There may come a day when resolution doesn’t matter, but until that day comes, die-hard pixel peepers will just have to content themselves with Sony’s latest megapixel monster: the 61-megapixel a7R IV.

The company’s full-frame mirrorless uses a new back-illuminated CMOS sensor that can deliver 15 stops of dynamic range and a top native ISO of 32,000 (expandable to 102,400 or 50). 

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As you’d expect, the a7R IV marks the debut of a number of features for a Sony camera. It’s the first to incorporate Sony’s Real-Time Eye AF for video. It has the highest resolution viewfinder in a Sony camera, with 5.76 million dots and a refresh rate of either 60 or 120 fps. It has an updated Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode capable of creating a 240-megapixel image from compositing 16 separate still images. It’s the first Sony camera to incorporate a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type C) connection for faster data transfers. Images can also be sent via wireless FTP from the camera. Finally, it’s the first Alpha camera to have a digital audio interface in the camera’s Multi-Interface Shoe. Whew!

Beyond its slew of firsts, the a7R IV continues Sony’s tradition of studding its sensor with autofocusing points. The a7R IV has 567 phase-detect AF points that cover 74 percent of the imaging area. It supports the new Real-Time AF tracking mode and Real-Time Eye AF autofocusing capabilities recently introduced into older Sony models via firmware update. The camera can focus down to -3EV.

While its sensor boasts an immense amount of resolution, it’s still capable of bursting at speeds up to 10 fps with AF tracking for up to 68 RAW images.

Like other a7 models, the a7R IV has in-camera image stabilization. This system is good for up to 5.5 stops of shake correction, per CIPA testing.

Design-wise, the a7R IV has improved dust and moisture resistance and a sturdier lens mount. The grip, multi-selector joystick and several other dials and buttons have also been tweaked or enlarged for better operation. There are a pair of UHS-II SD card slots and a 3-inch tilting touch display. Battery life is rated for an impressive 670 shots.

As for video, the a7R IV can record 4K (3840 x 2160) at 30p using the full-width of the sensor with no pixel binning. There are the usual Sony profiles, such as S-Log2 and S-Log3, plus HLG for HDR video. It can output a 4K signal at 8-bit/4:2:2 via HDMI.

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Resolution

At ISO 100, the camera could resolve 93 percent of its sensor’s theoretical maximum (out of a total of 120). Granted, with a 62-megapixel sensor, it has a lot more to resolve than rival full-frame cameras, but it’s still resolving less (on a percentage basis) than models like Panasonic’s S1R or Nikon’s Z 7. Image Engineering (IE) found resolution very consistent as you increase ISO, with the camera resolving 92 percent of its sensor at ISO 400, 88 percent at ISO 800 and 1600 and 89 percent at ISO 3200. 

It’s at the higher ISOs that the a7R IV’s resolution advantage over its peers really shows. At ISO 12,800 it was resolving 85 percent of its sensor’s theoretical maximum and still able to reproduce 2,685 line pairs (the measurement metric used by IE). In contrast, the Z 7 could only reproduce 2,477 line pairs at a much lower ISO (3200) and the S1R hit 2,496 line pairs at ISO 6400. IE found that the a7R IV adds just a “moderate” amount of sharpening. 

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Visual Noise

The a7R IV performed “moderately well” in the noise department, according to IE. Noise wouldn’t be visible in an image when enlarged to 100 percent on a display at base ISO. At ISO 400, noise would be just barely visible in this viewing condition. It becomes “disturbing” by ISO 3200 and “very disruptive” at ISO 25,600. 

The performance is quite different when looking at printed output. In a postcard-sized print, noise would only be visible up at ISO 25,600—and even then, only just. That’s better than the S1R and Z 7, both of which would show visible noise in this viewing condition by ISO 12,800 and above. 

When making prints that are 15 inches tall, the a7R IV wouldn’t show visible noise until ISO 12,800, and then only barely. The Z 7 and S1R, by comparison, produced visible noise in this viewing condition by ISO 6400. 

Dynamic Range and Color Reproduction

IE found the dynamic range to be a very solid 10.2 at ISO 100—surpassing, by a decent margin, the Z 7 and the S1R at those camera’s respective base ISOs.  The Sony’s dynamic range will decline to 9.5 stops at ISO 800. 

As for color reproduction, the a7R IV was similarly excellent with only three colors deviating strongly from their reference target. By comparison, the Z 7 had four strong deviations and the S1R had six. The a7R IV’s automatic white balance was deemed “excellent.” 

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Video

The a7R IV can resolve up to 108 percent of its sensor’s theoretical maximum at ISO 100 and is still above 100 percent at ISO 1600. Detail reproduction is good, though the camera will add more sharpening to video than it does to stills. White balance is not as strong in video as it is when shooting stills, IE found. Noise in video becomes viewable by ISO 1600. 

Speed

The camera starts up in 1.3 seconds and can acquire focus in .2 seconds in both bright (300 lux) and low (30 lux) light. It’s slightly slower to focus in low light than Panasonic’s S1R and considerably slower to acquire focus in either lighting scenario than Nikon’s Z 7. 

Price: $3,500 (body only) 
sony.com