As a guide and photographer who frequents the polar regions, I often rely on my two Nikon SLR cameras for capturing wildlife and landscape shots. However, my recent trip to the Antarctic Peninsula presented me with the opportunity to test out the new Sony A7R V with the manufacturer’s 200-600mm telephoto zoom. After two weeks of use, I can attest to the camera’s impressive autofocus capabilities but also its limitations.
Sony has advertised the high-resolution full-frame camera primarily for its outstanding autofocus capabilities, which are achieved through artificial intelligence and machine learning. The A7R V boasts almost 700 AF points, subject recognition, and AF tracking. Other manufacturers, such as Canon and Fujifilm, are also using AI for autofocus.
I used the camera-lens combo primarily for wildlife shots from the dinghy (Zodiac) and from land, but also for landscape shots and details. The camera’s autofocus made it easier for me to get sharp and properly focused images, allowing me to focus on composing the picture instead of worrying about keeping the subject in the viewfinder.
The Sony A7R V’s autofocus performed better than my Nikon D500 and D850 SLRs, resulting in a higher success rate for capturing wildlife shots. However, there were some limitations that I experienced with this camera, which require dedication to overcome. Scene recognition did well to simplify work, but camera configuration was not straightforward, and choosing the right memory card is critical.
Despite these limitations, the Sony A7R V and the 200-600mm telephoto zoom made capturing images in the Antarctic a fun experience. Additionally, I found the image quality to be excellent, especially when shooting in RAW format.
In conclusion, the Sony A7R V with the 200-600mm telephoto zoom is a great camera-lens combination for capturing wildlife and landscape shots, thanks to its impressive autofocus capabilities. However, it comes with some limitations that make camera setup and choosing the right memory card critical.
