Sony A7 III ILCE7M3/B Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera

I have only had it for 6 days and, as a lifelong Canon shooter, am still on the learning curve, but so far, I love what this camera can do. Perhaps the biggest surprise so far, is that my Canon glass with the MC11 adapter performs better with the Sony. Case in point is my Canon 70-200 F2.8. On my 7D, this lens only got sharp at around f4.5 in spite of tweaking the focus. With the Sony, the darn thing is now sharp at f2.8 – that’s huge for me as I was getting ready to sell this lens and upgrade to the Tamron when they offer their native Sony glass.

Aside from lens performance, high ISO shots are simply amazing – even at 12,800, they are better than 1600 on my 7D – changes everything for me based on what and how I shoot. Though getting used to controls and functions will take a while, I love the customization that is possible and have already tweaked it with the controls I think I will need. Tons of videos out there on how to set it up – take the time to watch a few and it will save you tons of time. Also, don’t forget to set up a control button to turn on the APS-C crop, instantly provides 50% more reach at the expense of about 30% reduction in resolution but it beats post processing cropping.

After 8 days in Sedona and the Grand Canyon, I am even more impressed. I exposed almost every shot for the highlights trusting I would be able to bring out the shadows with no noise, I was not disappointed. I have attached an example where the shadows looked black in the viewfinder.

So here we are four years later and based on what I’ve read about the A7IV, unless you need more resolution, there really is no reason to upgrade as in almost every situation, the III shoots as well, and in some instances, better than the IV. Still a great choice!

 I have been a user of both Nikon and Canon over the past 3-4 years and made the switch to sony in August of 2017. The a7iii is by far the best camera I have used on these three platforms. I previously owned and still use the Sony a6300 which was great for a budget camera but had tons of issues for someone who shoots professionally. I primarily shoot weddings and sports but also do commercial level work on the side. The photos I have provided are my first test of the a7iii in a somewhat warm climate doing both photo and video.

Improved Features:
1. IN CAMERA PROXIES… no one talks about this on youtube!!
2. dual card recording ability, dual writing ability
3. HLG color space, no overheating
4. Bright and Beautiful monitor, focus peaking, customizable buttons, uncompressed RAW photo capability, a large buffer depending on card size, and great autofocus with eye AF and face tracking… plus better “color science.” Color science means absolutely nothing unless you are delivering a final image or video straight out of the camera, its all subjective and if you want Accurate colors Sony is the way to go. I could rant for pages about “color science.”
5. Headphone Jack… Monitoring external audio is absolutely important if you are running wireless mics. I will use this to monitor my wedding ceremony Audio.

Things that could be improved:
1. The EVF is not calibrated color wise to match the display screen on the back of the camera… not a huge deal for video but it can get annoying for photo. Know your settings well enough to get you close in photos, and the RAW capabilities in Lightroom will give you some leeway.
2. No face tracking while using an external recorder AND recording in Camera. If you record solely on the external recorder you can still retain face tracking which is not a huge deal, there is an option in the settings but it turns the external screen black.
3. only 1 UHS-II slot. I would love to see two of them.
4. no 10-bit color depth… this is probably coming on the a7siii which I understand, but it would be incredible to get a firmware update on the a7iii, a7riii, and a9 to allow 10-bit color, making SLOG and HLG way easier to expose for and work with in post. Also, it allows creators to keep their a7iii and purchase an a7siii to match perfectly with it.
5. The shutter button is a little spongy… not a huge complaint here because I am being rather critical

The a7iii has improved almost all of the issues thus far I have experienced with Sony APS-C Cameras. In my example photos and videos, I used the 70-200 f/2.8 GM (incredible lens). The a7iii lasted 4.5 hours of continuous video and photo shooting to two different SD cards with a completely bright viewfinder and screen with 20% battery to spare… something I could only dream of on the 6300. This is absolutely a professional camera and is reasonably priced for the features it has.

if you are looking for a prosumer camera with pro features… you can’t go wrong with the a7iii. It definitely is not a cinema camera but will absolutely serve me well until I need to upgrade in the future for both photo and video.

A very nice full frame mirrorless camera. Image quality is very decent with a good stock lens, but not with the lens as-bought, that lens is mediocre (took one star off because of that). Image stabilization allows one to take pictures in dim rooms without grain. Eats more battery than a DSLR, but that is common for all mirrorless full frame cameras. Small, light, convenient. Took 2024 solar eclipse photos with it, the images turned out great!

Ease to use