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Sony A7r III Reviews and Breakdown!!

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Sony just announced the New Sony A7r III to many peoples surprise, including myself, and WOW!! Sony added some killer features to the New A7r III, and now the camera is more Pro friendly like the recently announced A9 which I reviewed Here >>

The A7r III has the same killer 42MP sensor, but they added more advanced architecture to the unit and it’s processing power has also be greatly improved. This makes the A7r III capable of 10 FPS with silent shooting, and offers higher ISO abilities, plus 15 stops of dynamic range at the native ISO 100.
The AF speed and tracking abilities are also twice as fast, but still not A9 level abilities. That is extremely impressive in my opinion considering it’s the same base sensor found in the the A7r II which I reviewed in detail Here >>

Lately for the sensor we have a Sensor Pixel Shift feature which is a little complicated to explain. Basically the sensor moves one pixel in each direction and then combines all that information into one 42mp image. Basically, shifting the sensor one pixel gives the camera more color information to work with and the results are apparently remarkable. More color detail and less of the unwanted artifacts like noise, etc…

Next we have an updated camera body, that is not the same as the Sony A9 which surprised me. Basically it has the new Dual Memory Card feature introduced on the A9, and the new FZ100 battery which was introduced on the Sony A9.

In addition to this the EVF has been upgraded to the higher resolution A9 unit, and the LCD Screen on the back is now a touchscreen.

The A7r III also has a new USB Type-C port which is way faster and also allows you to charge the camera battery at the same time as transferring files.

Video wise, we apparently have better 4k footage because the camera is now using the entire sensor and then down sampling to 4k resolution which provides noticeable sharper video. Super 35mm Crop Factor Mode has been reported to be sharper however, for those wondering… Also, HLG and sLog3 is now available for those that prefer to do their own video grading with the huge benefit of higher dynamic range footage.

All this new killer hardware and features, and Sony decided to keep the price point highly competitive in the current pro market @ $3198 US
I was again surprised at the price considering the significant upgrades introduced on this model.

Key A7r III Features:

  • 42MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS Sensor
  • BIONZ X Image Processor & Front-End LSI
  • 399-Point AF System & 10 fps Shooting
  • UHD 4K30p Video with HLG & S-Log3 Gammas
  • 3.69m-Dot Tru-Finder OLED EVF
  • 3.0″ 1.44m-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
  • 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization (5.5 stops effective)
  • ISO 102400
  • Pixel Shift Multi Shooting
  • Built-In Wi-Fi/Bluetooth
  • FZ100 Battery 
  • Dual SD Slots
  • USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Port & PC Sync Port
  • Weight = 1.45 lb / 657 g
  • Price = $3198 US

Sony A7r III Promo Videos

Sony A7r III Camera Body

Sony A7r III – Hands On Reviews

Tony & Chelsea Northrup – Published on Aug 4, 2018

Nikon D850 vs Sony a7R III: Mirrorless vs DSLR ULTIMATE FIGHT!
The Slanted Lens – Published on May 24, 2018

Camera Comparison: Sony a7R III vs Sony a7 III vs Nikon D850
Dustin Abbott – Published on Feb 20, 2018

Sony a7R3 (a7R III) Long Term Review | 4k
Jason Vong – Published on May 23, 2018

Sony a7III VS a7RIII User Experience Review – BEST Hybrid Mirrorless Cameras of 2019
Max Yuryev – Published on Dec 22, 2017

A7R3 Review for Video Shooters – A7R III
TheCameraStoreTV – Published on Nov 21, 2017

Sony A7R III Hands-On Field Test (In Arizona!)
Dan Watson – Published on Nov 27, 2017

Sony a7RIII Review – A New Full-Frame Champion
Tony & Chelsea Northrup – Published on Oct 28, 2017

Sony a7R III Review vs D850 (with raw files)!

Closing Remarks:

Sony has hit it out of the park yet again with the New Sony A7r III in my opinion! It takes the best from the New A9 and incorporates high resolution features that matter to those in that market. Folks like me 🙂 The Sony A9 is killer for sports in particular, but not so much for high resolution ultra fine detail data like the 42mp A7r II and III sensor is capable of.

The price point of $3198 US on the A7r III is relatively low considering all the new features Sony has introduced if you ask me. Especially when the Sony A9 is ~$4500! The A7r II got a nice price reduction as well  and is currently $2898 + $500 instant savings for a $2398 total at the time of this article.

It’s been a pretty long time since the A7r II was re-leased, but I still did not expect a New A7r this time around. Rumors were all pointing to the A7 III coming out first.

Based on the A7r III sensor being the same as the A7r II, I believe that a higher 50+ megapixel Sony A9r will be coming out in the future, but perhaps not…

So what is the A7r III still missing? 
I can tell you the A7r III is still missing the fully articulating LCD screen that the killer A99 II I recently reviewed here offers, and a better more ergonomic grip is needed in my opinion. Also, I have a very strong feeling the battery door is not going to lock automatically like the A99 II does for example.

So clearly another generation camera body is still in order to address the ergonomic issues as compared to the killer DSLR’s. This was very apparent when I reviewed the A99 II and I was blown away at how good that camera felt in the hands… This is where the mirrorless cameras bodies need to evolve towards in my opinion. I have speculated that Sony may come out with a A-Mount/ E-Mount camera at some point to help bridge the gap, but I’m not so sure about that anymore. Perhaps they will just let the A-Mount camera line go and make better adapters for the mirrorless cameras like a LA-EA5 for example.

