sony a7iii lcd screen replacement supplier

Thank you for your constructive comment. The criteria we needed to meet for this project was to provide instruction on iFixit guides for how to remove various parts on the device. We were being evaluated on the content pertaining to our writing and not the technical depth of the guide. Furthermore, we did not have a vested interest in replacing the screen nor did we have another screen to replace it with. In your rush to make a rude comment, you might have missed the end of the guide where it states that in order to reassemble you must follow the steps we provided in the reverse order. Reverse means doing something in the opposite direction.

In this Sony A7III review, I will show you exactly why this is not only one of the best mirrorless cameras of 2018, but also the best full frame camera available in its price, coming in under $2000. Crazy!

The Sony a7 III camera is undoubtedly leading the race, with its array of high-end performance features in both photo and video, putting it far ahead of its competitors. But, enough chit-chat – let’s dive right in!

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Bedsides being mainly a still photography camera, aimed at professional sports and wildlife photographers, the a9 can also shoot 4K30p video using Sony’s AF system.

With its feature set and price bracket, Sony was targeting the recently previously Nikon D5, with the release of the a9. It certainly wasn’t trying to compete with the Panasonic GH5, but it was an indication of things to come from Sony.

Although, Panasonic naturally preempted that Sony would release a full frame mirrorless rival to its bread winner, the GH5 camera and didn’t want o fall to far behind.

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Sony wasn’t too bothered by the GH5s and once again gunned for Nikon. This time going after the sales of their latest and greatest, Nikon D850 DSLR camera.

The a7R III featured many of the same amazing, high-end features of the more expensive Sony a9, but coming in at a lower price bracket of $2,798.00 on Amazon. Again the same price bracket as the Nikon D850 which is $3,296.95 on Amazon

[bs-heading title=”The Sony a7 III arrives on scene” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#8dc73f” heading_style=”t1-s2″ bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=”” show_title=”1″]

While Sony have marketed the Sony a7 III as an “entry level” camera, it is far from it. The only entry level about this mirrorless camera is its price.

The Sony a7 III boasts features from both of its more expensive sibling cameras, has made this camera’s the best ultimate hybrid camera and the best choice, not only for beginner photographers, but professionals wanting to upgrade from the Sony A7II or Sony a6500.

The video quality is so good that the Sony a7 III an easily be used as a B-Roll camera for people shooting with dedicated high-end video production and broadcast cameras like the Arri, Red, Blackmagic and Sony FS series.

Both the Nikon Z6 and Canon R compare very well to the Sony a7 III, with each of them having their own niche features to set them apart from one another.

The most apparent difference to the Sony a7 III, when upgrading from the older Sony a7 II, is the implementation of Sony’s newest, 2018 generation mirrorless body design. which brings the camera in line with its modern siblings, the Sony a7R III and Sony a9.

It has definitely made recent Sony cameras a much more comfortable experience to shoot with, particularly when using bigger lenses such as zooms and the new Sigma E-Mount range.

Most importantly, the larger grip also leaves room for Sony’s enhanced Z-type battery, which not only does away with the heat issues plaguing previous Sony camera models, but also allows for the longest battery life seen on any Sony camera yet.

The latest body design also means that the a7 III comes with an almost identical control layout to the Sony a7R III and the Sony a9, while at the same time being similar to the previous generation Sony mirrorless cameras.

For some reason, Sony thought it would be a good idea to place it on the edge of the rear grip, making it the most tedious position in which to try use it. Other times, I would accidentally press is with the palm of my hand, because well, it placed right below it, for no good reason.

One thing that not may people will notice, are the additional two screws in the new Sony a7III’s lens mount system (totaling 6), compared to the a7 II, which only had 4. This will allow for bigger, heaier lenses to be mounted without the risk of breaking the lens mount system.

All in all, precious generation Sony Mirrorless camera users will feel right at home, while now being treated to some great new enhancements to the interface.

New users to Sony, both beginner camera buyers, or pros coming from other brands, will also be able to get used to the interface very quickly and easily.

The new body includes dual card slots, something many Sony shooters have been begging for. Definitely, a feature normally reserved for the more expensive, premium camera models.

[bs-thumbnail-listing-1 columns=”2″ title=”Related Topics” icon=”” hide_title=”0″ heading_color=”#e53b17″ heading_style=”t1-s8″ category=”” tag=”” count=”2″ post_ids=”3399,2785″ offset=”” featured_image=”1″ ignore_sticky_posts=”1″ author_ids=”” disable_duplicate=”0″ time_filter=”year” order=”DESC” order_by=”rand” _name_1=”” post_type=”” taxonomy=”” _name_2=”” cats-tags-condition=”and” cats-condition=”in” tags-condition=”in” tabs=”” tabs_cat_filter=”” tabs_tax_filter=”” tabs_content_type=”deferred” paginate=”none” pagination-show-label=”0″ pagination-slides-count=”3″ slider-animation-speed=”750″ slider-autoplay=”1″ slider-speed=”3000″ slider-control-dots=”off” slider-control-next-prev=”style-1″ ad-active=”0″ ad-after_each=”” ad-type=”” ad-banner=”none” ad-campaign=”none” ad-count=”” ad-columns=”1″ ad-orderby=”date” ad-order=”ASC” ad-align=”left” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” override-listing-settings=”1″ listing-settings=”thumbnail-type=featured-image&title-limit=38&subtitle=1&subtitle-limit=43&subtitle-location=before-meta&show-ranking=0&meta%5Bshow%5D=1&meta%5Bauthor%5D=0&meta%5Bdate%5D=0&meta%5Bdate-format%5D=standard&meta%5Bview%5D=1&meta%5Bshare%5D=1&meta%5Bcomment%5D=1&meta%5Breview%5D=1&” bs-text-color-scheme=”” css=”.vc_custom_1542213161994{border-top-width: 4px !important;border-right-width: 4px !important;border-bottom-width: 4px !important;border-left-width: 4px !important;padding-top: 5px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;border-left-color: #e8e8e8 !important;border-left-style: double !important;border-right-color: #e8e8e8 !important;border-right-style: double !important;border-top-color: #e8e8e8 !important;border-top-style: double !important;border-bottom-color: #e8e8e8 !important;border-bottom-style: double !important;}”][bs-heading title=”LCD Screen” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#29ace2″ heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=””]

The Sony a7R III and a9 have slightly better LCD screen resolutions of 1,440,000 dots / 3 = 480,000px or a 800×600 (SVGA) video resolution LCD screen.

