Benefits of Sony A7r4 resolution?

High Resolution Full Frame Cameras: Do we need the 61mp of the Sony A7riv?

Do Photographers Really Need More Resolution? Who needs the 61mp of the Sony A7riv?

Sony has announced the Sony A7Riv, the fourth iteration of their high resolution (R) model. The first generation started at 36 megapixels with the newest model at 61 megapixels, the highest resolution full frame camera on the market, by a fair margin. But is resolution like money, where more is always better? In this article, we will address the benefits and costs of 61 megapixels. Whether it is useful for many photographers or an over-glorified spec. 

In the early days of dSLRs and digital cameras, digital sensors resolved less detail than film. I recall stupidly proclaiming in the early 2000’s, that digital would never catch up to the quality and resolution of film. In those early days, each iteration brought a significant useful upgrade in sensor resolution, from 2 megapixels to 6 megapixels… My first dSLR was the Sony A100 at 10 megapixels in 2006. 10 megapixels proved sufficient for decent “normal” size prints but you could forget about detailed large prints or significant cropping. Film superiority remained but the gap was narrowing.

If you research film equivalent resolution, you won’t get a universal answer. Depends on many factors and it’s not easy to compare analog film with digital megapixels. Still, the consensus is that 35mm is about equivalent to 12-20 megapixel digital images. Digital cameras steadily progressed into this territory, and then something happened: For the most part, there was a division when cameras hit the 20 to 30 megapixel range in the 2008 to 2012 era. For Sony, their aps-c Sony A77 hit 24 megapixels in 2011 and the full frame Sony A99 hit 24 megapixels in 2008. 

Something changed around 2012 and ever since: There was a split in the resolution wars. APS-C camera resolution stabilized at about 24 megapixels: Today, almost every aps-c camera from Canon, Nikon or Sony have between 20 and 24 megapixels. For full frame, there was a divergence. The camera makers continued to develop increasing resolution sensors, but kept most of their full frame cameras in the 20-30 megapixel range. Sony and Nikon both offered full frame camera variants in 24mp and 36mp varieties. While the 24mp cameras stayed at 24mp as models were iterated, 36mp became 42mp in the Sony A7rii/A7riii and became 45mp in the Nikon D850/Z7. (And the Canon 5Dsr pushed it to 50 megapixels). 

The extra resolution comes at significant cost. While mostly the same camera apart from the resolution, the Nikon Z7 is over $1000 more than the Z6. While the price gap has narrowed with the introduction of the Sony A7riv, the launch price of the Sony A7riii was more than a thousand dollars higher than the Sony A7iii, despite only a few differences apart from the sensor resolution.

Now, for about $3500, Sony brings a massive 61 megapixels of resolution. Nearly a 50% increase in resolution from the Sony A7riii. As we will see below though, this does not make it a 50% better camera…

So what does all of this resolution mean in the real world. In this post, for demonstration purposes, we will compare the 24mp of the Sony A9/A7iii with the 42mp of the Sony A7riii, and we will analyze the numbers for the A7riv…

Viewing Full REsolution versus Downsizing

Something to understand right away, we rarely are viewing the full resolution of any modern camera photograph. When viewing on a computer, we cannot view more resolution than supported by the computer screen. A 4K television displays the same number of pixels whether it is a 40 inch tv or 60 inch tv: about 8mp. A HD television displays only a 2mp image.

A very high quality print will generally be 300 dpi (dots or pixels per inch). So if you print 8X10, you are printing a 7.2 megapixel image. Looking at resolution history, we can see that early dSLRs could struggle with high quality 8X10 prints but today, most smart phones would have sufficient resolution.

For many people who only view their photos on facebook, instagram, and small/medium prints, they may never actually be using more than about 8 megapixels. So most of the time, people are viewing downsized images. In the real world, many people are ONLY seeing downsized images. We asked whether megapixels is like money, where more is always better. Whether you have a million dollars or a billion dollars, it won’t affect the meal you eat at the Olive Garden: When you are viewing your images downsized, the extra megapixels aren’t giving any benefit.

