Sony A7 III: The Benchmark of Full Frame Mirrorless Cameras

Sony has long since become a benchmark for mirrorless cameras, making a name for itself through serious, powerful, and high-quality creations. It will be the Sony A 7iii one of its many successes in the world of mirrorless cameras?

Undoubtedly, I can tell you in advance that the Sony Alpha 7 iii is a camera to enter the full-sensor Sony mirrorless cameras with guarantees. This impressive camera is designed to make you one of Sony’s flagships for the advanced photographer.

In the next lines I am going to reveal to you what makes this camera a benchmark in Full Frame mirrorless cameras.

Who is the Sony A7 iii for?

The Sony Alpha 7 iii is a camera for an advanced photographerlook for one full-frame no mirror of excellent image quality, ultra-fast in focus, robust and powerful. Although Sony does not advertise it as a professional camera, it is clear that due to some of its characteristics, it could well be.

Now, the more we raise the bar in terms of cameras, we must also take into account that the investment in terms of optics must increase. You have to add one that is at the height of this camera to be able to take full advantage of it, taking into account that we are talking about a full format camera.

You can whet your appetite with this presentation video.

sony a7iii

Features of the Sony Alpha 7iii

The characteristics of the Sony Alpha 7 iii place it in an advanced range, there are many details that are responsible for doing so. Let’s see it in depth:

Design

This mirrorless is designed in a magnesium alloy body that stands out for its good grip and the accessibility of its main functions through the buttons located both on the top and on the back.

It is sealed against dust and moisture, and has an improved mount to support heavier lenses. The accessibility of some buttons such as AF-ON to activate autofocus has also been improved.

Sony Alpha 7 iii design

It has no less than 81 functions associated with 11 keys that you can customize. You can therefore make this machine practically an extension of your brain. Although doing so will require prior learning due to the number of options that it allows you to configure.

On the back there is a small button. joystick to control focus points quickly and easily.

In addition, it has a touch screen that can be tilted up and down (but not to the sides), and a viewfinder with a quality little seen before, in terms of contrast, resolution and color reproduction.

It also highlights its double memory card slot, one compatible with UHS-II for fast data writing.

Performance

Of the Sony A7 iii, the focus system stands out above all, which is really impressive, surpassing superior models of the same brand, such as the A9 itself. It is ideal for covering events, for example, since the autofocus is very quiet and it also has a very high level of performance.

The auto focus covers 693 focus points, covering 93% of the image area. It provides a burst rate of up to 10fps (8fps in Live View mode), thus a camera with impressive focusing speed and effectiveness. This model adds the Eye AF mode, which is capable of following the movement of the eyes to achieve portraits that are always in focus.

It also has a new improved 24 MP full-frame backlit CMOS sensor (which gives it greater reading speed and sensitivity) that, combined with the image processor, perform extremely well at high sensitivities and allow up to 15 steps in the Dynamic range.

It includes a 5-axis stabilizer in the body, which allows you to offset up to 5 steps. So, coupled with the sensor’s performance at high ISOS, this camera responds perfectly to low-light situations.

Battery life has also been improved, which is usually one of the weak points of some mirrorless. In this case, around 600-700 shots depending on whether you use the viewfinder or the screen.

As for the video, the high-resolution 4K recording stands out, with excellent color reproduction, dynamic range (up to 14 steps), or 60x fast motion and 5x slow motion recording.

You can see some shots recorded with the A7 iii in the following video.

Finally, also highlight its connectivity by WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC.

Specifications of the Sony A7 iii

This is not an entry-level camera, as you’ll see its specs show.

MountSony E-mount lensesSensor 35mm full-frame 24.2MP Exmor R CMOS sensor with back-illuminated designBionz X Image ProcessorFocus693-point phase detection and 425-point contrast detectionNoise reductionSensitivity ISO100-51200 (expandable to ISO 50-204800 for stills)Frames per secondUp to 10fps (8 in live view)FocusHybrid with 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast-detection AF pointsBuilt-in StabilizerYes, 5-axisViewfinder1.3 cm electronic viewfinder (0.5 type , color), XGA OLEDLCD screen7.5 cm (type 3.0) TFT flip-up touch screenBattery610 shots approx. (viewfinder)/ Approx. 710 shots (LCD monitor)Card slot2ConnectivityUSB 3.1, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1 and NFCVideoXAVC S 4K at 3840 x 2160 30p, 100 MPrice1,849.00 €

What mount does the Sony A7 iii have?

The Sony A7 iii has an E-mount, the one used by Sony’s mirrorless cameras in both APS-C and Full Frame formats. You have many objectives of different ranges.

Main competitors of the Sony Alpha 7 iii

Before you jump into a camera, it’s good to look at a couple or three cameras of different makes and models. Without reaching obsession, because if you don’t you will never finish deciding 😉 . The ideal is to look for its main competitors and analyze above all the previous model.

