Big test
Big test
Sony A7R IV
PRICE: £3499
SONY.CO.UK
With chart-topping resolution and outstanding AF, is this the camera that further cements Sony’s place asmirrorless king?
SPECS
› Prices £3499 › In the box SonyA7R IVbody, power cord, rechargeable battery NP-FZ100, battery charger BC-QZ1, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap, eyepiece cup, USBType-C cable › Sensor 61-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor › Sensor format 35mm full-frame (35.7x23.8mm) › Lens mount Sony E-mount › ISO range 100-32,000 › Shutter range 1/8000sec to 30secs, Bulb › Drive modes Single shooting, continuous shooting (Hi+/Hi/ Mid/Lo) up to 10fps, self-timer, self-timer (cont), bracket: single, bracket: cont, white-balance bracket, DRO bracket › Exposure system 1200-zone, multi-segment, centre-weighted, spot, spot standard/large, entire screen avg, highlight › Exposure compensation +/-5EV › Monitor 3in, 1.44million dot tilting touchscreen › Viewfinder 5.76million dot UXGA OLED EVF, 0.78xmagnification › Focusing system Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detectionAF/contrast- › Focus points 567 selectable › Image stabiliser Yes, sensor shift, 5.5 stops › Video 4K: 3840x2160 up to 25p; HD:1920x1080 up to 100p › Video compression XAVC S: MPEG-4AVC/H.264,AVCHD: MPEG-4AVC/H.264 › Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, USB-C,Mass storage PC, HDMI micro type-D, 3.5mm minijackmic port, 3.5mmstereo audio out › Other key features Pixel Shift mode, lens compensation, › Storage media 2 x SD, UHS-II compatible › Dimensions (wxhxd) 128.9x96.4x77.5mm › Weight 655g with battery and memory card › Contact sony.co.uk detectionAF), with real-time tracking, eye, animal eye and face detect
WORDS AND IMAGES BY KINGSLEY SINGLETON
THE A7R IV is the latest high-resolution model in Sony’s mirrorless full-frame range, and it offers a 61-megapixel back- side illuminated CMOS sensor, as well as AF, build and handling improvements over the A7R III. We tried one out with a 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens. The headline resolution and image quality on offer is the obvious place to start. Used correctly, the 61-megapixel chip provides masses of detail, aided by the lack of an optical low-pass filter (OLPF), and its 9504x6336 pixel files can produce huge prints, or allow severe cropping if required. Why ‘used correctly’? Well, high-resolution cameras pick up more flaws in your focusing, shooting technique and lens quality than lower-spec’d chips, so the power needs to be used responsibly. Many high-res sensors eschew an OLPF, as the sheer number of pixels tend
to defeat moiré problems. If you do spot moiré, the A7R IV's Pixel Shift mode can get rid of it, though it needs to be used on scenes with no subject movement. It takes four or 16 shots, moving the sensor each time. In the four-shot version, this averages out the red, green and blue colour data to give truer results. The same goes for the 16-shot, but it also increases resolution to 240 megapixels. The trouble with the A7R IV’s Pixel Shift mode is that, unlike some cameras, it doesn’t output a merged file. Instead you need to use a computer with Sony’s Imaging Edge software to do it. With the right subject, and factoring in the extra processing time, results are incredible. What’s more, if you downsample a 240-megapixel file, even to the native 61 megapixels, you’ll see a big improvement in digital noise and sharpness.
ABOVE In terms of handling, the A7R IV has lockable mode and exposure compensation dials, as well as a huge number of customisable buttons
Of course, all this resolution has a downside. Writing 100MB+ files to the cards means the camera’s frame rate isn’t the fastest, and there’s a knock-on effect in the amount of storage you need, the speed of SD cards to get the best buffer performance, as well as the desktop processing power to work on these huge Raws. You can shoot compressed Raws or JPEGs alone, and while there are small and medium JPEG options, there’s no capacity to shoot small or mediumRaw, unlike some other brands. The A7R IV’s sensor also promises great dynamic range, and this seemed to be very true on test. Shooting in the 14-bit Raw, you can easily boost shadows, even on very underexposed areas, without undue noise appearing, and drag back highlights in processing. 12-bit compressed Raws showed great versatility, too. The camera’s 1200- zone evaluative metering system gave generally excellent results, too, and I only
felt the need to bias it when looking for a low- or high-key effect. Of course, it’s not all about the sensor. Another big attraction of the A7R IV is its hybrid AF system, which uses contrast detect and on-chip phase-detect sensors to do some impressive things. The latest implementation of this is Real-time Tracking AF, a mode that incorporates eye and face AF, and is on all the latest Alphas. Effectively, it lets you follow subject with, frankly, unrivalled ease. In action, you set AF mode to AF-C, and Area to one of several, including wide or flexible spot, lock the focus to the subject, and it follows them quite tenaciously. It is astonishingly good, actually – only missing occasionally, even on reasonably fast-moving subjects, and then being shown up a little by the huge resolution, wherein a smaller sensor would not look to have missed. Eye AF must be switched on, and therein you can also set it to Animal Eye AF, which
ABOVE The Sony A7R IV offers Animal Eye AF, which I tested at my local animal shelter. It was excellent and prioritised the dogs over their human counterparts
Issue 75 | Photography News 65
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