Sony Alpha ILCE-7R (A7R): A compact full-frame ILC that delivers on photos

Want it fast or want it fine? Sony makes you choose between its two full-frame interchangeable-lens cameras: the faster, cheaper 24-megapixel model (Alpha ILCE-7, aka A7) and a slower, AA-filter-free 36-megapixel model (Alpha ILCE-7R, aka A7R). Despite disappointing performance, the A7R delivers in all other respects, and I generally like it better than the A7 for its superior image quality.

The A7 incorporates the lower-resolution sensor in order to use Sony's hybrid autofocus system; Sony says that it couldn't put the phase-detection pixels on the 36-megapixel sensor for the A7R. If you need both resolving power and autofocus speed, you're out of luck for now.

Both new sensors have redesigned microlens arrays. While most modern sensors use gapless microlenses, these also required some tweaking on the edges near the lens mount to prevent vignetting, since the sensor's such a tight fit in the mount opening.

Alongside the sensor, Sony has introduced a new processing engine. The Bionz X processor promises speeds that are up to three times faster than its predecessor, and facilitates a host of features including full HD video recording and a quick autofocus algorithm.

Aside from the sensor resolution, one of the other key differences between the A7 and the A7R is its focusing type. The A7R uses a contrast detection system, compared with the hybrid phase and contrast detection autofocusing system in the A7. It's worth noting that on both cameras, autofocus sensitivity is only available down to 0EV, which doesn't compare particularly favourably to the likes of the Nikon D610 (-1EV), or the Canon EOS 6D (-3EV). This could make the camera potentially harder to use in darker conditions.

On the back of the camera is a three-inch tilting screen which is joined by a half-inch size EVF. The camera is also equipped with Wi-Fi and NFC for instant social media sharing and remote controlling the camera from a smartphone or tablet.

Even though the A7R uses the E-mount as found on NEX cameras, current lenses aren't designed for full-frame cameras and as such if you use them, images can be cropped to APS-C size automatically (or will feature vignetting if you switch the auto cropping off). Sony has announced five new full-frame lenses to go alongside the A7 and the A7R, but only two are available from launch (the 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 and 35mm f/1.8 lens).

Unlike the standard A7, the R variant will not be available with the 28-70mm kit lens. As we've discovered in our A7 review, this lens isn't the best performer, so it's not recommended as the ideal partner for a camera with such a high resolution. Although five new lenses have been announced, there is only one proprietary lens that you can buy with our recommendation – a 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss optic. This is, of course, a classic focal length (there's no crop conversion since it's a full frame camera). But some photographers might find it a little limiting.

Luckily, though, the company says that it is working on more lenses, with around 15 expected (in total) by the end of 2015. You've also got the opportunity to use any existing Sony A-mount lenses with an official Sony adapter. Most intriguingly, if you've got any Canon or Nikon optics you might want to use, third-party manufacturers such as Metabones also make converters with full AF that you can use – tempting if you're thinking of jumping ship but don't want the hassle of replacing a complete system.

The A7R has a higher retail price than the standard A7 and there will be some debate as to whether you need the extra resolution. But if your primary concern is detail (i.e. you're a landscape photographer), you're likely to be tempted by this version. Like the A7, the R variant is also dust and moisture resistant.

It's difficult to find a camera which directly competes against either the A7 or the A7R as there's currently nothing quite like it on the market. However, in terms of other full-frame interchangeable lens cameras, the Nikon D610 and the Canon EOS 6D are reasonably closely matched in price.

Design

Enthusiast photographers should appreciate the high number of dials and buttons on the camera which gives direct access to many of the key features. On top of the camera is a mode dial for switching between the various exposure modes the camera has to offer, including aperture priority. There's also an exposure compensation dial, which is placed within natural reach of where your thumb might sit on the back of the camera.

As with other Sony cameras, several of the buttons on the body are customisable, including three which are labelled with a "C". This makes it especially convenient for those who want to work in specific ways, or who shoot specific types of scene quite often, such as low light.

Two scrolling dials can be found in front of and to the rear of the thumb grip, which are used for altering aperture or shutter speed, depending on which mode you're shooting in. If shooting in fully manual mode, you'll use the front dial for aperture and the rear one for shutter speed, which seems like a very natural way to work.

On the back of the camera is a scrolling dial, which doubles up as a four-way navigational pad. Each of these options controls something by default, such as white balance, but you can customise each of these options as you see fit.

Another handy feature is the quick menu, accessed by tapping the function button. This brings up all of the most commonly used features, and again, this menu is fully customisable. So, if you decide that you'll never use Flash Mode (as there is no inbuilt flash), you could replace it with something you will use instead.

Although the A7R's screen only tilts, rather than fully articulates, it's still handy for shooting from awkward angles. Sadly there's no touchscreen, which would have made changing things such as the autofocus point much easier.