The touch screen on Sony cameras have never been great and am unsure as to why. Was really hoping that it would have seen an upgrade while writing this Sony a7III review.

You can touch the screen to move focus area and double tapping can zoom into your image in playback mode. While zoomed in, you can pan across the image using touch.

Absolute positioning, which is when your touch the rear LCD screen to move and place your focus point on the EVF, while looking through the EVF, still does not work wonderfully.

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Unfortunately, like its bigger brothers, the Sony a7III rear LCD screen does have flip features, but can’t flip 180º for self-portraits or for vlogging review.

Again, I’m unsure as to why Sony chose not go with a 180º articulating flip screen, as there is no reason not do this, when cameras like the GH5 are able to deliver this feature.

These will enhance your videography, by giving you not only a mountable screen in any direction, but one that is far brighter and true HDR Compliant, as well as many great advanced video features, such as Zebras, Focus Peaking, 3D LUTS and much more.

While improved, the rear LCD screen still lacks some brightness when compared to a mirrorless camera like the GH5, which has an amazing rear LCD. There are Manual brightness controls only, together with a “Sunny Weather” mode, which works, but could have been a bit brighter.

All in all, while the Sony a7 III LCD screen brightness is a big upgrade and very usable. Don’t forget, you can still always use the EVF for shooting purposes as well.

The a7 III uses the same 2.36 million dot OLED Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) as the Sony a7 II, with a 1024 x 768 resolution, while the a9 and a7R III have a better 3.7-million dot OLED viewfinder.

On previous Sony models, the LCD screen would turn off when your eye, (or anything else, like your hand or body) came close to the EVF. This could be turned off by digging into the menu system, but that’s a hassle.

The Eye Sensor on the Sony A7 III, is in now easily “deactivated” by simply pulling the rear LCD screen out, away from the camera body and activated again by putting it back in place.

The majority of the mirrorless camera is constructed from a magnesium alloy and Sony claims that the a7 III features a similar degree of weather sealing found on the Sony a7R III and Sony a9.

Other owners have reported that their Sony a7 III cameras have been hit by ocean waves while filming and the camera had no issue from that, which is great.

As with the Sony a7RIII and Sony a9 mirrorless cameras, the a7 III camera body dimensions are identical, at 5.0(W) x 3.8(H) x 2.9(D)” / 126.9(W) x 95.6(H) x 73.7(D) mm, excluding the rear viewfinder protrusion.

The new batteries in both the Sony a7R III and Sony a9 have been very impressive and certainly light years ahead of the mark II range. The Sony Mark III range is undoubtedly more power hungry because of their higher-end specs, but Sony have overcome that, with a must better battery than in the past.

The Sony a7III, like the a9 and a7RIII, now supports UBS charging, which is wonderful. I will cover the benefits of USB charging later down in this review.

Yes, you can buy a spare battery Sony NPFZ100 battery, (and I highly recommend that you do), although this still doesn’t completely solve the problem because in order to charge either one of the batteries, your camera needs to be tied to a USB cable.

The battery grip slides in and connects to the Sony a7 III into where your original battery would be, thus you aren’t able to use the internal battery as well.

The grip The grip gives the Sony A7III that semi DSLR “bulky” feel for those who prefer it (such as myself), to help balance the camera with larger prime or zoom lenses.

Meet the Sony Sony NPA-MQZ1K Multi Battery Adapter Kit, for $398.00 on Amazon, which includes two Sony NPFZ100 batteries, that usually cost $78.00 each. Thus making the cost of the unit alone, only $242.

Whether you like it or not, You will definitely need to buy a second battery for your Sony camera, no matter what type of photographer you are, casual or expert, you need a backup.

Considering that the Sony BC-QZ1 external fast charger costs $98.00 on Amazon without a battery, and can only charge one battery, the price to charge 4 at just over double the price is pretty neat.

Sony has come out swinging with the amazing features on the lastest release a7 III. One of the most important being, the brand new, Exmor R CMOS image sensor, which is the heart of this full frame camera.

Let’s continue this Sony a7III review, to see exactly how well it performs[bs-heading title=”Best ISO on a mirrorless camera” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#e30167″ heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=””]

The Sony a7 III back illumunated sensor features a native ISO range of 100-51200, when shooting in both 4k video as well as when shooting photos at 24.2MP.

The more expensive (although stills orientated) a7R III reached its usable ISO limit at 25600 ISO, while the little Sony a7 III was the last mirrorless standing, capable of creating actual usable (for YouTube) low light footage at a stellar 51200 ISO.

In comparison, the Sony a7 III’s Exmor R CMOS sensor has a shutter rate of about 1/20th of a second. Making the a7 III readout speed (aka shutter rate), 3 stops slower than the a9 electronic shutter.

Sony a7 III can shoot silently using electronic shutter. When shooting video of moving subjects such as a car or panning the camera, rolling shutter does show up.

