Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-09-19)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 47

Sony Alpha 7S III

Sony’s latest 12MP model is made for videobuthas

plenty of exciting updates, as Andy Westlake n d s o u t

S

ony’s Alpha 7S line

occupies a niche

position within its

full-frame mirrorless

range. With a 12MP sensor

capable of shooting at a

staggering ISO 409,600, it was

originally conceived as a low-light

photography specialist. But the

line really took off with the A7S II

in 2015, which was capable of

recording 4K video internally. It

earned a loyal following among

 lmmakers for its compact size

and excellent footage.

After a  ve-year gap, the Alpha

7S III represents a massive

update. It’s packed full of new

features that make it by far the

best Alpha 7 to date, in terms of

user interface and handling.

What’s interesting for

photographers is that many of

these will surely  nd their way

into more mainstream models,

with a successor to the popular

A7 III surely not far away.

Features

Like its predecessors, the A7S III

is based around a 12MP sensor.

But it’s a new design that

includes phase detection pixels

for autofocus, and employs a

back-illuminated structure to give

double the readout speed. In

concert with the brand-new Bionz

XR processor that’s three times

faster than before, this brings

radical improvements in terms of

speed and autofocus. As a result,

the A7S III is just as responsive

as Sony’s other recent models.

The on-chip phase detection

provides 759 focus points across

almost the entire image area.

Withsomanyto choosefrom,a

new‘AFframemoveamount’

settingtradesthespeedwith

whichyoucanmovethefocus

pointagainstpositioningnesse.

Allof therm’slatestAF

technologiesareonboard,

includingreal-timeEyeAFand

real-timetracking,andtheynow

allworkduringvideorecording.

A standardsensitivityrangeof

ISO80-102,400is available,

extendableto ISO40-409,600,

andSonysaystheultra-high

settingsshouldlookmuch

cleanerthanbefore.I’dcertainly

behappyto usethefullstandard

range,buthere’sthething.While

it’sgreatto beableto shootat

ISO102,400,it’squiteanotherto

nda goodreasonto doso.For

mostphotographers,theA7

III’shigherresolutionbut

Datafile

This may look like a late

evening shot, but it was

taken handheld well after

sunset. Look closely and

you can see stars

Sony A7S III, FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM at 24mm,

1/15sec at f/2.8, ISO 51,200

Price £3,600 body only

Sensor 12.1MP BSI-CMOS, 35.6 x 23.8mm

Output size 4240x2832

Focal length mag 1x

Lens mount Sony E

Shutter speeds 30 – 1/8000sec

Sensitivity ISO 80-102,400 (standard)

ISO 40-409,600 (extended)

Exposure modes PASM, Auto, Movie, S&Q,

3x Custom

Metering Multi, Centre, Spot, Average,

Highlight

Exposure comp +/-5 EV in 0.3EV steps

Continuous

shooting

10fps, 1,000-frame buffer

Screen 3in, 1.44m-dot, fully articulated

LCD touchscreen

Viewfinder 9.44m-dot, 0.9x magnification

AF points Hybrid, 759 PDAF points

Video 4K (3840x2160) up to 120p

External mic 3.5mm stereo

Memory card 2x UHS-II SD or CFexpress Type A

Power NP-FZ100 Li-ion

Battery life 510 frames (EVF)

600 frames (LCD)

Dimensions 128.9x96.9x80.8mm

Weight 699g

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