If you want to change the autofocus point, you can do so by pressing the C1 button on the top plate of the camera. It's a little fiddly to use, but at least the option is available – it can be even more convoluted on other Sony cameras (such as the RX10).

For the first time on a Sony system camera, the company has introduced the ability to change the size of the AF point, between small, medium and large. The small option is particularly useful if you're trying to focus on something of fine detail.

The electronic viewfinder on the A7R is one of the better ones currently available on the market, with its 2.4 million dot resolution providing a very clear and bright view. In practice, it's very easy to forget that you're even using an electronic device, and there are some merits to using it over a traditional optical version – not least the live preview displayed in the window. It will probably be tricky for Sony to convince the traditional full-frame audience of the merits of using an electronic viewfinder, though, but any doubters should definitely try it before making a judgement.

Thankfully the menu system on both the A7 and A7R is not a traditional NEX affair, which could be difficult and confusing to navigate. Instead, it's a reasonably sensible arrangement, with options arranged under six different tabs. It takes a little bit of time to familiarise yourself with it, but the layout makes sense.

LCD and Viewfinder

Sony certainly hasn't skimped on the LCD or electronic viewfinder on the a7 twins. The tilting 3-inch LCD has 1.23 million dots and a 4:3 aspect ratio. As you'd expect, the screen is sharp, and outdoor visibility is decent at default settings. The LCD can tilt upward by 84 degrees, or downward by 45 degrees. One negative is that when the LCD is tilted down, the camera does not sit flat.

The a7R's OLED XGA electronic viewfinder (which Sony calls the TruFinder) will be very familiar to anyone who has used the NEX-6/7 or a99 cameras. The viewfinder is large with a magnification of 0.71x, and extremely sharp, with nearly 2.4 million dots. The OLED technology means that there's no 'rainbow effect' that can plague EVFs that use a field sequential system. The viewfinder eyepiece is large and is far away enough from the camera for glasses-wearers. It also does a good job of keeping incident light from leaking in.

One thing that we didn't care for is the sensitivity of the eye sensor which automatically switches between the LCD and EVF. If you're doing waist-level shooting with the LCD tilted up, the sensor will switch to the EVF while the camera is still 6 inches away.

Sony a7R key features

36.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor with no OLPF
E-mount with support for FE, E, and A-mount lenses (with adapter)
Bionz X image processor
Weather-proof alloy and composite body
Built-in Multi-Interface hot shoe
3-inch tilting LCD with 1.23 million dots (640x480, RGBW)
XGA (1024x768) electronic viewfinder
Diffraction correction technology
Continuous shooting up to 4 fps
Full HD video recording at 1080/60p and 24p; uncompressed HDMI output
Wi-Fi with NFC capability and downloadable apps

While the a7R is really focused on still image quality - due to its high resolution sensor without an AA filter - it's also quite adept at video recording. It records at 1080/60p and 24p, with manual exposure control, headphone and mic ports, an audio meter, zebra pattern, XLR support (via adapter), and live, uncompressed HDMI output.

Bionz X Processor

The company's latest processor, dubbed Bionz X for reasons that presumably made sense to someone, is considerably more powerful than the previous generation, allowing what the company says is more sophisticated processing.

Sony is being a little vague on specifics but is touting the new processor as offering 'Detail Reproduction Technology' which appears to be a more subtle and sophisticated sharpening system. The company promises less apparent emphasis on edges, giving a more convincing representation of fine detail'.

Another function promised by the Bionz X processor is 'Diffraction Reduction', in which the camera's processing attempts to correct for the softness caused by diffraction as you stop a lens' aperture down. This processing is presumably aperture-dependent and sounds similar to an element of Fujifilm's Lens Modulation Optimization system (introduced on the X100S), suggesting it's something we should expect to see become more common across brands in the coming months.

Finally, Sony says the Bionz X chip offers a more advanced version of its context-sensitive, 'area-specific noise reduction', which attempts to identify whether each area of an image represents smooth tone, textured detail or subject edges and apply different amounts of noise reduction accordingly. Later in the review, we'll show you just how well this system works, and also the problems it can create.

Lenses

While the a7R has an E-mount, you'll need to use Sony's new FE-series lenses to take advantage of its full-frame sensor. Existing E-mount lenses will still physically fit, but as they're only designed for use with APS-C sensors, their image circles won't cover the entire frame properly (just like using Sony's DT lenses on full-frame Alpha mount cameras). While five FE lenses were announced at launch, the 70-200mm F4 lens wasn't available to test alongside the camera. The 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS will only be sold as a kit lens for the a7. All of the lenses are weather-sealed, but while the zooms include optical stabilization, the primes do not.

