Sony A7RV Wedding Photography Review: Pros and Cons After 1 Year
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📸 One Year with the Sony A7RV: A Wedding Photographer’s Deep Dive! 🎩👰
Join me as we explore a detailed, hands-on review after 1-year of shooting professional wedding photography with the #SonyA7RV! 📆 From body wear-and-tear to the camera’s performance in capturing the intricacies of emotion and celebration - I’ll discuss it all! 🎉
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Hi Magic, I have the solution for the degradation in viewfinder quality when you are auto-focusing. Turn OFF the anti-flicker setting in the menu.
NO WAY!!!!!
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Yes, I found this out the other day. Had been using it like you all year and getting super pissed off with it. It also means you can use it with the higher frame rate setting and not lose the frame rate when you are auto-focusing. I thought it was weird that the quality would drop so dramatically when you would auto-focus. Surely the whole point of the "high-quality viewfinder" would be so you could see all that detail when you are autofocasing!
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Let me know if you see a difference when you change the setting?
hell yeah brother, you changed my life now hahaha - I just checked my cameras and you are RIGHT! Although there's still tiny drop of quality (more visible when in APS-C mode), but it's a night and day compared to what it was!
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer It's insane that it's even a thing isn't it! This was my first mirrorless camera, so I just assumed that it was just how mirrorless cameras work. But I just got red up with how bad it was so went searching online to see if anyone else was complaining about it. But there is nothing. Nobody was talking about it. Then I found this one thread on age 8 on Google with the solution lol. I wonder how many A7R5 owners are out in the wild dealing with this.
In less than 6 months, I'll be turning 70. My hands are shaky. My eyesight isn't what it used to be. I bought the A7RV in December 2022 and couldn't be happier. The autofocus on this camera makes my life so much easier. I am a very lazy (amateur) photographer and wanted to give myself some time to get to know this camera better. But, you know what... I've been using auto mode most of the time and, frankly, I don't know how I could make my photographs better. This camera is absolutely awesome!!! All I do in post is play a bit with the contrast and the saturation. This is the perfect camera for me!
I learned several real-world applications of the many features of this camera in your video that no one else talks about. Thanks, Magic!
Great video, and yes I just bought it, I'm love with it!
Love the review, very inspiring the Photos ❤️
Thanks Francesco!!
Finally ! A review by someone who knows how to do photography and use camera. While sharing your experience you made sure that you used the camera with the best settings required for the scene (Which in my observation lacked by others who reviewed the camera). Not to forget all the absolutely beautiful images that you shared! I'm glad i saw this video!
Thanks for sharing!!! Great video! I just got my Sony R V and now I was able to set up correctly lol do you have a video for video settings? Thank you very much.😎📸
I was thinking about getting the A7R V but for now the A7 IV works just fine. The new autofocus is nice, I had a chance to try it but it's nothing I can live without. I appreciate though that you can use the M-size files now and are not limited to 60 Mpix. I'm pretty sure I couldn't use the A7R IV in a lot of situations.
Great review. How do you find the battery drainage?
I’ve been using mine for 8 months now for weddings, great camera. The 3x cons I come up with are: 1: unusable electronic shutter when shooting whilst you’re moving around. 2: the EVF is too ‘crispy’. When I compare it to my Leica SL2-s it feels too sharp and contrasty. 3: Highlight recovery in medium raw is poor, full raw is perfect. Aside from those cons it’s a great camera, the pull out screen is the reason why I switched from the a74 to the a7rv
Thanks for sharing! Yeah, electronic shutter only usable on A9's and A1... so hopefully we'll get that soon-ish! I need to check that highlight recovery medium vs full RAW - I mostly use medium RAW and I still find it extremely usable
1) While I seldom use ES, I would prob agree that a stacked sensor is what you need instead, 2) funny that you say that its too sharp, I'd rather have it sharp rather than blurry or not very good, and 3) I have not found this to be an issue but then again I do not blow out highlights.
@@stkuj if you ever get the chance to look through the sl2s EVF then compare it to the a7rv you will understand what I mean, the a7rv tends to have some weird artefacts that crop up when you have motion within the screen. The sl2s looks equally as detailed but handles high contrast scenes a lot better. I used to shoot with an a9 for 4 years, rolling shutter is great but the colour science was poor compared to the new Sony line
Very good video, thanks.
Great review on the A7RV. Just wondering if you have ever missed the silent shutter and blackout free electronic shutter from your A1?
Very good video! Thanks.
Bella recensione...grazie
Great video, thank you ! As far as the viewfinder, Olympus did this on their E5 10 years ago. Was one of the reasons (besides it being a work horse) I used it forever!! :)
I still have my a7 Iv with zero issues. I do some portrait work with some landscape..including intimate landscape. Would the extra megapixel be worth the upgrade? I don’t much of the wedding stuff anymore and prefer intimate portrait work these days. I use Sony 100-400 along with a zeiss 55 1.8 and the fleet of Tamron lenses. If I got a decent trade in for the a7 if I might consider the investment.
