Monster full-frame Sony a7R IV announced
Packs a 61-megapixel image sensor, and that’s all you need to know
We knew a new camera from Sony was coming and while it wasn’t the a7 IV we had hoped for, it’s actually something far more monstrous — meet the Sony a7R IV which is here to make your megapixel dreams come true while making Canon and Nikon cry. So what all does this full-frame camera pack? A few highlights include:
- 15-stop dynamic range at low sensitivities, resulting in smooth natural gradations ranging from deep shadows to highlights
- High-speed continuous shooting at up to 10 fps with full AF / AE tracking for approx. 7 seconds in full-frame mode with an increased buffer memory, and approximately three times more in APS-C mode
- 567 focal-plane phase-detection AF points covering 74% of image area and 425 contrast AF points
- Debut of Real-time Eye AF for movie recording and advanced Real-time Tracking plus Real-time Eye AF for still image recording
- Features an APS-C crop mode delivering stunning high resolution of 26.2MPii
- 5.76 million dot UXGA (Ultra-XGA) OLED Tru-Finder electric viewfinder with outstanding detail, brightness and contrast
- Upgraded connectivity and operability including high-speed Wi-Fi support, wireless PC remote connectivity, FTP wireless transfer, faster data transfer via USB and more
- Professional 4K movie recording functionality including full pixel readout with no pixel binning in Super 35mm mode, S-Log3, HDR workflow support
- Multi Interface Shoe with digital audio interface deliver the high-quality sound recording with new Sony’s microphones and XLR adaptor
- Additional enhancements to the body design include an improved grip and button for improvised control with compact, lightweight body
Here’s another quick recap, this time from Darrell Etherington over at Tech Crunch:
The camera’s image resolution is a “world first” for a 35mm-equivalent full-frame digital sensor, Sony notes, and that’s not where the improvements on this successor to the wildly popular A7R III end: The A7R IV also has 10fps rapid shooting with continuous autofocus and autoexposure tracking capabilities; 567 phase-detect autofocus points that cover 74% of the frame; real-time eye autofocus tracking for stills and movies, which can handle both human and animal subjects; 4K HDR movie recording without any pixel binning and with S-Log 2/3 support for editing (although without a 60p mode, as it caps out at 30p); ISO range of 100–32000 (and 50–102400 expandable); battery life of around 539 shots with the EVF, or 670 shots without; and much more.
So highlights aside, what does this mean for the average photographer and videographer? Lots of resolution to play with — all while in focus. For videographers, the truly noteworthy feature is the a7R IV’s ability to record in 4K HDR at 60-megapixels with real-time eye autofocusing active the entire time. From crisp video to the ability to crop down your video without losing quality, that’s what makes this new full-frame camera shine. On top of that, Sony also has some new audio features as well. Chris Welch from The Verge:
Sony is also upgrading the audio recording capabilities in the A7R IV with a new system that captures a digital audio signal. The company is introducing two accessories that take advantage of the new system, a $350 shotgun mic and $600 XLR mic adapter kit.
For photographers, the same really applies — yes, 60-megapixels might seem crazy, but for true professionals who this camera is geared towards anyways, the ability to be able to crop photos without losing quality is the difference of getting a shot or not and the ability to have your images be better suited for billboards. Oh, and the 2.95-inch touchscreen LCD aside, photographers should love the brand new 5.76 million OLED EVF display that’s sure to make shooting easier by negating the need to continuously look back on the bigger display to see the quality of what you just shot.
Unfortunately for both photographers and videographers, especially vloggers, the a7R IV still lacks the ability for you to rotate the screen 180 degrees so you can film yourself, giving both Canon and Nikon a continued advantage there.
As for the body, though in photos it might appear quite similar to the a7R III, Sony has made some changes as noted by Albert Dros over at PetaPixels:
The second big change is that Sony tweaked the body yet again. Sony listened to the ‘complaints’ online and made a body that is a bit similar to the R III, but changed some buttons and added more protection, and the whole thing just feels better.
Sony also changed the battery compartment door. They had probably seen the ‘water torture test‘ where the Sony showed weakness at the bottom of the camera, mainly at the battery compartment closure. So, this has been fixed! I didn’t torture the camera with water myself to try it out though (although I did use it for some seascapes), but it looks a lot better than the R III.
The grip has also improved. It’s just a tiny bit bigger and feels better in my hand. This was important for a lot of people and Sony really listened to ‘the Internet’ and made a lot of nice changed to the body. However, the whole look of the camera is not too much different.
There’s a lot more to be said about this camera over the next few days and weeks, including highlights of various reviews. However, if you see any article or video in this week that claims to be a ‘review’ of the a7R IV, know that it’s a crock of shit. To truly get a sense for a camera of this nature, you need more than just a few hours or days of hands on time. On top of that, there exists no RAW profile yet for it so any image samples you see are squarely limited to JPEG currently.
The Sony a7R IV launches this September for $3,500 and while I have no need for so much horsepower, I definitely want one. 😅
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