We’ve updated our Sony a7 IV review recently to incorporate our findings from the latest firmware update. This update is small, and in some cases, I probably wouldn’t even bother doing it. It’s also a signal to us that this camera, which was released in 2021, is at the end of its life. With the Sony a7c II outdoing it in so many ways, we’re not surprised. What’s more, Sony continues to make decisions that perplex us. And you can see why below.
Here’s the updated text from our Sony a7 IV review. To read the whole review, please click here. If you’re interested in making a purchase, you can visit this link to do so. However, I’d probably hold out if I were you unless you really don’t need the features of the Sony a7c II.
Update October 2023
A little while back, the Sony a7 IV received another firmware update to make it work better with Sony’s new Creators’ app. Quite honestly, I’m not a fan of the Creators’ app. Imaging Edge worked flawlessly for a while until they screwed it up. Then, to force their customers to upgrade, they made photographers get a new app. Like the death of the PlayMemories store and all the innovative features that Sony threw right out the window, I’ll add this to my book of grudges.
But this latest update doesn’t really add anything major to the Sony a7 IV. Instead, it basically ensures that the time zone and stuff don’t get messed up. It also adds operational stability to an already perfectly fine camera.
And ultimately, this camera ends up being the equivalent to a member of Gen X in 2023 worrying about their gray hair instead of embracing it. With that said, Sony will toss it to the side and ultimately end up announcing a new camera with more features while continuing to sell this camera. In fact, Sony still sells Sony a7 II units brand new — yet refuses to give them firmware updates.
One thing’s for sure — while Sony sells a lot of cameras, they tend to crank them out faster than they even sell them.
The Sony a7c II is more or less the Sony a7 IV already — but it was given the AI processing chip and has all the scene detection modes that the Sony a7 IV lacks. That doesn’t make this camera, which came out in 2021, a bad camera. But it surely can make things annoying. Sony’s newest feature that’s supposed to merge birds and animals together in the autofocus settings isn’t present in the Sony a7 IV.
With all this said, I’m pretty sure that Sony a7 IV users shouldn’t be expecting a new firmware update of any sort. But I truly do wonder what that camera will do that will make it better than the Sony a7c II — besides the ergonomics.