It’s been five years since the Sony a7III was released, and in my opinion, this camera changed the photo industry. But is the Sony a7III still relevant?
I can still remember the day I got my Sony a7 III. At the time, I was already very much in love with mirrorless cameras and was photographing weddings full-time on Fuji mirrorless cameras. To me, these Fuji cameras were as close as I had seen a mirrorless camera get to the performance of a high-end DSLR setup. But the key word here is “close”. Although these Fuji cameras were great, they were still not as good as their DSLR counterparts. However, for me, the benefits of mirrorless were enough to overlook their shortcomings.
Then, on a whim, when the Sony a7III was announced, I decided to get a loaner just for review purposes. I had no intention of even considering purchasing this camera. I simply thought it would be fun to play around with. But after the first hour of use, I quickly realized just how good this camera was. So much so, that I immediately sent an email saying that I would not be sending the camera back and asked for the best way to send payment for the gear. I then wrote an article explaining why I think the Sony a7 III is the best camera you can buy for wedding photography.
But why? For me, this camera was a game-changer for the mirrorless industry as a whole. It was the first camera I had used that not only surpassed the autofocus speeds of my DSLR while being in the low $2,000 price range but also was the first affordable and fully capable full-frame mirrorless camera on the market. The a7III had the perfect resolution for my needs at 24 MP, providing great dynamic range, low light ability, in-body image stabilization, dual card slots, and so much more. All this in a smaller and compact size. Not only that, but the autofocus was faster, more accurate, and offered more features than my Fuji setup and my past Nikon DSLR setup, with innovations like Eye-AF, which has since become a staple in every up-to-date camera.
Now, the a7 III wasn't perfect, and the camera market has evolved a ton since its release. So, why am I even talking about it? The main reason is the price. While the release price was part of the reason that this camera was so successful, the current price drop has brought this camera back into the limelight. Currently, it's listed at $1,298, which is $700 off its release day price.
I don't shoot with Sony anymore, but shot a wedding with the A7III. I know cost is subjective, and while it wouldn't be the first camera I'd recommend to a new photographer on the basis of cost, it's not far off. There are basically zero nits to pick - flawless AF, excellent battery life, IBIS, superb image quality and 24mp is more than enough for just about anyone. 5 years later, I'd still consider it the gold standard for full frame mirrorless.
I bought the Sony A9 and A7iii as a back up when I switched from Canon. After 4 years i can say both cameras are amazing. I much prefered the A9 so have used it about 3 times as much as the Aiii. I used the Aiii primarily only in studio and with its better dynamic range for night time aurora work. However after much less use the shutter on the Aiii went on me. It will cost me $800 to fix. Im not sure Im even going to bother. There is a class action lawsuit in the US over its shutter failing long before promised shutter counts. I purchased an A7iv as my back up now and much prefer it to the A7iii. Still love my A9 and this work horse is still going strong. Id even consider purchasing another. The A1 is my dream camera butbjust a bit to pricey
That is interesting, I've heard anecdotally that the A7III shutter is prone to failure, enough that I'm wary to purchase a second hand body with a high shutter count.
Newsflash: all digital cameras could fail at any time for one reason or another. Doesn't mean they will, of course. Expensive Leica cameras can suffer from rangefinder focussing patch misalignment and will need to be sent off to get fixed, possibly taking quite a few months.
Nope, no class action lawsuit, just someone attempting it, and it never got approved.
I've had mine since 2019 and is my primary body. No issues so far. Shutter count is a little on the high side, 201444.
I'm considering getting the a9iii, though. Mostly because of the high sync speed so no need to use HSS or an ND filter or stop down the aperture for flash work. The way better AF doesn't hurt, either. But, who knows, by the time I'm ready to replace my a7iii, maybe Sony have trickled down the global shutter to their lower-end bodies.
Let me state first that any camera today and the past (yea right, what 10 years ago) will get any "Budding Photographer" a great start, I mean I captured the Milky Way on night without knowing it or even at the time what it was with my Canon T2i after looking back some old images but even old point shoots of the 2000's. I went Sony A7s in 2014 mainly for the bracketing range of 5 at +/- 3 EV, it was the age of HDR because cameras' had less dynamic range but did my first Lunar Eclipse in Nov. that year with a film Canon FD lens with a $20 adapter, later read it was great for Milky Ways but then the A7M3 with with duo ISO and ISO Invariance and also IBIS, throw away the sticks, only need for night most times. But got a 200-600mm and fast a doing birds and believe it or not closeups on moon and and lunar eclipses. It is a do anything camera no matter where you want to start.
Lastly learn software it is really what makes a image great.
There is one thing this camera as well all Mod 2's and that is "Bright Monitoring" you have to assign to a button like the trash can, easier the find in the dark. This one thing it helps you to compose in the very darkest of places. You just press the button and it is like night vision in color, takes a second or two be clear. Like when you maybe out doing the Milky Way there is say some driftwood you want to frame with you just press that button and walk it in or any place while others take a lot of image and view them till just the right place. Now if there is light it will turn off but come back on once dark again.
Also turn off D-Range Opt. (DRO) a jpeg thing like the rear camera screen is the cameras jpeg image, turn it off and you get what you see. It is on out of the box, it automatically adjusts the shadows brightness and very hard to do with a raw image. There was a Nat.Geo. photographer who would send back jpegs and when the raws came that he wanted to look just like the jpegs it could not be done! Just Info!!! It also affects the histogram expose to the right thing you will see in any mode but when doing manual mode and getting expose to the right correct it will be a little bright than what you saw, there is no warning about this and you may deal with in post for a very long time till you find out. Like a night capture with stars and all but a foreground that looks daytime bright yea a great look BUT looks PS no one will believe it is not! But Sony post software will now let you adjust it DRO of a RAW image, that is where you can see the difference.
Best advise buy a big thick book to learn the ends and outs and there is an online Help Guide
https://helpguide.sony.net/ilc/1720/v1/en/index.html
Just makes it more perfect!!!
1st two in one example moon eclipses with 200-600 and 12mm image of a beach at night. done in ON1 Photo Raw not PS.
2nd example of greatness
3rd no flash
4th Framing in a real dark place.
I would be interested on your opinion the very first Sony A3 that was released.
I priced used A7iii cameras here in Canada on FB Marketplace. Sellers were totally delusional. They were pricing them from -$100 Cdn to +$200 more than I could get one new. :(
R8, great price and better AF, speed and feature set.