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Archive 2019 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

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I've just received the Sony A7R IV and although ergonomics and software improvements are welcome, I wanted to know how much extra detail is visible from the 20% linear resolution increase when paired with my best lenses at various apertures.

As expected, the resolution/contrast increase will be more noticeable around the center area. To a lesser degree, the A7R4's resolution advantage is still visible off-axis when using our best lenses.

For this comparison, I will start with my best mid telephoto lens, the CV 65/2 APO. It's my tested personal copy. (100% centered)

This is what to expect moving from the A7RIII to A7R IV for landscape photography.

PS: LR's beta profile was used and as you can see, colors do not look right with this profile. Distortion, CA and vignetting were not corrected. (ignore color rendering for this comparison)

Voigtlander 65/2 APO: A7R3 vs A7R4

thumbnail showing 1:1 areas at infinity distance

Center at f/2: Even wide open, I can see more fine detail on the A7R4 crop

Mid-zone at f/2: Wide open, the A7R4's resolution advantage is not very noticeable at mid-zone is not noticeable even with this superb prime lens

Extreme edge at f/2: Same as mid-zone

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:12 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Voigtlander 65/2 at f/4

F/4 is this lens' optimal aperture and it shows on the crops.

Center at f/4: I see a noticeable resolution improvement at center at optimal aperture

Mid-zone at f/4: Smaller fine detail improvement compared to center, but still there

Extreme corner at f/4: Similar to mid-zone

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:15 PM

vdo1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

How about Sony’s own Imaging Edge or whatever it is called these days, I guess it would be supporting the camera?

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:17 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Voigtlander 65/2 at f/8

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:17 PM

1bwana1
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Yep, Ray Charles could see the difference side by side. The a7RIV is better.

Not sure how much I would notice viewed at different times, different viewing conditions, and if images were of different subjects.

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:32 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Let's compare it now by interpolating the A7R3 to match the A7R4 file size (60MP) at f/4 (optimal resolution for this lens)

Center at f/4: A7R3 interpolated to match the A7R4 file size

Mid-zone at f/4: A7R3 interpolated to match the A7R4 file size

Extreme corner at f/4: A7R3 interpolated to match the A7R4 file size (Ignore color rendering. beta profile)

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:36 PM

RoamingScott
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Looks like a nice boost in sharpness once downsampled!!

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:42 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

I'm noticing some good increases through all the images posted. I may repeat a BB with this body . Need to find which one CV 21 or CV 75

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:50 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Not to get OT but my Rokinon 85 is on fire with this body

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:51 PM

photomadnz
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

It can certainly be incredibly good under ideal conditions. Working in a high end pro lab though I have printed extremely large (60 x 40 inch+) tests and the results were so close it was hard for people to pick. Sometimes it takes a reality check to recall why you loved that 42 meg sensor in the first place. With the best glass and ideal post processing that is.

The downsides I found were a greater proportion of handheld loses due to the denser sensor which therefore required a higher shutter speed/iso which lost some dynamic range and increased noise. Also diffraction is way more noticeable.

For me currently I would take the @40-45 meg with the build quality and the slightly better focus of the R4. It is the sweet spot for me and I lose nothing in real world. Lets see how close to that the A9II gets.

For those getting the R4 though Im sure you will love it regardless. Its what you do with it at the end of the day after all..

Edited on Sep 16, 2019 at 07:55 PM · View previous versions

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:54 PM

saxguy
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

GMPhotography wrote:
I'm noticing some good increases through all the images posted. I may repeat a BB with this body . Need to find which one CV 21 or CV 75

Which CV21 - 1.4 or 3.5?

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:55 PM

GMPhotography
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

The 1.4 . Got to see if I saved the test on my computer

Sep 16, 2019 at 07:56 PM

snapsy
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

RoamingScott wrote:
Looks like a nice boost in sharpness once downsampled!!

I don't believe any of the samples Fred has posted so far in the thread have been downsampled. The first sets are at native resolution and the last is with the A7rIII upsampled to the A7rIV resolution.

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:06 PM

snapsy
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Fred, can you post a center crop comparison with both cameras upsampled to 120MP? That way both images will undergo resampling, which should provide a more equitable comparison methodology.

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:07 PM

snapsy
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Also, any chance you took some pixel-shift shots as well

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:16 PM

ftllens
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

I do see finer details for sure, but a lot less than I expected. What's more impressive is the CV 65's resolving power!

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:18 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

snapsy wrote:
Fred, can you post a center crop comparison with both cameras upsampled to 120MP? That way both images will undergo resampling, which should provide a more equitable comparison methodology.

Both images interpolated to 121MP using PS bicubic:

Center area at f/4 for both:

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:21 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

ftllens wrote:
I do see finer details for sure, but a lot less than I expected. What's more impressive is the CV 65's resolving power!

It should be 20% more detail for the center area using perfect technique and a high resolution lens. Off-axis, expect a much smaller improvement.

Any lens asymmetry (decentering, skew) will be more noticeable with the higher MP body.
Diffraction will rob some of that extra resolution (starting at f/5.6) so the A7R4's resolution advantage is more noticeable at optimum apertures. (focus stack may be needed to extract the extra fine detail)
All lenses will benefit from the extra resolution but only the best ones may see the ~ 20% resolution improvement at center.

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:30 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

I've noticed that the higher EVF's resolution makes it much easier to nail focus since it shows more fine detail.

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:36 PM

DavidBM
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · A7R III vs A7R IV: Resolution/Contrast

Big improvement on r4 both upsampled to 120.

Any chance of a test with the r4 downsampled to 42MP? We can hope for benefits then due to reduced false colour, moire and other artefacts.

Sep 16, 2019 at 08:39 PM

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