Sony Alpha a7S III illustration
Sony Alpha a7S III illustration

Sony Alpha a7S III: Because Not Everything Resolves Around The Specs

2020-07-23
2 mins read

The anticipated Alpha a7S III is going to be Sony’s sane answer to today’s crazy race for maximum specs and resolution. The rumors indicate a solid camera body, average resolution, smart media, high sensitivity (of course), and maybe ProRes RAW capabilities. Read on.

The Sony Alpha a7S III
The Sony Alpha a7S III (illustration)

Sony Alpha a7S III: Not 8K but…

The Sony Alpha a7S III will be launched in less than a week from now. As stated by Sony, the long-awaited Alpha a7S III will “Set new standards for video in a mirrorless camera and filmmakers have been clamoring for the next generation ever since”. However, rumors sites like sonyalpharumors.com indicate solid specs with some smart features, like the new pre-available media (CFexpress Type A), 4K/60p, 10-bit 4:2:2, a completely new sensor that is capable of high DR (15 stops as claimed by Sony) and relatively low noise when shooting extremely high ISO.

Sonys' announcement about the Alpha a7S III
Sonys’ announcement about the Alpha a7S III

The ‘S’ originally stood for ‘sensitivity’ but now I think it should stand for ‘supreme’ in terms of image quality, and expression. It comes from having really big pixels. I think that many professionals and high-end users will enjoy the new camera.

Kenji Tanaka, VP, and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Business of Digital Imaging Group

“Everything is new”

According to Sony, the a7S II successor will be an entirely new camera, with a lot of new technologies implemented inside it, including the image sensor itself. As stated to Digital Photography Review by Kenji Tanaka, VP, and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Business of Digital Imaging Group:” The Sony a7S III will be a complete redesign of the whole system, including the image sensor. Everything is new. We hope we will meet and exceed the expectations and requests of our customers. I’m very confident that our new model will meet their demands”. Tanaka adds that “The ‘S’ originally stood for ‘sensitivity’ but now I think it should stand for ‘supreme’ in terms of image quality, and expression. It comes from having really big pixels. I think that many professionals and high-end users will enjoy the new camera”.

CFexpress Type A
CFexpress Type A. Credit: cdrinfo.com

Alpha a7S III unconfirmed features

Explore the chart below for the Sony Alpha a7S III unconfirmed specs. Click on the image for full resolution:

Sony Alpha a7S III: General unconfirmed specs
Sony Alpha a7S III: General unconfirmed specs. Based on sonyalpharumors.com

Thoughts

The Sony Alpha a7S III doesn’t aim for those that are eager to shoot ultra-high resolution. For that, you can use Canon EOS R5 that is capable of 8K video recording. On the other hand, you’ll not have any recoding limitation like in the EOS R5 due to the advanced cooling system implemented in the Alpha a7S III. Furthermore, the option for CFexpress Type A cards indicates on keeping the camera in a compact form factor. Moreover, the CFexpress Type A card hints that the a7S III has a relatively low bitrate, which indicates an economical data rate. In my opinion, the main strength of the Alpha a7S III is the new sensor and dynamic range, or in two words: image quality. Also, there are rumors that a ProRes RAW option is being developed via the Atomos recorder. The camera will be formally announced in a week so stay tuned as you’ll keep you posted.

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Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.
Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

4 Comments

  1. At ISO 50-100 the megapixel equivalent of 35mm is between 8-16 Megapixels. At 12MP there is plenty of data in the file… and there are many many more factors for good image quality than megapixels.

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Get the best of filmmaking!

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