Sony Alpha A7R VI Review

The design of Sony Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Cameras is highly distinctive with their angular shape and squarish body. The new A7R VI follows the same mold extremely closely. In fact, the layout is virtually identical to its predecessor. Button shape and size has been tweaked slightly with only two new minor control changes.

This latest generation feels as sturdy as ever, including the new more complex double-hinged rear LCD screen. The camera itself is really dense and feels extremely solid. Other than the screen protruding slightly from the back, the size and weight of the A7R VI and A7R V are unchanged.

This mirrorless camera is pleasant to hold. A deep indentation within the grip allows the camera to be supported by the fore finger. The index finger and thumb naturally reach the shutter-release and top-left control-dial. The release itself has a short amount of travel, only slightly more than before. The halfway-point feels a little less soft too. A deeper press is required to release the shutter. The front control-dial is right in front and a short distance below. This dial protrudes just a little from the grip and has nice firm detents. There are eyelets for a camera strap on both sides and Sony thoughtfully placed the grip-side one further behind to avoid discomfort while holding the camera.

NOTE Physical controls are so similar to those of the A7R V and A7R IV that much of their description below is identical. Places where they differ are noted with green text like this. Users who already know those cameras can skip to the following Physical Controls section.

Physical Controls

The top plate is split by a large angular electronic viewfinder housing a little off-center from the body yet fully aligned with the optical center of the lens mount. The Multi-Interface Hot-Shoe sits directly above the viewfinder. It has the same form-factor as a standard hot-shoe and features an additional row of contacts below its front edge to communicate with an optional digital microphone.

Every control top plate control is found to the right of the EVF housing. Immediately next to it, there is a traditional Mode Dial with standard PASM exposure modes, a fully automatic mode and three customizable positions. Those labeled 1 or 2 switch to a specific bank of settings. The one labeled * gives access to ten banks, including those set by positions 1 and 2. The Exposure Mode for each bank is saved in settings.

NEW The A7R VI introduces a stacked Mode Dial with the lower portion of the selecting between Photo, Video and Slow&Quick modes. Previously, the latter two options were separate positions on the Model Dial. This is advantageous since using the top portion now selects the Exposure Mode to use during video capture. To rotate the lower dial, a lever at its front must be pressed. A tiny button with a light bulb icon was added too. Pressing it turns on back-lights for all rear camera buttons.

Even though the Mode Dial itself has strong detents, a button in its center must be held down to turn it which completely prevents accidental changes. Program mode supports Program Shift which is activated with either the front or top control-dial. In Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, two dials control the same parameter. Full Auto mode locks out EC, ISO, AEB, WB and prevents the focus area from changing.

NOTE There is no IR receptor on the A7R VI anymore. Previous models had one on the hand grip.

There are two top control-dials along the rear edge of the camera. This is exactly the same layout as before, except that the top-right dial was dedicated to Exposure-Compensation. It can still be used for it, which is why it retains the central locking button. This prevents accidental changes in exposure, unless of course another dial is configured to control EC. The nice thing about not having labels on that dial anymore is that it does not force 1/3 EV steps.

A pair of customizable buttons is found behind the shutter-release. One is labeled C2 and the other with a red circle, for its default Video Recording function. Each can be customized with a setting from 40 pages of functions! Each page shows up to 7 choices. To access full-stop ISO controls, C2 is the most convenient control since it can be pressed with the index finger while the thumb rotates the top-left control-dial. Smartly, controls can be customized separately for Photo and Video modes, so the default Video Recording button can be used for a photography function too.

The previously described shutter-release is found on top of the grip. It is surrounded by a rotating power switch with a strong detent. Moving the index finger from the shutter-release to either C2 or Video Record is easy and comfortable. It is unfortunate that all these buttons are still sticky. A better approach, implemented by other manufacturers, is for the camera to return to normal after rotating a control-dial while a button is held down. On A7-series cameras, this does not happen and pressing any button is required to cancel the change in progress.

