The new Sony α7S III puts a variety of new features in the hands of creators, offering an unprecedented level of flexibility and versatility. YouTube reviewer Gerald Undone had the chance to try it out and in his most recent video takes a deep dive into the new camera – examining its autofocus performance, dynamic range, IBIS, build quality, image quality, 4K quality and more.
“It’s essentially the perfect camera and it gets my highest recommendation.” – Gerald Undone reviews the new α7S III
New Body Design
Gerald says he is a big fan of the new body design, noting the bigger buttons, deeper grip and hinged port doors. “Something I like about Sony, is that they don’t tend to go backwards in design. So you’re getting everything here that was better about the α7R IV.”
“The biggest body improvement though is the full-size HDMI port on this forward door. This has been requested for years and so I give them huge credit for including it. They’ve also included a screw-on protective cable cage with the camera. It’s got three control dials, so you can manage all aspects of exposure easily. The shutter button is raised on one side for a more comfortable finger position, and the command dial has been improved.”
The α7S III For Video
Testing the autofocus performance, he shows how drastically you can overexpose and underexpose while keeping AF. “...on the α7S III at f/2.8, I managed to keep tracking up to five stops overexposed and six stops underexposed with focus confirmation and face detection. This is the best I’ve seen.”
“Overall I’m extremely impressed by the options here. The fact that I can record 4K 60p full-frame internal, with no crop at 10 bit 4:2:2, with no limitations and no overheating, is an absolute win and the only device to do this currently that isn’t a cine camera.”
Not only is he impressed by the camera’s video performance, but also its capabilities for photography. “...when it comes to actual autofocus and drive performance, this is probably Sony’s best camera. So if you don’t need the megapixels, this is not just a video camera, but an outstanding photo camera as well.”
The α7S III For Photo
“I think people are going to look at this camera as a video-only camera, but I think that’s undervaluing it a little bit. If you’re someone like me who needs photography as a supplement to their videos, whether that be social media posts, thumbnails, or BTS shots, I think you’ll find this camera to be quite capable and might save you from needing to buy a dedicated photo camera.”
“Also when it comes to photography, this camera has the best viewfinder I’ve ever seen. It honestly looks like real life. Like looking through an exposure-compensated optical viewfinder if that makes sense. It’s incredibly high resolution and very fast. And the buffer on this camera clears impossibly quickly even when shooting uncompressed RAW+ JPG at the highest drive mode with only SD cards. You can get over 200 images in a single burst before it even starts to slow down.”
Final Verdict
In the video Gerald concludes, “This camera is incredible. It met all of my expectations, and exceeded most of them. It does things that no other camera on the market can do.”
“For current Sony users, this is your dream camera and you should pre-order this immediately. ...But for people on the fence, I think this camera offers a lot to make the Sony system more enticing. Better ergonomics and menus with full touch screen control. No quirks or limitations. No overheating. A great selection of lenses. Best in class dynamic range and rolling shutter performance. Terrific codecs and recording options with editing support that can make your entire post production workflow a breeze, without giving up an ounce of quality. For video, it truly has it all.”
“It’s essentially the perfect camera and it gets my highest recommendation.”
See more from Gerald Undone’s deep dive into the α7S III:
