Sony finally launched in the Philippines the so-called “baby” of their A-series line of cameras called the A7 Mark III. Touted as an all-rounder of the brand’s esteemed line of cameras, the new shooter sports improved internals and a bunch of new features. We were able to take it for a quick spin during its launch and here are our initial thoughts.
Design-wise, nothing much has changed compared to the previous generation A7 Mark II except for a slightly bigger and heavier body, which is not bad as it adds to the overall sturdiness of the camera. The body is encased in a magnesium alloy frame with metal textured finish and rubberized padding for grips. The compact body actually feels good in the hands.
There are a few subtle changes in button layout if we’re going to compare it to its predecessor. The record button is now moved from the right side to the back panel, to make way for the dual SD card slot, and the C3 button has been shifted to the left to make way for the Autofocus and Auto Exposure lock shortcuts. We now have a joystick built for easier autofocus adjustments.
On the left, we have a power plug-in port, microphone port, headphone-in port, mini-HDMI port, USB-C port, and an AV-multi port.
The other side has the dual SDXC card slots, with the first one having supporting UHS-II.
At the back-panel, there’s a 2.95-inch tiltable wide-type TFT panel and the 1.3cm electronic viewfinder (EVF).
Powering the A7 Mark III is Sony’s NP-FZ100 battery, which is a huge improvement over the Mark II and the NP-FW50 model that powers it. The new battery pack is rated for 710 shots, almost double that of 350-shot rating of the previous generation.
Apart from the subtle design changes, the A7 Mark III also receives some major boost in features. The camera is now capable of shooting 4K HDR videos and taking continuous shots at up to 10 frames per second. Maximum exposure is also increased to 204800 ISO.
The shooter is equipped with 5-axis optical image stabilization, which greatly helps in keeping shots as still as possible. Sony is also touting a 93% AF image area and an improved Eye AF feature. Take a look at our initial sample shots below, shot with an FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 lens included in the camera’s lens kit:
The A7 Mark III is no doubt a worthy successor to the A7 Mark II. The camera receives an improved design and a set of noteworthy features. It’s shaping up to be a worthy all-rounder despite being the most basic camera in the A-series line-up as it has pieces of what the A7R III, A7S II, and A9 can offer. Then again, we’ll know of the shooter’s potential once we really put the camera to the test.
The A7 Mark III is priced at Php115,990 (Body Only) and Php129,999 if bought with the FE 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens.
Sony A7 III camera key specs:
24.2MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS Sensor
BIONZ X Image Processor
Front-End LSI
693-Point AF System
10fps Continuous Shooting
UHD 4K30p Video with HL
S-Log3 Gammas
2.36m-Dot Tru-Finder OLED EVF
3.0-inch 922k-Dot Tilting Touchscreen LCD
5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
ISO 204800
Pixel Shift Multi Shooting
WiFi
NFC
Dual SD Slots
USB Type-C Port
Weather-Sealed Design
