Sony A7R VI review: A huge speed boost makes this a nearly perfect high-resolution camera
Some cameras with stacked sensors have compromised image quality — take Nikon's Z6 III for instance. Not the A7R VI, though. Sony installed special processors
Some cameras with stacked sensors have compromised image quality — take Nikon's Z6 III for instance. Not the A7R VI, though. Sony installed special processors on the sensor so the camera can fuse high and low ISO outputs in real time (dual gain processing) to boost image quality and speed. With that tech, the A7R VI shoots incredibly detailed images with accurate colors and high dynamic range. The resolution is so high that I was able to zoom into photos by 3x and still have 22MP shots. This was especially handy for bird photography when my 400mm zoom lens didn't provide quite enough reach.
Sony claims 15 stops of dynamic range for the A7R VI and up to 16 stops with dual gain enabled — the highest of any mirrorless camera. DXOMark's tests and my own observations confirm that. It excelled in high-contrast situations when I shot birds against a bright sky or on water. In those cases, I was able to extract detail from highlights or boost shadows without introducing excessive noise. In another tricky scenario, I shot West End Live theater in Trafalgar Square on a sunny day, and was able to tease out extra detail in the actors' clothes and skin.
Steve Dent for Engadget If you prefer to shoot JPEGs, a setting called Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) now boosts shadows by up to eight levels rather than five as before. That allowed me to capture night JPEG shots around the London Eye with extra detail. Sony improved automatic white balance as well. Colors always seemed too cool (blue) in shadow regions on previous Sony models to me, but I found that the A7R VI better matched the tones I saw with my own eyes. Overall, color accuracy is much improved on this camera, though I still occasionally saw inaccurate blueish-green hues, an issue that's not present with Nikon or Panasonic models.
The A7R VI excels in low light like few other cameras, high-res or otherwise. Its dual native ISO system allows shockingly clean shadows all the way up to ISO 12,800. At that setting, I saw only minor, pleasing film-grain-like noise, even when pushing the exposure up by three stops or more.
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