Sony A7RVI: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sony a7RV B&H Photo / Amazon / Moment / Adorama
Sony a7V: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Fujifilm GFX100II: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Photons to Photos published its PDR results for the Sony a7RIV, and they are quite impressive, meeting or beating the performance of the medium-format Fujifilm GFX100II at low ISO. You can manipulate the results here or check out more about them below:
| Camera Model | Maximum PDR |
Low Light ISO |
Low Light EV |
|---|---|---|---|
| FujiFilm GFX 100 II | 12.55 | 11665 | 11.87 |
| Sony ILCE-7RM6 | 12.56 | 6072 | 10.92 |
| Sony ILCE-7RM5 | 11.70 | 5244 | 10.71 |
| Sony ILCE-7M5 | 12.47 | 6303 | 10.98 |
These impressive results are due to Sony’s new DGO sensors, which dramatically improve dynamic range.
Sony’s implementation of Dual Gain Output (DGO) in the a7V and a7VI bodies represents a significant departure from standard dual conversion gain sensors. Rather than switching the entire sensor to a higher-gain circuit at a specific ISO threshold, the partially stacked and fully stacked sensors in these new bodies read the electrical charge of each pixel twice during a single exposure. The first readout operates at a high amplification step to pull ultra-clean detail out of deep shadows, while the second occurs at a low amplification step to protect bright highlights from clipping to pure white.
The BIONZ XR image processor then instantly merges these two parallel readouts into a single, highly malleable RAW file. Because this dual-read process happens within the incredibly short duration of the mechanical shutter actuation, the resulting image is free of the motion blur or ghosting typically associated with multi-shot HDR bracketing. By synthesizing the exceptionally low noise floor of the high-gain circuit with the massive highlight retention of the low-gain circuit, Sony has pushed the dynamic range of the a7V and a7VI into medium-format territory—delivering nearly 15 to 16 stops of usable exposure latitude at base ISO.
There is a physical limitation when shooting fast action. To successfully capture the dual readout, the camera requires the slightly slower transit time of the mechanical shutter. When switching the a7V or a7VI to the electronic shutter for blackout-free tracking or maximum 30fps burst rates, the sensor readout speed is simply too fast to perform the double gain scan, causing the camera to revert to a standard dynamic range curve. However, for landscape, studio, and high-contrast commercial work where the mechanical shutter is preferred, the DGO architecture allows you to expose for harsh highlights and aggressively lift shadows in post-production with virtually zero noise penalty.
If DGO came to the GFX the results could be quite impressive.
When analyzing the Photons to Photos Photographic Dynamic Range (PDR) charts, the baseline relationship between Sony’s full-frame bodies and Fujifilm’s medium format system relies heavily on the pure physics of sensor surface area. The Fujifilm GFX 100S II, with its massive 44x33mm sensor, traditionally peaks at roughly 12.2 PDR at its base ISO of 80. In contrast, standard single-readout high-resolution full-frame sensors like the Sony a7RV peak around 11.6 PDR at ISO 100. That roughly 0.6-stop difference is the natural advantage of the larger medium format sensor gathering more total photons, inherently lowering photon noise across the exposure.
However, the introduction of Dual Gain Output (DGO) and parallel dual-readout circuitry in the Sony a7V and a7RVI fundamentally alters this dynamic. By executing a simultaneous high-gain and low-gain readout during a single mechanical shutter actuation, these new Sony sensors artificially suppress the read noise floor while fiercely protecting highlights. On the Photons to Photos curve, this architectural leap effectively pushes the new full-frame sensors up toward the 12.0 PDR threshold at base ISO—allowing a 35mm chip to encroach on the dynamic range territory previously reserved strictly for the GFX system.
If Sony Semiconductor were to scale this exact dual-circuit architecture up to a 44x33mm medium format sensor for a future GFX iteration, the performance compounding would be massive. Assuming a similar efficiency gain of roughly 0.4 to 0.5 PDR stops applied directly to the GFX’s current baseline, we can estimate that a future DGO-equipped GFX body would peak between 12.7 and 13.0 PDR at base ISO. Because PDR is a logarithmic scale measuring usable dynamic range (where the signal-to-noise ratio drops to an unacceptable level), crossing the 13.0 PDR threshold is practically uncharted territory in consumer digital photography.
In real-world application, a GFX sensor generating 13.0 PDR on the Photons to Photos scale would likely translate to manufacturer claims of 16 to 17 stops of total dynamic range. For landscape, studio, and commercial applications, this means the ability to expose heavily to the right (ETTR) to protect delicate spectral highlights, and then push deep shadows by 5 or 6 stops in post-production with a noise floor that looks as clean as a properly exposed midtone on the current GFX 100S II. It would effectively eliminate the need for exposure bracketing in all but the most extreme backlit scenarios.
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