So when do you even see the full resolution of a high resolution sensor?  There really are only three times you are truly viewing the full resolution of a modern sensor…

• Pixel peeping! For real world viewers of photographs, clients, etc.. this is meaningless. But many of us, when we upload our photos, will view them at extreme magnification. Checking whether focus was perfect and wowing ourselves at the precision under extreme magnification. I’ve done it, I’ve pixel peeped. I admit it. But there should be A Pixel Peepers Anonymous. The ability to view extra fine details under extreme magnification is just a parlor trick, it doesn’t provide any real benefit to clients, family, friends, who are viewing the photos online or in print. 
• Massive printing! As noted above, an 8X10 print utilizes only 7.2 megapixels. You can print billboards with even less resolution: You don’t need 300 dpi for massive prints if they are being viewed from a distance. Will discuss this more below, but if you print large enough at high quality, you will use all of those glorious megapixels. Some people will claim that they can see the extra resolution even when downsized, we will test that out..
• Cropping: Or what I’ll call cropability. More resolution gives you more freedom to crop an image and still have sufficient resolution for a high quality final image. Below, we will examine how much “cropability” you can get with 24 megapixels versus 42 megapixels, and project out the gain to 61 megapixels.

So let’s put aside pixel peeping. Extra resolution starts to serve a purpose for massive prints and cropping. Extra resolution also comes at a cost: much larger file sizes. We will discuss the real world implications of these larger file sizes, which mean more than buying extra memory cards.

Print Size Implications of Sony 24mp vs 42mp vs 61 mp

Let’s start with an image comparison. I often hear that extra resolution is most helpful for portraits and landscapes. So I took a basic portrait and a basic landscape photograph. In each case, I took the almost identical image with the Sony A9 (24mp) and the Sony A7riii (42mp). For the portraits, I used the Sony 100mm F/2.8 STF GM lens, an ultra sharp lens that left me confident of utilizing  the higher resolution of the Sony A7riii.

Assuming we were printing at a very high quality of 300 dpi, the maximum print size from the Sony A9/A7iii would be 20X13. The maximum print size of the A7riii, utilizing those 42 megapixels printed at 300 dpi, would be 27X18. Translating it into more common print sizes, the A7riii can very very safely deliver a 30X20 print (at just slightly less than 300 dpi) and the A7iii can very safely deliver a 24X18 image.

Those are fairly large prints. The photo lab I use most often, Mpix, charges $34 for a 20X30 print. Few people print their portraits that large. 

So what happens when we compare images, in the same size print? Is there any benefit to the extra resolution?

Below, find the test images with the Sony A9 and Sony A7riii. They have not been cropped at all, but they were both downsized to 16mp. At 16mp, there is still plenty of resolution for 15X10 print, could easily stretch to 18X12. So these are already fairly large portrait “prints.” You can click for larger to view the full size. I encourage you to compare the 2 images. Being honest with yourself, can you tell which came from the higher resolution camera? 

To my eye, no matter how closely I examine the above 2 photos, I can’t tell a difference in sharpness, detail, resolution. When downsized to equivalent sizes, there simply is no benefit to higher resolution.

Let’s try again with a landscape photo, taken with the Sony 12-24mm F/4 G:

Once again, when displayed at equivalent sizes, I see absolutely no benefit to the extra resolution.

Thus, you will only see the extra resolution as you maximize print sizes.

Printing at 300 dpi, maximum print sizes would be:

• Sony A7iii/A9: 20X13
• Sony A7Rii/A7Riii: 27X18
• Sony A7Riv: 32 X 21

We can see the diminishing returns of the extra megapixels. In terms of image length, the Sony A7riii brings 35% more length to images than the A7iii/A9. But adding another 19 megapixels on top of the 42 of the Sony A7Riii, you get only about 18% more length in the A7riv. 

But not every image has to be printed at 300 dpi. Larger images will be viewed from further away, allowing high quality at lower dpi. Imaging-resource, in their reviews, actually compares the quality of real world print sizes. Imaging-resource tests at a maximum print size of 30X40, which is a massive print. The maximum sized regular print you can order from MPIX is 24X36. They can do a 30X40 canvas print that runs over $200. So it’s fair to say that most of us probably are not printing at 30X40 often. The vast majority of us would never need to print larger than 30X40.

