Lab – Sony Alpha 7R V (A7R V): an original buffer, but not only

The A7R V, a great evolution

Among other more or less major developments – from the location of the buttons to the AF tracking of insects – the A7R V has seen its ability to record consecutive photos significantly increased.

The A7R IV, a buffer set back

On the A7R IV, once placed in the fastest burst mode (Hi+), i.e. 10 fps, regardless of the type of SD card used – UHS-I or UHS-II – or its theoretical write speed, only two values ​​are possible. Either you have opted for uncompressed raw and the camera freezes after about thirty shots. Either you have chosen compressed raw and you then double this data. By only using the jpegs alone, the same applies, the unit stops the counter after 60 images and then begins to download the images onto the card.

The A7R V, a buffer memory twice as large

Opposite, the new Sony A7R V is much more efficient, but not much more in terms of its buffer memory strictly speaking. Indeed, by sliding an SD card (regardless of format) into the device and opting for uncompressed raw, the device does much better with nearly 80 files captured before having to unload and almost 120 compressed raw photos . It may not sound impressive, but the A7R V has another trick up its sleeve.

CFexpress Type A cards to the rescue

Indeed, in addition to SD cards, it accepts CFexpress type A cards (we used two, from Sony and Lexar, without seeing divergent results). By inserting these into the device, you can then benefit from much faster real-time downloading and writing, by choosing a single file format.

And if by chance you choose to record in jpeg or raw – compressed or in lossless compression – alone, the box can then shoot and dump more than 1000 shots consecutively on the card at the same time! In uncompressed raw, the A7R V is more measured with “only” 215 shots recorded before blocking.

Note that it is possible to drastically increase this data by switching to electronic shutter. In this mode, the Hi+ burst caps out at 7.5 fps and therefore leaves more leeway for the camera to capture and write to the CFexpress A card. We then go from around 80 photos in raw + uncompressed jpeg to nearly 380 pictures. All other formats exceed 1000 saved snapshots.

Thus, we see a good effort on the part of Sony concerning the buffer memory, doubling it compared to the previous generation. But it is above all thanks to its compatibility with CFexpress Type A cards that the A7R V stands out from the game and it is then easy to confuse it with a buffer oversized. Do not hesitate to consult our complete test of the Sony Alpha 7R V (A7R V) to learn even more.