After years of waiting, the Sony a7S III has just been announced. Building on the success of previous models, the new camera provides something special for filmmakers around the world.
Doug Guerra, from B&H Photo Video Pro Audio, gets his hands on the new Sony a7S III for a few days and puts it through its paces with an in-depth, hands-on review. Covering the basics on the camera, such as 4K 120p video, 10-bit depth 4:2:2 color, its useful variangle LCD screen, and how it handles in low light, Doug gives his thoughts on the performance of the new 12.1MP camera.
Thanks to the new BIONZ XR processor the new a7S III is eight times faster than the BIONZ X, and you can tell that the camera has had a complete redesign. Due to the improvement in processing rolling shutter is virtually eliminated — something that has plagued filmmakers and videographers for a long time.
Testing out the low light capabilities, Doug provides an excellent demonstration by taking a cityscape scene at night and ramping up the ISO to demonstrate just how clean the footage can be despite the high ISO values. It looks impressive, and is pleasing to see that by using this camera even the faintest of lights now appear in footage, that one would normally struggle to see with the naked eye.
It's great to see the use of split screens when Doug is testing out the autofocus for video and stills, too. Being able to see the operation and results of the adjustments in real-time really helps to get a feel for how the camera operates, without even laying a hand on it.
was leaked before the launch
The thing that I've noticed in the video reviews is that they're not using lens hoods. I know that they make a big difference using prime lenses. I assume that they help with zooms but I'm not sure how much.
Sony A7SIII is being applauded for its excellent video capabilities. I'm sure it is indeed great for that purpose. I'm also sure this camera will be great for still images as well. Remember Nikon D3 that ruled the waves not so long ago? With its 12-megapixel sensor it captured some phenomenal images that are presentable even today.
Likewise this Sony version with its huge size pixels that capture much more light, Sony A7SIII will also be able to capture subjects will finest details and clarity producing little or no noise even at very high ISOs. I’m also sure this can successfully compete against its own elder brother A7III in producing clean high quality images that can be printed on huge size platforms for example say 60” x 40” with ease losing no details.
Bottomline: High pixel count like 45 or 50mp on 35mm sensor is a gimmick; not a real benefit. However, if sensor size is enlarged for that purpose like medium format; 50 mp will produce great images that are bound to be far superior to the 50mp 35mm sensor outputs.