Sony’s penchant for giving professionals and casual photography enthusiasts groundbreaking equipment never ceases to surprise us. After all, there’s a reason why Sony’s mirrorless cameras are among the best in their class, thanks to an impressive set of hardware features. With that in mind, the Japanese electronics giant recently announced the launch of the Sony A9 III, which it claims is the world’s first mirrorless camera with a global shutter sensor.
The Sony A9 III builds upon past generations of Sony mirrorless cameras, bringing some new features while retaining some tried-and-tested tricks up its sleeve. But what exactly does it come with? Let’s take a look.
Going “Global”
The Sony A9 III packs a 24.6MP full-frame global shutter stacked BSI CMOS sensor, which can provide significantly faster performance with shooting speeds of up to 120 fps, and shutter speeds up to 1/80,000 sec. The camera also features with BIONZ XR processing, which allows its global shutter design to shoot full-resolution 14-bit raw stills at up to 120 fps.
Sony says that the global shutter sensor is also ideal for video recording capabilities, allowing the camera to record distortion-free footage, and high-resolution clips of up to 4K resolution at 60 fps. With that said though, the camera will will downsample footage from the full 6K image area. Of course, there’s support for slow motion video at up to 120 fps in 4K, all with no cropping involved.
Hardware and Capture Features
In terms of design, the A9 III features a slightly-revamped form factor that adds a bit more comfort to the camera grip. Sony has also included a new custom button on the camera, in addition to the usual set of controls featured on most Sony mirrorless cameras. The A9 III also comes with a 9.44m-dot OLED EVF, as well as a 3.2-inch touch screen LCD for added navigation and controls. All of this is wrapped up in a design that Sony says is built to withstand most weather conditions while shooting.
Sony has also included some useful new features with the A9 III – one is the camera’s new “Pre-Capture Mode,” which allows for continuous shooting for up to one full second before capturing an image by half-pressing the shutter button. There’s also a “Speed Boost function,” which users can assign to a custom button. This enables easy switching between different continuous shooting rates, making it ideal for fast-paced situations.
With the A9 III, Sony has included support for “Picture Profiles,” which includes S-Log3 and S-Cinetone. This allows users to maximize image quality when working on their content. The Aq III also integrates an AI Processing Unit for accurate subject tracking and detection. The camera can also focus on fast-moving subjects at up to 120fps thanks to a 759-point phase-detection AF system that works hand-inhand with a 5-axis image stabilization system to greatly reduce unwanted motion in footage.
Pricing and Availability
Now with all the tech and hardware onboard, Sony’s newest premium mirrorless camera is anything but cheap. In terms of pricing and availability, the Sony A9 III is available for pre-order now at select Sony retail partners for a suggested retail price of around £6,099.
