Sales events are regular, and we tend to know what to look out for. Still, every now and then there's a deal so colossal, that it leaves even us a little slack-jawed.
That's what's happened with the Sony A7R V, an excellent camera that's well worth considering for just about any purpose. While Amazon has discounted it, Walmart has gone further.
Walmart is offering it at a discount of over $1000, $700 less than Amazon. That makes it just $2,809 with Walmart's Early Access deals.
How do we know it's one of the best cameras in 2024? We tested it last year and awarded it a huge 4.5/5 star rating, saying it's an excellent successor to the A7R IV.
The AI-powered autofocus makes it ideal for snapping quick shots of wildlife or birds, but it's perhaps not ideal for astrophotography (more on that shortly).
- We're constantly checking the best prices on our Amazon Prime Day space deals page for big discounts on the best telescopes, binoculars, star projectors, cameras, drones, Lego, streaming and more.
As good as this deal is, the caveat is that you'll need a Walmart+ membership to take advantage of it right now.
Thankfully it's easy to sign up, but you'll need to do so before 11.59 am ET in order to be eligible for this particular deal. Thankfully, the 30-day free trial means you can take advantage without paying any extra, and after that, it's $98 per year or $8.17 per month.
While we praised the A7R V's ability to capture wildlife, anything at a higher ISO (like astrophotography) produces a little too much noise. To that end, we'd recommend the Sony A7 IV instead (which, coincidentally, you can also find discounted down to $1,909 at Walmart with the Plus membership).
Key features: 61MP sensor, ISO 100 - 32,000, AI-powered autofocus, weather-sealed
Product launched: December 2022
Price history: Before today's deal, we've seen this at Amazon last month for $3,398. Naturally, this deal blows that one out of the water.
Price comparison: Amazon: $3,498 | Best Buy: $3,499.99 | B&H: $3,498
Reviews consensus: Qualms with astrophotography aside, this Sony model is excellent for moving subjects or portraits, capturing plenty of detail with its 61MP sensor. It's great in low-light situations, too, thanks to its image stabilization. It also has one of the best LCD displays we've tested so far.
TechRadar: ★★★★½ | Space: ★★★★½ | Digital Camera World: ★★★★½
Featured in guides: Best Cameras
✅ Buy it if: You want a great camera to take wildlife photos, portraits, or anything else that has plenty of detail.
❌ Don't buy it if: You want to shoot astrophotography. We'd recommend the A7 IV instead for that.
Check out our other guides to the best telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