Here is what imaging-resource concluded about 30X40 prints:

Sony A7iii from imaging-resource: ISO 50/100/200/400/800 images all look fantastic with lots of fine detail and vibrant colors that can make excellent prints all the way up to a massive 30 x 40 inches. At this size, you are pushing the resolving power of the 24-megapixel sensor, as you can see very subtle pixelation if you look really closely. However, at typical viewing distances for a print this large, you won’t notice any issues

Sony A7Riii, from imaging-resource: Excellent, detail-rich print up to 30 x 40 inches all the way to ISO 1600.

Print Size for the 61mp Sony A7Riv

As noted by imaging resource, even the 24 megapixel Sony A7iii can print a high quality massive 30X40 print but with “very subtle” pixelation. So it would seem that the 42 megapixel 30X40 prints do look a bit better. If we were to extrapolate the Sony A7Riv, we could conclude that 30X40 prints may look slightly better than the 30X40 prints with the A7riii.

Looking at the DPI of 30X40: For the Sony A7rIv, a 30X40 print can be printed at 237DPI. For the Sony A7riii, you would be printing at 198dpi. For the Sony A7iii/A9, you would be printing at 150dpi. It appears the folks at imaging-resource can tell the different between 150dpi and 198dpi. Would you be able to tell the difference between 198dpi and 237dpi?  Side by side, I would expect the differences to be noticeable but subtle. 

Print Size DPI

Thanks to Vladimir Gorbunov for preparing this very helpful chart:

In this chart, we can see how resolution affects the pring pixel density at various sizes. The most critical element is the last part — viewing distance. If you’re far enough away from an image, you won’t ever be able to tell the difference between high resolution and lower resolution DPI. Billboards can be very low resolution, because nobody is viewing them from inches away.

You see this effect with modern HD and 4K TVs. As you move from standard definition to high definition to 4K TVs, it allows the viewer to get closer to larger screens. 40 screens were possible with standard definition televisions but they weren’t popular because you had to be really far back for the image to look good.

So as we go from 24mp to 42mp and 61mp, what is the real effect in terms of viewing prints?

In terms of pure DPI, 24mp 24×36 will have about the same DPI at 42mp 32X48, which will be about the same as 61mp 40X60. So going from 24X36 to 40X60 may be a good jump for those that like to print large. Yet, it doesn’t mean you can’t print 40X60 with a 24mp camera, just means your viewer can’t get as close to the final image. Looking at this 40X60 image, at 24mp, the viewer should be more that 44 inches away. (almost four feet). At 42mp, the viewer can take a full step closer, 32 inches. And going to 61mp gets the viewer one small step closer, 24 inches. 

So the value of 61mp compared to 24mp — ability to get almost 2 feet closer to a large print. Value over 42mp, the ability to get 8 inches closer. 

The difference is most pronounced at those super size prints.  At “large normal” prints, such as 16X24, you almost certainly won’t notice a difference between 42 and 61mp, and the difference between 24mp and 61mp may be barely noticeable. You’ll need to go to about 32X48 and larger to really make differences noticeable. 

Conclusion – Print Sizes

For print sizes below 16X20, you are unlikely to see any difference between the Sony A7iii/A9, A7riii and A7Riv. At around 20X30 and above, prints from the Sony A7riv may potentially start to look a bit more detailed than you would get from the A7riii, and they would both show more detail than the A7iii/A9. But unless you utilize some highly specialized print lab to print massive wall sized posters at high dpi, the A7riv does not allow any additional real world print sizes that you can’t get with lower resolution cameras. At the far limits of reasonable print quality, massively large prints, the Sony A7riv may give you an extra few inches. But a 50% increase in megapixels does not translate to 50% larger prints. At most, it’s another 20% larger than prints that are already massive, or the ability to make those massive prints look just a little bit sharper. 

Cropping of Sony 24mp vs 42mp vs 61 mp

The ability to crop is extremely valuable. It allows you to straighten horizons, refine composition or get a bit of extra telephoto reach after a picture is taken. With the benefit of mirrorless cameras being a bit smaller, it’s a nice advantage to be able to crop sometimes instead of using a larger longer lens. As you crop, you throw away megapixels. So the more megapixels you have, the more you can crop. For example, the below image of the Eiffel tower was taken from miles away at 105mm and cropped significantly.

The Eiffel tower, taken from afar and cropped with the Sony 24-105mm F/4 and gorilla pod, 2.5 second exposure

Before we get into the “cropability” of the Sony A7Riv, let’s compare the “cropability” of the 24mp Sony A9/A7iii with the 42mp of the Sony A7riii. We will use the same images as above, which can benefit from some cropping.

The two portraits left way too much empty negative space. So let’s fix the composition of the two portraits (click for larger):

This is the basic type of crop that might have been difficult on really early dSLRs but today presents no issues on any camera. The crop allowed plenty of megapixels to remain for fairly large printing. Even after cropping, you would easily get a quality 10X15 or 12X18 out of the 24 megapixel camera.

But do we have enough “cropability” to then turn these full body portraits into half-body portraits?

Displayed on the computer screen, the images still look great despite extreme cropping. We definitely are reducing print resolution now. The Sony A7riii crop still is 5mp, while the A9/A7iii crop is a mere 3mp. Real world difference? If we were printing at 220dpi, the A9/A7iii could still print a decent 7X10.5 image (not exactly a real world print size but basically giving you an 8X10). The A7riii crop would still print at 8X12. So while 5 megapixels sounds like a lot more than 3 megapixels, it actually only make a slight difference in print size.

What’s the maximum we can crop?

In these extreme crops, we essentially cropped at 1:1, resulting in 1 megapixel images. Cropping both images down to 1mp, we can see the “extra” crop we get from the 42mp Sony A7riii compared to the 24mp of the Sony A9/A7iii. I’ll let the images speak for themselves as to the degree of extra cropping you get from going to 24mp to 42mp. You can imagine the additional extra cropping you would get from 61mp, but we will analyze that below.

First, let’s run through a similar comparison with the landscape photos from above. Let’s say we wanted to take those landscape photos, shot in landscape orientation, and change them to a portrait orientation — a fairly extreme crop:

You can click both and pixel peep. Both images still have a fair amount of resolution left. The Sony A7riii still has 10 megapixels left after the extreme crop, allowing for printing an 8X12 at 300dpi with pixels left over. The A9/A7iii 6 megapixel image would allow for printing an 8X12 at 250dpi. 

We can see that if we want to crop extensively AND then still print large, the higher resolution camera starts to show some benefit.

Let’s look at a maximum crop comparison of the landscape image:

While these wouldn’t create large prints, they are both suitable for online display.

So can we really define how much extra cropping we get as we increase resolution….

Cropability Calculations of 24mp vs 42mp vs 61mp

I like math. Let’s assume we don’t want to crop below a 10mp final image. 10mp is enough for a pretty decent sized print. You can easily do a 8X12 print at 300dpi with pixels left over.

If you apply a 1.5 crop (aps-c crop) from the 24mp of the Sony A7iii/A9, you get a final image of approximately 10mp.

If you apply a 2x crop to the 42mp of the Sony A7rii/A7riii, you get a final image of approximately 10mp.

If you apply a 2.3 crop to the 61mp of the Sony A7Riv, you get a final image of approximately 10mp.

In other words, the A7riii gives you about 33% more “cropability” than the A7iii/A9. The A7Riv gives another 15% more cropability than the A7riii. Going from 24mp to 61mp, the A7riv gives about 53% more cropping room than the A7iii.

So if you move from the A7iii to the A7rIv, you get a fairly significant amount of extra cropping room. But it’s diminishing returns — you would get most of that increase if you went to the A7riii. You only get slightly more cropping room out of the A7Riv in comparison to the A7Riii.

If we examine it as focal length: Let’s use the Sony 70-300mm G lens. The telephoto lenses beyond 300mm start to get rather large and heavy. So one might reasonably limit themself to the 70-300.