For the Sony Alpha 7 iii, we will review the older model, compare it to the A7 ii, with a “superior” model the A7R iii and the Canon EOS R6.

Sony A7 iii versus A7 ii

Many times we tell you not to get carried away a priori for the novelty and that you always take a look at the model before the one you are interested in. The improvements do not always justify the increase in price of the new model or, if they do, they may be imperceptible to you and not worth spending what the new model is worth.

Think that at these camera levels, you will need a good lens to take advantage of them, so it can be a good way to invest those extra euros that you are not going to spend 😉

ModelSony A7iisony a7iiiBodyCompatible lensesSony E-mount lensesSony E-mount lensesTypeMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesSensorFull-frame Exmor R CMOS 35.6×23.8mmFull-frame Exmor CMOS 35.8×23.9mmMegapixels24, 3 MP24.2MPImage processorBIONZ XBIONZ XViewfinder Electronic viewfinder type 0.5″
2,359,296 dots and a magnification of Approx. 0.71×1.3 cm 2,359,296-dot electronic viewfinder with Approx. 0.78xDisplay3″ 1,228,800-dot tiltable TFT LCD (non-touch) 3″ 921,600-dot tiltable touchscreen
AF Points117 Phase Detection693 Phase DetectionMax Shutter Speed1/80001/8000Frames Per Second5 fps10 fpsBuilt-In StabilizerYes, 5-Axis (up to 4.5 stops)Yes, 5-AxisCard Slot12Video ResolutionFull HD 1920 x 1080 (60 fps )4K videos 3840 x 2160 (25/30 fps)ISO50–25600100-51200Battery life350 shots610 shotsDimensions (W,H,D)127 X 96 x 60 mm127 x 96 x 74 mmWeight599 g650 gPrice only bodyApprox €1,100€1,849.00

There is, today, almost €900 difference between one camera and another and the advantages of one over the other are several. Basically the focus is on the number of focus points, the touch screen, the double card slot, the battery, the ISO sensitivity and the number of photos per second, where the A7 iii is clearly superior.

If you need a camera that is ultra-fast in focus and has extreme ISO sensitivity, you may want to go for the Sony A7 iii. If not, €900 more you have to get a good lens, which mounted on any of these two impressive cameras will give you a spectacular result.

Sony A7 iii versus Sony A7R iii

ModelSony A7R iiisony a7iiiBodyCompatible lensesSony E-mount lensesSony E-mount lensesTypeMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesSensorFull-frame Exmor R CMOS 35.9 x 24mmFull-frame Exmor CMOS 35.8 x 24mmMegapixels42.4MP24.2MPProcessor imageBIONZ XBIONZ XViewfinder 1.3 cm electronic viewfinder with 3,686,400 points and a magnification of Approx. 0.78x
1.3 cm 2,359,296-dot electronic viewfinder with approx. 0.78xScreen3″ 1,440,000 points flip touch screen
3″ 921,600 points touch and flip
AF Points399 Phase Detection693 Phase DetectionMax Shutter Speed1/80001/8000Frames Per Second10fps10fpsBuilt-in StabilizerYes, 5-AxisYes, 5-AxisCard Slot22Video Resolution4K 3840 x 2160 Videos4K 3840 x 2160 Videos2 ISO1000-200 Duration2 battery530 shots610 shotsDimensions (W,H,D)127 x 96 x 74 mm127 x 96 x 74 mmWeight657 g650 gPrice only bodyN/A €1,849.00

The Sony A7R iii and Sony A7 iii are very similar in most of their specifications. Where they differ most is in sensor resolution; from 24.2Mp on the A7 iii to 42.4 on the A7R iii and at the focus points (where the A7 iii almost doubles R) or ISO. If those differences compensate the price, only you can decide it 😉 .

Sony A7 iii versus Canon R6

ModelCanon EOS R6sony a7iiiBodyCompatible lensesCanon RF mount lensesSony E-mount lensesTypeMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesMirrorless camera with interchangeable lensesSensor35.9 x 23.9mm Full Frame CMOS35.8 x 23.9mm Full Frame Exmor CMOSMegapixels20.1MP24, 2MP DIGIC XBIONZ X Image Processor Viewfinder 0.5-inch OLED color electronic viewfinder with 3.69 million dots and Approx. 0.76×1.3 cm 2,359,296-dot electronic viewfinder with Approx. 0.78×3″ screen, 1.62 million points fully articulating touch
3″, 921,600 points touch and tilt
AF Points1053 in AF mode693 with phase detectionMaximum Shutter Speed1/80001/8000Frames per second12 fps10 fpsBuilt-in StabilizerYes, up to 8 stepsYes, 5-axis, up to 5 stepsCard Slot22Video Resolution4K 3840 x 2160 Videos4K 3840 x 2160 Videos (25/3160 fps)ISO100-102.400100-51.200Battery life510 shots610 shotsDimensions…