The rumored Sony A7R VI could kill medium format – do you agree?

Word on the block is that the Sony A7R VI with record-setting specs for a full frame camera is on the way before the end of this year.

According to a report by Photo Rumors, the A7R VI will feature an 80MP stacked CMOS sensor, which would smash through the long-standing 61MP maximum resolution of full frame mirrorless camera bodies, first seen in the Sony A7R IV.

If this is true (and such rumors should always be taken with a large pinch of salt), then the A7R VI would deal a hefty blow not only to full-frame competition, but to medium format cameras too.

We all know the trade-off between medium format and full frame is absolute image quality over versatility and vice versa.

But with full frame now rumored to be edging on 100 megapixels, which is prime medium format real estate, it looks like medium format would face a rougher ride in the coming years – unless that too had a similar jump in resolution. 200MP, perhaps?

I’m not basing my opinion on megapixels only. The Sony A7R VI is also rumored to have 16 stops of dynamic range, a slight improvement of the A7R V’s 15.3 stops. And it will certainly have at least the same 14-bit color depth as its predecessor.

The combined power that these features would have to render extremely rich colors in crystal-clear resolution is ridiculous and, if the rumors are true, it really does seem like full frame could be set to engulf medium format.

What’s more, Sony manufactures the sensors used in medium format cameras such as the Fujifilm GFX 100 II and Hasselblad X2D II 100C. So you know that an 80MP full frame camera from Sony brings the best color technology to the table if its competitors choose it over their own.

I’ve always seen medium format as more of a “rich man’s” way of doing photography rather than a pragmatist’s. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a dig at anyone who has the means to fork out for a medium format rig.

But if the gap between full frame and medium format is set to close this year by as much as the A7R VI is rumored to, then I’d choose an 80MP versatile full-frame beast over a Hasselblad or Fujifilm every time.

According to Photo Rumors, the A7R VI is currently undergoing “small-scale testing” and will be released “before November”.

The A7R VI isn’t the only camera rumor doing the rounds about Sony, as an A7S IV could be on the horizon as well…

You might also like…

Our review of the Sony A7 V, a stepped-down, more affordable version of the A7R V, and our take on the best Sony lenses for Alpha mirrorless cameras.