How Good is the Sony A7R IV for Monochrome vs the Leica M10 Monochrom and/or Nikon D850 Monochrome?

2021-02-07 • SEND FEEDBACK |
Related: black and white, Eastern Sierra, Fujifilm, Fujifilm medium format, Leica, Leica M, Leica M Monochrom, Leica M10 Monochrom, Leica monochrom, medium format, Mt Whitney area, Nikon, Nikon D850 monochrome, Nikon DSLR, peak bagging, rangefinder, Sony, Sony A7R, Sony A7R II, Sony A7R III, Sony A7R IV, Sony mirrorless

re: Just How Good is the Fujifilm GFX100S for Monochrome vs the Leica M10 Monochrom and/or Nikon D850 Monochrome?

Several readers had asked whether a Fujifilm GFX100 (Fujifilm GFX100S has the same sensor) might vie with the Leica M10 Monochrom for black and white images—I explored that a few days ago.

So I thought that it made sense to do the same thing for the Sony A7R IV.

This is not a head-head-head shootout, but it offers a useful perspective.

Sony A7R IV: Monochrome Conversions, Perspective

Includes four examples at up to full camera resolution.

If only Sony would release a Sony A7R IV Monochrome free of PDAF pixels, it would seal the deal on making Sony an ideal choice for the want-it-all landscape photographer. Having one system and one set of lenses with both color and monochrome camera bodies would be unbeatable for landscape and similar.

View Over Alabama Hills to Wind Driven Snow on Whitney Range

f4 @ 1/1000 sec EFC shutter, ISO 50; 2020-03-24 17:20:54
Sony A7R IV + Sigma FE 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
ENV: Alabama Hills, altitude 5100 ft / 1554 m, 55°F / 12°C
RAW: LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, push 0.17 stops, +100 Shadows, -100 Highlights, +50 Whites, +88 Blacks, Color Luminance {Blues -76, Purples +100}, +40 Dehaze, +30 Clarity, Chroma NR {40,20,50}, USM {20,50,0}
ACR BW07

[low-res image for bot]

Toggle to compare monochrome to color.

Mining Gears

f6.3 @ 1/20 sec pixel shift null, ISO 100; 2020-11-16 17:22:27
Sony A7R IV + Sigma FE 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art
RAW: LACA corrected, pull 0.27 stops, +30 Shadows, +30 Whites, +15 Clarity, USM {8,50,0}

[low-res image for bot]

Stars over Mt Whitney

f3.2 @ 30.0 sec, ISO 100; 2020-03-24 06:02:17
Sony A7R IV + Sigma FE 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art
ENV: Alabama Hills, altitude 5200 ft / 1585 m, 30°F / -1°C
RAW: LACA corrected, vignetting corrected, push 1.1 stops, +40 Whites, +15 Clarity

[low-res image for bot]

Countertop Reflections

f8 @ 30.0 sec, ISO 100; 2020-02-06 17:55:10
Sony A7R IV + Voigtlander FE APO-Lanthar 50mm f/2 Aspherical
RAW: LACA corrected, push 1.95 stops, +100 Shadows, -93 Highlights, +50 Whites, +15 Clarity, Chroma NR {10}, USM {10,50,0}

[low-res image for bot]