Maaaan. It seems like every other week someone is announcing a new camera or photography gear for beginners or SOMETHING for the photography world. Today, it’s Sony’s time with its announcement of the new A7S mark III. Another fork in the world of mirrorless photography, in this case, the videography side.
HOT Tech Updates
Shooting video with a non-cinema camera has advantages and disadvantages. Many top creators enjoy using DLSR bodies and now mirrorless bodies because of the portability, pricing and performance per dollar spent. Sony and its A7S series was the product line built to give you great image quality with high frame rates and resolutions. As well as offer critical I/O for recording your hot feature film.
Image credit: Adorama
The nerdy tech specs for this new camera include:
12MP full-frame sensor
Great performance touted in low light recording with high ISO up to 102,400
in-body stabilization (5-axis)
4K resolution video up to 120 frames per second in 10-bit 4:2:2
RAW 4K resolution up to 60 frames per second
Dual CFExpress Type A card slots
FULL-SIZE HDMI port
10 frames per second for still photography
UPDATED MENU SYSTEM for better navigation
More of the tech specs can be found here
Image credit: Adorama
These tech specs are quite impressive for video shooters. What I found interesting is the tech behind the body having “optimized” cooling to keep the camera performing over extending periods of shooting high resolution video. Canon has been getting some grief for overheating on it’s newly released EOS R5* mirrorless camera. Even though it’s never been touted as a video creator’s camera and it’s also capable of shooting 8K resolution. I’m curious to see the reviews of the A7Siii to see if there are concerns about heat in a real-world scenario. I’m also curious to see how Sony’s autofocus tech has improved. It was already using some AMAZING AI to lock in on the subject’s eyeball or just find the subject of any frame.
I’ve been quite open about being Canon shooter and a fan of the Canon tech. But I’m not an idiot. I KNOW just how good the Sony line has been on the mirrorless side of things. Sony definitely made Canon work harder to catch up to the industry standards. I’ve always respected the Sony Alpha line, but never really liked how the bodies felt in my hands. They were too small for me. Nor did I like the fact that the rear LCD didn’t rotate out. I shoot a lot of low-angle images and the flip out screen is a great tool for me. Now, the new A7Siii has that versatile LCD screen on its body. I’m not sure how it would feel in my hands, but I hope it’s as good as the recent A7Riv feels. I was able to shoot video footage with the A7Riv at CES 2020 and it was great. The body FINALLY felt comfortable in my hands since Sony adjusted the ergonomics. Hopefully, this goes for the A7Siii.
Pricing for the A7S III starts at $3498* for the body only. Or you can bundle it with the 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lens for $5496* over on Adorama pre-order. (Shout out to Adorama for having me in its affiliate program as partner. Thank you, Adorama.)
Sony will start shipping at the end of September 2020. I don’t know if I’ll get my hands on one of these as I don’t currently have a Sony representative I communicate with regularly. We’ll see. If I do, I’ll definitely share my findings here, my YouTube channel or on Hands On Tech. Let me know if you pre-order one.
Here are some great videos showing off the new Sony A7S III
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