There are reports that the Sony a9 III is on the way for us photographers. This is a camera that many of us have been waiting for and wanted for a while. Many of us didn’t need 50 megapixels that the Sony a1 delivers. With this said, the Sony a1 continues to be one of the best and most reliable cameras on the market. But the Sony a9 really needs an update. So we’re discussing what we’re hoping for.
We’ve discussed this topic a few different times on the site. Since we’ve published those pieces, Sony has improved a lot of their products enough for us to simply expect that the Sony a9 III will have those features. But there’s even more that we need to discuss.
The Sony a9 III Should Target Photographers, Not Videomakers
The camera industry likes to talk about content creators doing this and that. But truly, content creators need to just embrace shooting with interchangeable lens camcorders and camera manufacturers need to just make them already. Maybe then they won’t hear issues about their cameras overheating for video. I could go on and on about this subject, but the Sony a9 III needs to be a camera for photographers first and foremost.
Sure, photographers these days need to be able to shoot and produce both videos and stills. But they should be different tools doing different tasks exceptionally well. Not the same tool doing each task half as well.
This isn’t 2009 anymore and the 5D Mk II days should be put behind us.
Better Low Light Autofocus on POCs
Something that I’ve been championing for a very long time is autofocus performance on people of color in low light. Sony crams tons of AI into their cameras that do a wonderful job. They’ve even made it easier to focus on birds and animals. But what Sony really needs to do is focus on what a lot of photographers do for a living: photograph people. With that said, their ability to focus on POCs in low light moving at high speed and lower speeds aren’t all that great.
Don’t tell me that it’s a contrast issue. Years ago, Polaroid had cameras that literally shot sonar at people to find them in the dark.
Sony could and should find a way to focus on POCs in low light while tracking them effectively to create a higher yield of usable photos for photographers.
A Modest Megapixel Count
While the Sony a7 IV has a megapixel range within the 30s, I honestly think that something slightly lower would be better for the Sony a9 III. We don’t need a whole lot of high megapixel photos, just very good high ISO photos with nice colors and all.
With this in mind, 30 frames a second is also more than enough. If you can’t capture the moment in 10 frames, then something is just odd.
A Far Better LCD Screen
Sony has had a problem with LCD screens. They’re not very high resolution compared to the EVFs. While I applaud the company for their great EVFs and making it easier for legally blind photographers like me, I also think the LCD screen needs an update. It needs to be a higher resolution and also needs to be able to be calibrated to match Apple or other devices. Most creatives use Apple devices and a lot of creative content is consumed on Apple devices. So why can’t we just adapt to make the screens look the same way?
Better Battery Life on the Sony a9 III
Here’s a big one. With the Sony a1 and Sony a7r V, there have been major battery life drains because of all the extra AI within the cameras. The Sony a9 III will need to find a way to also make the battery life not get drained as quickly. It will mean, otherwise, that we’re returning to the days of buying one camera and five batteries. And no one needs that.
