Last Updated on 07/04/2020 by Mark Beckenbach
The Sony a7s III is one of the most discussed Sony cameras ever, yet there has been no sign or any new news about it, until now.
Sony really shocked the photography and videography world with its a7s series of cameras. You can take the Sony a7s II and shoot at ISO 80,000 with hardly any problems. The a7s series was Sony innovating at its very best. The problem is that Sony’s faithful are now chomping at the bit for the Sony A7s III, and rightly so: it has now been five years since the a7s II hit the streets. In this time, the A6xxx line has seen a complete refresh, the A7r series is now on its 4th model, and surely the A7 series will soon hit number four too, so this begs the question; where is the Sony A7s III? Well, a recent interview has just shed some light on this highly anticipated camera. After the break, we will share what Sony has said, and what we think might be in store for the ‘all-new’ camera.
A recent interview with Sony conducted by DPReview has finally shed a little more light on the Sony a7s III. For one thing, it is real! Finally, no more wondering if Sony has abandoned the product line or not. Kenji Tanaka, VP and Senior General Manager of Sony’s Business Unit, confirmed that Sony is hard at work on the new camera and that it will launch later this summer. He also stated that Sony has received many requests from professional photographers and videographers and that they have implemented as many requests as they could into the new camera. Fantastic!
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The a7s III Might Shoot RAW Video
So what juicy details about the camera did Kenji Tanaka give? None, unfortunately: at least, there was nothing concrete. The snippet about it being released this summer and that the camera will be all-new are the only crumbs he gave.
Kenji Tanaka did say the body will be updated, it will have a new sensor, and that it will likely shoot 4k 10-bit 4:2:2 and RAW video. Tanaka also said the S used to stand for ‘sensitivity,’ but now he thinks the S in the name should stand for ‘Supreme.’
AI Is a Major Area of Focus for Sony
Kenji Tanaka also mentioned that AI is going to be important for Sony going forward. Apparently, Sony is still tweaking their eye AF and object recognition (which we talked about here), and will be focused more on going forward. Sony is also working on stacked CMOS sensors, and Tanaka believes they will play a huge role in future cameras.
Whether or not we will see these things incorporated into the Sony a7s III or not is still an unknown, but it is exciting to hear about the technologies Sony is working on. So, what does all this mean? I have a feeling we are going to see a hybrid photography/videography camera that will go shutter-to-shutter with the upcoming Canon R5 and the Panasonic S1H: only with ridiculously fast autofocus performance (think a9 II), perhaps some new AI that will help autofocus performance in both videos and stills departments, and I would not be surprised to see resolutions higher than 4K for video recording,
The a7s III’s Price Might Be Eye-Watering
If the Sony a7s III does indeed shoot 8k video, this means the sensor would need to be at least 34 megapixels. Could this mean high ISO performance might not be as good as previous models? It’s entirely possible.
Maybe Sony wants to change course a little to make this a more fully fleshed out hybrid camera rather than one that fills a niche. I also have a feeling the price point may be quite eye-watering: I wouldn’t be surprised to see it be priced like the Sony A9 II ($4,498). I guess we will find out sooner rather than later as the wait for the Sony a7s III will soon be over. What do you want to see in the new Sony a7s III? Let us know in the comment section below.