I've been staring at the product page for the Sony A7 IV for like three months now and my wife is starting to think I'm obsessed but honestly I just can't bring myself to pull the trigger at full retail price. I'm trying to upgrade from my old A7 III because the autofocus is starting to drive me crazy during fast-paced wedding ceremonies and I really need that better eye tracking for when things get chaotic.
My logic was that since it's been out for a couple of years now and they released the A7C II which has the same sensor, the price of the A7 IV would've dropped by at least a few hundred bucks by now but it's just stuck at $2498 almost everywhere. I did some digging and found those - import - or - grey market - models on sites like eBay and some random shops in New York for way less, like $1950, but then I read that Sony wont even touch those for repairs if something goes wrong and that honestly scares the hell out of me since I'm in Chicago and we dont have a ton of local repair shops I trust with mirrorless sensors.
Then I saw some people talking about the B&H EDU discount being massive but I graduated five years ago so that's not gonna work for me unless I want to beg my cousin to use his student ID and I'm not sure I want to deal with the risk of the account getting flagged. I also tried putting in an offer on Greentoe for $2100 but it got countered at $2350 which is still a bit over what I have saved up in my gear fund right now.
Do these things ever actually go on sale outside of like Black Friday or am I just wasting my time waiting? I have a big shoot coming up in late June and I really wanted to have the new body sorted by then so I can get used to the menu system. Does anyone know if there's like a specific cycle for Sony rebates or maybe a promo code I missed? Just feels weird that a camera this old is still holding its launch price so firmly...
> Sony is notoriously stubborn with their pricing I totally agree! Look at the Sony Alpha 7C II 33.0MP Full-Frame Mirrorless as a fantastic alternative since its dedicated AI processing chip and 33MP sensor deliver incredible real-time tracking performance!
> I also tried putting in an offer on Greentoe for $2100 but it got countered at $2350 Sony is notoriously stubborn with their pricing on the main Alpha line... Honestly I've been super satisfied with my Sony Alpha 7 IV 33.0MP Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera since I picked it up last year and the eye tracking is a massive jump from the older model. If Greentoe isn't biting at your price, you should seriously look at used gear from sites like MPB or KEH. I've bought plenty of bodies that way and they usually come with a 6-month warranty so you dont have to worry about the grey market repair nightmare. Tbh waiting for a random sale before Black Friday is usually a losing game with Sony. They mostly stick to those specific rebate cycles. If you really need it by June, just hunt for a used copy in Excellent condition. It works well and saves you that extra cash for a nice lens or more batteries.
tbh sheila is spot on about the pricing being stubborn... honestly over the years ive noticed sony usually does a big promo cycle in late may right before graduation season. its a pattern they follow almost every year so you might see that $200 or $300 discount pop up in a few weeks at authorized dealers. definitely stay away from the grey market stuff tho. i've tried saving a buck that way before and it just isnt worth the anxiety when you realize you have zero support if the hardware flakes out during a wedding. better to have that peace of mind when it's your job on the line. tl;dr: hold out until the end of may for the spring sales to kick in naturally.
