Sony a9 III

A first for mirrorless cameras, the a9 III sports a 24.6MP full-frame global shutter stacked BSI CMOS sensor. Compared to conventional rolling shutters, the global shutter provides significantly faster performance that is void of motion distortions, supports blazing fast continuous shooting speeds up to 120 fps, and offers shutter speeds up to 1/80,000 sec. with flash sync at all shutter speeds. This revolutionary design stands to benefit sports, wildlife, news, and event imagemakers, as well as commercial and editorial shooters, looking for a creative advantage when working with high-speed subjects or in difficult lighting conditions.

Paired with BIONZ XR processing, the global shutter design enables recording full-resolution 14-bit raw stills at up to 120 fps. This system maintains full-time AF and AE performance along with blackout-free viewing for great accuracy and subject tracking.

The a9 III introduces Pre-Capture mode, which supports continuous shooting for up to 1 full second before capture by half-pressing the shutter button. Also new is a Speed Boost function, which can be assigned to a custom button to enable instant switching between different continuous shooting rate—begin shooting a burst at 10 fps and then instantly switch over to 120 fps to capture peak action in all its glory.

Beyond fast continuous shooting, the global shutter design, by nature, also enables flash sync at all shutter speeds, up to 1/80,000 sec. And a variable shutter speed mode makes the a9 III’s capture completely flicker free to suit photographing indoor activities at high speed.

Beyond being a stellar stills camera, the a9 III boasts high-end video recording capabilities. The global shutter again delivers incredible, distortion-free results and present opportunities for high-speed shooting. The a9 III can record in 4K at up to 60 fps and will downsample from the full 6K image area. Slow motion is possible at up to 120 fps in 4K with no crop. All of this is available internally in 10-bit.

New to the a9 series is the implementation of Picture Profiles, including S-Log3 and S-Cinetone. For maximizing image quality and ensuring smooth workflow in post these profiles are essential. More advanced productions can even make use of the 16-bit raw output with an optional external recorded for realizing the full potential of the a9 III.

Borrowing from the a7R V, the a9 III features an updated AI Processing Unit for refined, responsive, and intelligent subject tracking and detection. Using a 759-point phase-detection AF system, which covers 96% of the frame at sensitivities down to -5EV, the a9 III supports focusing at up to 120 fps for tracking fast-moving subjects with ease. The 5-axis in-body image stabilization system also receives a boost as it’s now capable of compensating for up to 8 stops of camera shake and improves viewfinder stability when framing with longer lenses.

Physically, the a9 III also sees an ergonomics update that makes the grip more comfortable and incorporates a new custom button on the front of the camera. The 9.44m-dot OLED EVF and 3.2” vari-angle touchscreen LCD are borrowed from the a7R V along with a robust and weather-sealed construction for working in inclement conditions. There is also a new sensor shield to protect the sensor while changing lenses.

Announced alongside the camera is the VG-C5 Vertical Grip, which offers increased battery life and supports parallel power draw between the in-camera battery and the one in the grip. The a9 III also offers a pair of CFexpress Type A/SD memory card slots; SD cards can be used with all recording modes but CFexpress Type A cards make the most of the camera’s continuous recording speeds.