Finally! After years of waiting, we now have the successor to Sony’s video-centric mirrorless camera — the Sony A7S III.

It’s been six years since the release of the Sony A7S II, and its successor carries on the many features that made it an absolute must-have for videographers both amateur and professional.

Taking professional video further

The A7S III offers in-camera 4K recording up to 120 frames per second(1), 10-bit depth and 4:2:2 color sampling. It has a more flexible and efficient post-production workflow with a variety of advanced movie recording modes such as All-Intra and MPEG-H HEVC/H.265 coding (XAVC HS).

If you’re worried about a mutli-cam production, the Sony Alpha team has taken that into account as well. It has three color gamut settings S-Gamut, S-Gamut3, and S-Gamut3.Cine that make it easy to match with footage shot with other cameras.

Footage taken with the camera is also ready to go as is. The S-Log3 gamma curves as well as support for HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) picture profile produces footage with a minimal need for post-production.

The A7S III also allows up to 4K 60p 16-bit RAW output to an external recorder via HDMI Type-A connector, offering additional post-production flexibility.

BIONZ XR for better image quality

The A7S III is equipped with the new CMOS image sensor and BIONZ XR image processing engine. This all in the service of producing that legendary S-Series sensitivity with significantly enhanced color reproduction and texture renderings for improved overall image quality.

The base ISO has been lowered to 80, resulting in a normal range of 80-102,400 (expandable to 80-409,600 for video and 40-409,600 for stills). This provides more flexible ISO plus wide dynamic range with low noise at all settings.

It also improves AWB (Auto White Balance) performance with a new “Visible light + IR Sensor” that helps to achieve more precise white balance under artificial lighting.

Advanced AutoFocus

AutoFocus (AF) has been one of the features that Sony just has been absolutely good at and that carries over to the A7S III. It offers Fast Hybrid AF by combining phase-detection and contrast-detection AF.

This means it can track subjects over a wide area with outstanding speed, precision and smoothness, even when using a narrow depth of field. This is further enhanced by Sony’s e-mount lenses capable of Fine focus expression.

For environments with a lot of movement, Real-time Tracking and Real-time Eye AF are available to maintain constant focus on the intended subject.

Sony’s advanced Real-time Eye AF improves detection performance by 30% over the previous system. It ensures accurate, reliable detection, even when the subject’s face looks away.

The A7S III is now touch screen so real-time tracking can be done in that manner. Real-time Eye AF is automatically initiated when an eye is detected.

The camera includes several AF features for professional users including AF Transition Speed in seven settings. It has rack-focus transitions and five AF Subject Shift Sensitivity settings to customize how easily AF will switch or stay with the locked-on subject.

It’s now also possible to Touch Focus during manual focus mode on the LCD screen or remotely from the Imaging Edge Mobile application.

Better cooling implemented

Naturally, this much power will generate plenty of heat. The A7S III’s design takes this into consideration.

A newly developed unique heat dissipating structure keeps the image sensor and image processing engine temperatures within their normal operating ranges. This keeps things cool even during extended continuous recording sessions at 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 video lasting an hour or more.

The new heat-dissipating structure requires no fan or cabinet vents allowing Alpha 7S III to maintain dust and moisture resistance.

Maximum stability

A camera built video can’t be without proper stabilization.The Sony A7S III is the first Alpha series camera to include Active Mode with 5-axis optical in-body image stabilization to support especially difficult handheld movie shooting.

It’s the first Alpha series E-mount body to feature a side-opening vari-angle rear screen. It’s perfect for gimbal-mounted shots, complicated angles, handheld operation and more.

The screen rotates sideways, up and down, and features a 3.0 type 1.44 million-dot (approx.) touch panel LCD monitor, for optimal visibility even in bright outdoor environments. FINALLY.

Not a slouch in photography

Just because it’s video-focused, doesn’t mean it neglected still images. The A7S III has a fast Hybrid AF system with 759 phase-detection AF points covering 92% of the image sensor.

Users can continuously shoot more than 1,000 uncompressed RAW images at up to 10fps, or up to 8fps in live view mode, with either the mechanical or electronic shutter.

High speed transfer, redesigned menu

The A7S III features two CFexpress Type A compatible media slots. These support UHS-I and UHS-II SDXC/SDHC cards for high write-and-read speeds while keeping the camera body compact.

CFexpress Type A cards are ideally suited to high-speed continuous RAW still image shooting as well as 4K 120pi movie recording at high bit rates.

High-speed data transfer to a PC is possible at about 1.7 times faster than that of SD card. The dual slots can be set to relay mode for extended continuous recording of even the highest bit rate data as well as simultaneous recording and sort by format type recording.

The menu system, which some have noted to be somewhat of a black hole, has been redesigned for easier navigation. Switching to video mode automatically prioritizes video settings. Same is true for the various photo modes.

Pricing and Availability

The new Sony A7S III Full-frame Interchangeable Lens Camera will be available in September 2020 for approximately US$3,499.99. It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America.

