Sony has very quietly released two new cameras that bring incremental upgrades to the a7R III and a7R IV.
The new a7R IIIa and a7R IVa bring a minor update to the two bodies, bumping the resolution of the rear tilting LCD screen from 1,440,000 dots to 2,359,296 dots and bringing a small improvement in battery performance. Interestingly, the articulating screen on the a7S III and the tilting screen on the recently released a1 — both 1,440,000 dots — remain unchanged.
In addition, Sony has removed its logo from below the LCD screen and boosted the performance of the USB port.
What has prompted the changes is unclear and the product pages on the Sony website still list the original products under their original product codes — the ILCE-7RM3 and ILCE-7RM4 — as well as the new products — ILCE-7RM3a and ILCE-7RM4a — albeit without prices listed for the updated versions. There is currently no price information available for the newly announced cameras.
Speculation as to what has led to Sony’s announcement and to why it has been made so quietly includes the possibility that certain components are becoming harder to source and that a bigger announcement could disrupt sales for retailers stocking the older models. Neither of the new cameras has been listed on B&H Photo.
Do you have any thoughts on what led to these upgrades? Will you now be hoping to pick up an a7R III or a7R IV “Classic” at a discount? Let us know in the comments below.