It was only a matter of time before Sony released the a7 III, though I don’t think anyone would have been able to predict just how much Sony was going to improve its “basic” model. Considering that the plain old a7 has always been the most affordable of the full-frame mirrorless options in each round of updates from this company, the fact that the a7 III is equipped with so many upgrades is surprising. Just to run through the most essential features, the a7 III now has outstanding low-light performance, almost the exact AF system as the flagship a9, and UHD 4K video with various gamma profiles. And now that we had our hands on one, we needed to see if it is as good as the spec sheet claims, so we got in touch with Frames Bowling Lounge, in New York, and went to take photos where there was some action in a trying environment that would most definitely push the camera’s limits.
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Improved Sensor Means Improved IQ and AF
Besides the notable changes made to the externals of the a7 III, the most important upgrade was certainly the use of a 24.2MP Exmor R CMOS sensor. The back-illuminated design of this newly developed sensor dramatically improves low-light performance and general image quality, as well as boost readout times, which when combined with the BIONZ X processor and a front-end LSI, results in impressive speed. Basically, without this sensor we would not be seeing impressively low noise in shots at what just a few years back were absurd ISOs. Also, on the sensor is the AF system with 693 phase-detect points, enabling blazing fast speeds. Looking at all this, it is almost exactly like the a9; however, the one key difference is the a9’s stacked sensor—designed to boost speeds to double that of the a7 III.
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Now, I’ve been shooting with an a9 for the past couple of months, and I am finding it hard to tell the difference between those images and the ones I took with the a7 III. Sony claims the a7 III has an extra stop of dynamic range, as well, though I didn’t see a difference in real-world images. Anyway, the fact that the IQ is practically the same as the flagship at half the cost is insane. You can see in the available-light shots where the noise is very well controlled and plenty of detail is retained. I would certainly use this camera up to ISO 25600 if it called for it, and not be too worried. It can even extend all the way to ISO 204800 if you absolutely need it, but it will get noisy when you push it that high. And if you need to know, the a7 III does have a low-pass filter, same as the a9.
Along with pure IQ, the a7 III’s sensor delivers the Fast Hybrid AF system with 693 phase-detect and 425 contrast-detect points. This was really the most impressive part when I was using the camera. It tracked motion with ease, identified faces and followed them, and it did all this at the maximum speed of 10 fps. One thing I did encounter when shooting these bursts was the buffer filling up quickly. It can’t keep up with the a9 here, and there were moments where the buffer prevented me from capturing the shot I wanted.
Back to the AF system, in wide AF-C it held up to tracking even in the dim lighting. However, I did notice it tended to lose faces when it got too dark, resulting in a few frames that were a bit softer than I would like. On top of this, the Eye AF is always getting better, and that holds true here to where it may be Sony’s best version yet.
Considering the price that Sony was able to hit with the a7 III, making it basically a baby a9 with image quality and autofocus is incredible. I will say that from the initial feel of the files—though unfortunately Photoshop and Capture One did not support raw files at the time of this review—compared to the files I get from my a9 on a regular basis, it may be just the tiniest fraction of a step behind at high ISOs and in low-light when it comes to autofocus, likely due to the added processing power of the a9. I do have one final side note: since raw isn’t yet widely supported, I did try Sony’s Imaging Edge, found it unbearably slow, and quite a bit overboard when it comes to noise reduction by default.
Updated Externals Make Life Better
We talk a lot about image quality, noise, resolution, etc… and while each of those subjects is incredibly important to the camera-purchasing decision, there is one thing that may trump them all: how it feels. It’s tough to argue with the fact that the first generation of a7 cameras, while technically amazing, was severely deficient when it came to ergonomics and controls. The second generation solved many of those issues for sure, but it is generation three that has finally refined everything into one of the most fully featured and capable camera systems on the market today. While the a7 III doesn’t do anything that we haven’t already seen in the a9 and a7R III, everything that has been done is already great, since when I picked up this model I didn’t immediately find any issues.
We finally have decent battery life, up to 710 shots, apparently, dual card slots, a joystick, a touchscreen, and a larger, more comfortable grip. The dials and buttons have obviously been further refined, the movie record button moved to a sensible location, and the customization options are near endless. Now, compared to its pricier siblings, the body is where Sony could cut some corners to keep the price at an incredibly attractive point. The EVF remains the same resolution as the generation-two bodies, compared to 3.69-m dots like the a9 and a7R III. The rear LCD, while featuring the same functionality, supposedly has lower resolution, as well, likely resulting in reduced maximum brightness. On top, the mode dial does not lock, for better or worse and, finally, the SteadyShot INSIDE stabilization system is rated to five stops, whereas the a7R III boasts a 5.5-stop system that enables the Pixel Shift Multi Shooting setting. There really isn’t all that much to complain about, because all these features are still among the best you’ll find throughout the market.
Let’s talk about some other additions and improvements. We now have USB 3.1 Type-C for fast tethering, along with the standard micro-USB port, meaning you can always charge up even when shooting tethered or when using a wired remote. Inside the body, you will find all the latest connections, Wi-Fi, NFC, and Bluetooth, which support geo-tagging via a smartphone. The menu is the latest we have seen from Sony and makes the most sense yet. I think a complete overhaul is due at some point, but this is decent, things are better organized, we have a few custom options to help speed things up, and there is a way to customize buttons to do different functions depending on whether you are shooting video or stills.
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A Word About Video
I didn’t put the a7 III’s video chops through the same extreme tests as I have with other cameras in the past, because of how similar the features are to Sony’s other current cameras, as well as the video quality being so close to that of the α9. What this means is that it is excellent, shows great sharpness due to down-sampling from the full 6K width, excellent low-light performance, and all the latest gamma profiles, including S-Log3 and HLG. The a7 III gives the a7S a run for its money, especially with true 4K at full-frame and Super35 and, ironically, since this model has all the Picture Profiles, it even beats the flagship a9 if you need something for stills and video use. AF is spectacular, as well, with full tracking support and the touchscreen improving usability. There still isn’t a super-easy way to lock-on and track subjects, but if you are simply shooting an interview and need to follow a face, it is wonderful.
To run through the specs, it offers UHD 4K at up to 30p in 8-bit 4:2:0 and has a micro-HDMI port for exporting an 8-bit 4:2:2 signal. There are both headphone jack and microphone input for clean audio. Slow & Quick Motion makes an appearance here for Full HD up to 120 fps. For notes about other things, there is a slight crop, around 1.2x for UHD 4K when at 30p, where it is full-frame at 24p. Rolling shutter is still there for sure, not terrible but not super great either. Nothing really new here, though I hope that Sony has another generation-three camera up its sleeve that will cater to video professionals.
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Sony Has Another Hit
Even though I hate the term, the a7 III seems to earn Sony’s title of “game changer” once you consider its price. There isn’t anything else on the market with anywhere near the same number of features and the performance to back it up. It will satisfy all types of photographers, videographers, beginners, and professionals. If the a7 III is what Sony is going to call “basic,” I can’t even imagine what they are going to do next.
Are you going to pick up an a7 III? Have any questions? Be sure to let us know in the Comments section just below this review!
Special thanks to Frames Bowling Lounge, in New York, for letting us snap some photos and videos for this review!
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