With the extra cropping, to get a 10mp final image, the 300mm reach can effectively become:

• Sony A7iii/A9: 300mm can become 450mm equivalent
• Sony A7rii/A7riii: 300mm can become 600mm equivalent
• Sony A7riv: 300mm can become 690mm equivalent

To me, the extra 19mp of the A7Riv is not providing a whole lot of extra reach compared to the Sony A7riii.

Limiting Factors on Cropability

There is another limitation that bears addressing. As you magnify images, any flaws become more apparent. An image may look great at normal viewing size, but as you magnify (or crop), the defects become obvious. Additionally, the resolving power of lenses is limited. Maybe if you have the absolute sharpest lenses, nail absolutely perfect focus, you can get a beautiful 100% crop of a 61mp image. But any lens softness will become more obvious with more megapixels, any flaw in focus will be more apparent.

In other words, if you took a non-top-shelf lens, and shot with the same technique on both the Sony A7iii and Sony A7riv, the 100% crop would quite likely look better on the A7iii than the A7riv. The 100% crop would be bigger on the Sony A7riv, it would be more magnified, but the flaws would also be more magnified. 

So while we estimated that cropability may increase from 1.5x to 2x to 2.3x, for this to be really effective, you need to be using the best lenses and proper technique.

Summary: The Gains of 61mp on the Sony A7Riv

It would be disingenuous to say that the 61mp of the Sony A7riv does not provide any benefit. Compared to the Sony A7riii, you get slightly more room to crop. If you aren’t cropping or printing at absurdly large sizes, you probably won’t realize any difference in print sizes between the A7riii and A7riv, but both may give a slightly advantage over the A7iii/A9. 

If you crop significantly AND print large, the advantages will start to magnify and be more obvious. But the advantages still will not be huge.

So we see the 61mp of the A7Riv offers advantages over the 42mp of the A7riii, which offers advantages over the A7iii. But we very clearly see diminishing returns. Big megapixel increases bringing smaller and smaller returns.

But even a slight benefit is still a benefit, right? Let’s look at the downside of high resolution..

The Costs of High Resolution / Negatives of the Sony A7riv 61mp resolution

Simply, more megapixels means larger files. Significantly larger files. 61mp also means the Sony A7riv has smaller pixels than other full frame cameras, with a pixel density even higher than most aps-c cameras.

Some people claim that smaller pixels result in worse low light performance while others claim the effect of smaller pixels is irrelevant when you compare similar sized images. It is undisputed that when viewed at 100% magnification, at the pixel level, the image quality will be about the same as you get from a modern aps-c camera. But as I note above, I’m not worried about pixel peeping, so I’m not particularly concerned about potential lesser performance at the pixel level.

I am far more concerned about the massive file size. 

Sony offers limited compression options on their cameras. I’ll assume if you are considering a high resolution camera, you are probably a serious shooter and therefore shoot in RAW. Those raw files get pretty darn big. Sony doesn’t have lossless compression. So for the absolute best, you must shoot uncompressed raw. Many shooters, myself included, generally find the Sony compressed files to be “good enough,” but even those files get quite large.

Shooting with the Sony A7iii/A9, uncompressed files are approximately 47mb, while compressed files are about 24mb. Moving to the 42mp Sony A7riii, the file size increases significantly: 82mp for uncompressed and 41mp for compressed. The next step to the A7riv becomes even more astronomical, approximately 120mb uncompressed and 60mb compressed.  So the compressed files of the Sony A7riv are significantly bigger uncompressed files of the Sony A7iii/A9!

So is it just a matter of getting larger memory cards? Truthfully, larger memory cards is the least of the issues. A 64gb memory card may no longer hold a single wedding or vacation, but it’s easy enough to upgrade to a 128gb memory card. Other ramifications can be more frustrating. Larger files really impede work flow.

Large Files Slow Down the Camera

With immense processing power, the Sony A7riv is likely designed to plow through large files efficiently. but if the same processing power was applied to smaller files, the camera would be much faster. Let’s look at the bottlenecks within the camera affected by file size:

• Image capture
• Display of the image in the LCD/EVF which requires some level of “processing”
• Writing the file to memory cards
• Playing back the files
• Filling up the buffer

WIth the same processing power, larger files will fill the buffer faster.They will write to memory cards slower. You will spend more time waiting for the camera to unlock as it writes files. We can hope that Sony fine tuned the processing power of the Sony A7riv, so that the camera speed and performance is seamless. 

