Imaging Resource selected the Sony A1 as best camera of the year:

All in all, we’ve had a hard time finding any faults with the Sony A1. It does so many things and does them all extremely well. It’s fast, it’s designed well, and it captures excellent high-quality photos and videos. It *is* very expensive, however. But for that price, you get one heck of a camera.

Sony A1 at BHphoto. Adorama. Amazon. Focuscamera. FotoErhardt DE. Calumet DE. Fotokoch DE. Park UK. WexUK.

Argus 35mm f/0,95 FE lens is now available for preorder at BHphoto (Click here) and at Venuslens.net (worldwide shipment).

SonyAlphablog tested the Laowa 35mm f/0.95 Argus FE lens and concluded:

The Laowa Argus 35mm F0.95 (1069 Euros) is the fastest 35mm for full frame cameras. Unlike some cheap F0.95 lenses, it provide very good and totally usable images at F0.95. Sharpness is good wide open , color rendition if very good, background blur and bokeh balls are excellent. As of F1.2 you get very good sharpness and excellent as of F1.4

The main weaknesses are the long min focusing distance (50cm) , the resistance to flare, CA , the high vignetting and corners sharpness requiring to close to F5.6 to get consistency on the entire field

Its only real competitor is the Sigma 35mm F2 DG DN Contemporary (1500 euros) that is a more a workhorse for heavy duty job providing also excellent background blur and bokeh but not at the level of the Laowa. The Sigma is however excellent as of F1.2 and has very good to excellent corners even wide open. It is more versatile and can be used from Weddings, to sports, to night photography without any issues.

Highly recommended

Sony A7IV preorders:
In the USA at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. FocusCamera. BuyDig.
In Europe at Fotokoch DE. Calumet DE. Foto Erhardt DE. Park UK. Wex UK. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon IT. Amazon ES. Amazon NL.
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ePhotozine reviewed the new Sony A7IV and concluded:

Equally suited for stills or video, with a great performance and handling extremely well, the Sony A7 IV has a lot going for it. Yes, it’s the most expensive of its peers, by which are meant the full-frame options of up to 33MP, but it is a hybrid camera that does tackle both stills and video in the one package.
The handling is excellent, and the only questions regard the menu style, which may or may not suit the user. Familiarity will help no doubt, but the overall set-up is, in this reviewer’s opinion, somewhat over-complex.
In summary, a very high-quality package that should consistently deliver the highest quality of results – ‘Highly Recommended’.

Photographyblog tested the A7IV and concluded:

The Sony A7 IV represents a major upgrade from the popular previous model, but increased competition and a major price-hike means that it’s no longer our default choice as the best entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera.

That’s largely because it no longer has an entry-level price-tag. £2399 / $2499 for the body only is significantly more than the £$2000 launch price that the A7 III enjoyed. OK, so the camera market and the world as a whole have changed somewhat since then, but it’s still a big increase that makes the A7 IV more expensive than all of its main rivals.

Back in 2018, the Alpha A7 III faced very little competition at all, with Canon, Sony and Panasonic all still to join the 35mm full-frame market. Fast forward to 2021 and the new A7 IV has several very capable main rivals, including the the Canon EOS R6, Nikon Z6 II and Panasonic Lumix S5, not to mention the venerable Panasonic GH5 II, all of which are cheaper than Sony’s new camera whilst offering, for example, faster burst rates or uncropped 4K/60p video.

What Sony have succeeded in doing is pushing the boundaries of what we can expect from what they still consider to be their entry-level camera – the Sony A7 IV clearly out-performs its predecessor by some margin in virtually every regard, no mean feat given how far ahead of its time the A7 III was.

And while each of its rivals can point to a few key areas where they win the day, none of them quite deliver the accomplished all-round stills and video package that the A7IV clearly is – if you can only afford one hybrid camera to meet all of your diverse shooting needs and your budget stretches beyond “entry-level”, the Alpha A7 IV should be at the top of your list.

All of which is quite a roundabout way to conclude that the new Sony A7 IV is a very capable hybrid all-rounder that should more than meet the needs of most videographers and photographers alike. Whilst it has a few foibles that we hope Sony will address next time around, for us and many others, it’s well worth venturing beyond entry-level to enjoy everything that the Alpha A7 IV has to offer.

And here is Lensvids review of the new A7IV:

Hanna Saba posted this full A7IV youtuber review:

A7IV and outdoor portraits shooting with flash (French):