Hello have you tried doing sports photography? If not, what do you think it will hold up , more for Little League and college class high school baseball
Do you still get the same dynamic range in a medium raw file?
Hey Magic! I have been looking at these for weddings too, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna miss my current a9's blackout free shooting. What's your thought on this?
Do you use back button focus?
Thank you, great video. What do you think about A7R5 color sience, skin tone? especially to compare to Canon R5 or Fuji GFX100II ? Thank you.
I love the color science from Sony A7RV, it's the best I've used. Unfortunately I have no comparison to other two cameras you mentioned.
Great photography work buddy! I just switched to A7RV from 8years with Nikon from D850 and Z7II. I got myself Sigma 24-70 f2.8, 85 f1.4 and 35 f1.2 and like you said in a video use crop mode with 35mm lens so it's 2 in 1 35mm & 50mm f1.2
Are you using CF Express cards or SD? Noticeable difference?
Also have you noticed high iso shots with lens correction in LR produces very strange patterns in darker images?
Do you still use your A1? Or do you prefer the R5?
Wouldnt the a7rv be considered both the a7rv and a7iv in one with the 26mp full frame raw and 61mp????
I originally had 2 of these bodies. I had a shutter fail on one of mine in a month. (3 weddings) I had to order another one because repair took too long. (3 bodies total) I noticed before the shutter went that the shutter went louder on both bodies. I thought I was imagining it but then when the new body came it was much quieter for the first few weddings. Now it’s noisier. I worry they have shutter issues with these. Never had a shutter fail on me before.
why not zoom in more for your high ISO shots to show what its really like? As an A7RV owner, the iso performance is horrible in comparison to my a7IV or even my A7Riii. If you plan to use this camera in poor lighting conditions with its full 61mp glory or even crop abit tighter than normal then you really start seeing substantial grain even at iso 800 even when exposed correctly. Its best to deliver your images in 20-30mp with decent noise removal to have good quality. This is why people say that if you dont need 61mp then dont buy this camera because its sensor disadvantages show up quicker in non optimal shooting situations. Other notable mentions that surprisingly arent covered in the video is that LCD screen isnt all that great. Firstly, there is some noticable gamma changes in your image previews. Highlights may sometimes seem blown out until you zoom in and realize that they are within an acceptable range. Also the panel itself has some sort of lines running through the LCD which are quite noticable. Yes, i checked multiple A7RV bodies, they all have this. My other Sony bodies do not. My biggest issue tho is that this LCD panel, doesnt allow you to view true sharpness at 1:1 scale as you would hope it would. If you punch in all the way on the back of the LCD, the photo looks muddy and you cant always tell if you nailed tack sharp focus. This was quite dissapointing considering that this is Sonys new high resolution screen.. Sony went 1 step forward and a few steps back on this LCD in my opinion. Also be aware, that if you plan on using Lossless compressed formats, then you would have to sacrifice abit of dynamic range in comparison to a true uncompressed RAW. Its not a deal breaker but defintely a reduction. There are a few youtubers talking about this in full detail. Lastly, the honorable AF system. If youre planning on getting the A7RV strictly for its new AI inspired AF system then dont. Sure, it keeps track of subjects when they turn away by identifying the body/head/shoulders but in reality this isnt all that useful. I am a professional event/wedding photographer I would be lying to you if i told you that all my photos are tack sharp with this camera. The AF still gets confused with some random dudes head pocking through the side of the frame when the subject is dead center. There are many random situations that indicate that this AF is not as smart as its made to be. I would honestly tell you thats its on par with the A7IV minus the shoulder/body recognition which again didnt save me even once in any scenerio. Overall, the A7IV would be the best Sony camera for stills in my opinion if it wasnt for the fully articulating screen. The A7RV is a step in the right direction but wouldnt be the body i would hold on to for long.
I can’t wait for the A9 III. The hope for that camera being higher megapixel helped me hold off from the A7V.
We share the same hopes!
any green color shifts at high iso ?
Great video, what mist filter do you use?
Thanks! Nisi 1/8. I have full comparison video if you want to take a look: kzhead.info/sun/e9SKeJGSr5WtqK8/bejne.html
gostei da saída dos noivos e a câmera não focar em um padrinho ou pétala. ainda esperando uma ISO e AC superior a a7III com IA, quem sabe uma a9III.