But even if things run smoothing in the camera… 

Large Files Slow Down Processing Work Flow

You take the memory card out of the camera and upload your photos to Lightroom or your other software of choice. Processing speed will depend on the computer setup but massive files will choke up most modern computers. It may not be an issue if you have a custom built $5,000 power-PC station with the fastest latest technology. Personally, I am primarily working on a half-decent laptop I bought two years ago. It handles 24mb files quite well, but Sony A7riii files already slow things down. I can’t imagine what the A7riv files would do. So how do these large files impact the workflow?

• Uploading the files to the computer: After shooting a wedding, I come back to my computer and need to upload 1,000 to 1,500 files into Lightroom. Lightroom also creates the previews, does some batch processing. When loading 1,000+ photos from the memory card into lightroom, it’s not unusual for it to take well over an hour, even a couple of hours. With the A7riv memory size, I could probably extend this by another 50%. 2-4 hours to upload a memory card after an intense day of shooting. 
• Hard drive space: You may as well buy a large external hard drive along with your Sony A7riv. Most personal computers have hard drives of 500 gigs to 2 terrabytes. Seems hard drive growth has slowed as more files are placed in the cloud. Assume you have 250 free gigabytes. Shooting uncompressed files, that’s barely 2,000 images. The whole hard drive could easily be full in a couple of weeks if not faster. Even shooting compressed, the whole hard drive could fill up within a few months. In contrast, shooting with the Sony A7iii/A9, I’d expect that hard drive space to last up to a full year.  So I would expect the A7riv will require extensive use of external hard drive.
• Rendering of photos during processing: To me, this is really the biggest issue. I can walk away from the computer while photos are uploading. I can buy an external hard drive. But have you ever clicked open a new image in lightroom, made an edit or tried to magnify the image, and you get the spinning wheel while the image renders. The edits may not apply until the spinning wheel stops.  The image may remain blurry for a moment. It’s hard for me to calculate, but 24mp images from my Sony A9 seem to have minimal slow down. There may be a pause for up to 2-3 seconds on my 2-year-old laptop. But a Sony A7riii file, the slowdown can often be 5-10 seconds. I’d expect to get many 10-15+ second delays with image rendering in Lightroom with the Sony A7riv. That might not sound terrible, if you’re editing a single image. But multiply that over hundreds of images you may be editing after a major day of shooting. The frustration of a lengthy pause, every time you apply an edit or magnify the image. An extra 5 seconds per image, over 500 images, adds an extra 40 minutes to your editing time for the day. It can really add up. 
• Uploading/exporting the photos: Another bottleneck, whether you are exporting them as jpegs, writing to a CD, or uploading them to the internet. A7riv files are 50% bigger than A7riii files, expect the processing speeds to adjust accordingly.

To a large extent, the processing slowdowns won’t be much of an issue if you have a good enough computer. But it would really take a top quality machine. And even with a top quality personal computer, you’d probably hit bottlenecks somewhere in the process.

So Who Should Consider the Sony A7Riv?

First off, the Sony A7riv has many worthwhile upgrades besides the high resolution. The focus system and ergonomics especially seem vastly improved. But the standout feature for the Sony A7riv is the 61mp of resolution — I can’t imagine buying it just for the other upgrades.Unfortunately, for myself and many others, the extreme resolution is more of a negative than a positive. Many of the people purchasing the Sony A7riv may want to think twice. I dare say that most of the people probably buying the Sony A7riv aren’t actually getting any value out of the higher resolution beyond some extreme pixel peeping. 

When people rationalize their proclaimed “need” for 61mp, I hear of the great value of cropping and large prints. But as demonstrated, you’re not really gaining much in those avenues. You are only getting about 15% more cropping room than a 42mp sensor. Many may assume you are getting far more than that: You are getting 45% more pixels, but that only translates to 15% more cropping room. Furthermore, even 24mp sensors can make enormous prints. I see people who have never actually printed a photograph now proudly claiming they can finally make huge prints. 

