Sony Unveils Sony A7S III Camera: New Low-Light King?

Sony just introduced the long-awaited Sony A7S III mirrorless camera, which is designed for shooting photos and videos in extreme light without a flash. The Sony A7S III is the follow-up to the A7S II from 2015 and features an array of updates designed to improve on that camera, which had been dubbed the "Low-Light King" by some photographers and videographers.

Unlike the Canon EOS R5, which was announced earlier this month and can shoot uncropped 8K Raw video, the new Sony A7S III is limited to shooting 4K, but it offers 16-bit Raw video HDMI output for the first time in a Sony Alpha series camera. Whereas the Canon R5 sells for $3899, the Sony A7S III will retail for $3499 when it goes on sale in September 2020.

Here are some highlights of the just announced new Sony A7S III:

• Newly developed BIONZ XR image processing engine with what Sony says is eight times more processing power and a new 12.1-megapixel (approx., effective) back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS image sensor, designed to significantly reduce rolling shutter effect

• Ultra-high sensitivity with ISO range expandable from 40 – 409,600, and improved image quality by approximately 1 stop noise reduction in the middle and high sensitivity ranges

• Video recording capabilities include 4K 120pi, 10 bit 4:2:2 color depth, All-Intra recording, XAVC HS format with H.265 codec and more

• 15+ stop dynamic range for movies

• 4K 60p 16-bit RAW video HDMI output for the first time in the Alpha series

• Fast Hybrid AF system with 759-point phase-detection AF sensors covering 92% of image sensor

• Enhanced Real-time Eye AF for movie recording and still image recording

• New heat dissipating mechanism and dual slot relay recording enables over one-hour long 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 movie shooting  

• 5-axis optical in-body image stabilization supports handheld movie shooting, with added Active Mode to support especially difficult handheld movie shooting

• World’s brightest and largest new 0.64-type 9.44 million-dot (approx.) OLED electronic viewfinder

• Side-opening variable angle LCD screen

• Redesigned menu system with touch screen interface and touch operation

• High-speed continuous still image shooting at up to 10fps for more than 1,000 consecutive uncompressed Raw images with full AF / AE tracking

• Dual CFexpress Type A card slots designed to enable high speed data processing while keeping the compact size 

• Sony A7S III goes on sale in September 2020 for approximately $3,499.99 USD and $4,799.99 CAD, body only

Read more about the new Sony A7S III on the Sony Alpha Universe website or watch the camera introduction video below.

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