Do You Need to Upgrade? A Comparison of the Sony a7R IV to the a7R III

Sony surprised pretty much everyone when they recently announced the a7R IV, the latest in their line of high-resolution full frame cameras and an update to the a7R III. While the a7R IV has a lot of great features and upgrades, the a7R III is quite the powerhouse itself, and you may be wondering if you need to upgrade. This great video overview discusses the differences between the two and will help you decide which is right for you.

Coming to you from Dustin Abbott, this helpful video gives an overview of the differences between the Sony a7R III and the a7R IV. The most obvious upgrade in the a7R IV is the new sensor, which offers 61 megapixels, as compared to the 42.4 megapixels in the previous model. The newer model also comes up with other upgrades such as autofocus improvements, a higher-resolution EVF, a bigger buffer, and more. It also comes with some subtler improvements, such as improved weather-sealing, a deeper grip, UHS-II memory card support in both slots, and more. While many of the upgrades are incremental in some sense, they do add up to an overall improved experience and capabilities, which may make it a worthwhile purchase for some photographers. Check out the video above for Abbott's full thoughts. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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13 Comments

You do not need to “upgrade” if you have 20 MP or more .. regardless of brand.
You do not need a mirrorless camera and new mount lenses.
You do need to replace a Sony 7R III to 7R IV.
FSTOPPERS get real and stop pushing “endless upgrades” to too naive photographers. They are dumb and believe weasel word advertising.
Smell the coffee and know when you scammed by camera manufacturers.
You do not need ..

Maybe you could leave to others if they 'need' to upgrade. Or even if they just want to. In my opinion this is one of the best ccomparison video's of the A7R3 vs A7R4. He is not promoting and surely not pushing , just telling what he considers improvements and what he would like to see improved. For me personally, I don't need the 61 mp's and I find the autofocus on my A7R3 good enough for what I do. I do like the improved physics, especially of the buttons (I still sometimes struggle to find them) and the improved viewfinder because I also rather use focus zoom then peaking. But not enough reason for me to upgrade.
But according to you Fstoppers should stop reviews of new cameras/technologies all together bc they might lead us mindless, poor customers into temptation? Ok, so can you please tell me; what do I need?

Relax the fuck up and let folks decide on their own.. No one's pushing nothin' to no one. It's just an overview. Stop acting like you're everyone's savior. Trust me, you...are not.

You should definitely learn to at least comment on the topic of the article. It’s about upgrading an A7R3 to a A7R4. There are improvements professionals wanted in the 3 and can now have in the 4, it’s not all about resolution.

I’ve managed nearly 39 years on this planet making my own decisions so far.. I would argue the only ‘dumb’ people on the internet are the people who leave comments like this.

....

its ok grandpa...take your pill and get some rest :D

Compared to the Northup whinge this gives a pretty good overview of the A7R4 along with a comparison with the A7R3, which is the camera I use. Why Sony are still staying with the old screen design is quite perplexing as it really does require an update. I for one don’t see anything that would make me want to upgrade.

But: most people mistake 'want' for 'need'. marketing is also doing their best to blur the line and make them appear as the same. This article has some really good points:
https://fstoppers.com/business/should-i-upgrade-my-camera-equipment-193699

61mp would be nice for some landscape but a better autofocus isn't needed for that. Having just switched to Sony only two years ago, I'll stick with the a7Riii. Besides. used mk3 bodies are selling for about 2k, 1800 after ebay fees. To upgrade would be about $1700. I'll put that money towards more glass for now.

Sony does need to do something more with touch though. He did mentioned the 70D in the video for the first camera to have a touch screen, at least on the Canon side. It was actually Canon T4i before the 70D. The T4i was my first DSLR and 70D my second. I do miss the pinch to zoom on photos. Seems like a no brainer for a touch screen.

If I wished for only one update for a7Riii, it would be to change the color of the single point focus marker. Why is it black?

Alas the camera has grown in size and weight over time.