Today, Sony released the latest addition to its Alpha series—the A7RIV. Sony has incorporated a newly developed 35mm full-frame 61MP, back-illuminated CMOS image sensor, the first in the world.
Image Quality
In addition to the high-resolution sensor, the A7RIV can produce 15-stops of dynamic range at low sensitivities, giving it a natural range of deep shadows and highlights. It also utilizes the same technology from previous Alpha cameras to maintain stunning color reproduction.
To support the high-resolution shooting capacity, Sony has fine-tuned the 5-axis in-body stabilization system and redesigned the shutter unit assembly to reduce any chance of blur.
The new viewfinder has 1.6x the resolution of the EVF in the A7III with a 5.67 million dot EVF, the highest resolution viewfinder in Sony's lineup. It produces an extremely accurate depiction of the real-life scene being captured.
Focusing System
The focusing system on this full-frame mirrorless system can shoot full-resolution images at 10fps with continuous AF/AE tracking for approximately seven seconds in full-frame and three times as long in APS-C crop mode. Shooting in crop mode gives you 26.2MP files. With fast-speed tracking, it ensures fast-moving subjects can still be captured with incredible image quality.
The focusing system has 567 focal-plane phase-detection AF points that cover 74 percent of the image area and 425 contrast AF points. This allows fast-moving, complex subject matter to be tracked with more accuracy than ever before.
Sony's Eye AF has stood out among competitors and the new A7RIV incorporates this touted feature. It supports an artificial intelligence that automatically detects eye location on both human and animal eyes with great precision. It continues to supports anti-flicker shooting, detecting artificial light and minimizing its impact on the final image.
Enhanced Connectivity
Wireless PC remote connectivity or wireless tethering shooting is now available for the A7RIV, providing more freedom for the professional without needing any wires for tethering. It includes LAN functionality that supports the conventional 2.4 GHz band and a high-speed 5 GHz band for faster data transfer. Now, when using Sony's Imaging Edge Mobile app, the camera can transfer images to a smartphone even when the camera is turned off.
Professional Filmmaking and 4K Video
The A7RIV offers 4K video recording. The S-Log2 and S-Log3 are available with color grading flexibility and the S-Log3 offers 14-stops of dynamic range.
The new full-frame camera uses a refined Fast Hybrid AF system to achieve stable autofocus when shooting video. Even if an object moves in front of the subject, the autofocus remains intact once back in frame. For additional functionality, the camera includes Touch Tracking to simply touch the screen to focus on the intended subject while filming.
Real-time Eye AF marks its debut in the A7RIV for video shooting. This will allow filmmakers to not have to worry about what is in focus when filming people or animals. For even more convenience, the Touch Tracking will automatically initiate Eye AF when a human subject is selected.
The digital auto interface in the camera's Multi Interface Shoe (MI Shoe), allows a direct digital connection to the new ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone or XLR-K3M XLR Adapter Kit for audio recording.
Body Design
The A7RIV increases its durability with enhanced dust and moisture resistance. The body design includes an improved grip, an increased diameter for the 'AF-ON' button, a new multi-selector joystick, an exposure compensation dial lock button and a redesigned, new position for the rear dial.
Even though the pixel count is higher than the previous A7RIII, the battery life has been improved with 670 still images with the LCD monitor or 530 with the EVF. With the new VG-C4EM Vertical Grip, it can hold two NP-FZ100 batteries and the Multi Battery Adaptor can hold up to four. The body can even be charged with a USB connector.
The Sony Alpha 7RIV will ship in September 2019 for $3,499. The VC-C4EM Vertical Grip and the ECM-B1M Shotgun Microphone will also ship in September— approximately $400 for the grip and $350 for the Microphone. The XLR-K3M XLR Adapter will ship in October 2019 for approximately $600.