SonyAlpha 7R V Full-Frame Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera

I currently own 2 A7RIII's that I've used professionally for a few years. I was looking to upgrade and checked out the A1 and others in the Sony line. I didn't feel the A1 really fit my needs, or budget, so I waited. I'm glad I did because I love everything about this model.Mainly a portrait and wedding photographer, I wanted to stay with the R line for the resolution capabilities and really didn't need 20 fps or any crazy video capabilities. The A7R5 has a 61 MP sensor that delivers amazing detail in images. I often crop my images and really benefit from the sensor size. Coupled with any G-Master lens, this camera delivers sharp images. I shoot mainly with the 35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.2, the 100mm 2.8 (5.6), and the 70-200 2.8. All deliver exceptional results on this body.Focus/Auto Focus: The Autofocus, as usual, is excellent. You can set the Eye AF to target human, bird/animal, animals, birds, insects, car/train, and Airplane. I haven't used it on anything but my dogs and cats so far, and so far it has been flawless. I used the Eye AF on the A7RIII almost exclusively. It really makes shooting with lenses with really narrow DoF very easy. Additionally, it has human movement AF that keeps focus on the subject even when the eyes aren't visible (like when shooting a subject from behind). I have not really tried out the video focus capabilities because it's winter in PA and too cold to be outside shooting (haha). It has 693 Phase Detection Points too!Menu: The menu has changed styles and I definitely like the change. With the A7RIII, a rarely used the touch screen, but with the new menu system on this, I do and even having it only a week, I can say it's definitely improved. As usual, with Sony Menus, it takes a bit of research to find out what and where everything is. I'm sure with a little practice, the new menu will be extremely usable.Video Capabilities: EDITED July 17, 2023 - One thing to note about this model, and other "R" Models in the Sony Lineup, is that this is a RESOLUTION camera, meant for stills and delivering HIGH RESOLUTION as the "R" in the model name suggests. It is NOT Sony's best video camera in my opinion, and with 10 fps, not the best for shooting stills in sports. If you're a sports shooter, look at the A1 or A9. If you are mainly interested in vlogging or video capabilities, look at the FX3, A7C, or A7S III. Sony has a variety of models to choose from that are tailored for your specific needs. I am 90% portrait photography, so the A7R5 is what I needed. I'm glad they improved the video capabilities, because I do sometimes take video. This can shoot 8K @ 24p and 4K 60p. Way more than I'd really need, but not as good as some other models out there. There are some good videos on YouTube that talk about the video capabilities on this camera and mention the ever painful rolling shutter issue.Flip Screen: The new flip screen design is amazing. I struggled with the tilt screen on the A7RIII for a long time. If you find yourself in a situation where you have the camera extended high above your head, or at any weird viewing angle, the new flip screen is easily visible. Contrast that with the previous models, where you only had a limited angle to view the screen because of the design. With the A7R5, you can view at any angle you desire, which is absolutely amazing.Size: Ergonomically, the size is a little bigger than the A7RIII. I personally like the larger grip because I always felt like the A7RIII was a little small in my hand. The A7R5 has a bigger grip and overall is slightly larger than the III. (In the photos, the A7R5 is on the right, and the A7RIII on the left).Storage: A7R5 has dual SD/CFExpress slots. For the sports photographers, that's another benefit over the A7R3. I most likely won't use CFExpress cards as the cost is fairly prohibitive, but it's nice to know that this body has that capability. For portraiture, SD cards handle everything very well.Side Ports: On the side ports, they've replaced the 'floppy' cover with a hinge design. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet since I haven't hooked up external monitors or anything. They seem pretty solidly built but one would have to use them a lot to test. One thing to note is that if you do have cables plugged into the USB or HDMI ports on this body, it can block the screen a bit. This is overcome by using the flip out mechanism to bring the screen away from the body more. Not a deal breaker at all.Viewfinder/Screen: Beautiful. Monitor is 2,095,000 dots and the viewfinder is over 9,400,000 dots with 100% coverage.Continuous Shooting: It can capture 10 frames per second and caps out at 583 frames (RAW) and 1000 frames (JPG). Pretty beastly.Image Sizes with 14-bit depth (I shoot 3:2 Raw so I get the largest files).3:2 JPEG / Raw60 MP (9504 x 6336)26 MP (6240 x 4160)15 MP (4752 x 3168)4:3 JPEG / Raw54 MP (8448 x 6336)23 MP (5552 x 4160)13 MP (4224 x 3168)16:9 JPEG / Raw51 MP (9504 x 5344)22 MP (6240 x 3512)13 MP (4752 x 2672)1:1 JPEG / Raw40 MP (6336 x 6336)17 MP (4160 x 4160)10 MP (3168 x 3168)It also has interval shooting, self-timer, electronic shutter (7 fps @ 61MP), 5-axis stabilization and sensor shift, IP streaming capability, WiFi MIMO 5 (5 GHz or 2.4 GHz), Fast/Slow Motion Support. One thing it doesn't have is the GPS Positioning.I'm really happy with the capabilities of this camera and look forward to shooting with it quite a bit. It comes in way less than the A1 on price and since I didn't need that capability, this model is perfect for my needs. Highly recommend!UPDATE: So, I've had the camera for a while now and finally did some shooting with a model friend and we generated these images. I added 2 images to the lineup. The camera is all it's cracked up to be.UPDATE 2 - 16-OCT-2023: Still going strong and I love it even more. I don't even use the A7RIII any more because it seems inferior to this body in terms of resolution and image quality, which is to be expected. I took the III out for a couple shots, and it didn't last long. I realized quickly that the A7R5 is just so much nicer to use. I'm going to be looking for another body in 2024, and I'm considering a backup 5 or maybe something with better video specs... but not sure yet. Still feel the same way about this body as I did when I wrote the review, it's my go-to camera and is still delivering crisp beautiful images with no issues.