NEW There are now 5 semi-rigid rubber flaps covering various ports, each connected via a thin metal axle, on the left side of the camera:

• Front Top: Full-size HDMI Type-A port. It supports 4K output at an unspecified refresh rate.
• Front Bottom: Sync-Port to control an off-camera flash.
• Back Top: Powered stereo audio input mini-jack. The internal microphone is disabled automatically when an external one is connected.
• Back Middle: Stereo audio output mini-jack for headset.
• Back Bottom: Dual USB Type-C ports. The top is USB 3.2 and supports 10 Gbps throughput. The lower is USB 2.0 with a maximum 480 Mbps link. The camera can be powered through either one. A tiny charging LED is also behind this flap.

The right side of the camera has a single sliding door with a spring-loaded slider. Opening the door requires pulling it back while holding the slider down. Takes a little practice the first time. Behind it, there are two hybrid memory-card slots. Each of them accepts either a CF Express Type A card or an SDXC UHS-II card. From a usability perspective, the most important is for both slots to accept the same type of memory card. Sony is the only company to still offer a choice of format for symmetric slots.

All remaining controls are found on the back of the camera. There is typical number of controls there but the back looks busy because of the extra large 3.2" Touchscreen LCD that covers most of it. The display itself has a very sharp 2.1 megapixels with a 3:2 aspect-ratio. It is mounted on a double hinge which makes it possible to rotate and tilt without flipping outwards. This satisfies preferences of both photographers and vloggers.

LCD brightness is adjustable in five steps plus a new extra-bright Sunny Weather mode. Otherwise, it would not be easy to see this screen under bright light because it lacks an anti-reflective coating. Users commonly install a screen protector and those are usually available in glossy, semi-matte or matte versions. Unlike for the EVF, the color of the LCD cannot be adjusted.

At the top left corner of the camera, there is third customizable button labelled C3. It can be set for any of the same 40 pages of options as other customizable buttons. The operation of C3 is sticky. One press activates the chosen setting and a second press of any button is required to dismiss. Once activated, both the front and rear control-dials, plus the 8-way joystick, control the selected setting. In Playback mode, C3 is used to lock images by default. This prevents deletion but not formatting.

A rectangular button to the left of the EVF activates the Menu system. This forces two-handed operation when changing anything that requires diving into the extensive menu system of the Sony A7R VI. Luckily, navigation around the menu system though is extremely efficient:

• The front control-dial cycles over the 8 tabs that organize the menu system at the highest level.
• Both top control-dials cycle over pages within the tab selected by the front control-dial.
• The rear control-dial selects items within a page. When the first or last item of a page is selected, the dial switches to the previous or next page, respectively.

The EVF that protrudes from the back of the camera is absolutely stunning. At 9.4 megapixels, this 0.64" EVF has the highest resolution on the market. Its shows an extra large 0.9X magnification view with 100% coverage. The view through this EVF is extremely detailed, making it easy to confirm focus. It has a fast 120 FPS refresh rate with virtually no lag and zero blackout. It has complete DCI-P3 color-space coverage with 10-bit accuracy and exceptionally good contrast.

This Sony EVF is Exposure-Priority, providing true Live-View which previews exposure, color, white-balance and contrast with good accuracy. When using a native E-mount lens, Depth-Of-Field is also constantly previewed. For other lenses, there is a DOF Preview function that can be invoked using a custom button assignment.Having a proper exposure preview is incredibly liberating as it minimizes the need to check images for exposure.

Below the EVF, there is an essential Eye-Start Sensor with two modes of operation, unhelpfully named Auto 1 and Auto 2. According the A7R VI manual, Auto 1 switches between the EVF and LCD only when the monitor is flush against the camera body facing the user, while Auto 2 always activates the EVF.

The camera tested for this review had a bug, which hopefully will be corrected via a firmware update: Auto 2 did not switch to the EVF when the LCD was closed. This left the camera unusable while the LCD is protected. This is a useful feature when taking photos in a dim environment to avoid the LCD bothering others around.

The C1 button is tightly squeezed at the lower right cover of the EVF. This button is small with a good amount of travel to not get easily triggered accidentally. Continuing towards the grip-side along the top edge of the camera, there is a a large round AF-On button. Further right, near the right-side of the camera there is a smaller AE-L button. Even though both these buttons are labeled, those are simply their default function. All these buttons have a nice tactile feel.

Directly below AF-On, there is a clickable 8-way joystick with a sharp texture to prevent slipping. The joystick moves easily in all 8 directions and it can be pressed inwards to activate a user-selected function. The most logical choice is to have it reset the focus area but other frequently-used focus settings are suitable. The joystick duplicates the behavior of the 4-way controller to navigate both the standard and Function menu.

