Any Sony camera that has Pixel Shift Multi Shooting will not have an AA filter.
E.g. A7R4, A7R3, A1
The A7R2 does not have Pixel Shift, but may not have an AA filter. I am not sure but I believe it has no AA filter.
The A9/A9II has an AA filter.
Unfortunately Sony does not list whether the camera sensor has an AA filter in their specs and I have never seen them reveal that information about their cameras. I don't know why.
The plain A7 models have half a filter. They only filter on one axis. The A9 models have a strong normal filter. I haven't seen anything conclusive about the A1. Pixel shift can be done with a filter.
Sony marketed the lack of an optical low pass filter on the A7R and A7RII.
Canon developed some special filter for the R5, but in the DPR test scene it seems to alias worse than the A7R models.
molson wrote:
"R" models (A7R, A7R II, A7R II, A7R IV) do not have AA filters, but all the rest do (but I don't know about the A1).
Reportedly the A1 does not have an AA filter. That aligns with the suggestion that pixel-shift is an indicator, because the A1 does support pixel shift.
Tony Ross wrote:
Reportedly the A1 does not have an AA filter. That aligns with the suggestion that pixel-shift is an indicator, because the A1 does support pixel shift.
Sony makes it a point of explicitly stating there is no AA filter on each of the A7R-series cameras, so I would be surprised if they omitted it from the A1 without mentioning it.
molson wrote:
Sony makes it a point of explicitly stating there is no AA filter on each of the A7R-series cameras, so I would be surprised if they omitted it from the A1 without mentioning it.
So far as I can find Sony never makes mention of whether their cameras have AA filters or not. For example, the specs for the A7R4 never mention it so far as I can tell. Sony A7R4 Specs
Where do you find Sony explicitly stating there is no AA filter? Is it in the specs and I missed it? Do you find Sony publishing this information someplace else?
For some reason Sony camera specifications also do not reveal whether the sensors have "dual gain". Why Sony is so reluctant to reveal this information is a mystery to me, but it results in a lot of claims that since it is not in the specs it must not be there. That seems to be similar to your assertion that the A1 probably has an AA filter since the specs don't mention that it does not. The A1 specs say it has pixel shift mode. How it is possible to make pixel shift mode work if there is an AA filter?
dclark wrote:
So far as I can find Sony never makes mention of whether their cameras have AA filters or not. For example, the specs for the A7R4 never mention it so far as I can tell. Sony A7R4 Specs
Where do you find Sony explicitly stating there is no AA filter? Is it in the specs and I missed it? Do you find Sony publishing this information someplace else?
For some reason Sony camera specifications also do not reveal whether the sensors have "dual gain". Why Sony is so reluctant to reveal this information is a mystery to me, but it results in a lot of claims that since it is not in the specs it must not be there. That seems to be similar to your assertion that the A1 probably has an AA filter since the specs don't mention that it does not. The A1 specs say it has pixel shift mode. How it is possible to make pixel shift mode work if there is an AA filter? ...Show more →
Okay - I will defer to your obviously immense expertise...
"The A7R model features a 36.4 effective megapixel 35mm Exmor® CMOS sensor – the highest resolution sensor in the history of Sony’s A line – with no optical low pass filter for added resolving power and increased image detail."
"With an outstanding 42.4-megapixel count, the new image sensor in the α7R II lets you explore the world in remarkable detail and the camera employs no optical low-pass filter that can compromise high resolution."
"This new full-frame model (A7R III) was built without an optical low pass filter to maximize resolution, while also having the ability to output 14 bit RAW format even when shooting in silent or continuous mode.'
The A7R IV is the only one where Sony omits mention of the OLPF, so maybe they had to incorporate one to keep the video shooters happy...
molson wrote:
Okay - I will defer to your obviously immense expertise...
"The A7R model features a 36.4 effective megapixel 35mm Exmor® CMOS sensor – the highest resolution sensor in the history of Sony’s A line – with no optical low pass filter for added resolving power and increased image detail."
