Not one, but surprisingly a single source released the detailed specification of Sony to be announced fullframe Mirrorless cameras which includes Sony A7R IV, Sony A7 IV and Sony A7S IV (BTW, where is Sony A7S III). Let’s take a look at the Major specification of the upcoming Sony cameras.
Well, keep in mind that these are rumored set of specification, take it with a grain of salt. And as usual as we have told you earlier in one of our posts that Sony is now putting minimal core specs updates in their new cameras.
The reason behind these modest core updates (except A7S series) is the absence of a perfect competitor. Canon and Nikon Mirrorless ECO system isn’t mature enough to give tough competition to Sony A7 series cameras.
Photons to photos website published the test results of Sony A7R IV camera. And we have compared the test results with Canon EOS R and Nikon Z7, Let’s have a look what we have found.
As you can see all the three camera test scores approximately falling in the same zone that’s a good news, more or less you will be getting good results from these cameras.
Sony A7R IV vs Canon EOS R vs Nikon Z7 – Verdict
1. Sony A7R IV – Either low or at High ISO range, Sony A7R IV camera have consistence better Dynamic Range performance.
2. Canon EOS R – isn’t too good at base ISO, Dynamic range of Canon EOS R improves from ISO 400 and matches with Sony A7R IV DR at ISO 3200 till the end.
3. Nikon Z7 – Nikon DR performance is bit zig-zag, Nikon Z7 DR is excellent at base ISO 50, from ISO 100 to ISO 400 Nikon Z7 DR performance is below than Sony A7R IV . From ISO 400 to 12800 the DR range remains in the competitors zone, but falls significantly after ISO 25600 and onward.
Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III
We have also compared the dynamic range of the Sony A7R IV camera with Sony A7R III. We came to know that the dynamic range of Sony A7R IV camera looks exactly similar as of Sony A7R III camera..
We can confirm you from the test results, despite of increase in the resolution of Sony A7R IV, the dynamic range doesn’t decrease it’s the same that you get in the A7R III which is absolutely a fabulous thing to know.
Sony A7R IV is one of the most popular Sony cameras among professional photographers right now. And not only Sony A7R IV, Sony A7 III is one of the hottest selling full frame mirrorless cameras of 2019.
Despite the increased resolution of the α7R IV has maintained a great dynamic range, very good color reproduction, and very low noise. Although it has not surpassed low-pixel rivals in terms of performance, specifically I am talking about Sony A7R III, Nikon Z7.
α7R IV
α7R III
D850
S1R
Z7
Overall Score
(total sensor score)
99
100
100
100
99
Color Depth
(color reproduction range and separation)
26
26
26.4
26.4
26.3
Dynamic
range
14.8
14.7
14.8
14.1
14.6
Low-Light ISO
(the
highest ISO sensitivity that can be tolerated by DxO standards )
3344
3523
2660
3525
2668
The α7R IV sensor has been greatly increased in pixel count, but as far as the DxO score is concerned, it does not affect the dynamic range or high sensitivity, and seems to continue to maintain top-class performance.
It’s look like Astro Photographers are not happy with the Sony A7R IV camera. While putting camera on longer exposure to capture night sky, due to the presence of strong noise reduction filter the A7RIV wipes out most of the stars from the scene. Take a look what Jim (Jim website) said about the camera
I’m not going to bury the lead here: the Sony a7RIV eats stars just about like the a7RIII does…except that the new behavior starts at 3.2 seconds instead of 4 seconds.
Sony should create a dedicated Star capture mode, and star trail for their camera like Olympus did years ago.
Sony A7R IV camera packs Sony’s 61MP FF BSI CMOS sensor. We have no doubt that Sony A7R IV is industry leading high-resoltuion Mirrorless solution in FF lineup and after that we have Fuji GFX100 MF camera if we want more resolution.
