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The Pre-Trip Upgrade: Hitting San Diego with the Sony A7IV

A work trip to sunny San Diego, an early arrival, and a last-minute camera upgrade. Here’s how the Sony a7IV handled its first real-world test.

Randy Hoover

29 Jun 2026 • 4 min read

The year was 2025, I'd been getting back into photography more heavily, and I was going on my first work trip since 2018. This time the destination was sunny San Diego California for a conference. Best of all I was arriving in early on a non-conference day so I would have the day to go around and explore.

At this point in time, my daily carry camera was my Sony a7ii, but I'd really been eyeballing the upgrade to the a7iv, so I did what any reasonable person would do, and hopped on to B&H to get one ordered so I could have it before I fly off to San Diego.

This post and me are not sponsored. I've just yet to have a bad experience ordering from them and dealing with them, returns, exchanges, order cancellations, have all been easy, thanks B&H.

Since I had already upgraded my every day lens to the Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 DG DN Contemporary the big reasons for upgrading from the a7ii for me were:

Better auto focus: while the a7ii is sufficient for a lot of things, the reality is the a7iv just makes life easier. Paired with the joystick on the back to be able to move the focus area box, was a game changer.
Articulating Screen: The articulating screen, super helpful when trying to get low, or high, or random angled shots and be able to see the display
The Burst Rate: The FPS upgrade from 5 to 10 is super helpful especially when trying to capture birds, and cars and other things that are quick moving.
The Sensor: The 33mp upgrade has proven extremely helpful for cropping when those birds don't seem to want to come close enough

So I walked around the San Diego marina area since my hotel was on the water, and here are 5 of my favorite snaps I took. I really got to get a feel for the camera, its performance, and its impressive battery life compared to the a7ii.

This cart was on the fishing pier where there were probably a dozen or so people fishing from, and a handful of trash cans, I assume the cart is used for carting off the trash, but it's chained down and locked into place. I loved the street art on it. You can see in the background one of the Dole container ships at the Dole shipyard as well.

An upside-down black plastic container base covered in white, red, and blue graffiti tags, sitting on a wooden pier boardwalk. In the background, a metal railing overlooks a blue ocean harbor with a blurred large cargo ship under a clear blue sky. — This was on the fishing pier, loved the street art on it. - 47mm f/2.8 1/1250 ISO 100

Just behind the hotel, and past Roy's restaurant (shown in a later photo), there was the walking path where there were frequently people running, walking, skateboarding, biking, and it made for some good people watching while I was hanging out in the shade after walking for awhile. I really liked the the brick line which I feel leads to the runners, and thought it would be cool to get them as they just past each other and are both on or over the line.

Two men jogging in motion along a paved waterfront path on a bright, slightly hazy day. One man in a black t-shirt and purple shorts leads, followed closely by a man wearing a bright neon yellow tank top, black shorts, sunglasses, and a blue cap. A marina with docked yachts is visible in the background. — Timing the crossover on the waterfront path. - 51mm f/4 1/800 ISO 100

How do you deny a corgi that looks like it's honestly living its best life? So unbothered in his dog backpack, just riding along. Felt authentic to the San Diego vibes. This was probably the best of the random sights throughout the trip, and I'm honestly super glad I was able to spot them coming and ensure I was able to snap a picture of this.

A man with tattoos, wearing a yellow baseball cap, sunglasses, and a green tank top, rides a blue OneWheel skateboard down a paved path. A pembroke welsh corgi dog sits comfortably inside his black backpack, looking out directly at the camera. Other pedestrians walk in the background. — Who doesn't love a corgi in a backpack - 70mm f/4.5 1/500 ISO 100

I really liked the juxtaposition of the heavily wrapped and damaged cone, with the rocks, and then the smooth Coronado bridge in the background and the sky, felt right to open up the aperture and focus on just the cone.

An orange traffic cone heavily wrapped in yellow caution tape and gray duct tape at its base, standing on a paved waterfront path. The background features large gray rocks on a shoreline, a blue body of water, and the distant, sweeping concrete spans of the Coronado Bridge under a light blue sky. — Cone protecting a hole in the ground, with the Coronado bridge in the background. - 67mm f/2.8 1/3200 ISO 100

The last one of the set, the Roy's building which looks like a space ship in my opinion, the flag, the Marriott Marquis hotel around it, and then the boat pulling out in the marina. I just liked how everything felt in this one.

A wide shot looking down a waterway channel inside a busy marina packed with white motor yachts on both sides. In the center background sits a circular, spaceship-style building with a golden roof flying the American flag, flanked by curved modern glass skyscrapers. — Roy's restaurant and it's unique space ship style design, with the marina in front and a boat pulling out - 70mm f/8 1/160 ISO 100

Thanks for reading about my trip to San Diego, and my explorations with my new a7iv. I can't wait to take you on more adventures.

-Randy

Full gallery available here