camera, relying on the latest subject recognition algorithm and high-speed analysis of spatial data by the processing engine.
Keeping the targeted eye in focus so you can concentrate on composition. The high speed of the latest image BIONZ XR™ processing engine provides a significant boost to Real-time Eye AF performance, even when the subject is looking up, down, or sideways. It is also possible to use Touch Tracking9 to initiate Real-time Tracking of any subject in the frame, simultaneously initiating Real-time Eye AF if an eye is detected, simply by touching the screen.
Fast, accurate focus for difficult animal shots10. By setting the camera's subject detection type to "Animal" in advance, you can automatically detect and track9 an animal's eyes, for greater success in both wildlife shots and photos and movies of your pets at home. Animal-eye detection has been improved with reliable tracking and accurate focus even when the animal's face is upside down.
The Real-time Eye AF function is now capable of detecting the eyes of birds10 and tracking them in real time, for both still shots and movies. The BIONZ XR™ processing engine runs optimized AF and tracking algorithms to ensure uninterrupted tracking10 even for birds in flight, whose movement is hard to predict. Once you've selected a bird, the camera will automatically detect and precisely track that bird's eye, whether the bird is perched or in flight.
Both the mechanical and electronic shutters allow continuous shooting of 33MP1 RAW+JPEG still images at up to 10 fps with AF/AE tracking. The powerful BIONZ XR™ processing engine and increased buffer memory allow faster writing to memory cards, so you can shoot more than 1000 compressed RAW+JPEG frames (more than 2000 altogether, up to a full memory card). Its even possible to capture over 800 uncompressed RAW+JPEG frames8 (more than 1600 altogether) in Hi+ mode7. Increased processing power also allows you to change menu settings even while data is being written to the memory card.
All it takes is a USB22 connection to turn the full-frame Alpha 7 IV into a high-performance webcam. There's no need for complicated advance setup; just connect the camera to a computer or smartphone via USB27, select "Live Stream (USB Streaming)", and you're set. You can choose from four different output formats28, including high-resolution 4K video and simultaneous internal recording is also available, giving you broad flexibility to cover a wide variety of needs.
Make in-camera recordings with the amazing richness of 4K 10-bit depth and 4:2:2 color sampling, with either Long GOP H.264 (XAVC S), Long GOP H.265 (XAVC HS13) or All-Intra (XAVC S-I) frame encoding, for far greater flexibility in image grading, post-processing, and compositing.
All-Intra (XAVC S-I) recording encodes every frame independently at bitrates of up to 600Mbps12, capturing complex motion more accurately and allowing more efficient editing workflows.
The XAVC HS13 recording format uses HEVC/H.265 encoding to achieve twice the compression efficiency of AVC/H.264 encoding for superior image quality and smaller space-saving file sizes.
The Alpha 7 IV provides S-Log2 and S-Log3 gamma curves, with the latter allowing capture of 15+ stops3 of dynamic range. The S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3.Cine color gamut settings make it easy to match Alpha 7 IV footage with footage from VENICE digital cinema cameras or Cinema Line cameras like the FX6 and FX3. The native sensitivity when shooting S-Log is ISO 800 and can be lowered by as much as two stops (ISO 200-640) below the standard range to achieve extra low noise.
Broaden your creative palette with a selection of ten Creative Look presets with eight adjustable parameters. You can easily impart a particular mood in your still images, movies and live streaming. All preset selections are available in-camera without post-editing, so you can share your vision immediately after shooting.
The Alpha 7 IV's in-body image stabilization allows effective use with a wide range of lenses. The high-precision stabilization unit and gyro sensors work with stabilization algorithms to achieve up to 5.5 steps4 of shutter-speed compensation to maximize the performance of the camera's 33MP1 sensor. The live monitor view shows the stabilized still image while the shutter button is half-pressed, an especially helpful feature when using a telephoto or macro lens, and it can be used in conjunction with the MF (manual focus) Assist and Focus Magnifier features.
Active Mode30 uses the camera's stabilization unit, gyro sensors and sophisticated algorithms for highly effective in-camera optical image stabilization during movie shoots. The powerful processing engine precisely detects the required amount of compensation for smooth stabilization in all formats, including 4K, without compromising the Alpha 7 IV's compact size and mobility. And, because the gyro data is also recorded alongside the video, even more effective post-production stabilization can be applied for ultra-smooth shots using Catalyst Browse/Prepare software19.
