Sony ups its new A7R VI to 66.8 megapixels and jumps the price to $4,500

Sony announced its new flagship high-resolution camera, the A7R VI. The standout feature is its fully stacked full-frame sensor with 66.8 megapixels of resolution and up to 16 stops of dynamic range. That’s only an increase of about six megapixels for the VI model, but its stacked architecture means a much faster readout speed for higher burst rates, better silent shooting with the electronic shutter, and improved video performance. The other increase comes to the price, as the A7R VI will cost $4,499.99 when it launches in June — $600 more than when the A7R V launched in 2022. The new A7R camera has a slew of new features and ones it’s inherited from other Alpha models. The A7R V debuted Sony’s AI-based autofocus system, and the VI is claimed to improve on it with Real-time Recognition AF+. There’s also a new 9.44 million dot OLED viewfinder, similar to the one on the A1 II, and backlight illumination for the camera’s buttons. The grip design (one that I’ve often bemoaned ) is slightly chunkier to accommodate a new, higher capacity battery. A new battery is a big change for Sony shooters, as Alpha cameras have been using the NP-FZ100 for years. And if you’re like me you probably own a bunch, but sadly the A7R VI isn’t backwards compatible. The new NP-SA100 battery promises up to 710 shots on a charge in the A7R VI. It’s got a 2670mAh capacity compared to the 2280mAh of the old battery (a 17 percent increase). …