Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsSony does it again!
Reviewed in Canada on February 8, 2023
Once again Sony proves to be the true leader of the hybrid/mirrorless cameras evolution race! This camera is an affordable alternative to A7s3, which allows good quality photos with its 33MP sensor as well as equivalent to its elder brothers' (A7R4, A7s3, FX3) video capabilities (cuz let's face it no one uses these cameras for external-raw on serious projects). At that price, this camera is a real tool that actually gets the job done and gets you the paycheck, everything else is for youtube tech reviewers, hobbyists and collectors.
Many criticize sony for saving on some features such as custom luts, heavy codecs, and monitoring capabilities, I think the situation here is similar to what happens in the world of mobile phones - iPhone just works despite all of its limitations, and Android manufacturers just throw more features and hardware to make a good impression.
As for this particular camera, it's like a sequel to Avatar... after A73 everyone expected it to be better in every regard, and that's exactly what Sony did. Its 10bit, its ALL-INTRA, its got h265 codec, its got the best eye tracking AF in the industry, its got slog3 and scinetone. There's just not much room to improve to impress customers anymore!
I see thermals on this camera are often criticized here. I tell you this; the only occasion where I had it overheating was a 6-hour straight interview, which we shot in one piece in 4K 10bit 422. It overheated 2 times that day. 6 hours! For run-and-gun type of shoots, it never overheats.
Also a lot of negative comments from people who clearly have no idea how to use a professional camera. They complain about "sensor issues" and "bending" while they shoot with fluorescent light at 30fps and their shutter at 1/250, they complain about overheating without even checking the "High temperature" menu, they argue that a 33PM sensor should allow 60fps from the full size of the sensor...
To all buyers I'd suggest taking it for what it is - $2500 FF camera, that does 33MP photos and 10 bit FF video in codecs comparable to prores all this with the industry's leading autofocus capabilities.
Amazing camera ...as expected! Had to wait for my copy for 2 months after the preorder upon release though.