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A few weeks ago, Sony asked me if I wanted to do a quick test run with the (at that time) unannounced Sony a7R IV. I was pleasantly surprised as I (and I am sure many others) expected the a7S III to come out first. I agreed and was excited to be one of the first in the world to test the new camera.

Full disclosure: The author, photographer Albert Dros, is a Sony Global Ambassador of Imaging.

I was only able to test the camera for about 2.5 days, so I can’t go too in-depth. This article is about my first impressions.

Note: I was only able to shoot in JPEG with the camera. There is currently no software to process the RAW files. So all of the images you see in this article are shot in JPEG and some are slightly edited (contrast adjustment, slight color adjustments), cropped and/or straightened.

First things first: this camera is from the R series, with R meaning resolution. Without a doubt, the new R IV is the next step in resolution: it comes with a 61-megapixel sensor that is the highest megapixels for full-frame on the market. It’s about 50% more megapixels than the a7R III which is a huge increase.

I’m sure all the trolls will start screaming, “who needs 61 megapixels anyway!?” But in these times, a lot of people, including me, really benefit from a higher resolution. I often sell licenses of images for billboards, and the higher the megapixel count really helps with the quality. Higher megapixels also means you can crop an image much more and still get great quality.

The second big change is that Sony tweaked the body yet again. Sony listened to the ‘complaints’ online and made a body that is a bit similar to the R III, but changed some buttons and added more protection, and the whole thing just feels better.

Sony also changed the battery compartment door. They had probably seen the ‘water torture test‘ where the Sony showed weakness at the bottom of the camera, mainly at the battery compartment closure. So, this has been fixed! I didn’t torture the camera with water myself to try it out though (although I did use it for some seascapes), but it looks a lot better than the R III.

The grip has also improved. It’s just a tiny bit bigger and feels better in my hand. This was important for a lot of people and Sony really listened to ‘the Internet’ and made a lot of nice changed to the body. However, the whole look of the camera is not too much different.

Inside, the whole a7R IV is basically an upgraded a7R III (which was already an amazing camera). It has more megapixels, better and faster autofocus, and it’s about the same speed (data saving etc, but you do need a fast card) as the a7R III which is quite incredible considering the large files. Let’s take a look at the specs:

And if you didn’t read it properly: Yes, the EVF also got a nice resolution increase.

When we go into the menu we see mostly the same. Apart from some new and improved functions, the menu feels like home for people who are familiar with the Sony cameras. Sony did improve the setup of the custom buttons. You now see pictures of where the buttons are located.

An interesting function is the new Pixel Shift function which now has a 16-shot function. This can be used to create a file with a huge resolution of 240 megapixels, mainly for still objects. I didn’t get to try this function yet as I have no software to combine the 16 files it creates. I also can’t really comment that much about the dynamic range and the higher ISO performance as I can’t check my RAW files yet.

Regarding the autofocus: it now has 567 AF points on the sensor. What’s very cool about this is that you use AFC-Crop mode, which still gives you a 26-megapixel image, you get full AF coverage over the sensor. This should be amazing for shooting things like birds.

During the short time I had the camera, I took it out to shoot a number of subjects in the Netherlands. I shot some seascapes, cityscapes, nature, macro, architecture, etc. I basically felt right at home as it was just like my main workhorse the a7R III, but better. I only used G-Master lenses: the 16-35mm GM, 24mm GM, and 100-400mm GM. When I look at the files they look sharp and crisp at 100% crop at 61 megapixels, just like you would expect. It’s obvious that these lenses were designed for the higher megapixel count.

Some examples:

The weekend I had the camera the weather wasn’t ‘great’. Perfect weather for the beach with some dramatic clouds.

Of course I couldn’t resist photographing some windmills with the new toy:

I visited the south of the country for some more seascapes, windmills, and nature. Note that I just returned from Chile the previous day where I photographed some amazing landscapes. But being back home and shooting the Dutch landscapes never gets boring!

The literal translation of the Zeeland Provence is ‘sealand’ so I obviously had to shoot some seascapes there, even though the weather wasn’t the best. But shooting in dramatic weather can be great fun and challenging. The waves were also quite nice.

To get some nice variety of shots I took the camera into my hometown Amsterdam to do some cityscapes.

As can be seen in all of the above images, this camera is all about detail. It’s (a little bit) bigger, stronger and simply better than the a7R III.

To sum things up:

This camera is about detail and does that very well with the new 61-megapixel sensor

Newly designed body, better grip and more protection

Better and faster autofocus than the a7R III. More (567) AF points

26 megapixels in AFC-crop mode with full autofocus coverage on the sensor

Higher resolution EVF, 5.76 million dots

A bunch of new menu changes to make the menu better

New pixel shift function with 16 images for huge 240 mp resolution files

Price is $3,500, to be released in September

‘Older’ Sony cameras like the a7R III might get interesting price drop

It’s too bad I had to return the camera. After having used it for only 2.5 days, I am already getting used to the resolution and I simply can’t wait to upgrade my current a7R III to the a7R IV!

