Sony A7S III review

[tarekma7]

Two-minute review:

The Sony A7S III is finally here, and boy does it deliver. With huge improvements to handling and connectivity, a pin-sharp viewfinder, and, of course, hugely impressive low-light performance across both video and stills, it's the finest hybrid video camera you can buy.

Of course, this all comes at a price, with the A7S III costing $3,498 / £3,800 / AU$5,999 for the body only. But, thanks to a long-awaited new 12.1MP back-illuminated full-frame sensor, it's a best-in-class low-light 4K video camera, and with an also-new Bionz XR processor that brings 8x faster performance and an expandable ISO of 40-409,600, not to mention a class-leading 15 stops of dynamic range, the specs definitely impress.

The fully articulating screen is one of the many other stars of the A7S III show. Sony teased this on the Sony ZV-1, but now it’s finally made its way to an A7-series camera. Perhaps an even bigger deal for frustrated Sony fans is that it's finally opted for a full touch UI, making interaction with the camera much more intuitive. 

Being a Sony camera, the A7S III also delivers excellent, customizable autofocus, with 759 phase-detection AF points and eye-tracking across animals and humans, which Sony claims to be 30% faster than on the A7S II. This is combined with in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and Active stabilization, which marries optical and electronic systems with a small crop-factor.

The 12.1MP sensor resolution means the A7S III can’t record 6K, let alone 8K, video, instantly putting it behind much of the competition in terms of outright resolution. What it can do, though, is record for a very long time, and in very low light. That’s the key reason you’ll be picking up an A7S III, which wiped the floor with the admittedly (much) cheaper Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in our tests.


OUR VERDICT:

Sony hasn’t just improved one or two aspects of its A7S series; with the new A7S III, it’s made an across-the-board set of upgrades that result in a camera that's the best of its kind. It handles beautifully for video thanks to its articulating screen and touch display, while a full-sized HDMI port and excellent IBIS head the list of other treats. It’s significantly dearer than the A7S II was when it launched, but if you’re a videographer in need of big physical pixels and excellent low-light performance, this is as good as it gets.

FOR:

Class-leading low-light video
New Touch UI
Fully articulating touchscreen
Impressive battery life
No overheating issues

AGAINST:

Pricier than predecessor at launch
Low resolution for stills

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