At Full Frame 4K (downsampled from 6k), the Sony a7 III’s rolling shutter is very good. It is slightly worse than the Sony a7R III and GH5 cameras, although far better than the Sony a6500. In perspective, its actually very similar to the Sony a9 and a7s II mirrorless cameras.

NOTE:This is related to all electronic shutters, not just the a7 III.In fact the Sony a9 electronic shutter also suffers from banding, even though it is the fastest electronic shutter on the market.

The Sony a7 III hosts 5.0 stops of stabilization, matching the Sony a9’s performance in this area, but falls a bit short when compared to 5.5 stops of the Sony a7R III.

It’s not often that you see a camera company take the AF system from its flagship camera and put it in a camera less than half the purchase price, but that’s precisely what Sony did with the A7 III.

Let’s review and see what else Sony packed into this little gem.[bs-heading title=”693-point AF System” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#fdc800″ heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=””]

Why Sony chose to not use the same AF-Lock Tracking of the a9, is most likely, because they wanted to keep some niche features for the much more expensive camera.

For a camera that is essentially Sony’s lower end full-frame model, the Sony a7 III has enough performance to keep up with all but the most demanding shooting scenarios.

If you are a serious professional sports or wildlife photographer, then the Sony the Exmor RS CMOS sensor and BIONZ X processor, that delivers 20fps burst shooting ability of the Sony a9 camera, is a much better choice.

The Sony a7 III uses an identical ‘Front End LSI’ pre-processor that enabled the majority of the features and speed improvements that come with the a7R III, to be on the a7 III as well.

The a7III is no slouch and can shoot using either of it’s mechanical or electronic shutter modes, with Continuous Auto Focus (AF) and Auto Exposure (AE) tracking enabled, at 10fps.

Should you be required to shoot discreetly or in quiet environments, the Sony A7 III’s electronic shutter supports Silent Shooting Mode, while not compromising on performance, with the burst shooting speed remaining at 10fps.

This is the same fps as found on the Sony a7rIII, but remember that the a7R III, is shooting double the image resolution with its 42MP resolution images.

Only the Sony a9 beats them both with its 20fps shooting abilities, using its electronic shutter, but again it’s only shooting 24MP resolution images.

Slideshow, meaning the camera’s LCD screen is showing you the last image taken in the sequence and NOT what the one that the sensor is currently seeing.

Again, 8fps is certainly nothing to sneeze at and more than most people even need. 8fps on the Sony a7 III is faster than even the newest Nikon D850 which shoots at 7fps and requires a battery grip to achieve 9fps.

The mechanical shutter helps the Sony a7III to be more useful for burst flash shooting at 10fps, compared to the Sony a9, which can only shoot a 5fps using its mechanical shutter.

To overcome this, you have to shoot with the a7III mechanical shutter which can achieve a flash required read-out speed (shutter rate) of 1/125 or faster, up to 1/250.

Recording 4K/24p (and 25p) the camera captures a 6K region of the sensor (2.4x the amount of data required), which is then downsampled to produce exceptional quality 4K footage like the Sony a9 and a7R III.

The Sony full frame camera can however shoot at resolutions and frame rate up to UHD 4K/30p, but when doing so, uses a 5K oversampled region of the sensor (1.6x the amount of data required), which is then downsized in-camera.

The detail of the 4k footage is much cleaner and more detailed than the Sony a7 II range, due to the oversampling feature. The a7II and a7sII use the entire native 12MP sensor to record 4K at a 1:1 ratio.

The Sony a7 III is slightly less detailed than the a7s II in standard 1080p at 24,25 or 30p rates, with a bit more aliasing, indicating that it in fact has no anti-aliasing filter built in. Otherwise a very slight one.

The big crop on the a7S II also means you are turning your 24mm, into a 55mm lens, making wide angle shots at 1080p 120fps impossible, while on the new Sony a7 III, there is no crop so you 24mm will shoot like a 24mm. Awesome!

If this is important to you then the GH5 supports 10bit All-Intra at 400mbps and will thus be a better choice for you, as the Sony a7 III is limited to 8bit only, even with an external recorder

Sony has removed the PlayMemories Camera Apps. This app was used add additional functions such as an intervalometer to the camera, which is used in time-lapse photography.

Sony cameras have a “smart” hotshoe which lets you use their terrific XLR Accessories for audio as well. The a7 III has both headphone or microphone inputs, just like the a7 II and a9[bs-heading title=”Video Ports” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#9f3494″ heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=””]

The Sony a7III includes both a Headphone Jack and Microphone Jack using a 3.5 mm Stereo mini-jack, which makes this one the best cameras for Youtubers in this price range, as you require both of those for your audio purposes.

Note: You will need to purchase a separate (and optional) Sony BC-QZ1 fast charging unit to charge the batteries externally and at a 40% faster rate than USB charging.

Either way you will need a new lens to get you started. If budget is tight, i’d highly suggest the nifty-fifty Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 $248.00 to kick things off.

As the Sony a7 III is a full frame mirrorless camera, the best lens choice is always a full frame lens, to make sure you make use of the entire, glorious full frame sensor

Note that Sigma have officially announced 9 prime lenses, to be made native for Sony E-Mount. After this release in July 2018, Sigma will most likely launch a zoom range as well

The Sony 7 III is a brilliant camera that will tick a lot of boxes for many photographers in a price range, far lower than equivalent feature based competitors.

