My review of the Sony A7 III is still ongoing as I spend time exploring everything before summing up my final thoughts on it. In the meantime, there’s a lot to love in Sony’s latest A7 generation, the ‘basic’ model according to them.
But there’s nothing that is basic about it at all. Here are my 10 reasons to love the new Sony A7 III and why if you are looking to upgrade your existing camera or buy into Sony’s ecosystem… this is the one for you.
Dual SD Card Slots
This got me very excited and will get hobbyists and professionals frothing at the mouth. Dual Card slots in the body. Oh yes. You’ll struggle to find a mirrorless camera with dual SD card slots around the $2,000 price range besides the Sony A7 III. A welcomed featured that thankfully was ported over from the significantly more expensive A7R III and A9.
It comes with robust options how to utilise the SD card slots, like separating JPEG and RAW across the two cards, video and photo, duplicating for backup or as a larger pool of memory to fill up. There’s no denying the real-life practicality for those working in the field where every image is crucial.
And while Sony only provided UHS-II in Slot 2 (for the most demanding burst shooting, 4K highest bitrate), I’m just glad we finally have two memory card slots instead of the one.
Silent Shooting
When I say silent, I mean silent. No sound. Nothing. Silent shooting is great for wildlife, sports, wedding or events. Particularly for wildlife, silent shooting is great if you’re not shooting a long zoom and close to the animal. It keeps the subject in candid mode to capture natural behaviours.
It isn’t a feature I use all the time as I like the electronic shutter sound for that satisfying confirmation of taking a shot. But for those moments when you don’t want to disturb the scene, having silent shutter is a blessing.
Sony A7 III Video Masterclass
Sony really pushed the video capabilities in the A7 III here as it has a solid set of features for videographers to work with. 6K oversampling to 4K results in much richer details and higher dynamic range, while S-Log 2 and S-Log 3 picture profiles gives full colour flexibility for post-production colour grading.
You also have the HLG2 picture profile for HDR workflow tailored for HDR compatible TVs to showcase. As well as post-production flexibility, you can record up to 120 fps in Full HD 1080p at 100 mbps. Though video is still recorded at 8-bit, the 15-stop dynamic range gives it better low-light capability to make this a solid choice for videographers.
Insane Autofocus Points
693 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection autofocus points. Insane. It borrows from the $4,498 Sony A9 flagship that means you can take full confidence in the camera focusing where you want it to. That number dwarfs many expensive mirrorless and DSLR cameras, putting them to shame.
Heck, compared to the original Sony A7 which had a measly 99 phase-detection and 25 contrast autofocus points, you’re looking at a 7x and 17x advantage over the original respectively. Autofocus was one of the biggest gripes I had with the camera, especially in video. Upgrading from that was like a miracle and pushes the capabilities of working in high-speed scenarios.
Notable mention is the Eye AF which has been available on the A7R II, but ported over greater intelligence for those tack sharp portrait shots, even when they blink or turn.
They moved the Movie Button
Finally! What may seem like a trivial point, is a significant one for filmmakers. The movie button has moved from the awkward right side to the right of the EVF, which is more comfortable for your thumb to naturally reach.
This prevents shake or awkward hand-holding movements just trying to press it. It’s taking a little bit of time to adjust to it and I find myself pressing the zoom button which flanks the movie button to the right, but going forward makes a whole lot of sense.
Serious Battery Life
Another one I absolutely love is Sony bringing their large capacity NP-Z100 battery to the A7 III. The battery allows up to 710 shots and greater video recording life span. It means less batteries to bring, longer shooting days especially in the colder weather where it drains power and making the A7 III and all-round powerhouse for professional use.
Compared to the A7 II, that’s pretty much double what could be achieved (350 shots) and is a superior mirrorless against the rest of the market for battery longevity.
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More custom buttons
We now have FOUR custom buttons around the body to map our favourite and most used modes for convenience. Setting up your FN function button is an essential for those core settings, but the custom buttons speed that process up by changing the function directly. No need to navigate your custom FN function menu and using the wheel to select and adjust.
Being able to get around your camera as fast as possible significantly speeds up your workflow so the custom buttons are a great addition. Two just behind the shutter button, another just below the dial on the back and the final one to the top left of the body. Set them all up and you’ll whizz through the technicals to focus on the shooting.
Bigger better body
I’d say a 25% increase in the body thickness on the A7 and marginally so vs the Sony A7R II. Reason why bigger is better? It feels much more substantial in the hand. My hand grips the body better, also thanks to the larger thumb rest next to the buttons. The deeper front hand grip makes it further satisfying to hold for an extended period of time too.
It’s nigh on near-identical to the A7R III and A9 body – a magnesium alloy frame – moisture and dust resistant just like the rest. I can confidently say after holding all three of Sony’s latest mirrorless cameras that the A7 III stands proud among them in hardware.
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USB Type-C Connection
Is there something Sony hasn’t forgetten? Maybe. But the USB Type-C port is not one of them. You’ll get serious data transfer speeds when transferring over to your laptop thanks to the USB 3.1 connection. You’ll also be glad to know it still supports portable tethering and USB power supply for faster charging. You’ll need it for that larger battery it comes with now.
Fast Burst Shooting
While not asmindblowing as the Sony A9 and it’s incredulously zippy 20fps continuous shooting – no blackouts and a much faster buffer processsing units than the A7 III – the 10 fps is still blazing fast. For the average person, you’ll unlikely need to hit that 177 JPEG and roughly 40 RAW buffer ceiling. The 10 fps is very welcome when shooting in high-speed environments when time is of the essence.
Bonus: here’s a bonus extra why the Sony A7 III is a stellar camera to have as your primary shooter. You’re welcome 🙂
Joystick Freedom
For all you manual control lovers out there, the joystick (or as some refer to it as, the nipple) is such an important addition to the Sony A7 III. I use it A LOT and have my Sony A7 III in the expanded flexible spot focus mode.
Whether that’s shooting in landscape then switching to portrait, or holding that frame in still and video, the joystick gives you that granular control over focusing. I really enjoy using it and is probably one of my most used features of the Sony A7 III. Especially in video, you can hold the frame while changing focus from the foreground to the background in a smooth breathing transition.
I’ll be sharing my first impressions and review of the Sony A7 III soon so keep it locked at One Tech Traveller. If you have any questions about the camera, feel free to leave a comment down below.
