A Match For Medium Format?

Sony A7R IV ₹2,99,990

- Rohinton Mehta

Sony is unquestionably the leader in the full-frame mirrorless market and has a range of offerings. Its newest product, the high-resolution 61 MP Sony A7R IV camera was introduced in India on 20th September 2019. Currently, this is the highest resolution 35 mm Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera in the world. Smart Photography had an opportunity to put it on test.

Design & Build Quality

The A7R IV is a mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera. The body, with a superb hand-grip, appears very well made. It uses lightweight but sturdy magnesium alloy for its outer covers and internal frame, with enhanced weather sealing applied to the battery cover, terminal cover and all joints in the chassis. The media compartment lid has a double-sealed sliding mechanism to prevent moisture getting into it. The body weighs approximately 665 g with the battery and memory card. The A7R IV body is made in Thailand and comes with a three-year warranty.

Key Features

The Sony A7R IV is a full-frame 61 MP camera body backed by a new Back Side Illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor. To match the high-resolution sensor, the A7R IV uses a high-speed BIONZ X image processing engine, that, in spite of the 61 MP, offers a maximum speed of 10 fps in burst mode. Sony claims that the A7R IV has a dynamic range of 15 stops along with a good control over digital noise, especially in the range up to ISO 32000. The high-dynamic range at lower ISOs deliver smoother transitions from shadows to highlights. The camera does not use an optical low-pass filter, and this too helps in capturing finer details (lowpass filters, while mitigating moire, also cause a slight drop in the image quality).