So realistically, who would benefit from all those extra megapixels? For whom would I actually recommend it?

• You have a powerful computer workstation. Not a consumer laptop. A true supercomputer sports specs that sound like technobabble to me.
• You regularly print 30×40 and larger. This does not apply to very many people. Many affluent enthusiasts may buy the Sony A7riv, individuals who have never printed bigger than an 8X10. There are a few professional landscape shooters, fine art shooters, etc, who may have experience with massive prints. You likely can already print those large images with a Sony A7riii, but the Sony A7riv prints may look a little bit better. So what I should really say is, “you regularly print 30X40 and larger,  and wish you were getting 240dpi instead of 198dpi.”
• For those moving up from 24mp type cameras (no first time camera buyer should be considering the a7riv), 61 mp will bring noticeable changes. Just make sure you appreciate the effect on your workflow and make sure you have sufficient computing power. You may want to consider a camera like the a7riii, Nikon d850 or Z7 also.
• For those looking to for the advancements of the a7riv apart from the resolution: make sure you have the computing power to handle the files and consider the potential downside of the workflow impact.

No, I would not recommend the Sony A7riv to anyone for more cropping room than a 42mp sensor. Under ideal circumstances, using the best lens, getting perfect focus, you still only get about 15% more cropping room thana 42mp sensor. Any weakness in the lens or the technique, you won’t even get the 15% extra. 

For almost everyone else, there is no real benefit to the Sony A7riv resolution, and there are some very serious costs in terms of workflow. My recommendations may change if Sony ever improved their compression options, so you could get the large files when you need them, and get much smaller raw files on other occasions.

There is a reason 24mp sensors are so pervasive and popular: They offer all the resolution that most people would ever need. The 42mp of the Sony A7riii can provide a bit of luxury space, extra megapixels when necessary for a bit more cropping or bigger prints. But the more we push up resolution, we truly face diminishing returns. The price we pay in workflow slowdown is far greater than the minor improvements we get for large prints and cropping.

The Sony A7riv launches at $3,500.  For those who still think it’s the right purchase, it can be ordered at Amazon / Adorama.

In my opinion, many people would be better off considering the now discounted Sony A7riii. 42 megapixels still giving you plenty of resolution, with less workflow impairment, at a much cheaper price. With accessories, you can get the Sony A7riii for under $2400 on Amazon.  At Adorama, you can get the Sony A7riii with two excellent tripods at no additional cost. 

For those looking for the absolute best speed and performance, the Sony A9 is the same price as the Sony A7riv, on Amazon.  Adorama throws in a decent flash for “free.” For the same price, would you rather have resolution you don’t need, or the best autofocus and speed?

The Sony A7iii remains a best seller and therefore has not been meaningfully discounted despite being a year and a half old. As of July 2019, it’s still at the introductory price just below $2000. Sony A7iii on Amazon / Adorama. If you’re currently considering the Sony A7iii, I would give serious thought to the Sony A7riii: If you think you may at least get some benefit out of the extra megapixels plus the Sony A7riii has a better EVF and LCD. As explained in this article, extra resolution is of limited benefit with a cost. Still, 42mp can be a nice upgrade where it is only slightly more expensive than the Sony A7iii. (Sony A7riii at Amazon.  At Adorama).

My Hopes for the Resolution Future

I already hear rumors that Canon and Nikon will follow Sony with further resolution increases. We are seemed destined to see a continuation of a cameras with 20-30 megapixels. My concern and fear is that the future will bring the 24mp models and the 60mp+ models. I do see some benefit to a little bit of extra resolution, the 36mp to 45mp range. If Sony introduced a Sony A7riiiX: Take the body and the upgrades of the Sony A7riv but the the A7riii 42mp sensor, I’d probably purchase it. While that seems unlikely, I do hope we see the introduction of “tweener” models. Or perhaps a Sony A9ii with 36mp of resolution, combining a little extra resolution with a lot of extra speed. But for now.. 61mp… personally I’m out.