In Singapore and the Philippines, it will be available in October 2020. Pricing will be announced soon.

Sony has been known as one of the leading imaging brands. Recently, they teamed up with Associated Press (AP) to bring Sony cameras and lenses to all AP visual journalists around the world. If you’re not familiar, AP is a renowned global news agency with journalists coming from 250 locations in 100 countries.

Originally, AP has been relying on one brand for their stills, while a completely different brand for their video footage. In an interview conducted by DPReview with J. David Ake, AP’s Director of Photography (DoP), he told how “excited” he is considering both teams can now work together well.

He also stated that the whole equipment transition will take a little over a year. Completely switching from DSLR cameras to mirrorless cameras will help them shoot more silent — which is favorable to avoid disruptions when covering a particular event or scene.

For photographers, they’ll receive the ultra-fast Sony a9 II, which will also be the standard kit for most journalists. Meanwhile, most videographers and entertainment shooters will have the Sony a7R IV with a massive 61-megapixel sensor.

Georganne Moline competes in women’s 300-meter hurdles at the Weltklasse ZŸrich Inspiration Games at Mt. San Antonio College on Thursday, July 9, 2020, in Walnut, Calif. Athletes competed from seven different locations around the world. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Other than that, Sony is also offering AP 4K XDCAM handheld video cameras and a range of Sony’s 57 E-mount lenses including top-of-the-line G Master models. The switch is favorable as Sony is the only company that offers native long-telephoto prime lenses for mirrorless cameras.

Other brands that offer mirrorless models use a completely different lens lineup and usually require mounting adapters that add more hassle when working around the field.

Moreover, AP and Sony will work harmoniously to improve the workflow and efficiency of field operations by testing 5G capabilities through its Xperia line. However, it was unclear whether they’re talking about the Xperia 1 II or the top-tier Xperia PRO variant.

You can find out more about the collaboration through their short video here.

Several camera enthusiasts have been waiting on these announcements from Canon and on paper, it certainly looks like they did not disappoint. The Canon EOS R5 and R6 are now official and they’re packed with really darn good features.

Both cameras are aimed at both amateur and professional videographers, photographers, creators, and everything else in between. The primary features include a revamped AF system, fast continuous shooting of up to 20 FPS, in-body stabilization, and dual card slots.

Powerful sensors, improved AF

The EOS R5 has a 45-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. Ideal for large format commercial printing, capturing intricate details in landscape photography, and even intensive cropping frequently required in wildlife photography. Its native ISO can go up to 51,200, with the option to expand to 102,400.

The EOS R6 is equipped with a 20-megapixel full-frame sensor, inherited from the flagship EOS-1DX Mark III. It shares the same image sensor and image processor as the EOS-1DX Mark III. It’s capable of achieving a native ISO of up to 102,400 (expandable to 204,800).

Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF — a proprietary Auto Focus technology — has been upgraded. AF coverage area has been expanded to cover the entire sensor (100% x 100%). This means focusing is available on any part of the frame. Convenient and effective.

Face Tracking with Eye Detection AF is also coming to this pair of EOS cameras. This tech is now able to recognize not just the body, but also head and eyes of the subjects. Ideal for capturing fast-moving subjects.

Stabilization and 8K, 4K videos

The EOS R5 and EOS R6 incorporate a 5-axis camera-shake blur correction In-Body Image Stabilizer (In-Body IS) function. Both cameras use a new algorithm, through the new imaging engine DIGIC X, to process gyro signal data and achieve higher image stabilization effects.

Both cameras also have two card slots that can accommodate one CFexpress card and one SD memory card. The CFexpress card supports high-speed transfer for faster transmission of hi-res images as well as internal recording of 8K raw videos. Yes, 8K.

Again through DIGIC X, the EOS R5 and R6 are able to record 8K raw videos. The EOS R5 is also capable of recording up to 120fps in 4K. Meanwhile, the EOS R6 is able to shoot 4K videos at up to 60fps, and slow motion at 120fps in Full HD, all without crop similar to EOS R5.

Easy file transfers

Transferring footage is also made easier with improved connectivity features. The EOS R5 supports both 5GHz and 2.4GHz wireless LAN without the need for any additional accessory. The EOS R6 only supports 2.4GHz but both can handle FTP and FTPS data transfer.

Both also have Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and can work with the new image.canon cloud platform. The cameras can automatically upload image and video files and store them in the image.canon cloud for up to 30 days with no limit in size.

With image.canon, users can also automatically transfer original image data to various cloud platforms such as Google Photos, Google Drive or Adobe Creative Cloud.

The EOS R5 and EOS R6 both have a magnesium alloy body. They are lightweight and prevent dust and water droplets from entering the camera. The EOS R5 sports a top LCD panel while EOS R6 has a Mode Dial.

Pricing and availability

The Canon EOS R5 retails for US$ 3,899 body only and US$ 4,999 with a kit lens option. It will be available end of July.

Meanwhile the EOS R6 (body only) is priced at US$ 2,899 with the kit lens option retailing for US$ 3,599. It will be available end of August.