In terms of the viewfinder resolution issue when focusing, this seems to be the same as the issue earlier a7r3 cameras had when you had anti-flicker enabled. Once turned off, this screen resolution wouldn't degrade, but not sure if this is the same now with the a7r5
It is the same for a7rV. I had it off since first day and I couldn't understand what quality degradation everyone was seeing. Turned it on to test and sure enough, resolution was taking a bit when focusing
@@terorvladso this doesn’t happen with anti flicker off?
I finally decided to get the a7rv about 6 months ago. TBH, the a7iv ticks all the boxes for me, but the EVF, AF, Rear Screen sold me on the price difference. I shoot 95% in Med Raw. I do not regret the decision.That being said, with the a7cii this would now be the perfect camera and will most likely move to the a7v when it comes out.
Thanks for sharing! A7C II is pretty sweet, although not suitable for weddings as it only has 1 card slot. Do you shoot weddings?
Great review of the Sony a7r5, I just bought mine and I'm truly excited to use it. Thank you very much!!
Fantastic video! Thanks for sharing the Super 35 tip! I prefer shooting in Medium Raw for its 26 megapixels; 60 is just excessive for my needs at weddings and my storage 🤣. I'm curious, if I'm already using Medium Raw and switch to Super 35, will that halve my Medium Raw resolution, or does it switch to 60 megapixels and halve that instead? Thanks in advance!
Thanks! And nope! When you’re in Medium Raw and switch to crop it will crop from full res so result is still 26mp
absolute legend, thank you so much for a speedy reply 🔥@@MagicWeddingPhotographer
That picture at 4:41 is so beautiful. Did you use a flash there?
Thanks! No flash, just the most perfect light 🎉
I was thinking between Nikon Z8 and the Sony 7RV, both very capable superb cams, thanks to your review I see , you need no 20MP/s on a wedding, and your results are more than amazing. I 've also seen you used your RV with anamorphic lenses for a photo shoot, how are your experience with video here, also for wedding?
Did you pick up the Sony or the Nikon???
What picture profile do you use? Or recommend?
If the Sony a7V gets this screen might be the perfect camera 😊
Can you plz tell which lance you are using for this video and what setting
I filmed this video with Sony 35mm f/1.8 and S-cinetone picture profile
Thanks
Do you use any filters like mist filters during wedding?
18:14 the one I used here was nisi black mist 1/8. I always have it in my bag, but I use it rather occasionally. You can also check out my comparison between strength of the mist filters here: kzhead.info/sun/e9SKeJGSr5WtqK8/bejne.html
How the results when Sigma Dgdn lenses are used on this?
I only tested 50mm from Sigma DG DN and it worked great - maybe just a hair behind Sony GM. I have no experience how they work in the long run though.
Why buy a 60mp and then shooting with medium rawits?
Good!! A9II or A7IV for wedding? Thanks
A9II is pretty outdated, yet very powerful. I would get it only if you really need to use silent shutter. If not - A7IV all day!
I've been using the a9 for weddings since 2018. It's outlasted my 2 a7iii's and is now used in tandem with my a7rv. I still prefer the a9. The AF is still better and more reliable than the AI AF. The high iso capabilities are very similar as well. It's got over 250k shutter clicks, not to mention plenty of use with the silent shutter. It's a workhorse and I'm sure I'll use it until it dies. I still trust it over the a7rv which has twice now just mysteriously decided not to turn on. I also just personally feel that the a9 feels better in the hand. The newer bodies are getting a little chunky for my tastes. I have the 24gm on my a7rv, usually in crop mode in med raw. And I have my a9 with the 50 1.2 gm in compressed mode. No complaints. The a7rv files are still twice as large as the a9 compressed files.
Thanks to both of you. It seems that there is a difference of opinions, that is good! The A9/A9II, although they are models from a few years ago, I think they were so powerful when they were launched that they are now at the same level as the current A7 models. I'm not attracted to the folding screen of the A7IV. The A9 brings me silent shooting, the viewfinder without blackouts and no banding occurs with LED lights. You say that the AF in the A9 seems more reliable than in the A7RV...by that rule of three it is better than that of the A7IV, since it is inferior to the AF of the A7RV. Greeting
@@ehinam01 haha I have very different experience. I have used dual A9II extensively for wedding photography and I still prefer A7RV and do feel it’s way more reliable in AF department - maybe it’s a difference of way we shoot and use af. Of course A9 files are smaller and that’s a beautiful thing, but I’m waiting for mark 3 to make a switch from my A7RV :)
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer I'm in center lock-on all day. I often have the a7rv change subjects on me, and I don't understand why. The a7rv is great, I just still prefer the a9 as I've never had any issues to speak of with it. This being said I've never used the a9ii and don't know if there is any af difference from 1st to 2nd gen. Regardless, love your videos Magic!
How much time and date release sony a7v.....??
🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
When I first bought this camera I thought the extra megapixels was going to be overkill and a pain for storage. A year later, I'm super happy to be able to have a lot of options for cropping while still maintaining quality. It makes it so I can move quickly and don't need to overanalyze the composition in the moment. 🙂
How do you manage the files
@@prosperity1715 delete all the crappy photos ASAP to save space, some manual organization, Adobe Bridge or Lightroom, multiple hard drives. Really depends on the situation / volume of the project.
Would you choose this or the A7IV as a hybrid shooter? Assuming price is not a factor.
A7RV is superior. The only downside or upside depending on your needs and workflow is that megapixels count. If you're cool with full 61mp (or medium RAW of 26mp) then A7RV is the way to go.
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Do you feel the worse high ISO performance and dynamic range have an effect on its capabilities in lower light wedding scenarios? Thats been my primary concern. I own both, having just bought a used A7RV, but am going to sell one, and so far am undecided as the A7IV is just so great. But the potential flexibility of 61MP and better overall features is tempting.
So I’m very kind and I’m going to give you £10,000 🤔. Which would you get 2 A1’s or two A7RV for weddings. Personally I could not live without my silent shutter. Just today at a corporate job, it proved invaluable. I’m waiting to see what the A93 has to offer before pulling the trigger on an A1 as the price has come down.
Thanks Nick, you can send it you my PayPal account :). I had opportunity to go for A1 and it’s a monster beauty camera. The only, literally only thing that made me go for A7RV is that I would be forced to use 50MP all the time, as the medium RAW is 21MP - not enough for me. And I just didn’t want to shoot all my wedding work on 50MP. I’m still debating whether I made a good call… the feeling of the shutter click on A1 is to die for.
That’s exactly the question I was faced with. I didn’t do an either or, instead I got one of each. One A1 (which replaced my A9) and one A7RV (which replaced my A7RIV). To me that’s the perfect combination right now. The A7RV gives me the best IQ and very sophisticated subject recognition. The A1 has silent shooting that is fully usable thanks to its very fast readout, better speed and better tracking. I suspect the soon to be announced A9III could replace the A1 for me. It will have even better speed, but also combine that with the newest AI autofocus technology.
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer one thing I would be interested in a video on is the dynamic range / highlight recovery when shooting medium raw. There is a video on you tube from a chap claiming there is a difference from full to medium raw on a A1 but he seems to be the only one talking about it.
@@nikolai_art I shoot weddings and corporate events so camera speed is not so important to me. Hi ISO and dynamic range are more important but also file size. I shoot a lot of corporate and they need a quick turn around. Files from the A7RV and possibly the A1 would be too big. I wish Sony could do something about this as Canons R5's 45mp files are about the same size as my A9 24mp Files.
I don't use ISO above 2000. Just don't like the quality. My old A7RIII was handling it much better. I got pretty dissapointed about this drawback. The increase of resolution was not needed. 40 Mp is far enough for huge prints and cropping as well. Whats amazing about this BW photo at 13.20min? The lady as a main character is completly out of Focus and the guy who is covering his face is sharp? I would never pass this on to my clients. Just don't get it! I agree with the rest of you. There is no good sony camera for wedding works at the moment. I also just use my RV in Medium size mode for the weddings. The sensor is so slow and in silent mode it is horrible and completly unusable.
A7R5 is the best companion to the A7IV.
Still confused why many people don't use camera cages.
For what?
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Protection, adding stuff, or even helping you mount that vertical/horizontal combo easily as you have screw holes everywhere to do whatever you like. You can as well mount a tiny powerbank to charge when closed, while stalls the battery drain with 9V A3 power delivery. Just to name a few.
@@Bo_Hazem yeah for what I do, keeping gear as light possible is the way to go. It’s usually 8-12 hours of running around with 2 cameras and pouch with 2 more lenses and adding weight and bulk to that combo would only make it harder
@@MagicWeddingPhotographer Understandable. Maybe consider chest and waist quick-release mounts for the camera to take the stress off your neck/shoulders. Tried 6-8 hours of lifting video rig mostly handheld with all accessories without a shoulder rig and even running around with the fluid head tripod until mildly tore a muscle on my upper back.😅8-12 hours is ruthless. Hope you the best!
I feel like every time I shoot below F2,8 for 2 ppl or more I feel someone are always out of focus
Make them to stay closer as possible
@@anushtechreviews Yeah i know but in wedding people move a lot
@@182-media then use f6 to f8 with sufficient fill flash, I shoot sometime f11 for getting sharp shots.
… cons? I can’t see any „real“ con using the a7R V for photography. 🤷🏼♂️
Other then not being able to shoot 10fps in medium raw or weird image quality drop in viewfinder when tracking… it’s pretty awesome :)
Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana.
Also f*ck the highlights, just expose for your subject, who cares about blown up sky...with AI in PS u can create it))