Sony a7 V vs a7 IV

Buy the Sony a7 V if you shoot action, wildlife or weddings that need fast bursts, or if you want 4K 120p and full-frame 4K 60p. Buy the Sony a7 IV if you shoot portraits, events and normal video and want more money left for lenses. If you already own an a7 IV, upgrade only for a clear reason from the list below, because the resolution is the same.

For every listing, see the price pages for the Sony a7 V, the Sony a7 IV and the a7 IV with 28-70mm kit lens.

What actually differs

These stay the same: about 33 MP stills from a full-frame sensor, Sony E-mount, up to 759 autofocus points, a 3.69 million dot viewfinder with a 120fps option, two card slots (CFexpress Type A or SD in slot 1, SD in slot 2), the NP-FZ100 battery, and 3.5 mm mic and headphone jacks.

What each difference means when you shoot

Burst. The a7 V reaches 30 frames per second, but only on the electronic shutter. On the mechanical shutter it matches the a7 IV at up to 10. Sony's help guide lists the a7 V at about 185 JPEG fine frames or 95 compressed RAW at the top electronic speed, and 35 for lossless compressed RAW. On the mechanical shutter it lists 1000 or more for JPEG and compressed RAW, and about 170 for lossless compressed RAW. The a7 IV is listed at 1000 or more for most formats, and Sony says uncompressed and lossless RAW slow its burst. Set the a7 V to 20 frames per second or slower on the electronic shutter and Sony lists about 1000 or more JPEG or HEIF frames. With continuous AF the top electronic speeds depend on the lens, so check Sony's lens compatibility page before you count on 30.

4K video. This is the biggest practical gain for video shooters. The a7 IV is fixed to APS-C S35 at 4K 60p, so your lens looks 1.5 times longer. The a7 V keeps the full-frame view at 4K 60p when 4K angle of view Priority is on. Sony warns that this setting turns off part of the noise reduction, so noise can show on dark subjects. At 4K 120p the a7 V goes to Super 35, so a 24mm behaves like a 36mm for slow motion.

Stabilisation. Sony rates the a7 V at 7.5 stops at the centre against 5.5 for the a7 IV. The two ratings were measured with different lenses and the a7 V's uses the CIPA 2024 standard, so treat the gap as a guide. Both ratings are for still photos, so they help most with slow handheld shutter speeds and tell you little about walking video.

Autofocus. Both have up to 759 phase detection points. The a7 V adds an Auto recognition mode, and recognises insects, cars, trains and planes. The a7 IV recognises people, animals and birds. If you only photograph people, this row barely matters.

Screen. The a7 V screen is larger and has about twice the dots. The a7 IV screen flips out and rotates. The a7 V adds a tilt mechanism to its flip screen. Try both if you shoot from low or high angles.

Battery. Both use the NP-FZ100, yet Sony's a7 V ratings are higher, with about 750 screen shots against about 580.

Connections. The a7 V has two USB-C ports, one at USB 3.2 and one at USB 2.0, plus Wi-Fi with 6 GHz. Both have a full-size HDMI socket.

Upgrade if, stay if, or buy the older one if

Upgrade from a7 IV to a7 V if:

• Birds, sport or fast kids make you miss frames at 10 fps.
• You need 4K 60p without the 1.5x crop, or 4K 120p slow motion.

Stay on your a7 IV if:

• You shoot portraits, products or weddings at normal burst speeds, and cropped 4K 60p already covers your video.
• A better lens would do more for your pictures than a new body would.

Buy the a7 IV new if:

• You want the same 33 MP resolution and the same battery at a lower price.
• You accept the crop at 4K 60p.

Good glass for either body is in our best lens for the Sony a7 IV guide. Both bodies share the E-mount, so those picks apply to the a7 V too. For wedding work, see our wedding camera guide.

The real cost beyond the camera

Budget for a fast card and a spare battery first. The same card types and battery fit both bodies, but the a7 V's 280 Mbps 4K modes need a V60 SD card or a CFexpress Type A card, while Sony asks for U3 or V30 on the a7 IV's 200 Mbps 4K. Budget for that if you plan to use the a7 V's fastest video modes.

Cards. For XAVC 4K at 280 Mbps, including 4K 120p on the a7 V, Sony lists SDXC V60 or higher, or CFexpress Type A at VPG200 or higher. On the a7 IV, Sony lists U3 or V30 cards for 4K at up to 200 Mbps. On the a7 V, its movie table lists U3 cards for HD at up to 100 Mbps. For the XAVC S-I formats, Sony lists CFexpress Type A at VPG200 or higher, or SDXC V90 or higher, and on the a7 V it requires CFexpress for S-I 4K with some high-resolution audio settings or with proxy recording on. Type B cards do not fit either body. If you record to both slots at once, Sony says the two cards must share a file system, so do not pair an exFAT card with a FAT32 SDHC card. More detail is in our memory card guide for the a7 IV.

Battery. Sony's in-camera charging is over USB-C with USB Power Delivery on both bodies. Buy one spare NP-FZ100 for long days.

Mic. Both bodies have a 3.5 mm mic jack and a Multi Interface Shoe with digital audio. A wireless kit with a 3.5mm cable, such as the DJI Mic 2, plugs straight into either.

Before you buy

Check if the listing is body only or a kit. The kit prices above include different lenses on each camera, so compare body to body first. Ask the store which version it can show you.