Sony A7R image quality analysis: Medium-format quality in a 35mm body? Judge for yourself.

posted Monday, November 4, 2013 at 11:37 PM EDT

We were expecting great things from the groundbreaking Sony A7R, a full-frame mirrorless camera with a 36.4-megapixel sensor, no low-pass filter, and a new BIONZ-X image processor. In our initial press briefing, Sony made quite a big deal about its new sharpening algorithms, designed to reduce what they call "outlines" -- which we've called "halos" for some years now. The images shown in that briefing were certainly impressive, but it's hard to judge when there's no standard of comparison against other cameras shooting the same scenes under controlled conditions. We had to see how it did on our own standardized studio shots before we could pass final judgment.

We've now done just that, and have to say we're pretty well blown away by what we saw. Check our Sony A7R review page for our initial image comparison analysis, in which we put it up against five other cameras, including the amazing Pentax 645D medium-format camera. Could the 35mm Sony A7R deliver medium-format image quality in a compact body? Could a $2,300 compact mirrorless camera compete with the $7,000 Pentax 645D? Check out our image crops and decide for yourself! (And you'll see what we think, too!) You can also use our Comparometer™ to pit sample pictures taken with the Sony A7R side-by-side against any other camera we've ever tested.

See our Sony A7R image quality comparions here. You can read our first impressions Sony A7R review for a closer look at the full-frame, mirrorless camera's groundbreaking technologies and features. And don't forget to check out our first batch of real-world gallery photos taken with the Sony A7R here.

Like what you see? You can place your pre-order for the Sony A7R with trusted IR affiliate Adorama now: