Sony expands full-frame mirrorless camera lineup with a7 III

• Improved autofocus performance; includes advanced feature of the a9
• 4K video recording along with high speed full HD recording

SONY has just launched it's much anticipated full-frame mirrorless camera, the a7 III, in Malaysia. Priced at US$2,327 (RM8,999) for the body alone, the latest Sony digital camera packs a bevy of the company’s latest imaging technologies within a compact body.

Said to be Sony’s most powerful entry camera in its full-frame range, the new a7 III has a 24.2-Megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS image sensor with a variety of impressive features including 93% autofocus (AF) coverage, fast shooting of up to 10 frames per second and the ability to record 4K videos.

Innovation is abundant in the a7 III as its autofocus performance has been improved over the a7 II with 425 contrast AF points that work with a 693-point focal-plane phase-detection AF system that it inherits from its higher-end a9 model, launched last year.

To help photographers frame their shots, the a7 III features a high-resolution and contrast XGA OLED Tru-Finder that offers 2.3 million dots for accurate true-to-life shots.

Sony says the camera has 2x the focusing speed in low-light conditions and 2x the tracking speed compared to the previous model. Sony’s Eye AF feature is also available on the new camera, even in autofocus continuous mode.

Additional improvements include the addition of a multi-selector or ‘joystick’ for moving the focusing point quickly and Sony has finally added a touchscreen giving photographers the ability to touch to focus.

As mentioned before, the updated image processing system allows the camera to shoot full resolution images at up to 10 fps while providing accurate autofocus tracking for up to 177 JPEG images, 89 compressed RAW images and 40 uncompressed RAW images.

There is also a high-speed mode that is available for the mechanical shutter or completely silent shooting. The camera can also shoot continuously at up to 8fps in live view mode with minimal lag.

For video enthusiasts, the a7 III can record high-quality 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) videos with exceptional detail and depth. The camera can also record Full HD at 120fps at 100Mbps, allowing videos to be edited into 4x or 5x slow-motion video files.

The wide ISO range of 100 - 51,200 that allows it to shoot at even faster speeds. The new model is able to output 14-bit RAW format (unprocessed images that hold greater detail for post-processing)  even in silent and continuous shooting modes.

Shaky photos and videos will be things of the past as the a7 III has a 5-axis optical image stabilisation system that results in a 5.0 step shutter speed advantage.

The a7 III also includes dual media slots with support in one slot for UHS-II type SD memory cards.

The battery life has been greatly improved, allowing the camera to take up to 710 shots on a single charge. This is thanks in part to the utilisation of Sony’s Z series battery NP-FZ100 that offers 2.2 times the capacity of the W series battery NP-FW50 used on the a7 II.

Connectivity-wise, the inclusion of a USB Type-C connector allows the camera to be connected to a smartphone, tablet, computer or FTP server via WiFi, for easy transfer of content.

According to Sony, the a7 III is available with a7 III and SEL2870 lens in Malaysia from April 2018.

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