GEAR
SONY A7 TESTS
SPECIFICATIONS A7R III Price: £3199/ $3190 body only Sensor type/size: 42.4 megapixels BSI-CMOS, full-frame. 169.6megapixel equivalent with pixel shift multi shooting Image stabiliser: Image sensor shift with 5-axis compensation ISO range: 100-32,000 - expandable 50-102,400 Autofocusmodes: Single, continuous. Multi-area, tracking, face detection, touch Autofocus points: 425 Rawbuffer: 76 shots Exposure compensation: +/-5 stops in 1/3 stop increments Shutter speeds: 30secs- 1/8000sec, plus B and T Shutter type: Focal plane mechanical, plus electronic Metering: Multi-segment, average, spot, centre-weighted Max frame rate: 10fps LCD: 3in 1.44million dot three- way tilting touchscreen Video functionality: MPEG- 4, AVCHD, XAVC-S, 4K at 24/ 30p in 60/100Mbps, Full HD at 24/30/60/120p in 16/25/50/60/100Mbps. S-Log 2/3, Hybrid Log Gamma, HDR Interface: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, USB 2, microHDMI with uncompressed video out Storage: 2x SD/ SDHC/ SDXC cards - one UHS-II Dimensions (WxHxD): 127x96x74mm/5x3.8x2.9in Weight: 657g/1.45lb including battery and card
slight. And of course the R blows it out of the water for ultimate resolution and detail in stills. Both cameras also get much improved autofocus systems for stills. The A7R III has the impressive viewfinder of the A9, and 425 on- sensor phase-detection points that cover a huge area of the sensor. But the lower-spec A7 III has a lower- quality viewfinder and screen, but amore advanced AF systemof 693 points that is faster andmore accurate. That’s not to say the A7R III is lacking, but the A7 III is very impressive. At 10fps shooting uncompressed 14-bit Raw stills files, there is a tiny bit of viewfinder lag, but lower the frame rate to 8fps and it’s like you’re watching the action live. Typical of Sony, there is a huge number of different AF options for shooting stills, ranging from the standard single shot and continuous, to wide area, zone, flexible spot, lock-on area and face priority. All very confusing, unless you spend hours online researching how and why to use each one. A switch to Eye AF when shooting a fast prime lens wide open during the test was incredible on both cameras. They track the eye of the subject with scary precision. Most pro video shooters stick to manual focus and both cameras offer peaking and all the usual focus aids
fromSony’s mirrorless cameras. But they have such good video AF that it can be used reliably inmany situations where even the best focus puller would struggle. Here, themore basic A7 III aces its big brother as it uses an advanced hybrid systemand there is a noticeable improvement over the A7R III. Both struggle a little in low light, but both are very good at acquiring focus on and tracking a moving subject. It’s just the A7 III is faster andmore precise. Of course, you can adjust the AF speed as well as how quickly it reacts when it detects an out-of-focus image. The screen tilts, and is a touchscreen so is ideal for doing focus pulls during video, or just touch-to-focus in stills or video mode. If you never use AF at all as
TOP For the ultimate resolution and details in stills, the A7R III is where it’s at.
ABOVE & BELOW As well as improved ergonomics for stills, both cameras boast tiling touchscreens.
“Themore basic A7 III aces its big brother as it uses an advanced hybrid system…a noticeable improvement over the A7R III”
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SUMMER 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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