Sony has taken off the cover of its fourth-generation high-resolution full-frame mirrorless camera range, the a7R. Expectedly named the Sony a7R IV, the biggest detail of the camera is its gigantic sensor, which moves the 42.4-megapixel full-frame sensor to a 61-megapixel. This automatically makes it the highest resolution full-frame camera in Sony Full Frame Camera, which is what the a7R lineup is famous for.
The Sony a7R range has always been target at professional photographers who needs ultra-high resolution results for large photo print outputs. Sony maintains that as always, the back-illumination of the sensor helps increase sensitivity and maintain reduced noise levels in low light conditions, which can be critical for extreme photography situatuion.
Other photography specifications consists of an better autofocus system, something that Sony has perpetually improved over the years. The camera now features a hybrid AF system with 567 phase detection AF points that cover 74 percent of the frame, in combination with an additional 425 contrast AF points that cover the rest of the frame. There is also a new real-time eye autofocus mode that can keep the focus locked to a subject’s eyes even when it is in motion, and this applies to video shooting as well.
Continuous shooting is rated at 10fps with continuous AF/AE tracking for 7 seconds in the full resolution, 61-megapixel mode, and up to 21 seconds when shooting in 26.2-megapixel crop mode. In terms of videography, the Sony a7R IV features no-crop 4K full-frame video recording, with full pixel readout in the Super 35mm video shooting mode. It also includes the Sony S-Log 2 and S-Log 3 colour grading logs with up to 14-stop dynamic range, as well as HLG logging for HDR workflow on the edit table.
The other element that has received a sincere upgrade is the electronic viewfinder, which now has a new, 5.76 million-dot UXGA OLED module. The new viewfinder is said to be 1.6x crisper than the one on the a7R III, and comes in two modes standard for 60fps refresh rate, and a high quality mode that presumably consumes more battery but lends 120fps refresh rates to the viewfinder for ultra-fine clarity. Among other new features include a tilting touch display, two UHS-II storage slots, a new digital audio interface to the hot shoe, dual-band Wi-Fi support, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port for high bandwidth data transfer, and claimed improvements in weather sealing of an already excellent chassis. The Sony a7R IV is CIPA-rated for 670 still images in a full battery life cycle, and also has an optional battery grip accessory that can hold two additional battery modules for those who need it. Given Sony’s treatment of India as a prime photography and videography market, we expect it to come to the country soon. However, as of now, we only know that the camera will be available starting this September in USA, at a price of Rs 2,40,000. The local pricing, however, may vary.