If you cant decide which Sony camera to choose, then be sure to check out the Sony a7 III vs the Sony a7R III comparison review, to see which of these amazing Sony cameras, best suits your needs.[bs-heading title=”New age business model” icon=”” title_link=”” heading_color=”#fdc800″ heading_style=”default” bs-show-desktop=”1″ bs-show-tablet=”1″ bs-show-phone=”1″ bs-text-color-scheme=”” custom-css-class=”” custom-id=”” css=””]

Sony has taken many of the best features from its flagship Sony a9 and a7RIII mirrorless cameras and placed them into a camera, that is much more affordable and without any restrictions.

Sony have just flipped this aging business model on its head, by releasing cameras that are instead made for separate needs instead of price brackets, by delivering just 5 camera categories to suit everyone’s specific needs and budget while spreading the feature quality evenly:

But now with the Sony a7 III, the time has definitely come. The differences between the benefits of DSLR vs Mirrorless, has now become so small, compared to what it was even a year ago.

Another major issues that is soon to be gone, is the fact that Sigma are now also onboard to make a whole range of 3rd party Sigma lenses made natively for the Sony E-Mount.

Once a big company like Sigma start taking mirrorless this seriously, you know this will be the future. While Sony have delivered lenses, they are still very limited in range and are expensive.

This leaves Sony open to focus and do what they do best (making cameras) and Sigma to do what they do best (making lenses) at a much better quality and price point.

Sony’s new a7III is arguably their most well-rounded camera so far. With a surprisingly high-end set of specifications for the price, it promises to be one of the best values in the full-frame mirrorless market. In this review, we test the a7III astrophotography performance at various dark sky locations around the world.

The Sony a7III is Sony’s latest iteration of their “entry-level” full-frame mirrorless camera. We’ve been testing and using the a7III in real world astrophotography shooting for the past few months, in Spain, California, Switzerland and Utah.

As the more affordable camera in Sony’s Mark III full-frame mirrorless Alpha lineup, the a7III is slated to be Sony’s most popular full-frame camera in 2018 and beyond. It’s already likely the reason that Sony has claimed, for the first time, to be the #1 full-frame camera manufacturer in the US with nearly 40% of US full-frame camera sales in the first half of 2018. With months of use of this camera behind our belt, we have developed a pretty thorough understanding of the notable features and quirks that affect astrophotography shooting.

For astrophotography, the past generations of Sony Alpha cameras already had numerous attractive features and specifications that we found helpful for astrophotography. We still actively use the first generation a7S as a primary astrophotography camera, particularly for its amazingly bright live-view feed in dark conditions and its excellent noise performance.

In 2018, the Mark III generation of the Sony a7 series makes some incremental changes. There are some welcome improvements apparent in the a7III and some much less welcome omissions. Here’s what we like and what we hate on the new Sony a7III:

The a7III ISO gain now reaches ISO 204800, a setting that will likely rarely be used, but one that tells of the noise performance and low-light capability of the camera. With so much amplification capability, it proves better for live-view framing of scenes in dark night conditions.

We definitely feel that the a7III is nearly as capable as the a7S in this regard. When using a rather fast lens (e.g.

The a7III is the second Sony Alpha camera to use the new NP-FZ100 battery. It’s now rated for 710 shots per charge, about double what the previous generation battery was capable of. In practice, it seems to actually provide better than that number, a welcome change for night photography and time-lapse photography.

With careful use of the LCD or when shooting images rapidly such as in wildlife or time-lapse shooting, it’s easily possible to shoot more than 1000 images on a single charge. With more typical light shooting, it’s possible to go for days of normal use without the need for charging. The battery is so improved that, coupled with the camera’s USB charging capability, we’ve never had the need to swap in a second battery.

New to the Mark III generation of Alpha cameras is the ability to power and charge the camera via an external USB power source while it’s operating. Previously only a feature that could charge the camera while it was off, this change makes it possible to keep the camera perpetually powered on with an external USB battery while shooting long videos or a time-lapses. We normally tote around an Anker 10000 mAh PowerCore on our travels and the ability to charge and power the a7III from the Anker battery has us re-assured that we won’t ever run out of power. Since it’s possible to hot-swap the power source as the camera is running, it’s theoretically possible to power the a7III perpetually via external battery packs.

This kind of USB powered operation is very exciting for extremely long time-lapse shooting and other demanding applications such as recording long video sessions such as interviews or performances. Previous generation Sony Alpha cameras could not run on external power without a separate, cumbersome DC coupler and/or AC adapter, a solution that’s not as elegant for in-the-field work.

Consistent with the previous generation Sony a7 cameras, the new a7III features a simple tilt screen that allows for low slung or overhead shooting in the landscape orientation. We’re bummed that Sony did not add the ability to tilt for vertical portrait shooting (a la the Fujifilm X-T2), but we’re glad it at least tilts in one orientation. And it’s a touchscreen. Sort of.

New is the ability to use touchscreen functionality for basic functions like AF point selection. In practice, there are already two other methods of AF point selection that are available (joystick and thumbwheel via AF Settings) so the addition of touch screen functionality just to choose an AF point is not particularly revolutionary. It should be noted that the touch screen cannot be used to navigate the menu or to change any on-screen settings.

We do like that the screen can be double tapped in manual focus mode to instantly zoom into that portion of the frame to check focus. When zoomed in manual focus, it’s also possible to now use the AF-ON button to instantly autofocus while using the focus magnifier.

While not specifically a feature for shooting astrophotography, the a7III records 4K Ultra High Definition video internally. We love creating YouTube videos so 4K comes in pretty high on our list of personal desires in a camera. HD is quickly being replaced with UHD so we honestly expect nothing less than at least 3840 pixels wide at 24 frames per second for video recording in any modern camera in this day and age.

The video image quality out of the a7III is downright excellent. Since the camera samples with full 6K width of the sensor before downsampling for UHD output, the resulting image quality is excellent, on par or better than what we previously expected of the a7S with an external HDMI recorder.

