A photographer crouches whilst holding a camera in a field. There is grass in the foreground and trees and mist in the background.

In the Field: Sony A7R IV for Outdoor Photography

Published 23 February 2022 by MPB

Outdoor photographer Jack Anstey has used his stunning landscape photography as a backdrop for clients including The North Face, BMW and Audi. Let’s hear how Jack upgraded to the Sony A7R IV to shoot on Glen Coe, and his experiences with the full-frame mirrorless camera.

A split-screen view of two images, on top a man wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up holding a camera, with trees in the background, below a close up of a red deer’s face.

I’ve been taking photos for about 14 years now, the last four being self-employed, living out of a van in the Scottish Highlands and spending as much of my time as possible exploring and shooting. It’s incredible what a camera has enabled me to do; the experiences I’ve had and the things I’ve seen. I started out my journey shooting on a Canon EOS 450D, which I had through most of my teenage years and university, before upgrading to the Sony A7 shortly after graduating.

A hand reaches into a box containing a Sony A7R III camera, with brown paper surrounding the camera.

From there, I’ve been pretty ingrained with the Sony ecosystem, building my range of lenses, and knowledge of the brand and picking up a few more bodies along the way. I actually leapfrogged the Sony A7 II and went for the Sony A7 III, with its much better battery life. This camera really has been a workhorse for me for the past couple of years and there’s not much I can fault it on. I’ve also been working with the Sony A7R III, although I usually keep this for commercial projects and those times where I really want a bit of extra detail—like when shooting wildlife and I think I may want to crop into an image.

A red deer standing in Glen Coe, with grass in the foreground and hill in the background, covered by mist.

As with most things, I’m always looking for ways to improve, upgrade and do better. So, I’m often considering if the gear I have is the best for me, or if there’s something better out there. And when I’m looking to update my gear easily, I never look further than MPB.

An extreme close up of an eye looking into a camera lens.

The selling process is so comfortable and stress-free. After inputting my gear into the online calculator and choosing the items that I’m happy to part with, all I had to do was box everything up and then someone came to collect it directly from my house. For someone who spends so much time on the road, busy away in the mountains and on trips, this trouble-free method is perfect for me. There’s no messing around, no haggling, no back-and-forth messaging, just an easy online form and then a wait for the doorbell.

I’ve always thought the best way to buy gear is ‘nearly new’. You get a product that is pretty much fresh out of the box, but you’re not paying that extra premium for it being ‘factory fresh’.

A photographer holding a camera walks through a field, in the background, there is a tree, bushes and a lake.

When buying from MPB, you know the items are inspected by a professional and come with a warranty. So, a lot of the worries with used gear can be put to rest and you can just concentrate on getting yourself a great deal.

A Sony AR7 sits on a wooden table in front of MPB packaging. A blurred hand reaches for the camera.

I was looking to get myself an Sony A7R IV, which would be an upgrade in terms of megapixels in comparison to my previous A7R III, and would really help to give an extra boost to my commercial work.

A blurred hand takes a camera of a box with the words Change gear written on it.

A few days later, my latest camera arrived. I couldn’t wait to get out and shoot with it. Whilst I usually like shooting at around 30 megapixels, mainly for performance and storage, the 61 megapixels in the A7R IV are great for both shooting client projects. But I also love shooting wildlife in high resolution as it allows for a much heavier crop and more punchy detail.

I headed out, armed with my A7R IV and Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS, which is my go-to setup for shooting wildlife. With the 200-600mm, I’ve got a really versatile focal length that works great when shooting animals at all distances and compositions. And knowing that I’ve got the 61 megapixels in the A7R IV means I can take full advantage of the Sony’s APS-C mode, cropping in-body, which I use when on location as it helps me to compose an image differently using a tighter crop.

A river runs over rocks in Glen Coe, with two trees on the bankside. There are hills covered in mist in the background.

I spent a full day out in a wet-and-windy Glen Coe, searching for the herds of red deer that live amongst the mountains. It seemed that extreme weather the glen had experienced over the past few days had brought a lot of the deer down from higher up, and I had plenty of close encounters with the majestic stags and beautiful does.

The head and shoulders of a red deer in Glen Coe. Trees appear blurred in the background.

It’s always a magical experience shooting wildlife, and it’s always so exciting when you get to import and check out the quality of your shots. Bringing mine up on the big screen in Lightroom was so satisfying, and I spent a good deal of time inspecting the ridiculous quality, sharpness and detail in the shots. Needless to say, I’m immensely happy with my A7R IV and it’s earned a very solid place in my camera bag—or, at least, until I’m next looking to upgrade!

A man wearing a brown hoodie with the hood pulled up stands holding a camera. There is a river and trees in the background.

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