gear · camera switch
Nikon D850 to Sony A7 IV: what changed on the trail
I shot BC trails on a Nikon D850 before I moved to the Sony A7 IV. Here are my photos from both, side by side with the settings from the files, and what the switch changed.
- The kit
- Nikon D850 → Sony A7 IV
- In use
- D850 from 2022 to 2023, A7 IV since 2025
My path to this camera was a Nikon D7500, then a Nikon D850, then a Sony ZV-E10, and now the Sony A7 IV. Both Nikons are sold. Every photo on this page is mine, and the settings under each one are read straight from the file.
What the files say
Twelve of my D850 photos from October 2022 to October 2023, and seven of my A7 IV photos from Banff in April 2025:
- On the D850, the most common setting is 24mm at f/4 (5 of 12 frames): wide views, the whole scene in.
- On the A7 IV, the most common setting is 50mm at f/1.8 (4 of 7 frames): closer, a single subject, the background softer.
- Both cameras carried a 50mm f/1.8, and both ran it wide open.
- The hiking zoom went from the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 to the Sony 24-105mm f/4: the same constant f/4, a little less reach.
Same lens type, same aperture, two years apart.
Why I switched
The ZV-E10 was my first Sony, and it came in for video: talking to camera and filming the trips. Once I was filming as much as I was photographing, carrying a Nikon for photos and a Sony for video stopped making sense, and the A7 IV replaced the D850 as the one camera that does both.
What changed on the trail
- One body for both. On a hike the A7 IV and the 24-105 do every photo and most of the video, and the Pocket 3 films the rest. There is no second camera to swap to.
- The framing changed. The files show it: on the D850 I mostly stood back at 24mm and took the whole view. On the A7 IV I reach for the 50mm f/1.8 and pick one subject.
- The zoom stayed simple. The 24-105 f/4 covers the same ground the 24-120 did, from the wide view to the compressed ridgeline, without a lens change.
Who should switch
If your D850 photos are what you want and you rarely film, keep it. The frames above hold up, and they came from that camera. If you want the photo and the video from the same camera on the same hike, that is what the switch gave me.
The settings I start from on the A7 IV for waterfalls, lakes, forest, sunset and video are in the free field cheat sheet.
Verdict
The D850 made files I still love. The A7 IV is one camera for the photo and the video on the same hike.
Free · by email
The field shooting cheat sheet
The 16 shots I take on every hike, in walking order, with the camera for each, plus my trail kit and A7 IV settings. Print it or keep it on your phone.
- Print PDF, US Letter
- Phone version for the trail
- Trail kit and A7 IV starting settings
Confirm your email and it arrives straight after. What's in it