Update – April, 2019: Sony has released a new firmware version 3.0 that enables intervalometer functions on the a7III. We’re very happy that Sony implemented this feature. It should have been there to begin with. You can download the firmware fromSony’s support page.The original text of our review is below.

We are super bummed to hear that Sony axed the internalPlayMemories Appfunctionality on the a7III. That means that the extremely useful Time-Lapse, Light Trails, Smooth Reflection and Digital Filter apps are no longer downloadable to the Mark III Alpha full-frame cameras. We loved these apps on our old a7S.

Sony might be as forward thinking a camera company as any, but this feels like a step backwards. This omission means it’s impossible to make a night time-lapse sequence without first purchasinga compatible external intervalometer. Why Sony? Why?!

It should be noted that Sony did add the S&Q mode to the mode dial which allows for “Slow and Quick” video recording. This mode allows the a7III to record video at various frame rates as fast as 120 frames per second and as slow as 1 frame per second and then the camera will automatically output that recording as a video at 30p or 24p. At the 1 frame per second shooting setting, it’s a convenient way to make a simple time-lapse video but it’s purely a video mode that cannot generate RAW still image files and it also does not allow for intervals or exposures longer than 1 second.

The Sony a7III features dual SD card slots, which allows for extended shooting, separating RAW and jpeg images, separating video from stills, or creating a real-time second card backup as you shoot.

Nearly every single button or dial on the a7III is customizable. Sony has drastically improved customization and lengthened the list of functions that can be assigned to any given button or dial. Immediately customizable are 4 dedicated custom function buttons (C1, C2, C3, C4) and a configurable Function Menu button (Fn) that gives quick access to a menu of multiple settings of your choice.

Sony also improved the number of functions and settings that can be stored in the custom memory shooting modes, “1” and “2” on the mode dial, making it possible to create your own custom modes for your favorite exposure mode and exposure settings.

No two Sony a7III cameras will likely be configured the same way from one photographer to another and that’s the beauty of the a7III’s custom buttons: If you take the time to customize the controls, you can make it operate in exactly the way that you want for any given shooting scenario, a feature that that very few other camera manufacturers have offered to the extent that Sony has on the a7III.

The LCD screen appears to be very similar to the a7II, daytime brightness is adequate but not exceptional for shooting in brightly sunlit conditions. We were very pleased by the brightness and gain capability of the live-view feed at night. It’s nearly as bright as the Sony a7S, making composition in dark conditions comparatively easy, especially with a decently fast (

Even with a modest aperture lens, Bright Monitoring is nearly like night vision. While in this mode, the LCD monitor frame rate can be very slow in dark conditions and moving the camera around can feel like the camera’s drunk, but it’s exceptionally helpful to be able to see in the dark for composition and framing at night. It does not, however, work in conjunction with the Focus Magnifier function.

The latest iteration of the menu interface is much improved on the a7III. The settings menu is still exceptionally long and deep, but functions have been categorized into useful groups and as a result, they are much more easily found.

The menu is, however, different enough from previous Sony cameras that it has taken us some time to memorize the positions of certain menu functions and its still takes us some time to browse before finding certain settings. Luckily, it’s possible to put our most used settings in the “My Menu Setting” tab, the Function (Fn) menu, or assign it to a button of our choice.

Handling of and shooting on the Sony a7III is an improvement in many ways from the previous generation Sonys, as we would hope and expect. Every aspect of the camera feels newer and more refined than previous generations, in-spite of some glaring omissions like the lack of an internal interval-timer or time-lapse mode.

The extreme level of customization available to photographers is one of the most attractive features of the a7III, but one that we expect relatively few photographers to fully utilize. Taking the time to fully understand and customize the buttons, dials and menus of the a7III can add tremendous power and capability to a photographers toolset. Control customization is one of the most valuable capabilities of the a7III. We’ve never used a camera with so much capability for customization and that’s a good thing.

For the a7III, I chose a night cityscape scene in Chicago. In order to accentuate noise, I intentionally underexposed all of the images by stopping down to f/8 and using a shutter time of only 1/4th of a second to simulate extremely low-light shooting. I shot one photo at each whole stop ISO setting. Then, in post processing, all of the images were adjusted to equal brightnesses and compared.

At ISO 800 and higher, shadow noise is greatly reduced and noise levels remain nearly identical at every higher ISO. From ISO 800, all the way to ISO 51200, the Sony a7III appears to be ISO-invariant. Finally, at ISO 102400 and 204800, we can notice the detrimental effects on dynamic range: extremely bright highlights are blown out and detail is reduce around the brightest city lights.

We already said it, and our example photos seem to show it: low-light noise performance on the a7III is excellent. It is nearly as good in performance to our beloved Sony a7S, but with the resolution advantage of twice as many pixels.

Even in fully dark-sky conditions with nearly no-light pollution, the a7III RAW files show an excellent amount of shadow details, even when severely underexposed and then pulled up in post-processing. We’re extremely happy with how much shadow detail is captured by the Sony a7III.

Previous generations of Sony Alpha full-frame cameras have the so-called star-eater issue. Under certain long exposure settings, the camera kicks in a noise reduction algorithm that mistakes dimmer stars for noise and “eats” them or at least reduces their brightness. Our a7S body has the issue when shooting in Bulb mode only, but other cameras like the a7SII and a7RII have the issue in regular camera-timed exposures of 4s and longer. I’ve tested the a7III extensively to see if it also has the issue and these are my findings:

The a7III exhibits a similar, but different characteristic noise filtering as previous generations. The filtering reduces noise and diminishes the brightness of small dim stars in an image for exposures of 4 seconds or longer. An easy way to see the effects of star-eater on the a7III is to simply compare a 3.2s exposure (left) with a 4s exposure (right):

There’s definitely a difference in the 4 s exposure when compared to the 3.2 second exposure. At 4 seconds, noise is reduced dramatically and dim stars are further diminished in brightness, a clear indicator that Sony is filtering out the higher frequency noise and taking some stars with it. So star-eater is still present, but how does the problem compare with previous generations and how detrimental is it to actual shooting?

