Sony has pulled the covers off its latest mirrorless camera – the a7III. Sony’s a7 line has gone from strength to strength and the MkIII picks up where the MkII left off, offering photographers some amazing features in a compact body design. So, let’s see what Sony are serving up….
1 – Fresh sensor:
The a7III features an newly-developed 24.2-megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor, which has been paired with a front-end LSI. Sony say this new technology doubles the readout speed of the image sensor, and that the BIONZ X processing-engine boosts processing speed by approximately 1.8 times compared to the older MkII.
The Sony a7III features an all-new sensor for improved image quality.
2 – Big ISO and dynamic range:
Photographers searching for impressive image quality will be pleased to hear the a7III features an expandable ISO range of ISO 50 – 204800 for still images, which Sony say is an overall 1.5-stop improvement. What’s more, the a7III offers a huge 15-stops of dynamic range to help capture all the highlights and shadows in the scene.
3 – Big battery life:
Battery life has occasionally been seen as Sony’s weakness, but it looks like the brand has moved to change mindsets as the a7III offers the longest battery life of any mirrorless camera in this class – serving up 710 shots between charges.
An improved battery is good for 710 shots between charges.
4 – Sophisticated AF system:
The a7III boats an impressive autofocus system, boasting the 4D Focus technology, 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast-detection points, which cover 93% of the frame. Photographers can also make use of accurate Eye AF to ensure sharp images when capturing portraits. Sony say these improvements have doubled focusing speed in low light and tracking conditions.
5 – Super speed:
Thanks to the processor engine, the a7III is suitable for action photography and can shoot at up to 10 frames per second with continuous, accurate AF/AE tracking for up to 177 Standard JPEG images, 89 compressed RAW images or 40 uncompressed RAW images. The camera can also fire continuously at up to 8 frames per second in live view mode, increasing its appeal to wildlife and sports photographers.
Stills and 4K video footage can be reviewed on the rear LCD.
6 – High quality video:
Sony has built a reputation for offering great video specs and the a7III is no different, boasting 4K video (3840×2160) across the whole width of the full-frame sensor. The Sony uses a full pixel readout system to collect around 2.4x the amount of data required for 4K , before oversampling to create a ultra high-quality file.
7 – Impressive build quality:
The a7III includes features that reinforce its pro credentials; for example, there are dual card slots and the camera is dust and moisture resistant. There are also image transfer options such as Wi-FI or USB Type-C connectivity – useful if you need to upload a batch of images to an FTP server.
The camera comes with an affordable price-tag of £2000.
8 – Keep things steady:
The a7III includes 5-axis image-stabilisation technology which offers up to 5-stops of compensation. This is an extremely useful feature if you take a lot of handheld images in low light conditions as it reduces the risk of shake appearing in the frame.
9 – It’s coming soon:
Photographers don’t have long to wait to get their hands on the a7III as the camera will ship in mid March with a UK price of £2000 (body only).