Pre-order the Sony α7 III Mirrorless Camera

Sony recently announced the upcoming release of their long-awaited α7 III full-frame mirrorless camera, which promises to be a dramatic upgrade to 2014’s α7 II model. There’s almost too much stuff to talk about for one blog post, but here’s a quick rundown of what’s new:

  • Sensor + Processor: While the α7 III’s resolution is roughly the same as before (24.2MP vs the old 24.3MP), the new backside-illumination (BSI) sensor captures light more efficiently, and combined with the new BIONZ-X processor, the performance is 1.8x faster than before.
  • ISO range: The α7 II’s native ISO range was 100–25600, while the new α7 III has a base range of 100–51200 — expandable up to ISO 204800 for stills and 102400 for video — making it even more capable in low-light situations, especially with the new BSI sensor taken into account.
  • Autofocus: The α7 III’s AF system is effectively the same as the higher-end Sony α9’s, sporting 693 phase-detection points (93% coverage) and 425 contrast-detection points, with twice the performance speed as before.
  • 4K video recording, downscaled from 6K for added sharpness and detail.
  • 10fps burst rate, up from 5fps.
  • Touchscreen controls, plus the joystick and button layout of the Sony α7R III.
  • Improved battery life: The new NP-FZ100 battery offers 2.2x the capacity as the α7 II’s NP-FW50 one. On a full charge, you should be able to take ~710 photos.
  • Dual SD card slots, one with UHS-II compatibility, whereas the α7 II had only one UHS-1 slot.

There are even more things I could get into here, but I think you get the idea. The Sony α7 III will release on April 10th, 2018 and can be pre-ordered with (or without) a lens of your choice: