Pros
-
Huge 60MP effective resolution -
Rugged camera construction -
Angle adjustable LCD screen -
Sony’s system is supported by a huge range of lenses and accessories
Cons
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A sizeable asking price to go with the sizeable resolution -
Single card slot for SD -
A quality lens makes the camera a fair amount weightier and bulkier
Key Features
-
Review Price: £3199 -
60MP resolution
The headline feature here is a full frame 35mm sensor here that provides a generous 60MP effective resolution. -
5-axis IBIS
Provides the equivalent of 7 steps to stabilise any attached lens. -
8fps continuous shooting
Along with a core sensitivity range of ISO 100-32000, expandable to 50-102400. -
10-bit 4K/60p video
Sony’s S-Cinetone Colour science delivers rich-looking results when recording video.
Introduction
At one time, a huge resolution meant a physically large camera to go with it. Since Sony’s full-frame A7 series was introduced a decade ago, that’s no longer been the case. Its mirrorless camera range’s success has led to it quietly shelving its DSLRs, and now we have the mirrorless Alpha 7CR, or A7CR for short.
Since the outset of the A7 series, anything with an ‘R’ in the model’s name has denoted a bias towards resolution as opposed to a blistering fast shooting speed, and that’s the case here. For those shooting portraits, landscapes and fine art rather than sports, as well as images that might possibly be blown up large to display on a wall, the A7CR should fit the bill.
Of course, if we’re going to be shooting images up to 60 megapixels with the A7CR, then it makes sense to pair it with a high-quality lens with a decent resolving power.
I had the fortune of testing the camera along with Sony’s top-end G Master series FE f/1.4 50mm, which, given its maximum aperture and focal length, is a perfect option for portraiture and fine art photography, especially if shooting only with available light.
That’s the theory anyway, but how does the camera’s handling and performance pan out in practice?
Design and handling
- 124 x 71.1 x 63.4mm body dimensions
- 515g with the battery and memory card inserted (no lens)
- 3-inch, 103m-dot angle adjustable touch screen LCD
In terms of exterior dimensions, the Alpha 7CR is identical to its R series sibling, the lower-resolution A7C II. It also handles the same in operation.
The two cameras boast a full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor paired with the same proprietary Bionz XR processor. For dedicated fashion followers, two colour variants of the A7CR are available. There’s the regular, no-nonsense all-black version that Sony sent us for review, plus a classic black and silver version for those who favour a more retro look. The construction is the usual magnesium alloy.
If comparable size, weight, and bulk are an issue and something high-resolution yet portable is key to your purchase decision, then know that, compared with the A7R V, this newer model is approximately 29% lighter and approximately 53% less volume. This amounts to a lot of power without leading to backache or shoulder strain on the user’s part.
That said, with the G Master series FE f/1.4 50mm lens attached, the A7CR doesn’t feel like a lightweight camera, in any sense. This set-up is solid and robust when gripped in the palm, with the construction of both body and lens as high-end as we’d expect of Sony in this price bracket.
That includes implementing the 3-inch articulating LCD screen, which can be flipped outwards from the body and rotated to provide a wide variety of compositional angles when it’s otherwise not convenient or possible to get eye level with the electronic viewfinder.
Like the screen, the much smaller EVF delivers a life-like view that quickly makes you forget it’s not an optical viewfinder. A small dioptric control ring adjacent to the 2.36 million-dot EVF allows for further fine-tuning, especially for the myopic amongst us.
Plus, with the camera quick to respond to each squeeze of the shutter release button, the Sony A7CR quickly became an extension of my own eye and arm. This is to the extent that, if I could imagine an image in my mind’s eye before I squeezed the shutter release, then more often than not, the camera was able to deliver exactly that image.
Such a pro-DSLR-like response from a mirrorless camera is precisely what we’d expect in this price bracket, so the camera lives up to expectations in the handling aspect.
Features
- 5-axis internal image stabilization system provides the equivalent of 7 steps and means that any attached lens immediately also becomes stabilised
- 60MP effective (63MP total) back-illuminated 35mm (35.7 x 23.8mm) Full Frame Exmor R CMOS sensor
As well as the ability to deliver up to 60-megapixel images aided by the latest generation Bionz XR processor, the Sony A7CR features a core sensitivity range of ISO100 to 32000. When shooting stills, this is expandable downwards to ISO50 or upwards to an equivalent of ISO102400, if desired.
While adjustments to ISO can help when shooting in lower light, so does the camera’s built-in five-axis image stabilisation system, ensuring any lens attached also becomes stabilized. Sony claims that its camera’s system is so accurate that it can detect slight blurring in a single pixel and correct for it.
Another ace up this camera’s sleeve is the multi-shot mode’s ability to shoot 16 sequential images, which most users will rarely (if ever) need to use. Software can combine these into one frankly ridiculous 241-megapixel mega image, which is more a show of the possibilities therein than a practical use for most.
