A Long-Term Review of the Sony a7 III: Still the Best Do-It-All Full-Frame Camera?

It's been about a year since the Sony a7 III has been released, and a lot has happened in that year, particularly with a flurry of new mirrorless cameras with similar capabilities coming to the market. Is the Sony a7 III still one of the best choices for hybrid shooters in comparison to other mirrorless options? This great video explores exactly that question.

Coming to you from The Hybrid Shooter, this helpful video explores the Sony a7 III after a year of usage and compares it to the latest cameras from Fujifilm, Nikon, and Panasonic. Personally, I was a huge fan of the a7 III in my review, and I still think it's one of the best deals out there for both stills and video shooters. It has an absolutely excellent full frame sensor, strong autofocus performance, great low-light capabilities, and very good video specs. What I always appreciated about the camera is that unlike other "budget" cameras, Sony didn't remove crucial features that seriously impeded the work of photographers and videographers, but rather downgraded things like the viewfinder resolution, still leaving them plenty usable, but just a little below those of its counterparts like the a7R III. This just makes the a7R III look like the "luxury" version in comparison, still leaving the a7 III as an excellent option. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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26 Comments

It just proves that new is not always better...

It's you, not the camera...

Coming from Canon (switched 2 years ago), the colors are spot on. I only adjust them when I shoot with the flash wrong.

Definitely have to agree with Rk here. Not one problem here and I am eagerly looking forward to what's next from them.

Dave Morris any examples of this with the new v3 Sonys? This hasnt been my experience with v3 (I rented a a7r3 and was really surprised, lovely files and colors), yes a7ii had somehow weird colors but this has been corrected.

You're exactly right I sold my Sony a7iii a few months after I bought it it's a good camera I think everybody's just blowing it out of proportion I still have a Sony a7rii. And I absolutely love it the because of the 40 megapixel sensor. I shoot a lot of Canon lenses with it because it seems to me that the color comes out a lot better using Canon lenses then with the Sony lenses and I do have a lot of Sony lenses also very expensive ones but again the Cannon glass seems to provide a better color with the Sony camera no one's ever talked about that.

Absolutely love mine! Canon user for over 15 years and couldn’t be happier with the change.

Why people complain about color science if most of us shoot raw and edit each and every image.

Exactly. I hear people say the color science isnt as good as that one.

They should just go buy a point and shoot and shutup.

The colour science thing seems to be a real sticking point. From what I've seen, it takes very minor tweaks to achieve the same outputs, or near enough. If that's what you really want. I feel like it's something that's been blown way out of proportion by photographers themselves. Scroll down below and look at the featured photos & videos. How many of these have the colour grade that came straight out of the camera?

Because if the colors are close to right straight out of the camera, that's less time editing, Less time editing is quicker production time, which is better for business.

You can adjust the colors within the camera and never have to change them again, and they come out just fine, requiring no editing, just effort.

In a blind test, even Canon users preferred the Sony colors over the Canon color.

These articles with just a YouTube imbed are truly pathetic. Web 2.0 at its worst.

1. The traffic suggests otherwise.
2. Don't click on them.

It's almost like people click on your article titles to read something. Embarrassing.

I agree with Andy, here. If you don't like them, don't click on them. I honestly really enjoy them. Here's why. FStoppers, to me at least, is not the web equivalent of a photography magazine that has to pump out OC with every issue. While I enjoy their OC, it's important to have a constant stream of updated content to keep viewers. Attempting to consistently pump out interesting, thought provoking content multiple times a day on a FREE platform is impossible. These YouTube imbeds are supplemental curated content that A. I don't have to go looking for, and B. are being posted by people who I've come to trust to not give us BS about photography. So, to Andy and the rest of the guys at FStoppers, keep up the good work. Some people will always have something to complain about, even when they're getting it for free.

The A7(r)III is a pain in the ass! It starts with changing a lens (maybe it works better for a lefty?), especially in the dark. The whole handling of the cam is just too slow to use it in the pit. Autofocus runs anywhere with difficult lighting. The buttons are difficult to reach (i.e. AF-ON and so on are not convienient to use, you need unnatural finger positions, you need some force to press the buttons as they are small and too deep inside the body). Not to mention the menu. And if I use one A7 III from a friend I can barely work with it as it is totally different programmed. Yup, at least it's a nice computer that can take pictures. To me it's a hate/love affair...

Weird. I can see this comment being in reference to first and second gen A7 cameras, but I’ve never had an issue with the third gen. Buttons and layout are very convenient and customizable. Also love the joystick addition.

I think he's just used to cameras that weren't trying to jam everything into a little super light box for people that get tired from holding a camera easily, need eye auto focus to get pics in focus and care more about ease of use than an old workhorse. In return you get a cute, light over heating, horrible menu box and nobody wants to admit they may have jumped ships too soon just to be cool. I could be wrong.

A good impartial review but would have been better had Alex kept his "I love it because I own it" opinion to himself.

Mmm, I don't and have never owned an a7 III.

Most of how para. 2 is written indicates a first party perspective.

Yes, because I was provided one to review, which I then had to return after I wrote the review.

Thanks. Apologies for the late reply.

The Sony a7lll is the best camera I've ever owned! Easy to use, tremendous versatility amazing detailed clear and sharp photos!