A small round Fn button sits between the 8-way joystick and 4-way controller. In Capture mode, the Fn button toggles a highly customizable menu of 12 icons split into 2 rows. Either the 8-way joystick or 4-way controller can be used to select one of the 12 functions shown. While it is more comfortable to use the joystick, the 4-way controller has the advantage of having an embedded control-dial to change the current setting directly. Every option in this menu can be reconfigured from 28 pages of settings! Individual items can be configured separately for Photo and Video mode.

The rear control-dial is combined with a large 4-way controller just below the Fn button. Its central button and each cardinal direction, except Up, have a default assignment that can be overridden. Up always cycles over display modes which are described in detail further below in this review. The rear control-dial has ridges to minimize slipping.

The last two remaining buttons on this digital camera are Playback and Delete. The former behaves exactly as expected, toggling Playback mode. The Alpha A7R VI is a shooting-priority camera and will exist Playback mode instantly when the shutter-release is half-pressed. There are distinct customization options for Playback mode. For nine buttons, there are 14 pages of options to choose from. While extensive, it does omit certain obvious choices such as displaying the histogram.

When the camera is in Playback mode, pressing the Delete button immediately prompts for deletion. Its behavior is customizable to prioritize safety or speed. Most importantly, when the camera writes to two memory cards simultaneously, it can actually delete both copies. This is incredibly useful and the A7R VI is currently the only camera to implement this properly! In Photo or Video mode, this button can be customized to activate one setting among 39 pages. Oddly, that is one less than other buttons.

A look at the bottom plate of this mirrorless shows the same as virtually all high-end cameras. There is a metal tripod mount aligned with the optical axis of the camera which is ideal for panoramic photography. Below the grip, there is a sturdy weatherproof battery compartment door. An external latch releases the door and a small internal blue latch releases the battery.

NOTE Everything below this line is quite different on the A7R IV from its predecessors.

Operations

Sony made significant improvements to the usability and interface of the A7R VI. Even though previous models have triple or quadruple control-dials, they were often underused and highly redundant. This latest generation camera lets photographers configure each dial independently. With optimal settings, users can turn the A7R VI into the most efficient Sony camera to operate. It never reaches the level of high-end Pentax DSLRs, such as the K-3 III, yet it definitely reaches a similar level as other professional Mirrorless Digital Cameras.

When set to Manual mode, one dial controls Aperture and another Shutter-Speed. Which one is assigned to each parameter is completely customizable. The other two dials can control other parameters, including ISO sensitivity and Exposure-Compensation, the two most-likely other candidates.

The slowest Shutter-Speed, exclusively in Manual Mode, is Bulb which starts exposing when the shutter-release is fully-pressed and closes the shutter when released. This unfortunately introduces shake, making it impossible to use Bulb mode directly from the camera. Similarly, a Self-Timer cannot be used to begin the Bulb exposure since it ends immediately after the Self-Timer triggers. Instead, the shutter can be triggered remotely using a Bluetooth Remote or a Smartphone with the Sony Creators App installed. The app helpfully shows a preview to check composition.

While the Sony A7R VI can be configured to use 1/2 EV exposure increments, it inherits the same inconsistent implementation as earlier models. ISO sensitivity can only be controlled directly in 1/3 EV steps. A button combination allows it to jump in full-stop which takes it away from other customization options. In other settings, such as bracketing steps, dials go through both 1/3 and 1/2 steps, resulting in a non-uniform scale: 0, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1. While not ideal, this is truly minor.

For all its incredibly long list of features, the A7R VI is missing a few relatively common ones. The most notable ones are in-camera HDR and Focus Stacking. With this camera, the process of capturing is automated but final assembly requires a computer. Other useful ones not included are: Automatic Leveling, Sweeping Panorama and built-in RAW development. Certain settings have so many options that it becomes easy to lose time cycling through them. To alleviate this, it is possible to hide select ones from Exposure, Drive, Focus and Display modes.