Videographers haven’t been forgotten here either, and the A7CR offers 10-bit 4K video recording up to 60p. You can quickly toggle between video and stills capture via a thumb-flick of the lever surrounding the camera’s raised mode dial.
Its manufacturer’s grandly named S-Cinetone Colour Science can deliver rich-looking recordings. For anyone interested in a filmmaking tool that delivers a lot of bang for a reasonable buck, the Sony series always comes highly recommended.
Despite the high-end nature of the camera and its delivered resolution, like the A7C II, the A7CR has just one memory card slot for common-or-garden SD media provided.
You don’t get the dual slots for two different formats that you might expect of a camera in its price bracket, which might allow for, say, video to be recorded to one card while stills are written to another, or act as a backup card already loaded when you run out of available memory.
Running out of space is inevitably something I found myself doing due to the data-hungry demands of 60-megapixel image files. That said, there is the ability to dial down the resolution and/or up the levels of JPEG compression to eke out more shots.
Image quality
- 60MP stills photography in JPEG, RAW or HEIF formats
- 4K resolution video at up to 60fps
- 8fps high-speed continuous shooting
Speaking of shots, with a generous 60 megapixels to play with when it comes to images, the Sony A7CR provides users with the scope to make huge prints, if desired.
While that’s perhaps not something most of us will be doing, a further advantage of a very high resolution is, on a practical note, the ability to crop in tight on a particular aspect of an image without losing a noticeable amount of detail.
Not all of us get our framing immediately correct in-camera, especially if attempting to capture a moving subject, or when a lot is going on at once, so this is undoubtedly more useful in my estimation.
I was shooting handheld on the hoof throughout the test period, giving the built-in image stabilization system a thorough workout. I was also shooting with a bright and fast f/1.4 maximum aperture lens, meaning I wasn’t going to find image blur resulting from hand tremors as pronounced anyway.
As expected, the Sony Alpha 7CR delivers wonderfully vibrant images with rich colours that almost leap off the screen when downloaded to a desktop. Pair the camera with a top-end G Master series lens from Sony and you have a winning combination capable of resolving all the details that this camera can bring to the party.
Ultimately, the only question you need to ask yourself is: do I need the future-proofing of a camera capable of capturing up to 60 megapixels? Well, do you, punk?
Should you buy it?
You need a 60-megapixel resolution in a more compact package
The A7CR’s huge 60MP resolution from a full frame sensor is encased within one of the more portable camera chassis on the market.
A 60-megapixel resolution feels like overkill
Images of this size eat up a lot of available storage space on your device, not to mention the memory card in the camera. If you don’t specifically need it, you can do without.
Final Thoughts
With the ‘R’ in the camera name indicating that Sony has placed resolution front-and-centre in terms of the A7CR’s appeal, it’s unsurprising that this camera offers almost double the pixel count of the A7C II that launched alongside it in 2023.
That’s a whopping 60MP effective pixels. As with the rest of its maker’s A7 stable, the camera is robustly chunky yet reasonably portable, too. For this reason, if you’re looking for an interchangeable lens compact with a large sensor and huge resolution, look no further.
The only downside for anyone not already a professional photographer is the equally sizeable price tag. That said, not that long ago a pixel count this high was only available via a medium format camera costing the same as a new family car.
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every camera we review thoroughly. We use set tests to compare features properly and we use it as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
- Every camera we review is used for at least a week
- All of the key features are tried and tested in real-world settings
FAQs
The Sony A7CR was announced in August 2023 and launched in September alongside the Sony A7C II.
Yes, the Sony A7CR takes advantage of 5-axis, 7.0-step in-body image stabilisation (IBIS).
Full Specs
| Sony A7CR Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £3199 |
| USA RRP | $2999 |
| EU RRP | €3699 |
| Manufacturer | Sony |
| Video Recording | No |
| IP rating | No |
| Size (Dimensions) | 124 x 63 x 71 MM |
| Weight | 515 G |
| ASIN | B0CGTVHVYP |
| Release Date | 2023 |
| First Reviewed Date | 26/02/2025 |
| Sensor Type | 35mm full frame |
| Lens | Interchangeable |
| Autofocus | No |
| Burst shooting (mechanical shutter) | No |
| Burst shooting (electronic shutter) | No |
| Viewfinder | No |
| Screen | No |
| Image stabilisation | No |
| Wi-Fi | No |
| Bluetooth | No |
| Number of Memory card slots | 1 |
| USB charging | No |
| Microphone port | No |
| Headphone port | No |
| Lens mount | No |
The post Sony A7CR Review appeared first on Trusted Reviews.
Author: Gavin Stoker
This article comes from Trusted Reviews and can be read on the original site.
