Sony A7rIII Announced (42MP at 10fps, ISO 32,000, 15 stops dynamic range, fast AF, dual card slots)

[macduke]

Who else is buying this thing? I've been using Canon since 2005 and am finally making the switch (at home, not yet at work). Sony is finally catching up in the lens department for their FE mount. I rented the A7rII this summer and this new camera seems to address most of my concerns with this new A7rIII.

Specs that I cobbled together from multiple sources:

• BSI 42.2 MP full frame sensor same sensor
• 4K HDR video at 24p and 30p
• Full HD video at 120p
  
• ISO 100 to 32000 (expandable to ISO 50-104,200)
  
• 10fps (10fps no black out. At 8fps there is momentary blackout)
  
• 14 bit raw for everything including continuous shooting
• 5 axis stabilization to 5.5 stops
• Battery with same 2.2x capacity from the A9
  
• Physical dimensions are identical to the Sony a7r II
• All the new stuff is inside with the exception of the Joystick from the Sony a9
• 15 stops of dynamic range
• Faster autofocus from the A9
• Eye AF now operates at double the speed
• No optical low pass filter
• Low vibration shutter, completely new shutter
• Bionz X processor
• USB-C 3.1
  
• Two SD card slots (faster UHS-II)
  
• Raw compressed buffer at 87 photos and uncompressed is 28
• Pixel shift multi shooting to capture more color (169MP, processed on computer)
  
• 399 phase detection AF points
• Contrast AF points: 425
• 68% of the sensor area covered with AF points
• 2x faster autofocus than the previous camera
• Subject tracking performance has doubled in effectiveness
• Touch functions on the screen: AF-on, multi selector and anti-flicker
• Fast AF and exposure tracking at 10fps
• 8fps shooting continuous Live View
• Dust and moisture resistant
• 3.69 million dot OLED "tru-finder"
• PC sync port
• Can now record to server via FTP
  
• Externally power the camera via USB
• No mirror shock, no shutter shock, and silent shooting
• $3,199.99 available November 30th

I'm buying it for personal projects, travel and home use (and maybe to shoot some SEC football games if I can get an adapter for my Canon 100-400L or maybe rent a longer lens), and am starting out slow with the fairly inexpensive 28mm f/2.0 and 85mm/f1.8 which worked great for me this summer doing landscapes and portraits. Next year I'd like to get something in the 150-200mm range and maybe a macro. I heard a rumor that Sigma is starting to work on FE mount as well (not just the small E-mount for APS-C Sony cameras), so hopefully we can get some good lenses from them as well. I love having small kit like this that can fit in my Tenba mirrorless messenger bag alongside my iPad Pro 10.5", which edited the 42MP RAW photos from the A7rII this summer like a champ. It's the ultimate setup that I always wanted!

Anyone else doing a similar setup or buying this camera? Any recommendations for other lenses, such as third party Rokinons? Are those any good? Since I'm just starting out and changing systems my budget is already mostly blown and depends on how much I can get for selling my personal Canon gear.

 

[davidjearly]

Who else is buying this thing? I've been using Canon since 2005 and am finally making the switch (at home, not yet at work). Sony is finally catching up in the lens department for their FE mount. I rented the A7rII this summer and this new camera seems to address most of my concerns with this new A7rIII.

Specs that I cobbled together from multiple sources:

• BSI 42.2 MP full frame sensor same sensor
• 4K HDR video at 24p and 30p
• Full HD video at 120p
  
• ISO 100 to 32000 (expandable to ISO 50-104,200)
  
• 10fps (10fps no black out. At 8fps there is momentary blackout)
  
• 14 bit raw for everything including continuous shooting
• 5 axis stabilization to 5.5 stops
• Battery with same 2.2x capacity from the A9
  
• Physical dimensions are identical to the Sony a7r II
• All the new stuff is inside with the exception of the Joystick from the Sony a9
• 15 stops of dynamic range
• Faster autofocus from the A9
• Eye AF now operates at double the speed
• No optical low pass filter
• Low vibration shutter, completely new shutter
• Bionz X processor
• USB-C 3.1
  
• Two SD card slots (faster UHS-II)
  
• Raw compressed buffer at 87 photos and uncompressed is 28
• Pixel shift multi shooting to capture more color (169MP, processed on computer)
  
• 399 phase detection AF points
• Contrast AF points: 425
• 68% of the sensor area covered with AF points
• 2x faster autofocus than the previous camera
• Subject tracking performance has doubled in effectiveness
• Touch functions on the screen: AF-on, multi selector and anti-flicker
• Fast AF and exposure tracking at 10fps
• 8fps shooting continuous Live View
• Dust and moisture resistant
• 3.69 million dot OLED "tru-finder"
• PC sync port
• Can now record to server via FTP
  