As mentioned earlier, the UP direction of the 4-way controller cycles over Display modes. There are seven such modes for the LCD and eight for the EVF, although not the same ones:

• All Info [LCD, EVF]: Shows a ton of info. Looks really crowded along all four edges. With the LCD all edges overlap the preview. With the EVF, only side edges overlap. The crowding is exasperated by the fact that many icons occupy the display area even when set to their default setting.
• No Info [LCD, EVF]: Via the LCD, it only shows the focus area until the shutter-release is pressed halfway. Then in shows all exposure parameters, plus EC. Using the EVF, there is always some useful information above and below the frame.
• Histogram [LCD, EVF]: Shown minimal information, plus a live histogram near the lower-right corner. Via the EVF, an extra line appears above the preview.
• Level [LCD, EVF]: Shows exactly the same basic info as the previous option, except instead of having a histogram, a 3D level is overlaid on the center of the preview.
• Histogram + Level [LCD, EVF]: This one combines the two previous views together. It is a nice view that does not look very busy.
• For Finder [LCD]: In this Display mode, the LCD does not preview framing. Instead, it shows a status screen with exposure parameters, a scale, a level, a live histogram, space remaining on both cards and 14 editable options. The Fn button invokes these instead of the user-selected ones.
• Monitor Off [LCD]: Turns the LCD off, so that the Eye-Start Sensor only toggles the EVF. Again, this does not happen if the LCD is closed.
• Custom 1 / 2 / 3 [EVF]: Three customizable modes exclusive to the EVF. Users can select to see the same 3D Level and Histogram as described above. They can also customize the status line shown below the preview. For these models only, a small 2D level can be added below the preview.

Since pressing DOWN does not go to the previous mode, one must go through all modes to get back to the previous one. This is one of the places where hiding settings really speeds things up.

Menu System

A revamped menu system was created for the A7R VI. The top-level of the menu consists of eight vertical tabs. Each tab groups up to 13 related pages and is identified by a colored icon:

• Light Grey Star for user-created menu pages.
• Dark Grey House for an interactive status screen.
• Red Camera or Camcorder Icon for Shooting pages, according to the current camera mode.
• Pink Exposure-Compensation Icon for Exposure / Color pages. A small Camera or Camcorder icon appears to indicate these pages are specific to one or the other.
• Purple AF/MF for Focus pages. A Camera or Camcorder icon shows that these pages are specific to one or the other.
• Blue Playback Icon for Playback pages.
• Green Globe Icon for Network pages.
• Yellow Toolbox for Setup pages.

Navigating the menu is quite efficient with three control-dials cycling of tabs, pages and items. The 4-way controller and cardinal directions of the joystick can also be used to navigate one step at a time. Entering to a sub-second can be done using the right direction, the center of the 4-way controller or clicking the joystick inwards.

The new vertically oriented layout provides a better view of items within levels below. For example, when the Exposure/Color tab is selected, the titles of the first seven pages can be immediately seen in a middle column. The first seven items of the first page are also visible in the right column. When the user navigates to the right column, it expands to take most of the screen width. This constant moving and resizing of columns is a little disturbing. Some tabs and pages are packed with items, while others are under used. The home tab for example only has one page in Photo mode and just two in Video mode, leaving much of the screen blank.

There is clearly some amount of organization with some logically related items located next to each other. Pages tend to cover a topic well but tabs have an odd mix of pages. Case in point, if a user is looking to Format a memory-card, the logical place to look is under the Setup tab. It would be logical but wrong here since, in the A7R VI, it is located within the Shooting tab in the page called Media. All important Stabilization settings are found in Page 8 of the Shooting menu.

Clearly, there are a huge number of items to pack into this menu system. Compared to earlier models, there is an improvement but it hardly feeds good enough. The a camera that is otherwise so polished, this is the only obvious exception.

The Sony Alpha A7R VI is incredibly efficient to operate. It finally full utilizes highly configurable quadruple control-dials!

The Sony Alpha A7R VI is easily the most ergonomic and usable Sony camera yet. Its quadruple control-dials make operating it highly efficient. Plus, it offers a virtually unparalleled level or customization. The body is comfortable to hold and its button layout is easy to learn. Anything less than ideal with this camera is truly minor. A review has to uncover such small details so that users can adapt to them and also to recognize when a future camera manages to improve something.

Besides the quadruple control-dials, what delivers the best user experience with this Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Camera is its best-in-class viewfinder. Its extra large viewfinder is supremely sharp with excellent color and contrast. Its Live View implementation creates a fantastic photography experience.