Sony Alpha 7S III

The latest addition to the Sony Alpha 7S full-frame mirrorless camera series is the Alpha 7S III. It features a new 12.1 megapixel back-illuminated full-frame image sensor with a 15+ stop dynamic range and a range of video recording capabilities, including 4K 120p and 10-bit 4:2:2 colour depth along with dual slot relay recording allowing over one-hour of 4K 60p movie recording. Other new features include a new autofocus system, touch screen interface, and side flip LCD screen. Aimed predominantly at video professionals, the new Alpha 7S III will also suit hybrid still/video shooters.

The completely redesigned Exmor R CMOS sensor reduces rolling shutter by up to three times as well as utilising a variety of advanced light-gathering techniques to ensure high-sensitivity with low noise, making it ideal for low-light situations without requiring large-scale lighting setups.

The new sensor also includes a focal plane phase-detection AF system for the first time in an S-series camera, along with a new BIONZ XR image processing engine that provides up to eight times more processing power and minimises processing latency. The 7S III boasts the world’s brightest and largest 9.44 million-dot (approx.)OLED electronic eye-level viewfinder and is the world’s first camera with dual CFexpress Type A card slots.

The 7S III has an ISO range of 80-102,400 (expandable to 80-409,600 for video and 40-409,600 for stills). Meanwhile, for the first time in an Alpha 7S series camera, the Alpha 7S III offers Fast Hybrid AF by combining phase-detection and contrast-detection AF, giving it the ability to track subjects over a wide area with outstanding speed, precision and smoothness, even when using a narrow depth of field. Sony’s advanced Real-time Eye AF improves detection performance by 30% over the previous system as a result of the new image processing engine.

The Hybrid AF system boasts 759 phase-detection points covering 92% of the image sensor. The camera can also achieve high AF precision to accurately and reliably focus in light down to EV-6, where subjects are difficult to see clearly even with the naked eye. And you can continuously shoot more than 1,000 uncompressed RAWimages at up to 10fps, or up to 8fps in live view mode, with either the mechanical or electronic shutter.

The design of the camera has been updated to ensure effective heat dissipation and minimises overheating, even during extended continuous recording sessions at 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 video lasting an hour or more. The new heat dissipating structure requires no fan or cabinet vents allowing Alpha 7S III to maintain dust and moisture resistance.

In terms of connectivity options, the Alpha 7S III supports 5GHz/2.4GHz wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11ac) and offers MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) to improve communication quality by using multiple antennas, doubling in speed when compared to the Alpha7R IV. It also carries new USB tethering support.

The Alpha 7S III will be available in Australia from early October 2020 for SRP $5,999.

For full product details and videos, please visit:www.sony.com.au/alphavideo