Microsoft is enabling enterprise features by default in the Dev Channel builds of Chromium-based Edge. Here’s what’s available to IT pro testers now and what’s coming later.

Late last week, Microsoft officials said they were ready for IT pros to start kicking the tires of the coming Chromium-based Edge browser. But it wasn’t until today, July 16, that we got some updated details about what Microsoft is doing for businesses with its new browser.

In a new blog post, Microsoft officials said the Dev Channel for Chromium-based Edge (“Chredge”) now has enterprise features enabled by default. It’s ready for evaluation and is supported by “detailed deployment and configuration documentation,” officials said. Microsoft is offering full support for deployment in pilot and production environments at this point through its commercial support channels.

Microsoft made available an updated Enterprise Roadmap as part of its post today. This new roadmap expands on a Chredge roadmap that officials made public at Microsoft Build earlier this spring.

On the list of features available to evaluate today in both the Canary (daily) and Dev (weekly) channels are IE Mode; offline installers for the Win 10, 8/8.1/7, Server and MacOS variants; the ability to sign in with Azure Active Directory accounts and get single sign-on and support for multiple profiles; integrated PDF support; more than 180 group policies; COnditional Access and Application Guard protection on Windows 10; availability in 10 languages; and webview integrated with the Microsoft dev stack.

In “controlled rollout” starting today and over the course of several weeks, Microsoft will be adding the new Microsoft Search (its new unified search service); enterprise new tab page with access to Office 365 docs and sites; and the ability to sync data securely across devices using “secure compliant clouds.”

Coming in an unspecified “future update” are the ability to use Information Protection on Windows 10; support for 110 languages; integrated deployment and configuration with System Center Configuration Manager and Intune; and PDF support for digital signatures and Microsoft Information Protection.

I asked Microsoft when the company plans to open up the Beta channel for Chredge, which will provide users with feature updates every six weeks. A spokesperson said Microsoft had no comment at this time. I’m wondering whether the Beta version actually is what Microsoft will make available whenever it finally makes Chredge generally available.

In December 2018, Microsoft officials said they were redoing Edge so that it would be built on top of Chromium in the name of improving compatibility across the web. Chromium is an open-source browser implementation that is used as a base by a number of browser developers, including Google (with its proprietary Chrome browser), Vivaldi, Opera, Yandex, Brave, and more. Chromium-based Edge is available to testers on Windows 10, Windows 8.1/8, Windows 7 and macOS.

Apple today seeded the seventh beta of an upcoming iOS 12.4 update to developers, one week after seeding the sixth iOS 12.4 beta, and two months after releasing iOS 12.3, a major update that introduced a revamped TV app.

Registered developers can download the new iOS 12.4 beta from Apple’s Developer Center or over the air once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Developer Center. Public Beta testers can download the beta over the air.

There were no new features discovered in the first six iOS 12.4 betas, so it’s not entirely clear what’s coming in the update. As a more significant 12.x update, it’s possible that the update is focusing on a feature that’s not yet available — the Apple Card.

Apple is planning to release the Apple Card in the summer, so iOS 12.4 could be the update that prepares the iOS operating system for that launch, adding hidden features that will be unlocked when the update becomes available to the public. If we find new features in the seventh beta of iOS 12.4, we’ll update this post.

iOS 12.4 may be one of the last updates to the iOS 12 operating system as Apple transitions to iOS 13, set to launch this September, and as we are now at beta seven, the update could see a release in the very near future.

With the Nest Hub Max in May, Google introduced a new homescreen for Smart Displays. Already available on the Nest Hub, this revamped — and somewhat controversial — redesign is now rolling out to Lenovo Smart Displays.

The Ambient Mode — which allows for fullscreen clocks or Photo galleries — stays the same. When users tap the screen, the current background is blurred while a Google News “Top stories” card slides in from the right. This is the default card if media is not playing or you have no upcoming events.

Time and day/date appears in the bottom-left corner, while the weather includes the temperature, condition, and high/low. Previously, the entire left half was dedicated to showing a larger temperature readout and three-day forecast. Most Nest Hub users have complained about the lack of a forecast, though the weather section can still be tapped to launch the fullscreen experience.

While the blurred wallpaper is meant to personalize your Smart Display, clocks get the same treatment. This is not a particular elegant solution, with the background switching to solid colors as you scroll through cards.

This UI makes most sense for future devices like the Nest Hub Max where Face Match will recognize users and then slide out personalized reminders and Duo messages on the homescreen. For existing devices, it’s somewhat of an eyesore depending on the configuration and shows less information at a glance.

According to Lenovo owners this week, the redesigned Smart Display homescreen is rolling out with the R12 OTA for the 8- and 10-inch models.