"With an outstanding 42.4-megapixel count, the new image sensor in the α7R II lets you explore the world in remarkable detail and the camera employs no optical low-pass filter that can compromise high resolution."
"This new full-frame model (A7R III) was built without an optical low pass filter to maximize resolution, while also having the ability to output 14 bit RAW format even when shooting in silent or continuous mode.'
The A7R IV is the only one where Sony omits mention of the OLPF, so maybe they had to incorporate one to keep the video shooters happy......Show more →
Terrific! Where did you find those statements? I just took another look at the A7R3 specs and cannot find the statement you quoted. A7R3 Specs
I see no mention in the specifications section but here's what I found in the "Features":
"42.4MP full-frame Exmor R™ CMOS sensor
The Exmor R sensor’s back-illuminated, gapless on-chip lens design increases light sensitivity and provides wide dynamic range, despite its high resolution of 42.4MP"
Either I am missing it or you have another source.
BTW, do they mention the "dual gain" capability of the sensor?
dclark wrote:
Terrific! Where did you find those statements? I just took another look at the A7R3 specs and cannot find the statement you quoted. A7R3 Specs
I see no mention in the specifications section but here's what I found in the "Features":
"42.4MP full-frame Exmor R™ CMOS sensor
The Exmor R sensor’s back-illuminated, gapless on-chip lens design increases light sensitivity and provides wide dynamic range, despite its high resolution of 42.4MP"
Either I am missing it or you have another source.
BTW, do they mention the "dual gain" capability of the sensor?
Most review and specs lists say it has no OLPF. Furthermore, the resolution recorded in comparison with r3 is consistent with the pixel gain and no OLPF And Sony talks about coating on the optical filter, not optical low pass as they sometimes do (ie the filter stack uv and IR filter)
And since the higher the resolution, the lower the moire you will see in video, I think it’s safe to assume there is no OLPF. It’s just that with high res cameras, lack of OLPF isn’t a ‘ feature’ anymore, and doesn’t need to be mentioned.
DavidBM wrote:
Most review and specs lists say it has no OLPF. Furthermore, the resolution recorded in comparison with r3 is consistent with the pixel gain and no OLPF And Sony talks about coating on the optical filter, not optical low pass as they sometimes do (ie the filter stack uv and IR filter)
And since the higher the resolution, the lower the moire you will see in video, I think it’s safe to assume there is no OLPF. It’s just that with high res cameras, lack of OLPF isn’t a ‘ feature’ anymore, and doesn’t need to be mentioned.
There is no question that there is no AA filter (aka OLPF) on the sensors in several Sony cameras, including the A7R4 and A7R3. The question is does Sony show that in the specs or do users have to figure it out on their own. If it were on the Sony spec sheets the OP would not need to post his question. I maintain that one reliable criteria is that cameras that have pixel shift multi shoot capability cannot have AA filters.
Is high resolution as reliable method? For example, can we safely assume the 45MP Canon R5 sensor has no OLPF?
DPR The Sony Alpha 7R is a full-frame E-mount mirrorless camera. The A7R is very similar to its less-expensive sibling (the A7), except that it uses a 36 megapixel CMOS sensor with no optical low-pass filter. The A7 twins are the smallest and lightest full-frame cameras on the market. https://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/slrs/sony_a7r
dclark wrote:
There is no question that there is no AA filter (aka OLPF) on the sensors in several Sony cameras, including the A7R4 and A7R3. The question is does Sony show that in the specs or do users have to figure it out on their own. If it were on the Sony spec sheets the OP would not need to post his question. I maintain that one reliable criteria is that cameras that have pixel shift multi shoot capability cannot have AA filters.
Is high resolution as reliable method? For example, can we safely assume the 45MP Canon R5 sensor has no OLPF?
No. I don't think it's as reliable a method. But I do think it's pretty reliable within the Sony range; I will be astonished if there is ever a Sony high rez camera with an OLPF.
