Sony a7SIII Hands-On Review Round-Up

Here are the Sony Alpha A7SIII hands-on review round-up. With a full-frame 12mp sensor, the A7SIII offers exceptional low-light performance.

The Sony a7SIII mirrorless camera was officially announced on July 28, 2020 (pre-order opens on the same day). With extreme full-frame movie performance including high sensitivity (expanded ISO up to 409600), 15-stop wide dynamic range, 4K 120p, fast and dependable autofocusing, and extra-strong image stabilization, the Sony a7SIII is an ideal tool for movie makers.

Sony’s A7SIII is the third iteration in the most video-focused of the company’s a7 series of full frame cameras. It’s essentially a native 4K camera with impressive video specs and a revised user interface. It can capture UHD 4K footage at up to 120p in 10-bit 4:2:2 encoding and promises 16-bit Raw video output.

Sony A7SIII Features

12MP BSI CMOS sensor
Bionz XR processor
On-sensor phase detection
ISO 80-102,400 (expandable to 40-409,600)
9.44M-dot EVF with 0.91x magnification
4K video at up to 120p, 60p for ‘at least an hour’
16-bit Raw video output at up to 60p
10-bit 4:2:2 internal capture (in codecs including H.265 and All-I H.264)
Fully articulating LCD
5-axis in-body stabilization with SteadyShot active mode
Twin card slots that each accept either SD or CFexpress Type-A cards

The Sony a7S III sell for around $3500 and available from Amazon, B&H, Adorama.

Sony a7SIII Reviews Round-Up

From ePhotozine Verdict:

For videographers who want high-quality 4K video, the A7S III has got to be extremely desirable. Especially as 4K video is far easier to deal with compared to 8K footage, and can be recorded to SD cards. For stills photographers, then you’ve got to be shooting in really dark conditions for the A7S III to be needed.

Sony A7SIII Pros

9.4million dot EVF
Excellent video quality
4K 120fps video recording
FullHD 240fps video recording
Improved battery life
Improved menu system
Improved touch-screen operation

Sony A7SIII Cons

12mp resolution will not be enough for many stills photographers
Lacks in-camera raw processing
Doesn’t record CINE-4K

These findings were backed up by Hugh Brownstone, who had similar overheating issues with his unit. Something to keep an eye on…

Ted Forbes at The Art of Photography produced a 19-minute hands-on preview of the camera complete with a deep-dive on the menus.

Camera Labs takes a comprehensive look at photo quality, the new autofocus system, the two different IBIS modes built into the camera, and (of course) 4K/120p video quality.

FroKnowsPhoto put together a really solid 30-minute overview that was filmed on Canon EOS R5, the Sony a7S III, and the Nikon Z6.

In addition to covering a lot of features and details, the video alternates between cameras so you can see the difference in video quality for yourself. As a bonus, he compared the Canon EOS R5’s new Eye AF to the Sony’s version.