Sony Malaysia is introducing the latest addition to their ever-popular mirrorless camera lineup – the Sony a7 III. It features a brand new 24.2MP back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor with outstanding dynamic range at low sensitivities.

Sony a7 III (ILCE-7M3)

Key highlights of the new Sony a7 III as follows:

• Newly Developed Full-frame 24.2MP Back-Illuminated Exmor R CMOS Image Sensor with Evolved Image Processing
• Wide ISO range of 100 – 51200 (expandable to ISO 50 – 204800 for still images) and 15-Stop Dynamic Range at low sensitivities
• World Class AF system featuring 693 phase-detection AF points covering 93% of the image area, 425 contrast AF points and fast and reliable Eye AF
• Continuous Shooting at up to 10 fps with either Mechanical Shutter or Silent Shooting and full Auto Focus/Auto Exposure tracking
• 5-axis optical in-body image stabilisation with a 5.0 step shutter speed advantage
• High-Resolution 4K Movie Shooting with full pixel readout and no pixel binning across full-width of the full-frame sensor
• The longest rated battery life of any Mirrorless camera at 710 shots per charge
• Upgraded operability and functionality including the addition of joystick for adjusting focus points, Dual SD Card Slots, SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.1 Gen 1) USB Type-C Terminal and more

New Sensor

The new sensor has back-illumination technology which allows more light collection compared to the conventional photosensors. The front-end LSI chip doubles the readout and processing speed in comparison with the a7 II. In low light situations, the native ISO range has been increased from the a7 II’s 100-25600 to 100-51200.

AF Module from Sony a9

The most significant upgrade for the a7 III is the autofocus performance. It shares the similar autofocus configuration as the Sony a9 which has 693 phase detection points and 425 contrast detection points. That basically covering 93% of the whole image area. The system includes Sony’s 4D Focus which is capable of tracking a subject while predicting its movements based on its speed and position in a three-dimensional space.

Faster Continuous Shooting

The a7 III might be inherited the AF module from the a9, but too bad not the lightning speed burst shooting speed is still exclusive to the a9. Nonetheless, the a7 III burst shooting speed has been increased from 5 fps to 10 fps with AF/AE tracking. The camera is capable of providing the live view with blackout at up to 8 fps, while at 10 fps, only the last image is displayed. Besides, the buffer has increased to 177 JPGs, 89, compressed RAW or 40 uncompressed RAW files.

Improved 5-axis IBIS

The 5-axis in-body-image-stabilisation (IBIS) is not new but what Sony has done is the improvement in its performance – compensating up to 5 Ev while the previous generation tops 4.5 Ev.

4K Video

The a7 III introduces 4K video shooting with zero sensor crop in 24/25 fps. Since the camera uses full sensor readout, the 4K video is the result of the 6K video from the 24.3MP sensor.

Longer Battery Life

Another welcomed improvement is the a7 III is now using the same battery (NP-FZ100) as the a9 which can last twice longer than the old NP-FW50. The camera is rated at 710 shots by CIPA standards, longest battery life among all the other mirrorless cameras.

Pricing & Availability

The new Sony a7 will be available in Malaysia starting April 2018.

Sony a7 III (body only): RM 8,999

Sony a7 III and SEL2870 kit: RM 10,999