I feel like I’ve been waiting for this camera forever.
I purchased the Sony α7II on a whim back in the earliest parts of 2016. The purchase came about as a necessity — I needed a higher resolution sensor for an assignment and this was the best mirrorless full-frame camera on the market at the time.
Even at that time, I was hesitant to go all-in on the α7II — it was nearly a year old in early 2016, had a somewhat unflashy design, and had a pitiful lineup of lenses to choose from. Plus, as everyone at the time said, we were only a few weeks away from seeing the α7III, as Sony had released new camera after new camera in short periods of time.
Those few weeks stretched into two years.
Finally, this evening, the α7III was announced, bringing with it an answer to nearly every single complaint I had about the α7II.
- The α7III keeps the same 24 MP resolution, but the new backside-illuminated sensor is much improved.
- The α7III has a 10 fps burst rate, ISO up to 204800, and can shoot video in 4K + HDR.
- The α7III comes with my oft-requested focus selector joystick.
- The α7III includes dual SD card slots, with support for one UHS-II SD card.
- The α7III’s backside screen is now a touch screen.
- And, most importantly, the α7III’s AF system is effectively the α9’s AF system, ensuring 2x faster autofocus over the α7II and dramatically improved Eye AF over 693 AF points.
This camera, by and large, is the camera I have been talking about for two years. It’s nearly perfect. The only caveat in the package is the OLED EVF — it’s the same as the prior α7II and not the high-res version offered in the α7R III. Not a dealbreaker, but definitely disappointing.
All this comes in at $2,000 USD or $2,600 CAD — mostly on par with the α7II before it and well worth every dollar.
I was worried I’d have to think long and hard about jumping up to the more expensive α7R III, but I’m mostly convinced now that the α7III is everything I need in a camera (and more) for substantially less money. I’m almost surely upgrading to the new α7III come mid-April. Plus, I may have a few extra dollars to put toward a different lens.
You can preorder the α7III on Amazon today and check out some sample images and first impressions over on Philip Bloom’s blog.