Sony A7R review: Could our Camera of the Year be the start of a revolution?

 

 

The Sony A7R is here, and it looks set to change the camera market forever. No longer do you need a bulky DSLR if you want absolutely top-notch image quality: The 36-megapixel Alpha 7R will turn out razor-sharp images that give even medium format a run for its money, and yet it'll fit in a coat pocket with a lens attached!

The A7R answers the hopes and dreams of a legion of photographers who crave full-frame sensor goodness, but who -- until now -- have had to settle for a crop sensor if they wanted a fully-featured mirrorless body. Save for its closely-related sibling the A7, which has lower resolution but slightly higher performance, the Sony A7R is simply in a class of its own.

There's no question that this is a spectacularly exciting photographic tool, as one glance at the blogosphere will confirm. But is the Sony A7R the perfect camera, or did we uncover anything that might give us cause for concern? No product is perfect, after all, and those which attempt to reinvent a genre are particularly prone to stumbles. It can, sometimes, be a wise move to wait for a second generation product, and let the early adopters find any teething problems for you. 

If you've read our recently-published 2013 Camera of the Year awards, you've probably already got a pretty good idea that's not the case with the Sony A7R. This mighty mirrorless scored the top honors as our favorite camera of the year, after all, so you know we're in love.

But is the A7R right for you, or should you perhaps opt for its sibling, the A7? Read our in-depth Sony A7R review, and find out! And if you still need more head-to-head information, check out our comparison review of these awesome cameras.