Sony Alpha 7R IV

As a technical achievement, the A7R Mark IV is remarkable. As a camera, its handling foibles are starting to grate

- Rod Lawton

Specifications

Sensor: 61MP full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor

Image processor: Bionz X

AF points: Hybrid AF; 567 phase-detection, 325 contrast AF points

ISO range: 100 to 32,000 (exp 50-102,400)

Max image size: 9,504 x 6,336

Metering modes: Multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, average, highlight

Video: 4K UHD at 30p, 24p

Viewfinder: EVF, 5.76m dots Memory card: Two SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS II) LCD: 3-inch tilting touchscreen, 1.44m dots

Max burst: 10fps

Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC

Size: 129 x 96 x 78mm

Weight: 655g (body only, with battery and SD card)

Sony doesn’t want the Alpha 7R IV to be thought of solely in terms of resolution, but a 61MP sensor is bound to grab the headlines. It beats its full-frame rivals by some margin, and re-establishes Sony as a front-runner in a full-frame mirrorless camera market that’s become very busy.

But the A7R IV is not just about resolution. It has a very rounded balance of overall image quality and versatility, combining its ultra-highresolution with 10fps continuous shooting capability and a buffer that can sustain this for up to 7 seconds. Sony’s epic hybrid AF technology takes another step forward too, with 567 phase-detection AF points spread across 74% of the image area and 325 contrast AF points. It now offers Real-Time AF tracking in its movie mode, too.

And just to drive home the resolution point once more, the Alpha 7R IV has a Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode than can combine four images for full-colour data for each pixel (avoiding the demosaicing interpolation process cameras normally use) or 16 images with sub-pixel movements to create 240-megapixel photographs.