At their 10 years celebration of full frame mirrorless cameras, Sony decide to impress the world once again by launching the Sony A9 III with a killer feature, a milestone for the industry, the global shutter.
I haven’t posted on this blog for more than 4 years, but this launch made me do it once again, and maybe I’ll do a review too when I’ll get my hands on it, because I’ve preordered the Sony A9 III the second it was official. Big shout-out for the guys at MattssonsFoto Sweden for putting me on their preorders list!
Sony A9 III specs
- 24.6MP full frame Global Shutter sensor
- Up to 120 fps Cont. Shooting with autofocus and autoexposure
- Pre-Capture Function from 0.05 to 1s; Speed Boost Button C5
- Flash Sync at up to 1/80,000 Sec. (no limit baby)
- 4K 120p 10-bit Video; S-Log3 & S-Cinetone
- 759-Point Phase-Detect AF with Tracking
- 8-Stop 5-Axis In-Body Image Stabilization
- 9.44m-Dot EVF with 240 fps Refresh Rate
- 3.2″ 2.1m-Dot 4-Axis Touchscreen LCD
- Dual CFexpress Type A/SD Card Slots
My thoughts on the Sony A9 III
I think this camera thicks all my deepest dreams of features to have on my dream body. I’ve bought the A1 (also the moment it was launched) but never got to get in love with it, and reverted to my old and trusty A9 camera. A 6 year old model, dreaming at the day that the Sony A9 III will be launched.
Well, this was the day, just shy 3 days before my b-day. What a present Sony, thank you!
Many will complain that we will get “only” 24 mpx, but for me, this is the sweet spot, I never wanted more. I know how it feels since I’ve shot the A7Rs and A1, but still loved the 24mpx size. Another thing to consider is that to have a full sensor read/out at an instant, exactly what a global shutter does, you need a lot of bandwidth and this is the sweet spot to get exactly that. And to get even 120 fps in RAW with no limits to focus or exposure, this is beyond wildest dreams!
Speaking about the global shutter – I knew it will come one day and I had a confirmation. Maybe some of you remember my post when Sony launched the 5.0 firmware update of the original A9. It came with a bug that showed something in the menu, related to the global shutter. I wrote about it back then, but same day I got some emails from Sony asking me to take down that paragraph (I was a Sony Imaging Ambassador back then, before moving to Sweden) and just wait. Well, I’ve waited, and it took them a while, but I’m so happy today!
Sony A9 III is here, and it finally came with another killer feature that Sony had it in their compact cameras but never in the full frame: the Pre-Capture function
It is so important for getting that killer shot, that only years of experience can get you close to do it manually. Now it will be a breeze. You will be able to choose from 0.05s and up to 1s interval, interval in which the A9 III will pre-buffer and save to card the shots, the moment you fully press the shutter button.
It is that small delay that our brain needs to process the signal from the eye to the trigger finger that made us miss some great shots with that decisive moment a fast bird leaves a branch, or a fast arrow leaves the bow, or the bullet … and so on. Can’t wait to play with it!
I only hoped that the Sony A9 III screen will not be like the one on the A7sIII and instead be fully articulated like in the Sony A7R V. Another dream come true, plus many others like picture profiles in video modes, 4K 120 fps and the ability to switch shooting modes from the menu and not only from the dial.
Well, there is so much to write about this monumental camera, but I’ll keep that for my other article, after I test it!
Hope that Sony Nordic will make it happen, for the good old times we had together!
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