Tech Review: Sony alpha a7III one year anniversary
By: Stephen Brokalis
Jr. Layout Editor
With much anticipation, Sony released the Sony Alpha A7III Mirrorless Digital Camera in April of 2018. As a camera enthusiast, I pre-ordered this camera on day one. I’ve had one year to run this camera through its paces, here’s what I think.
It is part of Sony’s full-frame mirrorless lineup. Priced at $2,000 it is the cheapest camera in the third generation A7 series. Despite being considered a ‘basic’ camera, it is still extremely capable.
Starting with the specifications the Sony A7III has it all. Featuring a full frame 24.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor and paired with the new BIONZ X image processor, it can achieve 14-bit images and 50-204800 ISO while still achieving low noise.
Sony used the same autofocus system from its flagship A9. This includes 693 phase-detection points and 425 contrast-detection areas covering 93% of the frame.
It beats both the newly released Canon EOS R, Nikon Z Series and most other cameras made in its price bracket. It enables incredibly fast autofocus even during its 10 fps continuous shooting rate, maxing out at 89 consecutive RAW images or 177 JPG images.
When shooting sports the A7III locks onto subjects with ease and maintains a tight focus. With the exception of extreme low light situations this camera has no trouble focusing.
To balance things out the A7III has an improved 5-Axis in-body image stabilization (IBIS) which can reduce camera shake by up to five stops. This has been proven handy several times when shooting handheld at a slow shutter speed.
In the months leading up to this cameras release, many interested buyers were wary of the previous model and its many issues. Sony was still new to the camera game and struggled with many problems like short battery life, no touch screen and odd color science.
With the release of the Sony A7III, they took into account consumer feedback and concerns and fixed many of the problems that its predecessor and similar mirrorless cameras struggled with in the past.
First its new NP-FZ100 2280 mAh Lithium-Ion battery which was developed for the A9 and used in the A7RIII. The new battery boasts approximately 710 shots per charge. In my experience this is more than enough for even the longest shoots. I’ve done 12-hour film productions with only two batteries and sometimes have gone weeks without charging. With the $90 price tag for each battery, the shopper should expect nothing less.
The A7III boasts improved reliability with its dual SD card slots. Slot 1 is equipped with UHS-II which dramatically reduces buffer times between bursts. Sony has flexible file saving modes for advanced backup and overflow storage.
I set my camera to write uncompressed RAW to Slot 1 and JPG to Slot 2. Enabling both backup and multiple file formats and sizes. For photographers like myself, when capturing once in a lifetime moments the dual slots are a necessity in today’s cameras. This is especially true if you’ve lost images due to corruption or by any of the other numerous file saving issues.
In my experience, the camera still doesn’t excel in capturing skin tones during portraits and other event work. Sony’s color science is finally comparable with its competitors but not quite there yet. Nothing a little editing won’t fix.
The A7III succeeds in its realistic and vibrant colors in landscapes and other outdoor shooting scenarios.
“Dollar-for-dollar, the Sony A7 III is the world’s best full-frame mirrorless camera ever created,” Ken Rockwell, known for being the world’s largest independent source of photography information, said on kenrockwell.com.
Not only does the Sony A7III take great photos but good video as well. Sony implemented some excellent video features into this body. It supports internal recording of UHD 4k video (downscaled from 6k) and 1080p up to 120 frames per second. It also supports S-Log3, producing an effective 14-stop dynamic range.
Overall I give this camera a 4.7 / 5. It has never failed me in even the most demanding situations. Images from the A7III are incredibly sharp and vibrant especially when paired with high-end Sony lenses. The battery lasts an incredibly long time. The mirrorless design creates a slim, lightweight body and the ability for a completely silent shutter. Sony’s skin tones aren’t 100% up to par with its competitors but its realistic color exceeds in all other shooting scenarios.