This is a vast improvement over my nearly-six-year-old A7Riii for both still and video photography. The 29 minutes video recording limitation (a major annoyance) is gone. Shooting at ISO 3200 results in crisp, low-noise images. Stabilization is improved, although I'll still use a Ronin gimbal for critical video shots that aren't on a tripod. The new tracking focus feature with eye recognition is very good - I was able to do a tracking shot against a group of walkers on a path with numerous bushes between them and I, and the focus on them remained locked; I didn't have to go to manual focus. like that both the mode and EV buttons now have a locking pin so that can't be accidentally changed. The articulating LCD viewfinder, while it was once used in the old A99v, is back and is great. I know it's controversial, but I like the option to close the shutter curtain when turning off the camera so it's less likely to get dust on the sensor when changing lenses, especially when outdoors. I don't like dust particles on my sensor nor having to constantly check and clean it when a lens swap occurs, even if the curtain could sustain damage if one is not careful when doing this.I could go on and on but agree with the other reviewers who rated it 5-Star.Also, the companion Imaging Edge for Mobile software for Android is improved. Putting GPS coordinates on and remote shooting is more, but not totally, reliable.There are two minor drawbacks that merit discussion. 1) battery consumption is higher by at least 25%, especially in video mode, so having extra batteries and high-power charger is vital. 2) It may be quirk that could be fixed in a later firmware update, but even if you separate the Color Tone video from still photo settings, if you set the video to use the S-Log3 LUT/Picture Profile =9 (for highest dynamic range when post-processing) and leave Raw stills set to no S-Log (it's easier in Lightroom that way), if you set the dial mode to Still Photos and then press the Movie button (because you're in a hurry to get a video and have to option to quickly take stills), the recorded movie clip won't be in S-Log3 but unmodified. That's as opposed to setting that mode to Video, where it applies that LUT. So taking the clips into Premiere Pro or similar software can be challenging, since some of them will have the LUT and others will not, and you'll have to do color correction differently as a result. The price of convenience. But as long as you are aware of this quirk, it's not a big deal.

What can I say about this camera? Coming from an A7R II, the upgrade is absolutely night and day. The autofocus is incredible, the level of customization is next-level, and the battery life is outstanding.As always with mirrorless cameras, the weight is a bonus—it’s light but still feels solid in your hands. It’s fast, sharp, and just plain impressive. The 8K capabilities are a bit overkill for me (you’ll need a compatible memory card and a powerful computer to handle it), but it’s nice to have the option.If you’re a photographer looking to upgrade without completely emptying your wallet, this is a fantastic choice. It’s also excellent for video work. Definitely check out the specs and some YouTube tutorials to get the most out of it. Worth every penny!