Finally after a long gap we have high ISO test samples available in dpreview studio comparison tool. So, the link is at the end post if you want to play with others cameras. Before that let’s take a look at what ISO rating the noise starts to show off in Sony A7R IV RAW and JPEG file.
Usable ISO Range of Sony A7R IV in JPEG Mode
There are lot of people who grab JPEG files from the camera, Since they have no time to edit RAW photos. Specifically, I am talking about wedding and event shooters those who prefer JPEG most of the time.
Sony A7R IV Max JPEG usable ISO range is ISO 6400. After ISO 6400 we do get significant amount of noise in camera sample and it make it almost unusable for professional use or you need a strong noise reduction filter after ISO 6400 rating if you want to reduce noise.
Sony A7R IV @ RAW Mode
At Raw mode we can notice noise starts to appear after ISO 800 in Sony A7R IV camera.
Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III, the Sony A7R IV camera features major upgrade in the core specification of the camera. Let’s have a detailed look how Sony A7R IV camera is improved from inside to out.
1. Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III Sensor
Lens Mount
Sony E
Sony E
Camera Format
Full-Frame (1x Crop Factor)
Full-Frame (1x Crop Factor)
Pixels
Actual: 62.5 Megapixel
Effective: 61 Megapixel
Actual: 43.6 Megapixel
Effective: 42.4 Megapixel
Maximum Resolution
9504 x 6336
7952 x 5304
Aspect Ratio
1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9
3:2, 16:9
Sensor Type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor Size
35.7 x 23.8 mm
35.9 x 24 mm
Image File Format
JPEG, RAW
JPEG, RAW
Bit Depth
14-Bit
14-Bit
Image Stabilization
Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis
Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis
2. 1.5X More Resolution
Sony A7R IV camera us using a brand new sensor, the sensor resolution is approx 1.5X more than of Sony A7R III. With 61 MP BSI CMOS sensor Sony A7R IV camera will show more details when compared to Sony A7R III.
3. 1.5X Faster Image Processor
Not only sensor the image processor of the camera is now 1.5X more faster compared to the image processer used in Sony A7R III. And due to that we will sure see some noticeable improvement in the image quality of the new camera.
4. ISO Range 50-102400
Sony engineers did a remarkable job to maintain the low-light performance of the camera. Despite of increase in the resolution (We all know as the resolution increases the photodiodes sizes gradually decreases resulting poor low light performance ) Sony A7R IV camera is able to deliver same ISO range as we have in the Sony A7R III.
5. Jpeg Image Quality Comparison
As you can clearly see the image of Sony A7R IV camera (left) have more details compared to Sony A7R III (in right).
6. Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III – Exposure
ISO Sensitivity
Auto, 100 to 32000 (Extended: 50 to 102400)
Auto, 100 to 32000 (Extended: 50 to 102400)
Shutter Speed
Mechanical Shutter
1/8000 to 30 Second
Bulb Mode
1/8000 to 1/4 Second in Movie Mode
1/8000 to 30 Seconds
1/8000 to 1/4 Second in Movie Mode
Bulb Mode
Up to 10 fps at 61 MP for up to 68 Exposures (JPEG)
Up to 10 fps at 42.4 MP for up to 76 Exposures (Raw)
Interval Recording
Yes
2/5/10-Second Delay
Self Timer
2/5/10-Second Delay
7. Buffer is also increased
Buffer of the camera is also improved upto 1.5X according to the Sony. Now despite of larger file size, the new bigger buffer can store upto 68 consecutive shots in a single burst.
8. Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III – Video
Recording Modes
XAVC S
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p [60 to 100 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/24p/59.94p/100p/120p [16 to 100 Mb/s] AVCHD
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50i/ 59.94i [17 to 24 Mb/s]
XAVC S
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p [60 to 100 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/29.97p/ 59.94p/ 100p/120p [100 Mb/s]
HD (1280 x 720) at 100p/120p [50 Mb/s] AVCHD
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 50p/ 59.94p [28 Mb/s]
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/25p/50i/59.94i [17 to 24 Mb/s]
External Recording Modes
4:2:2 8-Bit
DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) at 23.976p/25p/ .97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.976p/50i/50p/59.94i/ 59.94p
4:2:2 8-Bit
UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 24.00p/25p/29.97p
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24.00p/50i/50p/59.94i/59.94p
We do have slight improvement in the external video recording mode of the Sony A7R IV camera, now you can record DCI 4K video in Sony A7R IV camera which was limited to UHD 4K in Sony A7R III.
The Sony a7R IV can capture full-frame 4K oversampled from 6K, that clearly means no pixel binning and you are getting maximum image quality possible. However, Sony A7R III also uses the same process to create 4K video.
So, we don’t have any major difference in the Video quality of both the camera despite of enjoying a major specs upgrade in the still part of A7R IV.
9. Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III – AutoFocus
Focus Type
Auto and Manual Focus
Auto and Manual Focus
Focus Mode
Automatic (A), Continuous-Servo AF (C), Direct Manual Focus (DMF), Manual Focus (M), Single-Servo AF (S)
Automatic (A), Continuous-Servo AF (C), Direct Manual Focus (DMF), Manual Focus (M), Single-Servo AF (S)
Autofocus Points
Phase Detection: 567
Contrast Detection: 425
Phase Detection: 399
Contrast Detection: 425
Autofocus Sensitivity
-3 to +20 EV
-2 to +20 EV
The Autofocus sensitivity of the camera increased upto 1 stop and at the same time the Focus point are also increased upto 567, which enables more better AF coverage than Sony A7R III. The AF points of the camera cover up more than 75% of the viewable area of the screen.
10. Sony A7R IV vs Sony A7R III – Viewfinder and Monitor
Viewfinder Type
Electronic (OLED)
Electronic
Viewfinder Size
0.5″
0.5″
Viewfinder Resolution
5,760,000 Dot
3,686,400 Dot
Viewfinder Eye Point
23 mm
23 mm
Viewfinder Coverage
100%
100%
Viewfinder Magnification
Approx. 0.78x
Approx. 0.78x
Diopter Adjustment
-4.0 to +3.0
-4.0 to +3.0
Monitor Size
3″
3″
Monitor Resolution
1,440,000 Dot
1,440,000 Dot
Monitor Type
Tilting Touchscreen LCD
Tilting Touchscreen LCD
Viewfinder resolution of the screen is dramatically improved, the Sony A7R IV camera now features class leading viewfinder.
11. Pixel shift (240 vs 168 MP)
The Sony A7R IV camera now features 240MP high resolution mode, the Sony A7R III was limited to 168 Megapixels only. With Sony A7R IV you will get super high resolution images and enormous amount of details compared to A7R III.
12. DSLR like Hand-grip
The handgrip of the Sony A7R IV camera is drastically improved handgrip compared to Sony A7R III, if you are DSLR user you will find Sony A7R IV camera more friendly to your hands compared to Sony A7R III.
13. physical size
Battery
1 x NP-FZ100 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 7.2 VDC, 2280 mAh (Approx. 530 Shots)
1 x NP-FZ100 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 7.2 VDC, 2280 mAh (Approx. 530 Shots)
Dimensions (W x H x D)
5.07 x 3.8 x 3.05″ / 128.9 x 96.4 x 77.5 mm
5 x 3.8 x 2.9″ / 126.9 x 95.6 x 73.7 mm
Weight
1.46 lb / 665 g
1.45 lb / 657 g
Conclusion
Sony A7R III camera arrived with major specs upgrade in still shooting part, you are getting better sensor, more AF point more improved image processor and bigger buffer compared to Sony A7R III. The video part of the camera more or less remains same. So, if you are looking for an upgrade from Sony A7R III, you should go for it if you are a still shooter.
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