This week Sony announced the world’s first mirrorless camera with a 61MP full-frame sensor – the α7R IV. Various creators and members of the press were given access to the camera in advance of the announcement and are sharing their thoughts across the web. See what some of them are saying about this latest addition to Sony’s acclaimed Alpha 7R series.

“It is just unbelievable and I truly think right now this is the best camera for image quality.” – Sally Watson

Dan & Sally Watson

“The image quality on this camera has absolutely been mind-blowing. After looking at my images back on my computer, I am truly blown away by zooming in all the way – the sharpness, the focus. It is just unbelievable and I truly think right now this is the best camera for image quality.” – Sally Watson

“There are actually a bunch of small improvements that might make a pretty big difference. I mean you’re getting a lower vibration shutter on this one, we have a brand new viewfinder as well with higher refresh rate. And then we have a new pixel shifting mode that will actually use 16 images in order to compile a 240 megapixel image – so a lot of improvements on this.” – Dan Watson

PC Mag

“The sensor is the headline-grabbing feature. It should be. The other refinements are certainly welcome touches. But it's the new imaging engine—the processor, sensor, and autofocus system—which separate the α7R IV from its predecessor. The autofocus, especially, is much more likely to improve your shots than extra pixels. It tracks subjects effectively and can hone into faces and eyes effortlessly, even when focusing continuously and working in burst mode.” – Jim Fisher, PC Mag

Digital Camera World

“Nevertheless, at first glance, the α7R looks an extremely capable and well-judged replacement for the α7R III. Its redesign means it handles better, the autofocus is improved and image quality looks first class in our initial tests, and not compromised at all by the high resolution. Sony's been pretty quiet of late, but now we know what it's been doing!” – Rod Lawton, Digital Camera World

Tony & Chelsea Northrup

“I’m incredibly excited about this camera. It’s got 60 megapixels now which is like 50% more megapixels. But that’s not the most exciting thing about this camera to me. Sony listens. They hear what they’re users say and then they fix the things that they don’t like. This camera ergonomically is improved – it is so much better. That exposure compensation dial that I always complain about accidentally hitting? It has a lock now so that’s not going to happen. And if that sounds small to you, I assure you it’s not. It’s these little parts of the user experience that make you love your camera, and I really feel this is going to be a lovable camera.” – Chelsea Northrup

Petapixel.com

“I’m sure all the trolls will start screaming, ‘Who needs 61 megapixels anyway!?’ But in these times, a lot of people, including me, really benefit from a higher resolution. I often sell licenses of images for billboards, and the higher the megapixel count really helps with the quality. Higher megapixels also means you can crop an image much more and still get great quality.”

“It’s too bad I had to return the camera. After having used it for only 2.5 days, I am already getting used to the resolution and I simply can’t wait to upgrade my current α7R III to the α7R IV!” – Albert Dros, Petapixel.com

Kai W

“To have the high resolution and the ability to deal with speedy things with bursts, and focus fast enough to keep up – it’s a threat to medium-ish format digital and the high FPS cameras. It's as much a camera for the casual shooter as it is for the working photographer with high-speed wired or wireless tethering.”

“Maybe perhaps there might be too many megapixels? Hmm...nah. This is the medium-format killer without the compromises of medium format.” – Kai W

Gordon Laing – Camera Labs

“The α7R IV is unsurprisingly an impressive body, bringing resolution improvements to troubled high-res rivals and overall speed and handling that could easily tempt Nikon D850 owners. Here’s a camera that has the potential to deliver portraits, landscapes and architectural images that rival maybe even medium format cameras while also having the speed for wildlife.” – Gordon Laing, Camera Labs

B&H Photo Video

“It’s the highest resolution full frame sensor out there. Not only is it 61 megapixels, but you’re not sacrificing anything at 61 megapixels. We’re at 20 more megapixels than we were before, but we’re at the same ISO performance if not better. So we’re still able to shoot at 10 fps with a mechanical shutter and at 7 fps with silent shutter. So it’s extremely versatile, extremely fast. We have spectacular video, just everything about it is pretty impressive.” – Mike Bubolo, Sony

ThatCameraStoreTV

“This camera is shaping up to be a beast of a camera. 61 megapixels with the capability of shooting 10 fps to 68 frames. We also have In-Body Image Stabilization, we have 4K video featuring real-time eye detection. I can’t wait to put this camera through its full paces.” – Dave Paul, ThatCameraStoreTV