Sony A7r IV HANDS-ON first-looks with 61MP

[ianbrown]

As always, cohesive and relevant vlog nailing all pertinent points, thanks Gordon

[mchlhth]

Gordon's A7RIII review: "Sony's Pixel Shift Multi-Mode shifts that sensor 4 times, it takes 4 pictures... and then, it does nothing. It records them as raw files and says, 'Right, there you go, you do something now.'" Today's hands on review: Basically the same, but now with up to 16 images. How is it that Sony figured out how to make IBIS help with multi-image stills, but they couldn't figure out how to combine multiple files into one raw image in-camera, which all of their competitors can do with Sony sensors?

[viperspd]

but.. video is still 8 bit, and no 60fps 4k? for $3, 500? also, why give 61mp but keep the sensor smaller? will that actually produce a better picture or will it introduce more noise and color inaccuracy?

[johnnyh]

I would actually consider buying this camera for use as a stills camera if it had just one very important feature: the ability to have small, medium or full size RAW. Without it, I don’t want to shoot every photo at 61mp. I also don’t want to have to crop my field of view 1.5x to get the smaller 24 mp size. Wish they would offer the option :(

[melenriquez]

Thanks, Gordon!


Your brief overview answered many questions like 10-bit raw on video. I notice though that they didn't bump the aps-c mode to 20fps or higher than 10fps. I think they are reserving that for their aps-c camera later. Of course, they would not go any higher as it will threaten the A9.



As for what the A7-4 will be, well, it's probably going to be like this camera, minus the 61mp. Maybe Sony will start bumping it up to 26mp or 30mp. Or maybe they can bump the 10fps to 15fps in aps-c mode at least, while 12fps is standard with AF-c and good tracking. I also think, that any A7-4 will have to be mid 2021. With the release of this camera Sept 2020, and maybe 2 or 3 more cameras (A9-2, A7000/a6700), there's just too many flooding the market at this time. Give it 6-8 months for the A7-4.



But really, the big question is the A7S-3 release. Maybe that should take precedence first. Just push the A7-4 later 2021 after the Olympics. By then the A7-3 is almost 3 years old. Unless they are really having problems with the A7S-3, they should release this soon as this is almost 4 years old already. And the A7S-3 can have a special place of use in the Olympics. My guess is it will be a 16-18mp with maybe 6k video and 4k-60p of course.



Questions for the a7-4:


- Does it have uncompressed raw option?
_ what are the new menu opions
- Do we still have to choose between human vs animal eye detect?


Thanks again!

[whcvip]

You do an excellent job Gordon, thank you!

[stevek]

Is the lock on the exposure comp dial an on-off design or do you have to hold it down when you turn the dial?

[edwardnoble]

Nice one Gordon! Do you know if there is an option for a lower resolution RAW? It would be nice if it downsampled it to a very clean 24mp, perhaps even a full RGB 15mp.

[johnhaynes]

As always, an excellent overview Gordon, I really like you doing this format for what that's worth. As to the camera itself, obviously a techinical 'tour de force' by Sony and a stunning bit of kit however for me 'meh and so' is my reaction but to be fair I have the same view of the A9, Nikon Z and a probable upcoming Canon DX MkIII. Don't get me wrong, there is obviously a place especially in the 'pro' and well heeled consumer markets for all these cameras and they will keep YouTube reviewers employed but how many will they actually sell at £3, 500 body only ?



I have a lot of empathy with ALL camera manufacturers because modern cameras are highly sophisticated computers and the development costs and time to market must be huge, consumer expectations ever more stratospheric but on the day, how many punters are going to up the cash ? When I first saw the A9 I thought that stunning but even two years ago now, I wondered just how many they would sell and volumes are crucial to Sony. From the spec sheet this is a fabulous camera and I wish Sony well but I wonder wether the sales volumes of a far inferior mirrorless camera in the Canon M50 tells us the story of what the real marketplace is looking for outside of smartphones in photographic terms ?

[oneeyedphotographer]

5 Ghz wireless has been around for ever, it was introduced with 2.4 Ghz. We need to know the standard, and data rate(s). One or both should be on the packaging, hopefully.

[ThePhotographyHobbyist]

The bigger grip is a welcome change as well as the rear dial. The old rear dial was too buried and the new one is more similar to the style I love on the Z7, G9 and a few others.

[photographynerd]

Looking forward to your full review on this camera

[mikldude]

Good hands on Gordon as always, look forward to your review.

[karlbratby]

I'm Still happy, I went with the Panasonic S1 and S1R...

[bobhanuman]

It's always interesting to see people bash a camera that is months away from being released. This camera has an incredible dynamic range, no limit on video record time, better audio enhancements and a better grip and button ergonomics and the ability to get 24mp files in crop mode. I think once it's out for a while ppl will appreciate its strengths and probably love it. The a9 will not be cannibalized for sports/action and there will probably be some kind of more videocentric camera in the next year. However it may not be what people want or what they are expecting so there will still be a lot of complaining. You can get great images from just about any camera these days but having the best or latest will never make your work one bit better.

[Mn-xhps]

Is there any improvement in video stabiliasation ? That is a crucial point to give me hope for the a7000/67000.

[RonScibilia]

More and more "back office" to shoot photos. Faster computers, bigger hard drives, more cloud space, etc. When do we reach "too much?" I don't know, but I do know good photos do not depend on megapixel counts. There are uses for this kind of resolution, of course, but I don't see artful image-making impacted. You can make large print enlargements with far less than 61 megapixels.

[vhc]

Very fine video Gordon...thank you. Do we need the resolving power of the G-Master lens to realize all the detail of the 61MP sensor? If not, how much detail is lost when using a "Non-GMaster Lens"?

[TallTreesClub]

Someone reported the touch screen not working properly (or working?). Did you use the rear touch screen and operate anything with it? How did it function? Thank you.

[AnarkiU]

As a landscape photographer I m happy that it has 61 Mp although I wished for 70 to 80 Mp, the video parts could in my opinoin have been totally left out to keep it a still photo camera only !