Sony unveils new 26MP APS-C camera (well, sorta): Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated announcement, Sony showed off its latest innovation, a 26MP APS-C with 325 focus...

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated announcement, Sony showed off its latest innovation, a 26MP APS-C with 325 focus points covering 100% of the frame, 10fps shooting with full AE/AF/tracking (with human/animal/Democrat eye AF). Lots of other improvements and enhancements, too.

Oh, and it comes wrapped in a full frame a7Riv body. Yes, the a7Riv with its new 61MP sensor was announced this morning. And those specs are real, what you get when shooting in crop mode.

I'm still sorting through what else is new and improved, as this so far seems like the most incremental update I've ever seen from Sony -- so I must be missing something. Sony doesn't release an update with nothing but a new sensor and a few other tweaks.

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

I might be mistaken, but doesn’t the a6300 have 425 auto focus points?

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

John_F wrote:

I might be mistaken, but doesn’t the a6300 have 425 auto focus points?

I'm not sure. The new a7Riv has 567 phase detect and 425 contrast detection AF points covering 74% of the frame in full-frame mode. The spec sheets say 325 in crop mode.

Of course, I was being a bit facetious in my post, but I was telling someone just yesterday that if an R4 with around 60MP came out, we wouldn't really need a crop camera because R4 is one -- then this announcement.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Desert Gecko wrote:

Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated ... (show quote)

Yikes, and how do I get by with using one focus point and spot metering for my Flower Close-Ups? Unless this is completely new technology at 61MP the pixels will be so small and close together you'll get diffraction at f/8! Now you can easily print 16 x 24 foot murals and still pixel peek.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

lamiaceae wrote:

Yikes, and how do I get by with using one focus point and spot metering for my Flower Close-Ups? Unless this is completely new technology at 61MP the pixels will be so small and close together you'll get diffraction at f/8! Now you can easily print 16 x 24 foot murals and still pixel peek.

Well, the reason for all those focus points is tracking. By having so many small points covering the frame, it should lock on and track very well, like the Sony a9 from which it gets its focus system.

I agree that 61MP is a bit much. Humongous files to deal with, but Sony claims this sensor offers visibly sharper images, lower noise and better low light performance than its predecessor, the a7Riii. I can't wait to see a comparison. After starting this thread, I read more about the new body and I must say it does sound rather impressive, more so than I initially thought.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Desert Gecko wrote:

Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated ... (show quote)

In case you have not seen it already here is what you want to know about the new Sony camera.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/promotion/15387/summer-cam-july-16-2019.html?utm_medium=Email%201736965&utm_campaign=NewAnnouncement&utm_source=Sony%20190716&utm_content=Retail&utm_term=sony-special-event&encEmail=9F9C916CE6C245A253B3B9A5D13044BD8DC3BC2DAC601E080FD32EB013331B88

Wow, after watching this 30 minute presentation I have to reconsider or retract most of my initial comments. For me anyway the 15 stops of dynamic range is most impressive. The focus shift giving the effect of 260MP of high resolution sounds interesting as well. Yikes, imagine combining Focus Shift with Focus Stacking for Macro/Micro photography. I still think one focus / exposure point so those stats never do much for me or burst speed. I mostly shoot flowers and landscapes and sea shell. Usually nothing is moving. But IQ, WB, and fidelity would be important to me. I still wonder about the Quantum distortion effects at that small a pixel pitch per f-stop and diffraction. I did look it up earlier and such a beast might be diffraction limited to f/8 in FF mode. All in all, good work Sony. Note, I am a Pentax and Fujifilm user.

ggenova64

26MP APS-C with 325 focus points covering 100% of the frame

I read 97.7%.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Desert Gecko wrote:

Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated ... (show quote)

It will only have 10 FPS, the A9 has 20. My D850 has 9 fps. For the cost, for now I will keep my D850 but I really like the new Sony 200-600, this lens mounted on the A7 MIV could be a game changer. My keeper rate now is 98% with the eyes of my birds in focus on My D850. So, like I said, for NOW anyway I will keep my current system. But I am impressed.

