p.1 #1 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
I'll start at the end: There are many reasons for buying an a7Rvi, but getting more cropability compared to a the a7Rv isn't really one of them.
Unlike more skilled photographers, I don't always 'see' the best image when shooting; it reveals itself later. So I like to have lots of flexibility to crop. What that means for me, specifically, is the ability to crop an image so it will still fill my primary output medium (5K/4K screens) without having to upscale. Unlike large prints, where even low megapixel images can look fantastic, a 5K monitor two feet in front of me is a much tougher challenge. So, I evaluate cropability compared to 5K output.
67mpx vs 60mpx...sounds good on paper; seven million more pixels. But in practice, it's quite a minimal increase; 60mpx is 186% of a 5K image, while 67mpx is 195%. Not much.
Over the years I've kept this little graphic to help me visualize how much breathing room I get from each of my current cameras (a7Rv, a7Rvi, Z8 and iPhone 17) and their shooting modes (FF vs crop). It shows me that the increase from the Z8 to the Sony is pretty significant, especially looking at crop mode, while the change from the a7Rv to a7Rvi is not enough to matter in most cases.
Of course, I bought one anyway. The other improvements (raw pre-capture, faster readout, dynamic range, improved EVF) pushed me over the edge.
Camera resolution as it relates to non-scaled (1:1) viewing on 4K and 5K displays
p.1 #3 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
eriet30 wrote:
gah can you throw the A1 50mpx on their.... I still am living with the A7r4 and A1 combo is sufficient to not get the R6 and sell those.
p.1 #7 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
RoamingScott wrote:
Why? What about losing a stacked sensor makes it appealing to you?
The A7rvi is a stacked sensor optimized for quality instead of speed (it is fast, though). Since the Z8 is a cut-down A1 sensor but is missing a shutter for flash, why bring that old camera into the mix?
p.1 #8 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
mogul wrote:
The A7rvi is a stacked sensor optimized for quality instead of speed (it is fast, though). Since the Z8 is a cut-down A1 sensor but is missing a shutter for flash, why bring that old camera into the mix?
I wasn't asking you, and comparing a slow stacked, 19ms readout sensor to a 3.5ms stacked is a bit of a joke. It's slower than Nikon's partially stacked sensor.
p.1 #10 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
RoamingScott wrote:
I wasn't asking you, and comparing a slow stacked, 19ms readout sensor to a 3.5ms stacked is a bit of a joke. It's slower than Nikon's partially stacked sensor.
Yeh, but this thread is all about resolution and cropability. Nothing about a stacked sensor nor readout speed. Go back to the Nikon board and do your cheerleading there.
p.1 #11 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
RoamingScott wrote:
Why? What about losing a stacked sensor makes it appealing to you?
Having gotten so used to the speed of the Z8 sensor, and Z8 in general, is one of my biggest hesitations to picking up the a7rVI. I don't think the a7rVI could top the Z8 overall for me, but I would like it to be at least in the same ballpark, and a large improvement over my a7rIV.
But what is tempting is the resolution increase over the Z8. The Z8 = 8256px wide, the a7rVI is 9984 wide, that's a 20% increase in print size or crop ability. Then we also gain improved dynamic range over the Z8, further helping IQ.
Overall, the a7rVI should also improve on a bunch of my nitpicks about Sony, such as colors, IBIS, and lack of backlight buttons. Something tells me my Voigtlander apo lenses will look awesome on it. If I get it and it really impresses me, maybe I will even pick up another E lens or two that are not available in Z mount.
But this now comes back to sensor speed... A lot of the buzz around the a7rVI is around its electronic shutter, such as the 30FPS and raw precapture. While the a7rVI uses a stacked sensor and is much faster than the a7rIV/V, it's still much slower than the Z8/a1. So the electronic shutter won't be that useful to my uses, which gets back to my friction with Sony, there always seems to be more corner cases to look out for. If raw pre capture was fast enough for BIF without distortion, I would have happily jumped on an a7rVI while we wait for the Z8II. (And before anyone says, get an a1II, I felt it was overpriced before the a7rVI, and now I feel it's even more overpriced when we know quite a few features from the a7rVI will be finding their way into the a1III sooner then latter).
p.1 #12 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
As someone who is a big fan of electronic shutters, this is the best choice for people like me who want high resolution and a fast electronic shutter, even though it has a 19.6 ms readout time.
p.1 #13 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
papatonight wrote:
As someone who is a big fan of electronic shutters, this is the best choice for people like me who want high resolution and a fast electronic shutter, even though it has a 19.6 ms readout time.
Yeh, there is more to photography than shooting the golf swing or the exact moment the bat hits the ball. The A7r6 appears to cover many different aspects of photography very well indeed.
p.1 #14 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
chez wrote:
Yeh, there is more to photography than shooting the golf swing or the exact moment the bat hits the ball. The A7r6 appears to cover many different aspects of photography very well indeed.
p.1 #15 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
DWOfPaul wrote:
The a7rV to a7rVI jump isn't that tempting, but the Z8 to a7rVI definitely is.
I've used the a7rV together with the R5 and R5 II many times. 60MP vs. 45MP makes a very noticeable difference. 67 vs. 45 MP will be nearly 50% more pixels. But I got the a7rVI for the improved speed.
p.1 #16 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
It's more complicated than just rolling shutter. Using the electronic shutter removes most of the dynamic range advantage over the a7rV. Also, due to the slowish readout speed, LED banding is much more likely to be an issue, and flash sync speeds are greatly reduced.
I am sure there are still some use cases where the electronic shutter at 30 FPS will be nice to have, but personally I feel like if I pick up the a7rVI I am going to end up using it most of the time with the mechanical shutter.
p.1 #18 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
The only reason I would upgrade to the A7R6 from the 5 is for the faster readout when I do street photography. Shooting at 14 milliseconds (compressed raw, continuous) is MUCH better than the 50 milliseconds I’m getting with my R5.
p.1 #19 · Don't buy the a7Rvi for more cropability...I told myself
I can see how the higher resolution can be one of multiple reasons to upgrade from an a7r II / III (along with much better AF etc). But if you switch systems for such a moderate resolution increase you need to realize your hobby is purchasing cameras, not photography, and you’re just rationalizing buying a shiny new toy 🤷♂️
The other improvements (raw pre-capture, faster readout, dynamic range, improved EVF) pushed me over the edge.