Since the Alpha7 IV records gyro and lens data as metadata, you can use Catalyst Browse/Prepare software19 to further smooth camera shake and make adjustments to image stabilization even after shooting,
The Alpha 7 IV offers HEIF (High Efficiency Image File) 26 still-image encoding in addition to 14-bit RAW and conventional 8-bit JPEG. 10-bit color depth minimizes degradation of image quality when editing, providing smooth gradations and more realistic reproduction of skies and portrait subjects where subtle, natural gradation is essential. HEIF still images recorded in HLG mode can be played back on a compatible BRAVIA 4K TV, via an HDMI connection, to display images with an extraordinarily wide dynamic range.
Sony's latest flash units communicate fully with the Alpha 7 IV, leveraging its powerful face detection capabilities to adjust exposure to produce natural-looking skin tones31. Precise white balance synchronization and P-TTL metering, at up to the ‘Hi’ level of continuous-burst speeds, reliably expose even fast-moving subjects with quick lighting changes for unmatched dependability and creative possibilities. Additionally, compatible flash and radio wireless commander units connected to the Alpha 7 IV can now be controlled directly from the camera interface for greater convenience during shoots.
The Alpha 7 IV provides multiple audio input options for the movie creator. A digital Multi Interface (MI) Shoe enables cable-less connection for high-quality sound15, while also supplying power, eliminating concerns about mic batteries. A digital signal from a compatible digital MI shoe microphone provides higher quality audio without degradation, directly transferring the digital audio signal15 to the camera. A 3.5mm mic input jack is also provided for non-MI shoe microphones. When wind-noise reduction18, is set to “Auto” and wind noise is detected, the integrated microphone uses newly developed signal-processing technology to greatly reduced wind noise without affecting other sounds.
Befitting its status as a true hybrid camera, the Alpha 7 IV comes equipped with a dedicated Still/Movie/S&Q dial to instantly switch between movies and stills. The dial switches the menus, functions, and custom settings of various controls between still and movie mode, and settings such as aperture and shutter speed can also be maintained separately for stills and movies. S&Q mode can be selected for fast access to slow-motion or quick-motion shooting.
The Alpha 7 IV features a 3.68 mega-dot high-definition Quad-VGA OLED viewfinder, providing roughly 1.6 times the resolution of the Alpha 7 III viewfinder, with a 37.3° field of view and a 23mm high eyepoint. With high resolution, improved electronic viewfinder image quality, fogging and dust resistance (including significantly improved internal fogging resistance relative to the Alpha 7 III), it is designed for clear and comfortable viewing in a wide range of shooting environments.
The large, side-opening 3-inch 1.03-mega-dot1 touch-panel LCD monitor offers ample brightness for clear viewing in outdoor settings and its 3:2 aspect ratio makes efficient use of the display area. The vari-angle mechanism allows flexible positioning and framing for handheld shots, gimbal-mounted or documentary-style self-shooting, or very low ground-level shots. In addition, the touch functionality allows for fast and easy menu access in addition to advanced touch focus features for both still and movie.
Touch operation23 is now possible for AF operations such as Touch Tracking during shooting. Along with pinch-to-zoom during playback, this translates into more intuitive operation. Touch Tracking lets you select a subject to track simply by touching the LCD screen, even while using the viewfinder, for more intuitive AF control for both still shots and movies. Easier focus operation is particularly helpful when you're shooting movies alone or using a gimbal, allowing you to concentrate on composing your shots.
Dual media slots allow you to continue shooting even if one memory card fills up. Both slots support UHS-I and UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards and one of the slots supports high-performance CFexpress Type A cards. With their fast write speeds, CFexpress Type A cards are particularly suited to high-resolution, high-speed continuous still shooting as well as high-resolution, high-bitrate 4K movie recording.
To allow extended continuous recording, efficient heat dissipation is provided by Sony's proprietary Σ (sigma)-shaped thermal mounting. The mounting, which is also used on flagship models, is constructed from a graphite material with excellent thermal conduction properties. This structure allows the image sensor, a major source of heat inside the camera body, to move freely during image stabilization while heat is efficiently dissipated.
The Alpha 7 IV's built-in Soft Skin Effect is available in four level settings (OFF, LO, MID, and HI). It makes skin look bright and beautiful, softening wrinkles, blemishes and dull-looking areas while adding emphasis to the eyes and mouth. Complementing the capabilities of the full-frame sensor, this feature can add appeal to live-streamed sessions as well as enhancing still shots and movies.