The comparison below shows an 8s star-eater exposure from the original generation a7S on the left (8s, Bulb-timed) versus a standard camera-timed 8s exposure from the a7III on the right. The a7S image was scaled to match for comparison purposes.

As you can see, the 8s a7III (right) shot looks a lot better than the star-eaten a7S Bulb shot (left). The a7S Bulb shot (left) shows some weird color shifted or blocky looking stars that appear a little bit defocused as a results of the old a7S’s spatial filtering (star-eater) in Bulb mode. The a7III shot shows more dim stars and stars appear markedly sharper than in the old a7S Bulb shot. Stars look “normal” in the a7III shot. This result is great news for astrophotographers looking to get the a7III.

If we compare details from that same 8s image from the a7III with an 8s non-star-eater (camera-timed) image from the a7S, differences become significantly less noticeable. The a7S image was scaled to match for comparison purposes.

Here, both the a7III (left) and a7S (right) seem to be on par with each other in this direct 8S exposure comparison. The frequency and sharpness of stars look pretty much the same between both images. Upon very close inspection, I’d probably give the original a7S a very slight advantage in terms of noise but both cameras seem to do a good job at resolving fine stars.

So, there’s still some noise filtering in the Sony a7III, but in practice, it’s much improved from previous generations. Sony has obviously tweaked their noise algorithm a bit and the result is much more acceptable for typical night photography exposures. The a7III’s higher resolution sensor, when compared to the a7S probably also helps here. While star-eater is improved, it doesn’t hide the fact that the Sony is still doing some funky stuff to the a7III long exposure RAWs.

We wish that Sony did not apply a noise reduction algorithm as such to the a7III’s RAW files. RAW should be raw, unfiltered and un-baked. Ultimately, however, we really love most of the astrophotos that we’ve made from the a7III and we think that they speak for themselves.

For this review, we loaned a Sony a7III from B&H while we attended the PhotoPills Camp 2018 and we liked the camera so much after a week of shooting that we decided to buy it.

My wife, Diana, and I joined as Masters for their 2018 Camp. We hosted workshop outings, presented about astrophotography, performed group critiques and had a ton of fun. While we were there, we put the Sony a7III through some of its first tests and trials.

In Menorca, we shot primarily with the Sony a7III and the Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8, choosing to shoot high resolution multi-row panoramas, rather than the typical wide angle landscape shot with a shorter lens.

The thing that first struck me when using the a7III in these conditions was that the LCD live-view feed was adequately bright and framing in the dark was easy with a fast f/1.8 lens.

Returning from Europe, Diana and I attended Out of Chicago’s Out of Moab Conference in Moab, Utah where we spent a week of shooting and workshopping in the beautiful areas of Arches National Park. At this point in our travels, the Sony a7III became Diana’s primary shooter and the remaining images are all shot by her.

Our first outing of the conference brought us to Double Arch where we caught the Milky Way galactic center setting in the early portions of the night. I primarily focused on helping the workshop participants while Diana captured the Milky Way with the a7III and the Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8, shooting both panoramas and single frames of the arches.

On the drive back to California from the Out of Moab Conference, we stopped at the landmark exit along interstate highway I-15 called Zzyzx Road. It’s situated roughly half-way between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and offers some fairly dark skies. We had stopped initially to shoot some photos of the setting crescent moon, but stuck around for a few more minutes to allow Diana to capture the Milky Way with the a7III.

We’ve loved the time we have spent shooting with the a7III and we had to weigh the camera against some alternatives like the Pentax K-1 Mark II before we decided to buy the a7III.

The Sony a7III does not feature some of the things we got super excited about in our camera review of the Pentax K-1 Mark II. Both camera bodies were released at the same base price for the body, but the Pentax featured some capabilities that were uniquely geared towards astrophotographers such as an illuminated camera body and the Astrotracer function that combined the capability of a GPS and image stabilization system to track the stars of the night sky.

Those types of features are notably absent from the a7III. That said, the a7III counters with a newer (albeit lower resolution) sensor with improved noise performance, internal 4K recording, a markedly better autofocus system, a small and light mirrorless body, extreme levels of control customization, USB charging and a much more complete and modern lens ecosystem. It was the long list of small details like these that had us wanting to keep the a7III.

Looking at our decision today, the closest recent competitor in the camera market is probably now the newly released Nikon Z6 in terms of base price and raw specifications. The Nikon Z series is, however, very new to the market and has only a very limited selection of native mirrorless lenses available (only 3 as of November 2018). Sony, by comparison has over 150 native OEM and third party lenses available for full-frame E-mount cameras. We’re excited to see Nikon, Canon and Panasonic entering the full-frame mirrorless market, but for now, Sony has the most well-developed and refined system.

For the price, the Sony a7III is one of the best values on the market. It’s a well-rounded camera that holds almost nothing back in terms of raw power and capability for an ever-changing digital photography market.

The Sony a7III proves itself as a great astrophotography camera and general all-rounder. It has great low-light performance, some of the best that we’ve seen. For astrophotography and other low-light scenarios, we found that the a7III sensor performs best at ISOs higher than 400. RAW noise filtering does exist but are greatly improved over previous generation cameras and should not eat stars or be problematic in real-world shooting. Low-light live-view performance is nice and bright in dark shooting conditions, especially when using reasonably large aperture (

A large number of custom buttons and functions make the a7III superbly customizable for any shooting style and most of the physical changes, like the addition of a joystick, touchscreen AF/MF point selection, and USB power capability, are all welcome improvements.