Here are the five FE lenses that have been officially announced:

Model	MSRP	Availability
24-70mm F4 Carl Zeiss OSS	$1199/£1049	Now
28-70mm F3.5-5.6 Sony OSS	Kit only	Now
70-200mm F4 Sony G OSS	$1499	Mid-April
35mm F2.8 Carl Zeiss	$799/£699	Now
55mm F1.8 Carl Zeiss	$999/£849	Now

Sony plans to have a total of fifteen FE lenses by 2015, including macro and ultra-wide models.

The first five Sony FE lenses include two standard zooms, two primes, and a tele zoom

We're slightly surprised by Sony's strategy here: it seems a bit odd to be making two different standard zooms to start with, rather than adding a wide-angle zoom. And while it's great to see a couple of primes, both look somewhat slow given their prices. The 55mm F1.8 is a bit long for a 'normal' lens too. We'd have loved to see a fast 'portrait' lens in the 85-135mm range early on, but hopefully Sony will offer one soon.

The two cameras are perfectly capable of using existing E-mount and A-mount lenses, and you have the choice as to whether the image is cropped. If you choose to crop, the resolution will drop to 10 megapixels on the a7, and the equivalent focal length will increase by 1.5X. Sony also gives you the option to not crop and use the entire sensor, though this is likely to lead to strong vignetting.

Image 1 24mm full-frame lens - APS-C Crop Off	Image 2 24mm APS-C lens - APS-C Crop Off	Image 3 24mm APS-C lens - APS-C Crop On

The camera offers three options for its APS-C crop mode - Off, Auto and On. With it switched Off, you'll see Image 1 with a full-frame lens and Image 2 if you're using an APS-C lens. With it switched to Auto mode, you'll get Image 1 or Image 3, depending on whether you're using a full-frame or an APS-C lens. And finally, with it On, you'll see Image 3, regardless of which lens type you put on the camera.

The a7R with LA-E4 A-mount adapter and 50mm F1.4 Zeiss lens

Sony's A-Mount lenses will require the use of an A- to E-mount adapter. Somewhat confusingly Sony now offers no fewer than four such adapters, which differ in their autofocus capabilities and format coverage. The LA-E1 and LA-EA3 offer contrast detect autofocus for lenses that have built-in focus motors (i.e. SAM and SSD), but only manual focus with other lenses, while the LA-EA2 and the new LA-EA4 use Sony's Translucent Mirror Technology to offer autofocus with all lenses. The LA-EA1 and LA-EA2, however, were designed for APS-C NEX cameras and will vignette strongly when used on the a7(R); the LA-EA3 and LA-EA4 are needed to give complete sensor coverage with full-frame lenses.

Adapter	Full autofocus?	Full-frame ready?
LA-EA1	No	No
LA-EA2	Yes	No
LA-EA3	No	Yes
LA-EA4	Yes	Yes

It's well worth noting that the a7 and a7R are able to accept a huge range of other lenses via readily-available third-party adapters, including old manual focus lenses from long-dead systems such as Minolta MD, Olympus OM, and Canon FD, as well as those from current systems such as Nikon F, Pentax K and Leica M. What's more, in principle these lenses should offer the angle of view they were originally designed to give - so a 24mm will be a true wide-angle again, for example. So if you have a cherished collection of old manual focus primes sitting a closet, the a7/a7R may be just the camera to bring them back to life. More on that later in the review.

Kit options and pricing

The a7R is sold in a body only configuration, for a price of $2299/£1699/€2099.

The most notable accessory for both cameras is an optional battery grip (VG-C1EM) - a first for an E-mount camera. This grip adds controls for vertical shooting and holds an additional battery, and will set you back around $300/£259.

The a7R does NOT come with an external battery charger, instead relying on internal charging over USB. USB charging is quite slow (and it makes having a spare button on hand more difficult), so picking up the BC-VW1 or BC-TRW external chargers is probably a smart move.

Other accessories include camera cases, an off-shoe flash adapter, wireless remote, and screen protector. One accessory that's surprisingly absent is a wired remote shutter cable (though the camera can be controlled via infrared remote or Wi-Fi).

Battery Life

The a7R uses the same NP-FW50 InfoLithium battery found on many other Sony cameras. The NP-FW50 has 7.7Wh of energy, which Sony claims will provide 340 shots per charge. That's very low, considering the a7R has no built-in flash, which is normally included in the CIPA battery life numbers. Do note that using Wi-Fi frequently will put extra strain on the battery.

Despite the cost of the a7R, Sony does not provide an external charger. Rather, you use an AC-to-USB cable (or just your PC) to fill up the FW50 battery. Charging via the USB adapter takes a whopping 310 minutes, so it makes a lot of sense to pick up one of the BC-TRW or BC-VW1 external chargers, which are both considerably faster (especially the latter).

