New 61mp Sony a7R IV

[cooltouch]

The camera is scheduled for release tomorrow. Amazing. Be sure to check out the hi-res photos in the article below. If you're into counting your subject's facial pores, this is the camera for you!

https://www.ephotozine.com/article/sony-alpha-a7r-mark-iv-full-size-sample-photos-33790

It seems to me that, at this extreme resolution, this machine is really gonna challenge the resolution capabilities of most lenses.

I guess one side benefit of the release of this beast is the price of the a7R III will drop and may even approach "reasonable."

[kds315*]

[Sjak]

[cooltouch]

Hmm . . . maybe the processing speed will be slower on your computer when you're working on such huge images, but in the specs, Sony is claiming a 10 frame per second frame rate with this beastie, which seems extraordinary to me, considering its capacity.

To me, the one big advantage to shooting with a very high-res system is the ability to crop a relatively small portion of an image, with the crop still having a healthy amount of resolution left. I've even enjoyed this capability with my rather lightweight 24.3mp sensor. I can't even imagine what it would be like with a 61mp one -- or a 100mp one, for that matter.

I think the chief selling point to these mass market devices, such as the Sony and Fuji, is they don't cost as much as a nice new car -- some $50k for a Phase One is a pretty tough nut to crack for most folks. But if you're willing to be very patient, time has a way of leveling things. I recall the early Kodak digital cameras that were built on Nikon and Canon SLR chassis. They had like 2mp or so, which was a huge number when they first became available over some 20 years ago. They sold for huge amounts -- like over $20k. Outfits like National Geographic were buying them. Nowadays they occasionally show up on the used market and typically fetch a few hundred dollars. So, who knows? Maybe 20 years from now, you can pick up a used Phase One 150mp model for a few hundred bucks.

[Sjak]

[kds315*]

[cooltouch]

Klaus, I would agree with your observations for most "normal" photos. But I do think that if I'm shooting with one of my best lenses, and having the camera/lens combination mounted on a sturdy tripod, that high quality crops could be achieved. I have 100% crops of some old photos I took shooting film -- like Kodachrome -- that held up remarkably well. So it seems that it should at least be possible with the proper setup.

Sjak, regarding prices, you know, when I got into photography back in the early 80s, that was during a time in which low camera prices were commonplace -- although it didn't last. But I also recall looking at ads from the 50s and 60s for mid-grade camera gear that was quite expensive -- easily amounting to the average worker's monthly salary. So photography has, for much of its history, been an expensive hobby. Thus the higher end new gear is probably on par with historical prices.

[l9magen]

At 61MP, even with the 5-stop IBIS, wouldn't you really need to use a tripod all the time to get the best out of the sensor?
Also, at that "resolution" I wonder how the pixel density will affect noise performance.

I liked the comment about printing at Times Sq proportions. Joking aside, I wonder if this camera is aimed at professipnals (who need large prints or super detail), or gear freaks who have to have the highest pixel count. I'll admit I bought the Canon 5DSr but sold it. Having to use the tripod all the time was tedious. I'm happily back to 24MP.

[aidaho]

[alex ph]

The samples look impressive. I cropped a portion of one of them, to discover a very well preserved detail. You may see a small human figure (the photographer) inside the eye, quite distinctively.



I imagine that the next generation of Sony FF would permit to crop the image again and to see this time the eye of the photographer sized the same as this one.

[poilu]