We are disappointed that the Mark III generation Sony Alpha cameras, including the a7III, no longer support the Sony Playmemories apps which previously provided custom shooting modes like Time-Lapse, Smooth Reflection, and Light Trails, all modes that were powerful creative tools on previous generation Sony cameras.

Overall, the Sony a7III feels like Sony’s most well-rounded camera. It’s not the highest resolution or fastest camera in their lineup, but it might just be one of the best low-light cameras on the market. It offers a tremendous amount of power for the price and that’s the primary reason that we loved it enough to buy it.

Thanks to the B&H team for temporarily loaning us the Sony a7III for this review. Without them, this post would not have been possible. This is all the equipment that used for a7III Astrophotography Review:

Sony a7 III & a7R III cameras share some accessories designed for Sony a9, a few designed specifically for a7 III & a7R III and many accessories compatible with all Sony E-mount cameras. This list will help you navigate your way to the accessories you need.

My first suggestion with any camera is to buy an extra battery and external charger. Even though battery life is greatly improved from previous Sony mirrorless camera batteries, you can’t shoot while charging your only battery, picking up a spare Sony NP-FZ100 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.

Sony a7R III ships with an external battery charger – but a7 III does not. You’ll want to pick one up for a7 III and if you shoot heavily, you may want spare Sony BC-QZ1 Z-series Battery Charger so that you can charge two batteries at once. Featuring a 100-240 Volt compatible power adapter, this charger will be able to charge a battery completely in 150 minutes. It also features an LED indicator for checking charge status and has a slim design with a detachable AC cable.

I only use original Sony NP-FZ100 batteries – but if you’re determined to buy third-party replacement batteries – please stick to batteries that comply!

Upgraded RAVPower NP-FZ100 Batteries ($59.95 for two battery + charger kit from Amazon) meet compliance with Sony a7 III, a7R III & a9. The only complaint I’ve received is that RAVPower batteries drain more quickly than OEM Sony batteries

Sony VG-C3EM Vertical Grip ($348 at B&H Photo | Amazon) is probably a MUST for sports or wildlife shooters or anyone suffering from withdrawals from DSLR-size bodies. In addition to making a bigger body to grip, you get the added bonus of room for two NP-FZ100 batteries for double the battery life. Portrait photographers will appreciate the added vertical release.

Really Right Stuff is the ‘gold standard” of camera plates and L Brackets. Their Sony a9/a7R III will also fit a7 III. These plates are all precision machined from solid blocks of 6061-T6 aluminum. Fully compatible with any Arca-Swiss style quick release system with contoured anti-twist flanges to prevent twisting between camera and plate.

GABALE QR L Plate Bracket for Sony a7III/a7RIII/a9 ($57 on eBay) is a less expensive alternative machined from lightweight aircraft-grade anodized aluminum. It’s two-part construction allows you to control the offset of the side bracket for access to camera ports when mounted vertically.

Sony GP-X1EM Grip Extension ($130 at B&H Photo | Amazon) mounts to the camera’s tripod socket to provide a larger and taller grip for a more ergonomic shooting setup. For durability, it features aluminum construction with and enhanced scratch resistance surface.

Manfrotto Befree Advanced Alpha Travel Tripod (Pre-Order for $189.99 from B&H Photo | Adorama) This special version of the Befree Advanced Lever is designed for Sony alpha camera users who want maximum performance and stability in all shooting positions.

The quick-release plate is designed to match Sony a7 and Sony a9 camera bodies, to ensure perfect grip, even in the most angled camera shots. The front jut of the plate physically blocks the camera, preventing any play both on tilt and rotational movements, always keeping the camera stuck to the head plate.

Gitzo L-Bracket for Sony a7R III and a9 Cameras ($199 at B&H Photo). allows comfortable alignment of Sony a7 III, a7R III and a9 cameras and facilitates quick change between landscape and portrait. Milled from a solid block of aluminum, the new rail is the lightest of its kind, according to the manufacturer, it offers four mounting points for the camera designed for shooting video or tethered shooting in the studio. The supplied Allen key can be fixed in a separate holder.

Sony’s new NP-FZ100 batteries pack a lot of power yet if you find yourself needing more, Sony NPA-MQZ1K Multi Battery Adapter Kit might be just what you need for time lapse photography or extended video shoots since it is able to supply power from up to four NP-FZ100 series battery packs for dramatically extended shooting times. At four bills – it’s not cheap, but it includes two NP-FZ100 batteries that would run you $160.

[Please Note: Due to a clever dual dummy battery set-up, Sony NPA-MQZ1K Multi Battery Adapter is also compatible with cameras using W-style Sony batteries including a7-Series, a6000-series and NEX]

The eyepiece on Sony a7R III is well anchored in place so chances are good, you’ll never lose one. But if you do…here’s where you can get a replacement Sony FDA-EP18 Eyepiece Cup ($11 at B&H Photo | Amazon)

SD Card Slot 1 is UHS II compatible with Sony’s world’s fastest Sony SF-G cards featuring blistering fast 299MB/s Write Speed & 300MB/s Read Speed perfect for Sony a7R III’s 10 FPS burst shooting, 4K video, and other buffer-busting uses. If you plan to shoot video, you’ll want to stick to 64GB (or larger) SDXC cards for the best video codex. [Please Note: UHS-II SD cards will work in other Sony cameras – however only Sony a7 III, a7R II & a9 can take advantage of it’s blazing write speed]

If you can’t get your hands on the Sony cards listed above, the next fastest option is SanDisk 32GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDHC, 64GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC or 128GB Extreme PRO UHS-II SDXC Memory Cards with 260 MB/s Max Write Speeds. Once again, stick to 64 or 128 GB SDXC cards for video.

