S
ony isn’t a company that tends
to do things by halves when it
comes to camera releases.
Sensor resolution may have
taken something of a back seat to
improvements to performance in
other areas in recent years, but the
‘R’ line has always been about
resolution, and it’s unquestionably
the main pull of this new model.
The 63MP sensor outputs 61MP
images as standard and, as with the
sensor inside the previous A7R III,
boasts a back-illuminated design
for better light-gathering. Sony
promises up to 15EV of dynamic
range from the sensor, which is also
what it promised for the A7R III.
As is now standard on Sony
models of this calibre, SteadyShot
Inside image stabilization has also
been incorporated into the body.
This promises a maximum 5.5EV-
stop compensatory effect, and is
happy soldier on whether you’re
shooting stills or capturing videos.
This system is also behind thePixel Shift Multi Shift shooting
mode, a feature we saw previously
but one that’s been given a
significant boost here. This captures
a series of images that can be
subsequently merged to create a
single, super-high-resolution file.
So what’s different? Whereas the
A7R III was able to capture images
destined for 169.6MP composites,
with its higher-resolution sensor
the A7R IV promises to deliver files
at a staggering 240MP. The catch is
that this can’t be done in-camera;
you need to use the Imaging Edge
software suite that’s bundled with
the camera.Processor and screen
The latest iteration of Sony’s BIONZ
X Processing engine allows the
camera to capture images at a
rate of 10fps with autofocus and
auto-exposure enabled; while not
quite class-leading, that’s still very
impressive when you consider the
higher sensor resolution here.Sometimes you’ll need 61MP
images less than you will extra
reach from your lenses, and the
good news is that the Sony A7R IV
will let you shoot in an APS-C crop
mode (1.5x crop factor), with
resulting images output at 26.2MP.
This is another feature that has
existed before, but it’s been
upgraded here with increased
output resolution. APS-C lenses can
also be used on the body if you
have any of these, with images
again output at this resolution.
The sensor and processor also
work together to capture 4K videos
to a maximum 30p, which can be
captured in both full-frame and
Super 35mm formats. When using
the latter, the camera records 6K
footage with full pixel readout and
no pixel binning to help improve
the quality of footage, before
downscaling this to 4K.
Another key change from the
A7R III concerns the viewfinder.
It’s still a 0.5-inch electronicSonyAlphaA7RIV
£1,755|$3,498 http://www.sony.co.uk
More megapixels than you could ever possibly need
Images : Sony/Future82 |^ |^ December 2019