Sony A7r in very low light

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All images shot at ISO 6400 with a Sony A7r + Nikon 50mm f/1.4G at f/1.4 and 1/60th. sec.
Now this wasn't intended to be a low light / high ISO test. I had visited a local stately home with the intention of trying out the A7r outdoors with a weather forecast that indicated sun. However, that didn't materialise and instead it got very dark and grey. I decided to visit the interior of the house which was incredibly dark. The lamps inside this medieval farmhouse were substantially darker than the pictures indicate. 1/60th. sec. at f/1.4 and ISO 6400 indicates it was pretty murky, but that's all I could manage.

Above are all shots and blowups from the OOC jpgs. Below is what a raw file with no noise reduction looked like.


Now considering the pixel density of this sensor and the fact that there is no AA filter, I don't think these are bad at all for ISO 6400. There is significant loss of detail on the jpgs. and the raw files are pretty noisy, but all in all I could probably get a printable A4 file out of these. Its certainly not Nikon D4 or Fuji X class, but the A7r's high ISO performance does mean that I can get a result from appalling lighting conditions. Flash isn't allowed in the house, nor a tripod and considering there is no stabilisation on either lens or camera, I think the results are impressive and show that the A7r is a pretty good all round camera. I've never shot a wedding or an indoor event in anything approaching light this poor and if I had I would certainly have used flash. However, as I said that wasn't allowed and I don't have a flash unit for the Sony anyway, so I had to make do with what I had. 

Today promises sunshine again and hopefully it will appear and I'll get to shoot in bright sunlight with the A7r finally. 

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