EOS R1vs A7 IV

GearFrame · Updated March 2026

Canon EOS R1 Canon EOS R1 (2024) From £5999 Best for Professional sports, wildlife & photojournalism View EOS R1
VS
Sony A7 IV Sony A7 IV (2021) From £2299 Best for Portrait & wedding photography View A7 IV

Which should you buy?

Professional Sports, Wildlife & Photojournalism — EOS R1 (2024): Canon's ultimate professional camera — 40fps, a class-leading EVF, and AI AF that simply doesn't miss.

Portrait & Wedding Photography — A7 IV (2021): The full-frame portrait benchmark — 33MP, AI Eye AF, and exceptional skin-tone rendering in a pro-grade hybrid body.

↓ Full specifications below

EOS R1 (2024)

  • Professional sports and news photographers who cannot miss a shot
  • Wildlife photographers needing the fastest AF and burst available
  • Photojournalists requiring reliable pro-grade build and connectivity
  • Canon R3 owners or 1D X Mark III users upgrading to mirrorless flagship

A7 IV (2021)

  • Working photographers who want a reliable full-frame all-rounder
  • Portrait, wedding, and event photographers needing 33MP and fast AF
  • A7 III owners ready for a major upgrade in resolution, AF, and video
  • Hybrid shooters who want 4K/60p and 33MP stills in one dependable body

Quick take: The a7 iv has the highest resolution at 33mp; the a7 iv is the most affordable. Scroll down for the full spec breakdown.

Full specifications

Specification EOS R1 (2024)A7 IV (2021)
Price £5,999 £2,299
Sensor 24.2MP Full-Frame Stacked CMOS 33MP Full-frame BSI Exmor R CMOS
Resolution 24.2MP 33.0MP
Video 6K RAW/60p, 4K/120p, 1080p/240p 4K/60p oversampled, 10-bit internal, S-Log3, S-Cinetone
Autofocus Dual Pixel CMOS AF III — 100% coverage, deep learning subject detection 759-point phase-detect, AI subject recognition
Stabilisation IBIS — up to 8 stops combined 5-axis IBIS, 5.5 stops
Burst Rate 40fps electronic, 12fps mechanical 10fps mechanical, 30fps electronic
Battery Life ~530 shots (CIPA) ~580 shots (CIPA)
Weight 1470g (with battery) 659g body only
Dimensions 159.5 × 143.9 × 87.3mm 131.3 × 96.4 × 79.8mm
Weather Sealed Yes Yes
Viewfinder EVF, 9.44M dots, 0.90× magnification EVF, 3.69M dots, 0.78× magnification
Screen 3.2" fully articulating touchscreen 3.0" vari-angle touchscreen
Mount Canon RF mount Sony FE (full-frame E-mount)
Memory Cards Dual CFexpress Type B Dual slots: CFexpress Type A + SD UHS-II
Connectivity USB-C (10Gbps), Wi-Fi 6GHz, Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI USB-C (3.2 Gen 2), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Genre EOS R1A7 IV
Sports
9.0
Wildlife
9.0
Photojournalism
9.0
Vlogging & Video
9.0
9.0
Wedding
9.0
Portrait
7.0
Studio Portraits
9.0
Outdoor Portraits
9.0
Wedding & Events
9.0
Landscape
9.0
Sports & Action
7.0
⚡ Compare specs side by side EOS R1 prices → A7 IV prices →

More comparisons with EOS R1

Camera family history