It has been five years since the Sony Alpha 7S II launched, which also means the king of low-light photography and videography have stood the test of time. In that time, nothing came close to taking its throne as the best videography and photography tool when it comes to low-light scenes. The camera is the weapon of choice for plenty of aspiring videographers for obvious reasons. The new one has a lot to live up to.

There are a few similarities from the A 7S III and the A 7S II. For one, it records at 4K resolution 10-bit still. But instead of shooting at a measly 30 frames a second, the new A 7S III now records at 120 frames a second. That is a large improvement over the older A 7S II. It also outputs up to 4K 60p 16-bit output via a full-sized HDMI port.

You might not want to put this beside the Canon EOS R5 though, it is more of a Canon EOS R6 contender, if you ask me. The A 7S III still shoots from a 12.1-Megapixel Full-Frame CMOS sensor with a small, but significant improvement. The new Exmor R technology means that the Rolling-Shutter problem that the A 7S II and A 7S had is now reduced to a barely noticeable level at the worst.

Better Pair of Eyes

The A 7S II was known for its ability to “see” even better than our regular eyes. The A 7S III improved on that with an even bigger native ISO range at 40-409,600. There is no need to be afraid of noise too with about 1 more stop on noise reduction at highly sensitive ISO settings and 15 dynamic range stops. This will ensure that details do not get murky in low-light shoots. Even S-Log3 allows you to record from ISO as low as 160 if you really need to. Say goodbye to the ND filters you have bought for the A 7S II.

There was a small issue with Auto Focus when it comes to Sony cameras of old though. They have corrected that with the Sony A 7S III with their new Fast Hybrid Auto Focus system with 759 points of Auto Focus points covering 92% of the sensor. We have seen the technology implemented on Sony’s A 7R III and A 7 III.

Longer Shoots, Better Feel

Recording 4K videos for a long time creates plenty of heat. Sony devised a new heat dissipating mechanism to ensure that you an continue recording at 4K continuously for at least an hour. We suspect that contributes a little bit to the bigger overall package size. Of course, you still get the highly acclaimed 5-axis stabiliser within the compact body.

A larger package also means that you can fit more things into it though. The A 7S III allows you to work with two memory cards now. You can either choose to work with two regular SD cards or two new standard CFexpress Type A cards for even higher speeds to work with. You need that for 100mb/s card write speeds when shooting at 4K resolution.

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In terms of ergonomics, besides the thicker body, there are a few changes to how the button layout and arrangement. For example, there is a new joystick at the back with a slightly different dial button. The record button has been moved yet again. It is in a much improved location though – near the shutter button. Even the mode select button is raised a little higher for better accessibility.

Instead of the limited flip out LCD display with limited play, Sony has finally adopted the vari-angle LCD that plenty of users prefer. This allows you to place the Sony A 7S III anywhere at any angle and you do not need a secondary monitor to see what the camera sees.

Availability

If you are looking for a replacement of the aging Sony A 7S II, you may not have a fitting replacement until now. No, not the Canon EOS R5, the new Sony A 7S III. No, it does not shoot at 8K, but 4K is still plenty more than enough these days. With better colour science, higher ISO sensitivity, and better noise removal, this is the only way to beat the reigning king of low-light.

The Sony A 7S III will be available in Malaysia from October 2020 onward. There are no mentions on price just yet though. We are guessing that it would be priced slightly above the price of a brand-new A 7S II body (roughly between MYR 8,500 to MYR 9,000 for body only). Of course, there are still plenty of lenses for you to choose from with the new A 7S III.