When Sony A7 III entered the global market, many experts claimed that it was the basic model. In terms of price, it is so. But if we look at its content, we will ensure that it is not so “basic.” So, let’s take a deep look at Sony A7 III.
Design
Sony A7 III is rather thick compared to other mirrorless cameras on the market. This is because Sony engineers have added a memory card slot into the camera’s body, so it can create more space inside for better hardware placement. The dimensions are 146 x 112 x 78 mm. But here you get an additional slot for XQD cards which means that this downside is almost irrelevant in real-life use.
Although it has no depth, Sony A7 III does offer its users some additional accessories, for example, lens hoods and adapters to connect remote flashes or video lights with a standard shoe mount.
Sensor
The first thing that attracts our attention is the sensor. The Sony A7 III camera has a sensor of 24 MP with a dynamic range of 15 stops, plus ISO varying from 100 to over 51,000 (with a possibility to reach over 200,000). The dynamic range results in a very precise image so it also allows us to capture an image with an almost infinite number of tones.
Autofocus
The other thing worth mentioning is its autofocus – 693 points with a detection phase that covers over 90 percent of the frame. And we should also note that the Sony A7 III autofocus is high-speed! It provides over 400 points of contrast-detect, spreading the whole frame. It’s ideal for reaching the maximum from Sony A7 III lenses (which are great!).
Autofocus for video is interesting too. Sony A7 III introduces a new hybrid autofocus system that provides smooth and accurate tracking of moving subjects while also effectively maintaining focus on static subjects. And yes, it has "Eye AF" which actually keeps the focus on human eyes without any manual intervention needed!
Video Recording
And, of course, let’s not forget about the video recording performance. 4K Ultra HD at 30p or 24p with full pixel readout and no pixel binning (which provides outstanding footage). This camera has a high-quality internal 4K (8 bit) video codec H.265 HEVC which is actually 50% more efficient than other cameras using H.264.
The other thing worth mentioning is that there is no line skipping or pixel binning when shooting in 8 bit 4:2:0 mode (which means great quality). Sony A7 III shoots a 4K video to an SDXC UHS-I memory card. And if you want to record Full HD 1080, it can do up to 120 fps.
Battery life
And… the battery life is outstanding! It’s a joy to work with it because sometimes you don’t need to recharge often. It lasts up to 610 photos (LCD screen). By the way, this camera can charge by USB cable.
ISO
Now we will say some words about the sensitivity to light (or ISO), dynamic range, and picture quality that Sony A7 III provides. As for the dynamic range, it is fantastic! You can push the file and pull it as much as you want. The sensitivity to light also keeps up. Compared to other Sony cameras, it demonstrates great results.
So if you need to take a photo of the fast-moving objects under the poor light with Sony A7 III, you can bravely do it. This camera will do its best with slow shutter speed without noise or overexposure. As for the quality of the pictures, they are very clean and sharp with neutral colors. The files have only a little change compared to the actual scene.
Photos
As you can see above Sony A7 III is not so “basic” as many claims it to be! And let’s start taking photos now.
As for the picture quality, this camera gives the quality, which every Sony product provides – great, great, and great again!
The other excellent worth mentioning a thing about Sony A7 III is its picture stabilization. If you use the Sony Carl Zeiss lens of 35mm f/2.8, you will get a sharp picture at a handheld of ¼ seconds. It means that by using the low sensitivity to light level, you can get a clear picture of slowly moving objects under the poor light.
Customization
As for the customization, here, Sony A7 III is rather great. If you need to transition the shooting situation quickly, the Sony camera allows doing it easily without making any settings changes. For example, you shoot something with a button of back focus. For this purpose, you need to have the default configuration – a flexible spot with autofocus.
There are also two more buttons – one for locking on the flexible spot and the other for setting on the eye autofocus. The Sony A7 III gives you 9 buttons to make this quick transition.
We should also mention the customizable function of the viewfinder for checking exposure, highlight clipping, focus, and shutter speed. It’s highly convenient in different situations when you need to see what is going on in various ways by quickly changing them without making any settings changes.
So, in sum, you have three buttons to use the autofocus referring to the situation (and you do not have to change the settings every time).
Flash
When it comes to the flash of shooting, here, Sony A7 III corresponds to the other great cameras. It comes with a synchronization speed of 1/250, and it can shoot in HSS, TTL, and manual modes. The flash sync port allows using the built-in flash in different modes with additional devices, for example, a studio or second device.
The camera can be synchronized up to 1/250s speed (and it is very significant). So if you need to shoot something that flies fast under the poor light, you just choose this option and get what you want without any problems.
This is not so comfortable when it comes to various connections. It has only one USB 3 port and one micro HDMI slot. However, there are adapters to connect more than two devices at once.
EVF and Rear Screen
One more thing we want to mention here is the EVF and rear screen because Sony A7 III has good ones. The viewfinder gives you a nice sharp image with a minimal delay that makes shooting easy and comfortable even in fast-paced situations.
In low light, it’s better to use the digital viewfinder instead of the rear screen for convenience reasons – you can see everything clearer, sharper, and without reflexive glare from the surface of this screen. As for the quality of the rear LCD – it’s very nice! It covers almost 100% of the frame, there are no problems with reflection, and it shows nicely whatever you shoot.
Sony A7III - 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master lens
The overall build quality of the Sony A7 III is great! It only weighs 615 g, which is much less than its previous versions. The button layout is the same as in the other cameras, but it has additional ports for headphones/microphones and remote control.
The back screen will be helpful to look at various settings when shooting under dim light. So you do not have to worry about accidental changes or blurry buttons whilst shooting.
Ergonomic
As for ergonomics, Sony A7 III offers everything that a good camera should offer:
Back view of Sony A7III with 24-70mm f/2.8 master G lens . Left side of the camera showing volume control button (for manual volume setting on headphones), microphone input (also used for Hotshoe battery pack), and accessory port for attaching accessory flash units; the right side shows a wrist strap attachment point, a headphone jack, and an electronic viewfinder release button.
Sony a7III Firmware Update to Add C-Log and HLG
Sony A7 III which was released in late 2018 has already got a new firmware update that comes with the support of C-log and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) for recording. The Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) gamma curves use a technology developed by NHK (Japanese public broadcasting service), and it is supported by several major video streaming services such as Youtube, Amazon Video, and Netflix.
This makes Sony a7III more flexible when shooting videos for these platforms.
Firmware Update Version 3.00 is available for download from the support page of your camera. To get this update, you have to connect your a7III to a computer and follow the on-screen instructions after downloading it from Sony's website.
Memory
And finally, we will say some words about the memory potential. Sony A7 III comes with dual memory slots and a possibility to support fast memory cards. But there is one disadvantage – it can support the fast cards only for one memory slot.
2 memory card slots – one for SD/SDHC/SDXC cards and the other is compatible with Sony's proprietary Memory Stick PRO Duo or Pro-HG Duo formats Lightweight body design accented by rubberized grip Two control rings on the lens, which allow you to change settings quickly Many additional accessories – leather bag, smaller batteries – A7III uses the same battery as RX0<, etc.
The price-quality ratio is one of the most important, if not the most important thing to consider when buying a new camera. SonyA7III costs around $1,700 (body only) and it has good performance for that price.
Conclusion
Sony A7III is a good camera and its price-quality ratio makes it an excellent choice for both professional and amateur photographers. We recommend you to buy this camera, but there are some things that could be improved in the next versions of this model.