Sony Alpha 7R VI vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A500
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SonyAlpha 7R VI | SonyAlpha DSLR-A500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2026 | September 2009 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | Mirrorless | DSLR |
| Sensor format | Full frame | APS-C |
| Sensor type | Back-illuminated fully stacked Exmor RS CMOS | Exmor CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 35.9 × 24 mm | 23.5 × 15.6 mm |
| Effective resolution | 66.8 MP | 12.3 MP |
| Largest image | 9984 × 6656 | 4272 × 2848 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 100–32000 | 200–12800 |
| Sensor detail | Approximately 72.6 million total pixels; effective resolution is up to 66.8 MP for stills and 55.8 MP for movies. Four- or 16-frame Pixel Shift Multi Shooting requires computer compositing; extended RAW processing modes are separate from the 9984 × 6656 normal still output. | Approximately 12.9 million total pixels; RGB primary-colour filter, charge protection coating and sensor-shift dust reduction |
| Image formats | JPEG, HEIF, RAW, RAW+JPEG and RAW+HEIF; Sony ARW 6.0. Compressed HQ RAW available. | JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG; Sony ARW 2.1 |
| ISO detail | Standard still-image ISO 100–32000; expanded ISO 50–102400. Dynamic Active movie stabilisation limits movie ISO to 100–25600 in the exact Japanese specification. | – |
| Image processor | BIONZ XR2 with integrated AI processing unit. | BIONZ |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Sony E-mount | Sony A-mount |
| Stabilisation | Sensor shift | Sensor shift |
| Maximum continuous burst | 30 fps | 5 fps |
| Lens detail | – | Sony A-mount; operation confirmed with Minolta and Konica Minolta AF lenses |
| Autofocus | Fast Hybrid AF with up to 759 phase-detection points for stills or movies and approximately 94% still-image area coverage. Recognition covers people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains and aircraft; Auto subject recognition supported. AF-S sensitivity is EV −6 to 20 with F1.2 at ISO 100, or EV −11 to 20 in the specified Bright Monitoring mode. | TTL phase detection with nine points; single, automatic and continuous AF, manual focus, predictive control and Eye-start AF. Face detection and Smile Shutter are available in Quick AF Live View. |
| Shutter | Mechanical and electronic shutters; exact Sony specifications list 30 seconds to 1/8000 second for stills, with Bulb for mechanical shooting. Flash sync 1/250 second full-frame or 1/320 second APS-C with compatible Sony flash; electronic first curtain supported. | Electronically controlled focal-plane shutter; 30 seconds to 1/4000 second plus Bulb; flash sync 1/160 second |
| Burst detail | Up to approximately 30 fps blackout-free electronic Hi+ with AF/AE tracking and up to 60 AF/AE calculations per second; mechanical Hi+ up to 10 fps. Maker buffer figures include 215 fine JPEG, 150 RAW or 65 compressed HQ RAW frames; card and recording conditions affect results. Pre-Capture and continuous-speed boost supported; lens compatibility affects maximum speed. | Up to 5 fps with optical viewfinder, or 4 fps in live view; approximately 12 Fine JPEG, six RAW or three RAW+JPEG frames, depending on conditions and media. |
| Stabilisation detail | Five-axis sensor shift; Sony claims 8.5 stops at the centre and 7.0 at the periphery under CIPA 2024 pitch/yaw/roll conditions with FE 50mm F1.2 GM and long-exposure noise reduction off. Dynamic Active video stabilisation narrows the field of view more than Active mode. | SteadyShot INSIDE sensor shift; Sony claims approximately 2.5–4 stops, depending on lens and conditions. |
| Flash | – | Automatic pop-up flash; guide number 12 m at ISO 100; ADI and pre-flash TTL; proprietary Alpha flash shoe |
| Exposure controls | – | Program, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and scene modes; 40-segment honeycomb metering with optical finder, 1,200-zone metering in Quick AF Live View. Auto HDR combines two exposures for JPEG still subjects. |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 7680 × 4320 at 30 fps | – |
| Video detail | XAVC HS 8K at approximately 30p/25p/24p supports 10-bit 4:2:2 or 4:2:0. 8K oversamples from 8.2K and narrows the field of view. Full-frame 4K 60p is uncropped; uncropped 4K 120p requires 4K angle-of-view priority On. Dual Gain Shooting works only at 4K 30p or lower. Sony's 120-minute 8K claim uses 30p 200 Mbps 4:2:0 10-bit, temperature setting High, monitor open and 25°C ambient; it is not an unconditional recording limit. | No movie recording; HDMI supports still-image playback. |
| Audio | Built-in stereo microphone and 3.5 mm microphone/headphone sockets. Optional XLR-A4 enables up to 96 kHz 32-bit float four-channel in-camera recording through the digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe; this is not an internal-microphone specification. | – |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Electronic | Optical |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 2,095,104 | 230,400 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | No |
| Tilting screen | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | Four-axis TFT LCD tilts approximately 98° up and 40° down, opens 180° sideways and rotates 270° in the open position; automatic vertical information display supported. | Clear Photo LCD Plus tilts 90° up and down. Quick AF Live View uses a dedicated sensor with 90% coverage; Manual Focus Check Live View uses the main sensor with 100% coverage and 7×/14× magnification. |
| Viewfinder detail | 0.64-inch Quad-XGA OLED with 9,437,184 dots and approximately 0.90× magnification; 60/120 fps display. Sony specifies DCI-P3-equivalent gamut and 10-bit HDR display. | Pentamirror; approximately 95% coverage and 0.80× magnification with a 50 mm lens at infinity, −1 m⁻¹. |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | – |
| Bluetooth | Yes | – |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 710 photographs | 1000 photographs |
| Body weight | 622 g | 597 g (better) |
| Release detail | Sony UK specifies availability from June 2026; month precision is retained. Sony Japan separately specifies 5 June 2026 for ILCE-7RM6, which is not treated as the UK sale day. | Sony Hong Kong specifies September 2009 availability for the single- and double-lens kits, following the August announcement. The maker source gives no first-sale day. |
| Recording media | Two multi-format slots, each accepting CFexpress 2 Type A or UHS-I/UHS-II SD media. | SD, SDHC, Memory Stick PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo; card selection uses a manual switch. |
| Ports | Two USB Type-C ports; port 1 supports 10 Gbps USB 3.2, port 2 supports 480 Mbps USB 2.0. Full-size HDMI, microphone and headphone sockets, sync terminal and digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe; no Micro USB terminal. | USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, mini HDMI Type C, remote release terminal and Alpha accessory shoe |
| Wireless connections | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax at 2.4/5/6 GHz and Bluetooth 5.3; no NFC in maker specifications. | – |
| Battery life detail | NP-SA100, 2670 mAh; CIPA approximately 710 photographs with LCD or 600 with viewfinder. USB Type-C Power Delivery charging and power supported; Sony Japan requires a 27 W or higher compatible supply/cable for the specified in-camera charging setup. | NP-FM500H; approximately 1,000 shots using optical viewfinder or 520 in live view, under CIPA conditions. |
| Dimensions | Approximately 132.7 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm (width × height × maximum depth); grip-to-monitor depth 72.8 mm. | Approximately 137 × 104 × 84 mm (width × height × depth), excluding projections. |
| Weight detail | Approximately 622 g body only; 713 g with battery and memory card; lens excluded. | Approximately 597 g body only, excluding battery, memory card and accessories. |
| In the box | NP-SA100 battery, BC-SAD1 charger, cable clamper, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap and eyepiece cup, according to Sony UK. | – |
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