• Externally power the camera via USB
• No mirror shock, no shutter shock, and silent shooting
• $3,199.99 available November 30th

I'm buying it for personal projects, travel and home use (and maybe to shoot some SEC football games if I can get an adapter for my Canon 100-400L or maybe rent a longer lens), and am starting out slow with the fairly inexpensive 28mm f/2.0 and 85mm/f1.8 which worked great for me this summer doing landscapes and portraits. Next year I'd like to get something in the 150-200mm range and maybe a macro. I heard a rumor that Sigma is starting to work on FE mount as well (not just the small E-mount for APS-C Sony cameras), so hopefully we can get some good lenses from them as well. I love having small kit like this that can fit in my Tenba mirrorless messenger bag alongside my iPad Pro 10.5", which edited the 42MP RAW photos from the A7rII this summer like a champ. It's the ultimate setup that I always wanted!

Anyone else doing a similar setup or buying this camera? Any recommendations for other lenses, such as third party Rokinons? Are those any good? Since I'm just starting out and changing systems my budget is already mostly blown and depends on how much I can get for selling my personal Canon gear.

Me!

I currently shoot with the Sony A9, A7RII and A6300. I'm just about to list my A7RII for sale on here and will be ordering the A7RIII. I love the Sony system and it works great for me - some very welcome updates to the A7RII that will make lots of folk very happy.

 

[macduke]

Me!

I currently shoot with the Sony A9, A7RII and A6300. I'm just about to list my A7RII for sale on here and will be ordering the A7RIII. I love the Sony system and it works great for me - some very welcome updates to the A7RII that will make lots of folk very happy.

Great! I'm new to Sony, but have been following their mirrorless developments since the A7 and more closely since the A7rII. I also owned several Sony Cybershot cameras in the early days of digital photography before mirrorless was a thing and even before they bought Konica Minolta and started making dSLRs. Do you like your 70-200 f/2.8 that I see in your signature? I'd like to get something in that range next but it's a bit pricey. Was thinking I could swing the f/4 version but feel like I'd be missing a bit of bokeh. What would be ideal is a prime somewhere between 150-200mm around f/2.8 that is similar in quality to the 85mm f/1.8 that I have. They're not GM but being primes they're pretty freakin sharp, especially coming from the old crappy Canon gear that I'm used to.

 

[davidjearly]

Great! I'm new to Sony, but have been following their mirrorless developments since the A7 and more closely since the A7rII. I also owned several Sony Cybershot cameras in the early days of digital photography before mirrorless was a thing and even before they bought Konica Minolta and started making dSLRs. Do you like your 70-200 f/2.8 that I see in your signature? I'd like to get something in that range next but it's a bit pricey. Was thinking I could swing the f/4 version but feel like I'd be missing a bit of bokeh. What would be ideal is a prime somewhere between 150-200mm around f/2.8 that is similar in quality to the 85mm f/1.8 that I have. They're not GM but being primes they're pretty freakin sharp, especially coming from the old crappy Canon gear that I'm used to.

Yeah, I used to own the A700 about 10 years ago and have followed Sony ever since. I've had brief spells with Nikon and Fuji but I really like what Sony is doing with mirrorless and won't ever go back to dslr.

The 70-200/2.8 GM is a beast, and probably my most used lens. I absolutely love it. Super sharp and the bokeh is beautiful. That said, I also own the 70-200/4 G, which I bought before the G Master was announced. It's still a fabulous lens and capable of beautiful things itself. Honestly, the main advantage to the 2.8 in practical terms is simply being able to use it for longer in low light. Unless you have a great reason to swing for the GM, I would heartily recommend the F4.

 

[guzhogi]

I have an A99, which is their high end DSLT. Great camera, though I haven't gotten a chance to use it lately. What I like about Sony is the builtin GPS, so if I go outdoors, I can later group my pics on where I shot them.

Here's a website I found for lenses for Sony cameras. Allows you to filter by A-mount or E-mount, full frame or aps-c. Pretty decent site. http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp?chbLensType=3

 

[macduke]

I have an A99, which is their high end DSLT. Great camera, though I haven't gotten a chance to use it lately. What I like about Sony is the builtin GPS, so if I go outdoors, I can later group my pics on where I shot them.

Here's a website I found for lenses for Sony cameras. Allows you to filter by A-mount or E-mount, full frame or aps-c. Pretty decent site. http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/results.asp?chbLensType=3

Thanks for the link! It's difficult to keep track of all the Rokinons, Voigtlanders, and Samyangs out there. From what I've read before, there are some decent third party lenses among these brands that I didn't even know about before.