Sony Alpha A7 III: The most advanced "Basic" Mirrorless has arrived in Malaysia at RM8999

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Sony Malaysia being the number one camera brand here in Malaysia has finally brought in their recently released "Basic" Full-frame Mirrorless Sony Alpha A7 III. Although Sony introduced it as a "Basic Entry Level" full frame camera, it's not as "Basic" as you think as everyone in the industry won't call this a Basic model at all. In fact, it does so much more than the competitors on the market at a much lower price. It will be available here in Malaysia in April for RM8999 (Body Only). So what could this beast of an Entry-Level full frame camera do?

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Sony A7 III tech specs & key features:

  • Newly Developed Full-frame 24.2MP Back-Illuminated Exmor R CMOS Image Sensor with Evolved Image Processing
  • Wide ISO range of 100 - 51200 (expandable to ISO 50 - 204800 for still images) and 15 Stop Dynamic Range at low sensitivities
  • World Class AF system featuring 693 phase-detection AF points covering 93% of the image area, 425 contrast AF points and fast and reliable Eye AF
  • Continuous Shooting at up to 10 fps with either Mechanical Shutter or Silent Shooting and full Auto Focus/Auto Exposure tracking
  • 5-axis optical in-body image stabilization with a 5.0 step shutter speed advantage
  • High-Resolution 4K Movie shooting with full pixel readout and no pixel binning across full-width of the full-frame sensor
  • The longest rated battery life of any Mirrorless camera at 710 shots per charge
  • Upgraded operability and functionally including the addition of joystick for adjusting focus points, Dual SD Card Slots, SuperSpeed USD (USB 3.1 Gen 1) USB Type-C Terminal and more

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Much more Improved Ergonomics

The build and design make the A7 III feels great in the hand compared to its predecessor. Sony has finally moved their movie recording button to a much more easy to reach position. It accepts dual media slots but with only one slot supporting UHS-II type SD memory SD cards. One of the biggest complains from previous Sony camera is their battery life. Sony has listened to their customer and give us a new Z Series battery, NP-FZ100. With CIPA measurement, it can now shoot up to 710 shots per charge. Sony also compensates their confusing menu system by adding "My Menu" for users to set up their own menu items up 30 of them.

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Improved Full-frame sensor

The newly developed 24.2MP back-illuminated Exmore R CMOS image sensor is paired with a front-end LSI that doubles the readout speed of the image sensor. With new updated BIONZ X processing engine, the processing speed has been boosted by approximately 1.8 times compared to its predecessor A7 II. With all the components work together, it allows the camera to shoot at faster speeds while enabling a wide range of ISO from 100 - 51200 (expandable to ISO - 204800 for still images) and an overall 1.5 stop improvement in image quality. Hence, the camera is capable to capture up to 15-stop of dynamic range making it the perfect camera for filmmakers that always chase for more DR value to achieve that sweet cinematic look. The wide DR also gives more versatility in post-processing to photographers that often shoot landscape or back-lit portraiture. The A7 III can also output 14-bit RAW format even in silent and continuous shooting modes. As part of most Sony High-End camera, it is also equipped with a 5-axis IBIS that Sony claimed to get 5.0 step of shutter speed advantage.

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Baby A9 with Tremendous AF Performance

The Sony Alpha A7 III, otherwise known as Baby A9 features the same AF system that includes 425 contrast AF points that work with a 693-point focal-phase detection. With the AF system covers approximately 93% of the frame, it allows the camera to tracks moving a subject accurately even at the most difficult moment. The Eye AF feature, even in AF-C mode works extremely well for situations where the subject is turning around, looking down or otherwise obstructed. Check out a couple test shots below:

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After testing out the AF system pairing up with the 10 fps continuous shooting, the camera performs really well when it comes to tracking the subject. With much-improved blackout time from using the EVF, tracking a subject is actually pretty easy with this camera. As you can see from the images above, it sticks on the subject even when there's a foreground subject being introduced to the shot.

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Full-frame 4K: Filmmaker's Dream

Getting a full fame camera that supports 4k used to be super expensive but it stops here. Sony has definitely brought the "Entry Level" standard up a bar. On the A7 III, we're getting full 4K video recording with no crops at all on most video setting. The camera uses full sensor readout to collect 2.4x the amount of data and oversamples it to a 4K footage.

The A7 III now supports S-Log 2 and S-Log 3 as well as An HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) picture profile for instant HDR workflow. It can also record up to 120fps slow-mo video at 1080p.

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Final Verdict

As a filmmaker/photographer myself, I could see a huge potential that many will jump ship to the Sony Alpha A7 III. It offers everything that we need while keeping it at a rather low price. But could it be the only camera that we need for the next couple years? We'll need to find it out, perhaps I could tell you guys the answer when we get ourselves a review unit. So make sure to stay tune on TechNave for more upcoming Sony Alpha news.

Sony Alpha a7 III Specs & Price >