Features

For the most part, the a7R's feature-set resembles that of cameras like the NEX-6 and NEX-7. While the majority of a7R users won't be using Auto modes, the camera has a fair number of well-implemented point-and-shoot modes, named Intelligent and Superior Auto. There are also customizable 'Creative Styles' as well as 'Picture Effects', which is where you'll find things like toy camera and selective color.

Below we've selected some features that will be of most interest to the enthusiasts who are considering the a7R.

Non-native lens support

Thanks to its short flange-back distance and Sony's release of the E-mount specifications, a plethora of third-party lens adapters is now available. The Alpha 7R offers the highest resolution way of using 35mm film lenses such that they offer their originally intended field of view - the 'acme' of the trend of using old lenses on mirrorless camera. Sony offers a number of tools to support manual focus of these lenses, including magnified view, focus peaking, or the combination of the two.

When shooting older - especially fast primes - 'wide open', accurate focus can be a challenge, even with the availability of magnified focus view and peaking. To have any chance at all you really do need to be in magnified focus mode, but a typical classic prime made for film is likely to be pretty hazy wide open, much more so than a modern native FE lens. As a consequence, depending on the specific lens that you're trying to use on the a7R, you might find that it doesn't always deliver enough contrast for focus peaking to bite onto until the aperture is stopped down a little.

View our gallery of Sony Alpha 7 / 7R photos taken with third-party lenses

You'll certainly need to set peaking to 'high' for the best chance of getting it to work. With focus magnification activated and peaking set to 'low' or 'medium', you're unlikely to see any highlighted edges at all. Set to 'high' we've found that the system has a decent chance of highlighting some edges, typically non-organic edges like text, but softer subjects, like the features of someone's face, frequently just don't deliver enough contrast for peaking to work reliably at any of its three settings.

Regardless, the fact remains that turning peaking up to high is your best chance for accurate manual focus with this kind of lens in magnified live view mode, and as such it's the setting we'd recommend. Sadly, 'high' peaking isn't very useful in normal (unmagnified) live view mode, and generally plasters peaking highlights all over the scene across a very wide range of focus. It is entirely possible for focus peaking to outline pretty much everything in the viewfinder at its 'high' setting but for your image to be magnificently out of focus when you look closely.

Ideally, when working with older lenses 'wide open' we'd love the option to separately define a peaking level of 'low' for normal unmagnified live view, and 'high' for the magnified view. Hopefully this can be added via a firmware update.

For more on this topic, read our 'Using third-party lenses on Sony a7 / a7R' article.

Classic Sony Features

Despite being a higher-end camera, the a7R still has many features from the NEX line. These include HDR, Sweep Panorama, and multi-shot layering.

HDR

The HDR feature takes three shots in a row, each with a different exposure. The interval between each shot can be ±1EV to ±6EV. As one might expect, you cannot use HDR in Raw or Raw+JPEG mode. Here's an example of the a7R's HDR feature:

	HDR on, auto setting
	HDR off, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, f/8

As you can see, the HDR feature, at the 'auto' setting, nicely balanced out the contrast. On some occasions, HDR photos can look slightly 'fake', in which case you might want to adjust the HDR level manually. In our NEX-6 review you can see how each HDR step affects the final image.

Sweep panorama

Sweep Panorama was the first feature of its kind, and Sony's implementation is one of the best. You can pan the camera in any direction, with your choice of standard or wide angles-of-view. When shooting left or right, the resolution of standard and wide images are 8192 x 1856 and 12,416 x 1856, respectively.

Sweep Panorama, standard size, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, f/9

The example above - which we've brightened a bit (as exposure is locked when you start to 'sweep') - shows very good stitching, with just one area of misalignment. The couple toward the right side were walking away from the camera, and didn't get chopped into pieces, which can happen with less robust panorama features.

One thing we noticed about Sweep Panorama on the a7R is that the camera is fairly noisy while you're shooting (as is the shutter in general), and that you have to pan a bit slower than on, say, a 'regular' NEX camera.

Multi-shot NR modes

There are several multi-shot modes on the Alpha 7, in addition to HDR. Two similar features are Handheld Twilight and Anti Motion Blur, which aim to reduce blur by combining a series of four exposures into one. The difference between these two features is that Anti Motion Blur takes subject motion into account, which may result in a higher sensitivity being used, in order to ensure a sharper photo.

Not bad for a photo taken from a moving ferry. Handheld night scene, ISO 12800, 1/20 sec, F4

Multi Frame NR, which is for JPEG shooting only, combines multiple images into a single photo with reduced noise.

Sample Image

Click here to see the full resolution image

Shooting at high sensitivities, such as ISO 3200, reveals some image smoothing and loss of detail, but overall it's a very impressive performer.