So What do you guys think Sony will do next?? A7 III, A7s III, A9r, A9s, A99 III, or perhaps something totally new like a medium format body or a A-E-Mount hybrid camera body?

Thanks for checking in everybody and please stay tuned for more articles coming soon! I have the New RX1o IV showing up the Lab today, and plan on getting the A7r III along with the New 24-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens which is clearly going to be killer based on all the other recent optics Sony has introduced…
Sony also announced a FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS Lens, but that is a long ways out… It’s nice to know it’s in development though, and I wish Sony would keep us more in the loop on lens development.


Hey Sony, why not tell us what lenses you have committed to in development? This would really make customers happy and allow for future planning I think…

Please let me know what you think in the comments below, and I will catch up with you guys later,
Jay

Sony A7r III Now for $3198 US @ BHPhoto| Amazon

Sony A7R III
Sony A7r III Reviews and Breakdown!!
Bang For The Buck
85
Feature Set
90
Build Quality and Design
80
Image quality
98
Video Quality
85
Audio Quality
80
Usability
85
Low Light Performance
90
Battery Life
95
Fun Factor
92
Auto Focus System
90
Reader Rating1 Votes
100
Incredible high resolution image quality
excellent video quality
great battery life
Ergonomics are not the best
LCD Screen does not fully articulate
88
Buy Now
BHPhoto
Amazon
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11 Comments

  1. I’m targeting to get my first full frame camera in 2018 and right now it’s the D850 v. the A7Riii. With advantages like mirrorless, EVF, lighter weight, etc the A7Riii looks the clear winner in terms of overall capability. My number one use for a FF camera however is astrophotography and Sony’s ‘star-eating’ history has me stopped me in my tracks. Can you shed any light on that issue for me in terms of Sony’s new offering?

    Reply

    1. Hi David and thanks for the comments 🙂
      Here is the best article on the Sony Star Eater issue I know of: https://www.lonelyspeck.com/why-i-no-longer-recommend-sony-cameras-for-astrophotography-an-open-letter-to-sony/
      It looks like Sony addressed the issue in the end, but I’m not really sure how it would compare directly to the D850 specifically for astro. Perhaps reach out to Dan Watson who appears to have both cameras currently: https://youtu.be/PSBx-iPcckY
      I hope that helps,
      Jay

      Reply

  2. Jay, thanks for the follow up — I’ll see if Dan Watson will be testing both vis-a-vis astrophotography.

    Reply

  3. Jay,
    Having shot a lot of astro now with the A7r2 on FW 4.0(latest). The star eater is there but requires quite a bit of work to have it actually happen.
    Shooting with a fast good quality lens on the inbuilt timers (95% of astro shooters) you would be very unlucky to have it affect your picture.
    I shoot a 24mm rokinon at fe 1.4 and 2.0. at 20 seconds at iso 3200 and 6400……The light capture is amazing and I have yet to see in issue.If you are doing tracking and using bulb mode on a less than great lens you might see it happen. Its basically removing what it believes to be hot spots on the sensor and it does this from what I can tell by the brightness of the stars….stars are bright sensor spots are not……so get a good lens and capture a lot of light and not am issue.

    Reply

  4. I’ve been wanting to get the A7RII for a while now. When I found out about the star eater problem it sort of put me off a bit.
    Lets hope the issue would be sorted in the new A7RIII. I was also wondering how an Astrophotography photo would turn out with the pixel shift feature. Maybe stack a few of these 42mp images together and see how it turns out?

    Reply

    1. Hi Duane and great question!
      I’m really not sure how the pixel shift feature would work for astrophotography due to the long exposures and movement of the stars. It might work if all the exposures happen fast enough and the overall star movement is minimal for all the frames. I don’t think it will work that good though due to the star movement, however I could be totally wrong. It might align the frames in post and account for this very thing? We will have to wait for somebody to try this out in order to find out 😉
      Soon enough I’m sure somebody will post about this, and the star eater issue if any…
      Thanks again,
      Jay

      Reply

  6. Hi Jay,
    In your title “reviews and breakdown”… , where is the breakdown?
    A few Internet pics?
    Sony wrote, the A7RIII is sealed, a few nice pics “to confirm” this.
    Sony also wrote during the first year of the A7RII, it was sealed…
    The second year Sony removed the sealing confirmation.
    I don’t trust Sony anymore, I want to see proof of the sealing.
    Ad

    Reply

    1. Hi Ad,
      The breakdown is the key features and all my thoughts of the new camera that were shared, and yes the promo pics courtesy of Sony. I understand if you don’t trust Sony, and if that is the case I would look to another brand… One thing I can add is weather sealing is not the same thing as weather proof. The weather sealing that Sony is showing in the illustration see thru images is not necessarily rubber seals. It’s just showing where all the seams are and that they addressed the issue of sealing in one way or another. As you can see from my various reviews of the A7-series cameras, the port doors have no rubber gasket, but more of an overlapping design that does function as weather sealing. Again, this does not mean you can put the camera underwater, but it should be ok in some lite rain for example..
      Have a great day,
      Jay

      Reply

      1. Hi Jay,
        thanks for your answer.
        I’m enjoying a few Nikon’s now… they are sealed.
        Not weather proof, certainly not under water, but they can stand some rain and so.
        I have read horror stories with Sony (A7RII), which were suppoost to be dust and weatherproof (in the first year).
        It still was a €3500 costing camera in Europe…
        The new A7III is also €3500, which is a good price for such a camera.
        The Nikon D850 is €3800,-.

        Reply

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