As you know, the first SONY ALPHA 7S arrived in stores in 2014 determined to make a lot of noise. And he got away with it. That camera without mirror with professional vocation and full frame sensor landed determined to redefine the features proposed to us up to that point the cameras in the field of video recording, and did so mainly thanks to an extended sensitivity of 409600 ISO that made it possible to record images in very little ambient light, and yet, still , throwing a very low noise level. Sony soon set up its successor. Just a year later the Japanese brand placed in stores the A7S II, a camera very similar to its predecessor that, among other improvements, refined its ergonomics, polished the performance of the sensor and focus system, introduced the five-axis stabilization system and enabled internal 4K video recording.
The nearly five years we have had to wait to know what the Alpha 7S III proposes reflect that Sony has taken it easy to introduce it to the third version of a camera that aspires with absolute clarity to reign in the field of professional video recording, and that finally arrives with many novelties. Like its predecessors, the A7S and A7S II models, this camera opts for a full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor with moderate resolution (12.1 megapixels). Despite its resemblance, Sony has made significant improvements to this getter that, on paper, should allow it to clearly exceed the performance of the sensors on which the other two A7S cameras are supported. The image processor is a BIONZ XR chip that has also been deeply redesigned in order to get the most out of the hardware components with which it coexists.
One of the elements that allows this camera to advantage its predecessors with some clarity is its autofocus system, a hybrid solution that implements 759 phase detection points that guarantee us 92% coverage of the sensor surface. This approach manages to accurately identify the object we are photographing even in spaces with minimal ambient luminosity (it proposes an exposure value of up to EV -6). It can also fire bursts of up to 10 frames per second, which are reduced to some unspicuous 8 frames per second if we use live view mode. One of the hallmarks of the A7S II model, its 5-axis optical stabilization system, is still present in this camera, although the A7S III is the first model in this family that incorporates an active capture mode designed specifically to record video without tripods and in conditions where climbing could ruin the material we are collecting.
Another component of this camera that improves greatly when compared to that of the other A7S is the electronic viewfinder, which on the A7S III bets on a larger OLED panel (0.64 inches) and with a much higher resolution (9.44 million points). In addition, during the presentation of this camera Sony has ensured that this new electronic viewfinder guarantees us a lower distortion and minimal latency, two features that allows the A7S III to outperform its predecessors. This camera is first and foremos than one without a mirror designed to be worn during video recording. With it we can take some great photographs, and in captures with very little ambient light it is likely that it follows in the footsteps of the original A7S and its successor by giving us snapshots with a high detail, convincing colorimetry and a low noise level. Still, betting on it makes sense if we're going to take advantage of its capabilities in the field of video recording to a greater or lesser extent. In addition, this camera is capable of recording 4K video with a maximum cadence of 120 frames per second, with a color depth of 10 bits and 4:2:2 color subsampling.