Sony Launches 61 MP A7R IV Medium Format Camera

Most professional photographers need extremely high-resolution cameras for their work. Until now, the Canon 5DSR was the highest resolution full-frame camera on the market but Sony, not wanting Nikon and Canon to encroach on its territory, has dropped the bomb by announcing its A7R IV finally beating the beastly Canon 5DSR.

Even though A7R IV is not one of their flagship models, Sony has literally revamped everything for this newly launched camera.

Image and Video Specs

With the medium-format A7R IV, Sony has bumped up the resolution by almost 19 MP as compared to A7R III. The new camera features an impressive 61 MP resolution and is the first of its kind to feature a 35mm full-frame back-illuminated CMOS image sensor with this resolution.

Apart from the base resolution, the camera also comes with a 16-shot pixel shift mode that can capture 960 megapixels, processed down to 240 MP using the Sony’s Imaging edge desktop software. The 4-shot pixel shift mode from A7R III has also made a comeback. The feature does not add any spatial resolution but bypasses the limits of the Bayer filter design.

In combination with the new sensor, a new 5.76 million dot UXGA OLED EVF was added which provides 1.6 times more EVF resolution as compared to A7R III. The new EVF can be set to high image quality mode with 60 fps or 120 fps refresh rate.

As far as videos are concerned, Sony has delivered on that end as well. The A7R IV offers 4K video at both full-width and a Super35 (APS-C) crop mode. The latter offers a full pixel readout for better quality.

Apart from this, there are S-Log2 and S-Log3 flat color profiles to capture the 14 stops of dynamic range. Since the camera is a medium format, the video is only limited to 8 bits of color depth.

Lens and Autofocus

Sony A7R IV comes with FE 135mm f/1.8 GM lens. When we talk about medium format, this is the best lens available. It is sharper than similar medium format lens, add its high-resolution on top of that and the photographer will be able to produce some very sharp images.

The autofocus of A7R III is pretty reliable especially the eye detect autofocus. This feature has been improved in the A7R IV by including real-time eye autofocus. The improved autofocus makes it easier to detect moving objects since the new sensor has 567 focus points which cover at least 74 percent of the sensor. On top of this, it also has 425 contrast autofocus points.

Other Features

Apart from the features mentioned above, Sony has improved the build quality and design of the camera as well. The camera is larger and thicker than its predecessor to prevent overheating. This feature is borrowed by Sony’s previous medium format cameras like A7R II. The grip has been improved and is tackier than before, unlike previous models whose grip was slightly uncomfortable.

The A7R III had a memory bottleneck issue which was a big turn off for many photographers, that has been solved by offering two UHS-II card slots.

Sony has also added improved weather sealing, dual-band Wi-Fi, USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1, a digital audio interface added to the camera’s Multi Interface Shoe and a tilting touchscreen display.

Pricing and Availability

The camera will be available for sale in the US in September at a price tag of $3500. Availability in other markets will vary.