Sony has launched the $3,900 A7R V, its latest mirrorless camera designed to shoot portraits, landscapes and other subjects that require as much resolution as possible. The new model carries the same 61-megapixel resolution as the A7R IV, but has a much more powerful new Bionz XR processor that allows for improved AI autofocus, better shake reduction and 8K 24p video.
The key improvement is in the autofocus, as the A7R V is Sony's first camera to introduced something called "human pose estimation." The system can see 20 different points in the human body and and thus figure out where the eye is supposed to be. That allows it to accurately track someone who might be moving and turning away from the camera, and keep tracking them even if they disappear from view for a moment. On top of that, it can now pick out different subjects like cars, trains, plains, animals and insects.
Though the A7R V is primarily targeted at photographers, it's much better at video than ever, too. Where the A7R IV was limited to 8-bit 4K at 30fps with either cropping or line-skipping, the A7R V now shoots 8K video at up to 24 fps, along with 6.2K without line-skipping or pixel binning. With the same heatsink as the A7S III, it allows for unlimited 4K recording and up to 30 minutes of 8K capture.
It can also handle supersampled 10-bit 4K video using the entire sensor width at up to 30 fps, or at 60fps with a 1.2x crop. You can also capture 16-bit RAW video to external recorders at up to 4K 60p.
Sony has upgraded to the in-body stabilization (IBS) system from 5.5 to 8 stops, now matching what Canon can do with its similarly-priced EOS R5. And in lieu of the tilting display used in the A7R IV, the new model has a fully articulating screen that makes it more useful for high-angle shooting, video and more.
The A7R V shoots at the same 10fps speeds as before, which is impressive for such a high-resolution camera. However, it can now shoot compressed RAW files rather than just uncompressed as before. The buffer can also handle up to 583 shots, letting you shoot for a large amount of time in a burst.
It has a long list of other attractive features, including a class-leading 9.44-million-dot electronic viewfinder (EVF) and dual card slots that accept either speedy (but expensive) CFexpress Type A or UHS-II cards. Another new feature is pixel shift multishot (tripod use only) for compositing 16 shots into one 240.8-megapixel image using AI processing to automatically detect and correct movement between frames.
The list continues with AI-powered white balance, focus stacking of up to 299 frames for increased depth of field, Sony's Cinetone color profile for a more film-like look, an updated body with dials and controls similar to the A7 IV, USB-C charging with Power Delivery and native webcam compatibility. The Sony A7R V is set to arrive in December for $3,900.