Low Budget Dave

The pixels are still bigger than cell-phone pixels, so I suspect Sony knows what they are doing.

They also have a good feel for what people want. Instead of adding 4K 60p, (or 128K 480p, or whatever), they left this one at 4K 30p and spent their time on eye-autofocus.

I don't know if this is a good decision or not for Sony, but for me, I have noticed that 60p out-of-focus does not look as good as 30p in-focus.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Low Budget Dave wrote:

The pixels are still bigger than cell-phone pixels, so I suspect Sony knows what they are doing.

They also have a good feel for what people want. Instead of adding 4K 60p, (or 128K 480p, or whatever), they left this one at 4K 30p and spent their time on eye-autofocus.

I don't know if this is a good decision or not for Sony, but for me, I have noticed that 60p out-of-focus does not look as good as 30p in-focus.

Sony indeed responded to many user demands with this model (but still no fully-articulating screen!) As for focus, that is one of the major improvements (the other being the sensor). Well, another is Sony's response to a frequent complaint: ergonomics.

The a7Riv was redesigned from the chassis up. The body is slightly larger, and so is the grip yet Sony added a bit more space between the grip and lens, accommodating larger fingers. Weather sealing has been improved, so we shouldn't see any more leaks through the battery door. The other doors and buttons were redesigned to improve both ergonomics and function. Sony says this is the most rugged and toughest alpha-series camera ever made.

As for 4k/60, Sony has to save something for the a7Siii, right?

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

billnikon wrote:

It will only have 10 FPS, the A9 has 20. My D850 has 9 fps. For the cost, for now I will keep my D850 but I really like the new Sony 200-600, this lens mounted on the A7 MIV could be a game changer. My keeper rate now is 98% with the eyes of my birds in focus on My D850. So, like I said, for NOW anyway I will keep my current system. But I am impressed.

What I find most impressive is Sony's ability to install a sensor producing such massive data (120MB for a single uncompressed RAW file) while maintaining speeds competitive with other cameras in its class.

You're doing great with your D850, it seems. That's a great camera, too, and one I considered before deciding on an a7Riii, which I'm sure you know has very similar in specs. I just felt Sony has a more promising future. I mean, look what Sony has done in just six years, taking an a7 baby through adolescence (a7ii and a7Rii) to maturity with the third-generation offerings. What lies beyond? This a7Riv a small preview, but bigger and better things are around the corner -- including a global shutter and elimination of the mechanical shutter.

Within ten years, all shutters will be global electronic and our phones will have special-effects apps to recreate the rolling shutter effect which will be a thing of the past.

alamomike47 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

Desert Gecko wrote:

Did you hear? In this morning's much-anticipated ... (show quote)

Nice, but more camera than I need. I will stay with my 7Rm3 & R3.

photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

lamiaceae wrote:

Yikes, and how do I get by with using one focus point and spot metering for my Flower Close-Ups? Unless this is completely new technology at 61MP the pixels will be so small and close together you'll get diffraction at f/8! Now you can easily print 16 x 24 foot murals and still pixel peek.

I'm unclear on how pixel size in a sensor can effect diffraction. In my undestanding of optics, diffraction is generated by the scattering of light as it passes through a small hole (aperture/iris) before the light even reaches the sensor.

Low Budget Dave

The pixel size in the A7R4 is 3.76 µm. The Galaxy S6 cell phone is 1.12 µm.

All diffraction (like all other detail) comes from the lens. More small pixels just allow you to reproduce the existing detail better.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

photogeneralist wrote:

I'm unclear on how pixel size in a sensor can effect diffraction. In my undestanding of optics, diffraction is generated by the scattering of light as it passes through a small hole (aperture/iris) before the light even reaches the sensor.

Diffraction is caused by the aperture, but it is interpreted by the sensor. In essence a point spreads out at the aperture to become a small blob; if sensor pixels are large enough, the entire blob will hit just one pixel, but if they are small enough, the blob will touch several pixels.