Sony A7 III; New Sony’s Full Frame Mirrorless with Faster Speed and Great Autofocus System

Has been known as reliable all-rounded mirrorless camera manufacturer, Sony keeps continuing to impress public by releasing its amazing portfolios. And in the middle of 1^st quarter 2018, the Japanese-based camera manufacturer, again, launching its brand new Sony A7 III.

Aimed as the successor of the previous A7 Mark II, the new imaging device sits on Sony’s Alpha full-frame entry level camera series. Even though many enthusiasts consider the feature inside of this camera is rather basic, but the pricing is a great deal. With a price almost half of the A9, the Sony Alpha A7 Mark III offers great deal of solidness and larger sensor.

Placed in between Sony A7R Mark III and A7S Mark II, the Sony A7 III sits as more affordable option. It has everything’s needed in house. Its solid and robust typical Sony Alpha body is amazing, and the sensor performs so great. Even though many people said that the update from the previous A7 II is minor, but it brings a lot different to the camera. The sensor and processor are a bit updated from the predecessor, resulting on better overall performance. So, how’s the Sony A7 III overall specification? Here’s the quick review about it.

Sony A7 III Design

The thing about Sony Alpha mirrorless is that the design of the cameras in this line is all similar. Even on some models they have different detail, but they all bring the similar impression and not leaving their design path too far. And in the case of A7 III, the design is really close to what we see on A75 III. Some people may not notice if both cameras are actually different because handling feels the same, and overall look is exactly the same.

For the size, camera dimension stretches in 5.0 x 3.8 x 2.9″ or 126.9 x 95.6 x 73.7 mm, giving Sony A7 III comfortable feeling when you’re carrying it. It’s not too big, and not too small. It just feels right in hand. Even though the camera is a bit thicker than the previous A7 II, but it felt just right on hand. Thanks to the comfortable textured handgrip that makes it easier to hold. While for the weight, it is about 1.43 lb / 650 g. This weight is possible due to the magnesium alloy construction that the camera has. In addition, Sony has managed to seal all button and dials, so it will be free from dust and moisture.

Speaking about dials, Sony A7 III has no dedicated drive mode dial that we found on the high-end A9. Instead, it has multi-selector joystick. This joystick has proven to be beneficial on the A7R III to improve easier handling, especially when choosing Autofocus point.

Moreover, the camera also has AF-On button to provide ease when doing back-button focusing. Other than that, it also features high resolution Electronic Viewfinder with 2.3 million dots and fast-start XGA OLED Tru-Finder for more accurate image viewing, and at the backside, you will find 3 inch tilting LCD touchscreen display with 921,600 dots.

Sony A7 III Features

Under the hood, Sony A7 III has been completed with new 24.2 megapixel full frame back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor. Paired to the updated BIONZ X processor, Sony claims that this sensor has double sensor readout speed and 1.8 times better image processing compared to the previous A7 II.

While for the speed, it reaches 10 frames per second. The same speed even achieved when user shots in silent shooting mode. The ISO range is also increased significantly from 100 all the way up to 51.200. This still can be expanded to be ISO 50 – 204,800 in still image.

Just like A7R III, the ISO features 15 stops of low sensitivity dynamic range. With this technology, Sony claims the camera will be able to offer great performance at all shooting condition, resulting on accurate color production and more vibrant color. Moreover, 14 bit RAW image format is also available in RAW format, even for continuous and silent shooting mode. And with the addition of 5-axis optical image stabilization system, you can shoot clear images without blur even when your hand is a little bit shaky.

In the power supply sector, NP-FZ100 battery from Sony’s Z battery series is trusted as the power of A7III. This battery is calculated to have 2.2 higher capacity then the NP-FW50 battery used in A7 II. To be exact, NP-FZ100 battery gives Sony A7 III 710 shots for 1 single charge. This even considered as longest battery capacity for mirrorless camera without grip.

AutoFocus

One interesting from Sony A7 III is that this camera has the same AF system with the one on A9 and A7R III. This AF system has 425 contrast AF points spread on 93% of frame and has 693-point focal-plane phase-detection AF system that’s similar to the A9. With this, focusing and tracking difficult object will be possible with A7 III.

Overall, the AF performance is great especially with the addition of joystick. With the joystick, moving between focus points is easy and quick. In addition, the manufacturer has installed Eye AF feature to lock subject’s eye even when they are in motion. This feature can work in AF-C mode too.

Video

On the video recording capability, the camera brings A7R III video features on board. This is including high quality of 4K UHD video format in 3840 x 2160 pixels resolution. Instant HDR workflow is also available with the support of HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) picture profile.

Not only that, this feature also allows HDR TV to play 4K HDR image. Besides 4K, the camera can also record in Full HD 120 fps at 100 Mbps with AF tracking. In addition, to increase color grading flexibility, A7 III has S-Log2 and S-Log3, Gamma Display assist, and proxy recording.

Sony A7 III Price

Overall, Sony A7 III is a good alternative for you who want to get affordable option of high-end A9. The body built is great, the handling is comfortable, and the sensor is undeniably amazing. Especially with the new processor, this will be good news for you who concern more about speed. As for the price, this camera that will start shipping on April 2018 will be sold around US$2,000 for body only, and $2,200 with kit lens FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS.