กล้อง DSLR Sony A7S Mark 3 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body Only Black

The Sony A7S III has been in the pipeline so long we’ve had five X-Men films since its predecessor, but Sony has now confirmed that a successor to the Sony Alpha A7S II is definitely coming soon.

And very soon too – Sony has announced a launch event for the A7S III, which will be taking place on July 28 at 10am EDT / 3pm BST (or midnight AEST on July 29).

The announcement confirms the new full-frame camera’s name and when we’ll see it make its public debut, but what exactly can we expect from the video-focused mirrorless shooter?

There are certainly plenty of rumors to go on, including talk of a brand new stacked sensor and an exciting viewfinder. We may have also been treated to our first leaked images of the camera (see the ‘design’ section below), which appear to confirm that it’ll have a fully articulating screen.

• Now rumored to have a 12MP sensor
• Stacked design with integral memory rumored
• Could possibly have a 61MP mode

Until recently, the Sony A7S III was expected to have a 15.36MP back-illuminated sensor with Quad Bayer design, but the latest rumors suggest it will instead be a 12MP affair.

While a slight resolution boost would have been welcome, the A7S III’s priority is video quality and according to Sony Alpha Rumors the brand new sensor is expected to bring other features like faster readout speeds.

According to Sony Alpha Rumors, the A7S III will be able to shoot Full HD at 240fps and 4K at 120fps in 10-bit 4:2:2 internally. You’ll also apparently be able to get it to shoot 4K/120p Raw over HDMI.

These rumors appear to put an end to suggestions that Sony might try and push the resolution up to 6K or 8K. After all, these would require sensor resolutions of 24MP and 33.1MP respectively.

On paper, this appears to put it a step behind the 8K-capable Canon EOS R5 and the 6K-capable Panasonic Lumix S1H, but it’s possible Sony simply didn’t think it was necessary in 2020 and has instead looked to refine the A7S III’s 4K powers.

Sony A7S III: video features

• Expect to see DCI 4K capture at 60p
• 4:2:2 10-bit internal recording
• 30min restriction lifted

Early rumors had the A7S III capable of shooting 4K video at up to 120fps, and that’s been backed up by more recent speculation. If true, then it’s twice the frame-rate we were initially expecting and twice the rate the Panasonic’s S1H is currently capable of.

We’re also expecting to see the A7S III record 4:2:2 10-bit internally as well. This was backed up by a remark in a DPReview interview from Kenji Tanaka, VP and Senior General Manager of Sony Imaging Business, where he revealed that the most requested features from A7S II owners had been 4K/60p and 10-bit 4:2:2.

Currently, the Sony A7S II can record UHD 4K video (not DCI 4K, which is slightly wider at 4,096 x 2,160 pixels), while it can only do this up to 30p. The A7S II is also only capable of 4:2:0 8-bit recording at 100Mbps internally (though it can record externally at 4:2:2 8-bit), while the likes of the Panasonic Lumix GH5S is able to record at 4:2:2 10-bit at up to 400Mbps.

Perhaps the most significant recent rumor, again picked up by Sony Alpha Rumors, is that the Sony A7S III apparently won’t have any time recording limits in any video modes. If that’s true, it would give Sony’s camera a possible edge over the Canon EOS R5, which is limited to 30 minutes when recording 4K. That said, the latter can manage 8K/30p Raw shooting for up to 20 minutes, before overheating becomes an issue.

Interestingly, according to an earlier Sony Alpha Rumors story, Sony has been finalizing a new H.265-based professional codec. Known as XEVC, and a successor of XAVC, the new codec is rumored to include 12-bit 4K and 12-bit 8K 4:4:4 capabilities, while 1080p Full HD can be captured at 240fps and 10-bit.

Sony A7S III: design

• Likely to use similar design to Sony A7R IV
• Addition of a multi-selector joystick
• Possible cooling vent on the rear

We may well have been treated to our first image of the Sony A7S III, courtesy of a leak from Sony Alpha Rumors.

The low-res images (below) shows a body that looks very similar to the Sony A7R IV, albeit with a fully articulating screen – which would be a big boon for those looking to make the A7S III double as a killer vlogging camera. In this regard, it’s following the lead of the Sony ZV-1, which recently introduced a similar screen to Sony cameras.

Both the Sony A7S and A7S II have been designed around a 12.2MP full-frame sensor, and, assuming the A7S III’s video output is capped at 4K, we expect the A7S III will offer something similar.

Cameras designed primarily to record 4K footage don’t need to a higher-resolution sensor than this, and the whole point of the A7S line is have a sensor with large, light-hungry pixels at its heart, rather than be a resolution beast like the A7R models.

Sony imaging executive Kenji Tanaka recently told DP Review. “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.”

That last point is an intriguing one – especially in light of the extraordinary Canon EOS R5, which is capable of 8K video via a rumored 44MP image sensor. Tanaka’s stressing that the A7S III’s sensor will have “really big pixels” suggests that we are again looking at a very modest resolution – perhaps not much, if any, greater than the 12.2MP of its predecessor.

Having fewer photosites (pixels) that are larger in size means that the sensor is more effective in low light situations – particularly if Sony employs the dual native ISO technology seen in the Panasonic GH5S, or Dual Gain Output featured in the Canon EOS C300 Mark III.

A lower pixel count would, however, likely preclude the Sony A7S III from 8K video capability, due to the lack of resolution. And indeed, when asked what the big requests had been from consumers, Tanaka alluded to 4K/60p rather than taking the opportunity to tease 8K.

2. DCI 4K and a wider range of frame rates

The A7S II only records 4K footage in the UHD 4K format, rather than in both DCI and UHD 4K options. It does so at 24p and 25p (or 30p in NTSC), and when shooting at higher frame rates for slow-motion footage (in Full HD), it’s limited to 100/120p, with a 2.2x crop factor applied here too.