Introduction
The a7R Mark III is a high-resolution Sony mirrorless camera with a 42.4 megapixel 35mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS and an enhanced processing system. It has been built from the lessons learned from Sony’s flagship A9.
The Sony Alpha 7R Mark III uses the same stabilized 42.4 megapixels sensor as the 7R Mark II but certainly has an improved image quality, dynamic range, and performance with the hardware changes in the camera.
The oversampled 4k video at 24P and 30P is detailed. The body has noticeable improvements, the AF joystick, dual card slots, rating/lock button, the USB-C terminal, and a higher capacity battery.
Sony a7R Mark III Key Specifications
- 42 megapixels, 35mm full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor
- 14,40,000 dots touchscreen with tilt angle up by approx. 107 degrees and down by approx. 41 degrees
- 3,686,400 dots Quad-VGA OLED viewfinder
- Dual card slot – One for SD (UHS-I/II compliant) and one Memory Stick Duo/SD (UHS-I compliant)
- In-built image stabilization – Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation
- Electronic shutter mode is silent and vibration-free
- Mechanical shutter mode – 10fps with AF/AE tracking, and up to 8fps in live-view shooting
- ISO range – 100-32000
- Weight – 657 g including batteries
- Dimensions – 127 x 96 x 74 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.91″)
Sony a7R Mark III – Body, Handling, and Performance
The Sony a7R Mark III feels almost exactly similar to the Sony a7R Mark II. The camera has a splendid grip and feels full when you hold it. One reason for that is also the use of the new Z-type batteries in the camera which is such an important improvement.
A few changes in the back of the camera are the movie record button which is a lot like the Sony A9, the AF ON button, and the thumb joystick which gives you the control to move the focusing points.
A lot of stuff in the camera is borrowed from the Sony A9 like the spectacular 3.68M dots EVF and 1.4M dots touchscreen LCD.
The sensor is the same as its predecessor the Sony Alpha 7R Mark II, but the Mark III has noticeable improvements in image quality and dynamic range.
The changes in ergonomics are exhilarating from a handling aspect. The camera feels nice and stable while holding or shooting. If we quickly compare the camera with its predecessor, the Sony A7R Mark II which is an amazing camera, it mostly specializes in more towards image quality and high megapixels. However, with the Sony A7R Mark III, you essentially get everything. The fast AF, improved eye autofocus, fast frame rate, and an incredible sensor. This is a Sony mirrorless camera that can do everything.
The camera also has new tethering software. The USB-C connector as well as the USB ports facilitate the new tethering software which is a nice move from Sony.
Autofocus and Photography Performance of the Sony a7R Mark III
The Sony Alpha 7R Mark III has an improved AF and a great eye tracking autofocus which is accurate and works extremely well.
The control structure at the back of the camera, the fast focusing, the AF ON button, the fast frame rate, the ability to shoot in mechanical or electronic shutter mode make the camera overall highly impressive and perfect for shooting fast action, sports, or wildlife types of photography.
The camera functions can be customized and you can set it up based on your convenience to make the camera behave the way you want.
While doing a pan and shooting fast action in electronic shutter mode can give you a rolling shutter, so it is advisable to use the electronic shutter mode for photographing stationary subjects, or portraits. To shoot something in action, the mechanical shutter does the job with perfection.
Video
Like most of the A7R Mark III features such as the EVF, and the touchscreen LCD, most of the video upgrade comes from the Sony A9 too.
Even in the video, the autofocus is just astonishing. You can focus on what you want and the focus will not drift away from the subject you track. Sony has also tweaked the camera stabilization which works notably well and is a great advantage.
Sony A9’s video is one of the best-focusing systems Sony has, and that is what the Sony Alpha A7R Mark III inherits as well.
During the camera launch, Sony also talked about adding the S-LOG3 and HLG support. The HLG is great, as you can directly plug it into an HDR TV, and you will be able to see an HDR image. The S-LOG2 on the other hand is just to make it consistent with the rest of the Sony camera lines.
Battery Performance
This Sony mirrorless camera uses an NP-FZ100 battery and has a highly impressive battery life plus adds to better ergonomics giving a good hold of the camera.
The battery life for:
Still Images:
- Approx. 530 shots using Viewfinder
- Approx. 650 shots using LCD monitor
Video – Actual Recording:
- Approx. 100 min using Viewfinder
- Approx. 115 min using LCD monitor
Video – Continuous Recording:
- Approx. 180 min using Viewfinder
- Approx. 190 min using LCD monitor
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 42.4MP high-resolution image sensor that produces high-quality images and offers a great dynamic range
- Great ergonomics
- Highly customizable controls
- High speed and very responsive
- Impressive improvement in the battery life
- Dual SD card slots
- Good Eye AF performance
- Silent shooting with the electronic shutter mode
- 10fps shooting with AF/AE tracking and 8fps with live view in the mechanical shutter mode
- High-resolution EVF and Tilt touchscreen LCD
- 4K video and 1080p for slow motion video
- In-built camera charging and power
- Microphone and headphone ports available
Cons
- No built-in flash
- Only one card slot complaint with UHS-II
- Cannot switch to video mode until image buffer clears
Quick Comparison
| Sony a7R III | Nikon D850 | Sony a7R II | |
| Price | $2,499.99 | $2,499.99 | $1,799.99 |
| Effective Pixels | 42.4 MP | 45.7 MP | 42.4 MP |
| Weight | 657 g (inc. batteries) | 915 g | 582 g |
| Mechanical Shutter | 10fps | 7fps | 5fps |
| Max Shutter Speed | 1/8000 | 1/8000 | 1/8000 |
| EVF | 3,686,400 Dots | – | 2,359,296 Dots |
| LCD | 1,440,000 Dots | 2,359,000 Dots | 1,228,800 Dots |
Conclusion
If you own a Sony A7R Mark II, one question to ask is why should you upgrade. Sony A7R Mark II is a great camera, but it is more of a specialized camera. On the other hand, the Sony A7R Mark III comes with a lot of improvement, most of it is inherited from the Sony A9 which is its flagship camera.
Compared to the Nikon D850 which is a fairly affordable camera giving its user a lot of stuff. However, the Sony Alpha A7R Mark III is a complete package that has great ergonomics, high resolution, improved and fast AF, excellent eye tracking, improved dynamic range and image quality, 10fps mechanical shutter shooting, excellent EVF, high-performing battery life, overall, a better control, and amazing handling.
