Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-18)

58 12 October 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

Testbench CAMERA TEST

Forandagainst

Resolvesmind-blowingdetail

fromitsnew61MPsensor

Incrediblyfastandresponsive

autofocussystem

AFpointvisibilityhas

beenimproved

BestEVFonanA7-series

cameratodate

Touchscreencontrollags

behindmirrorlessrivals

Convolutedmenusystem

Handlespoorlywiththick

glovesin coldclimates

Doesn’tacceptthesame

batterygripastheA7RIII

ALL

PR
CES

ARE

APPROX

MATE

STREET

PR
CES

Sony

Alpha 7R IV

Datafile

Sensor 61.0MP Exmor R CMOS,

35.7 x 23.8mm

Output size 9504 x 6336 pixels

Focal length mag 1x

Lens mount Sony E-mount

Shutter speeds 30-1/8000sec + bulb

Sensitivity ISO 100-32,000 (standard)

ISO 50-102,400 (extended)

Exposure modes PASM, Auto, Movie

Metering Multi, centre-weighted, spot,

average, highlight

Exposure comp +/-5EV in 0.3EV steps

Cont shooting 10fps

Screen 3in, 1.44-million-dot tilting

touchscreen

Viewfinder 5.76-million-dots,

0.78x magnification

AF points 567-point phase-detection

Video 4K 30p/24p (100Mbps),

Full HD 120p

External mic 3.5mm stereo

Memory card 2 x SD, SDHC, SDXC

(both UHS-II compatible)

Power NP-FZ100 Li-ion

Battery life 530 (EVF) 670 (LCD)

Dimensions 128.9x96.4x77.5mm

Weight 665g (with battery and card)

It breaks the 50MP barrier, but how else does the A7R

IV improve on the excellent A7R III? Michael Topham

inspects Sony’s latest high-resolution marvel

W

hen Sony

announced the

A7R in 2013,

full-frame

mirrorless cameras were in their

infancy. We knew the A7-series

had potential, but we couldn’t have

predicted how quickly the system

would evolve and the impact

it would have on tempting

photographers to switch systems.

No sooner had 36MP sensors

been accepted as the norm for

high-resolution full-frame cameras,

Sony had manufactured its

second-generation high-resolution

model. The A7R II that arrived in

2015 presented a ground-breaking

42.4MP sensor, built-in 5-axis

image stabilisation and an improved

body design. Two years later Sony

revisited its A7R series again. The

A7R III upheld the same pixel

count as its predecessor, but

introduced many of the powerful

features that originated in the

Alpha 9, turning it into one of the

best all-rounders we’ve tested in

terms of resolution, speed and

high-ISO image quality. Not one for

taking its foot off the gas, Sony has

listened to feedback from its users

and made over 50 improvements

to its new Alpha 7R IV. The

question is: has Sony made the

best high-resolution, full-frame

mirrorless camera on the market?

Features

The A7R IV is the fi rst camera

to boast a 61-million-pixel,

back-illuminated full-frame sensor,

with on-chip phase detection for

autofocus. It partners with Sony’s

latest-generation Bionz X image

processor and front-end LSI,

with the aim of delivering

unprecedented resolution, fi ne

gradation and a 15-stop dynamic

range at the low end of its ISO

100-32,000 range (that’s

expandable to ISO 50-102,400).

Despite an increase in resolution

there’s no reduction in speed. It’ll

happily shoot a continuous burst

of 14-bit raw fi les at 10fps for up

Ataglance

£3,499 body only

● 61MP full-frame CMOS sensor

● ISO 100-32,000 (expandable to

ISO 50-102,400)

● 10fps burst shooting

● 5.76-million-dot EVF

● 3in, 1.44-million-dot tilt-angle screen

● 4K/30fps video

● Dual UHS-II SD card slots