Sony’s New Full-frame α7R III  Camera

Delivers the Ultimate Combination of Resolution and Speed

Sony is out to win the hearts of photographers. There is no question that they are attracting a lot of attention, not to mention sales. Today, Sony introduces the a7r III.

In short, it is the same sensor as the present a7r II but with a lot of the WOW features of the Sony a9. Essentially, they addressed all the things that many users wanted to see improved—and they did it while keeping the same price for which the a7r II was selling: USD 3199.00.

Before I go further, I will make it clear that I like Sony cameras. I have most of the a7 iterations, as well as the RX100 V and a6500. I have also invested into the a9 and all the G-Master lenses. The results I get from these products are incredible. I also own Fuji and Olympus systems. In short, I am a believer in mirrorless cameras and the benefits this technology brings to me, as a photographer.

There were a lot of rumors over the last week, as there usually are, about what Sony would introduce. And once again, Sony surprised the marketplace.

I was invited, along with some other content providers, to a sneak-preview presentation. I am reporting based on notes I made during the powerpoint. Today, I will be shooting with this camera, and I hope to get an early trial of it during the next month. I will report more on this camera and have a short video showing the camera in the next few days.

Best Image Quality Ever In A Camera

I’ll bullet list the items in which I think most photographers will be interested.

• 42.4 MP sensor
• ISO 100 – 32 000 (extended range available)
• 15 stop dynamic range
• 10 frames per second
• 4k full-frame video
• Five-axis in-body stabilization with 5.5 stop range
• Electronic and focal plane shutter
• Silent shooting
• Compact, Lightweight body at only 23 oz

• Eye AF is twice as fast as before (similar to the speed of the a9)
• 4K video with wide color gamut / full width of sensor S-Log 3
• NEW low vibration focal plane shutter
• No low pass filter
• 14-bit pixel depth (compressed and uncompressed)
• NEW Pixel Shift technology – multi-shot. Four image shifting with a resulting 169.6 MP file
• AF speed improvements. 399 phase detect /425 contrast AF points – utilizing almost the whole frame size
• Continuous AF tracking is doubled in speed
• Rear screen touch AF
• Multi-function controller (joystick) for focus points and other navigation
• Full HD video at 120 fps at up to 100 Mbps
• 76 JPEG / RAW images or 28 uncompressed RAW images in buffer

• Dual card slots like the a9 (UHS-II and UHS I)
• Tru-Finder™ with approximately 3,686k dots for extremely accurate, true-to-life detail
• Z-Battery with 2.2 times the capacity of the old battery (same as the a9)
• Same battery grip as the a9 (2 batteries)
• AF on switch like the a9 (dedicated rear AF button)
• Anti-flicker¹⁵ function to allow the α7R III to automatically detect the frequency of the lighting and time the shutter to minimize its effect on images being captured.

• USB 3.1 Gen 1 USB type C connectors
• Dust and moisture resistant
• PC sync terminal for use with flash
• Silent shooting with AF, AE, ES, and continuous shooting (great for wildlife)
• Frame rates hi+ 10fps, hi 8 FPS, mid 6 FPS, low 3 FPS

The Sony a7r III will be available by the end of November. I’m excited to try this camera out, and I should have a lot more to say about my experience with this camera soon.

Once again Sony has made a camera I want to own.  As a landscape shooter primarily, this camera will deliver the kind of images I need to make 44 x 72 prints.  I can’t wait.  Time to get my order in.

You can pre-order this lens at B&H

The Sony 24-105mm F4 G Lens

Sony has also been aggressively adding new lenses to their lineup. These include the G and G-Master lenses. I will say from experience that the G-Master lenses are incredible and the 12-24mm G lens is also something to behold. I look forward to trying them on the a7r III very soon.

The new 24-105mm zoom has a constant f/4 through its zoom range. It has very fast autofocusing using magnetic drives. The lens is very light, weighing in at 663 grams (23.4 oz)

The MTF charts that we were shown outperform some of the similar focal lengths of competitor’s lenses. There is very sharp focus from the center to the corners.

This lens is a great all-purpose lens with a very usable and popular focal length range. The minimum focus is 0.38 m. The price of this lens will be USD 1299, and it will be available at the end of November.

Preorder this lens at BH Photo

Sony’s Information on this lens

P.S Big Surprise 

Sony Announces Development of New G Master™ 400mm F2.8 Super-Telephoto Full-Frame E-mount Lens
Launching in Summer 2018

It’s going to be an interesting week. I am at PhotoPlus and will be visiting some booths and reporting on what’s new and interesting. On Wednesday, I’ll have an opportunity to shoot with the a7r III, and I’ll share my experiences and images along with videos next week.

Kevin Raber
October 2017

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