Sony A7 III
It feels like only yesterday that Sony introduced the revolutionary A7 and A7R – yet here we are looking at the third iteration of the company's most basic full-frame model. Since 2014's A7 II, we've seen Sony introduce innovative technologies, refine the design and deal with concerns about the extent of the full-frame E-mount lens range.
For those after a highly versatile and more affordable full-frame camera than the A7R III or A9, the A7 III looks very appealing. It incorporates many of the niceties of the A7R III and A9 at a price of less than £2,000. Don't be fooled by the ‘basic model' status that Sony gives it: we're looking at a very capable camera indeed.
Features
As with the A7 and A7 II, the A7 III is equipped with a 24.2-million-pixel full-frame sensor. The difference is that it's an entirely new chip that benefits from backside-illuminated architecture. Sony says this provides an improved noise response at high sensitivities and delivers an impressive 15 stops of dynamic range at base ISO, allowing vast amounts of highlight and shadow information to be recorded into the camera's 14-bit raw files. The maximum sensitivity now extends to ISO 204,800, just like the Sony A9, giving it a two-stop advantage over the A7 II. At the low end of the sensitivity scale, the A7 III can shoot down to ISO 100, with ISO 50 also available in extended settings.
The sensor is supported by a powerful Bionx X processor and the same front-end LSI that has helped many of Sony's latest cameras to shoot faster and handle vast volumes of data more efficiently. The speed at which it