Hoodman Steel 2000x SDXC UHS-II Memory Card available in 64GB & 128GB fall short of Sony SF-G speed, but their 260 MB/s a Max Write Speed equals the speed of SanDisk cards with better construction and a lower price.

Sony a7R III Card Slot 2 is compatible with UHS-I memory cards. Sony SDXC UZ UHS-I memory cards with 90 MB/s Write Speed & 95 MB/s read Speed are an excellent choice. Though they don’t offer the same write speeds as UHS-II cards, these cards are also fully compatible in card slot 1.

While you can always download by connecting the camera to your computer using the supplied USB-cord…however you’ll be limited to USB-2 downdload speeds. But for fast downloads, a MUCH better option is to pick up a Sony MRW-S1 UHS-II SD Memory Card Reader ($29 at B&H Photo | Amazon)

Remote controls allow hands-off triggering of a tripod-mounted camera or long bulb exposure times. Sony RM-VPR1 remote control with Multi-Terminal Cable ($50 at B&H | Amazon) allows you to trigger long exposures without touching your camera.

If you prefer a wireless remote trigger, Sony RMT-DSLR2 Wireless Remote ($24 at B&H Photo | Amazon) triggers your shutter by sending an infrared signal to the camera’s remote port, ensuring that you don’t shake the camera as you fire it.

Sony RMT-VP1K Wireless Receiver and Remote Commander Kit ($69 at B&H Photo | Amazon) can operate your camera or a group of cameras remotely using the RMT-VP1K Wireless Receiver and Remote Commander Kit from Sony. The multi-function remote control is compatible with Sony cameras that are equipped with a multi terminal and has further compatibility with MI-show and DI products. For video or still use, the remote has four available modes: Half-push, Release, Bulb lock, and REC/Zoom. The IR receiver has 360° coverage. Full Compatibility with all Sony products with multi-terminal port.

Vello 3.5mm Remote Shutter Release Cable for Sony Multi-Terminal cameras ($11 at B&H Photo | Amazon) is the cord you need if you want to trigger your Sony a7R III camera remotely using a Pocket Wizard or any other remote trigger with a 3.5mm mini-plug port.

JJC TM-F2 Wire Multi-Function LCD Timer Remote for Sony Multi-Terminal ($26 at Amazon)This is the choice of time-lapse specialist Sony Artisan Drew Geraci for it simplicity, size and easy to read display.

hahnel Captur Timer Kit for Sony ($89 at B&H Photo) This bundle enhances your Captur remote shutter release system by providing a AA battery-powered interval timer module, as well as a receiver for mounting on a camera. Additional receivers are available for firing even more DSLRs. Use this kit with the transmitter you already have, or purchase one separately. As an alternative to wireless operation, the system can function in wired mode, and this kit includes the cables for connecting both the receiver and timer module to the camera. The module features single, continuous, and bulb exposure modes, allowing you to choose from a huge range of exposure times with the continuous and bulb settings.

Think Tank Introduces Hydrophobia V3.0 Advanced Camera Rain Covers including new sizes for Sony Full-Frame Mirrorless and Wide Angle Lenses. Hydrophobia V3.0 covers feature DWR (Durable Water Repellent) coating and is made from three layers of material for durability. It is also seam-sealed for added protection against rain, sleet, snow, sand, and dust. Fold it down to fit into the included compact carrying pouch and slip it into your camera bag so you’re prepared in a downpour or sand storm.

Hydrophobia V3.0 Advanced Camera Rain Covers feature a non-slip, adjustable strap that cinches to the lens hood so it stays put once in place. It can be used while shooting atop a tripod or monopod and has an oversized window for viewing your LCD and controls. Additionally, two cinchable sleeves provide easy access to your camera functions.

Fits Sony full-frame mirrorless camera bodies with a 24-70mm f/2.8, 24-105mm f/4, 16-35mm f/2.8, 14-24mm f/2.8, or similarly-sized wide-angle and standard zoom lens. ($114.75 from B&H Photo | Amazon)

Fits Sony full-frame mirrorless camera bodies with a 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 80-400mm f/5-6.3, 100-400mm f/5-6.3, or similarly-sized lens standard zoom lens. ($124.75 from B&H Photo | Amazon)>

Fits Sony full-frame mirrorless camera bodies with large telephoto zooms and prime lenses from 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 up to 600 f/4 lens. ($149.75 from B&H Photo | Amazon)

One of the best features of mirrorless cameras is that, due to their thin body design, it’s possible to mount a huge array of lenses on them using lens mount adapters. Sony a7R III cameras allow you to use virtually every make of 35mm lenses with the full angle of view for which those lenses were designed.

Vello EXT-SFED Deluxe Auto Focus Extension Tube Set for Sony E-Mount Lenses are compatible with Sony full-frame and APS-C cameras and Sony FE and E mount lenses. Extension tubes extend the close focus range of any lens making them well suited for close-up portraiture and macro photography. This set contains two extension tubes, one 10mm, and one 16mm. They can be used individually or together to create the desired magnification effect. Extension tubes have no optical elements so they do not degrade the quality of your lenses and these fully automatic extension tubes communicate all electronic functions from lens to camera including autofocus and auto exposure. They are built with metal lens mounts for durability and longevity and enable you to convert your E-mount lens into a macro lens while maintaining the lens’ original optical quality.

Sony HVL-F45RM flash ($398 at B&H Photo | Amazon) is Sony’s first 2.4 GHz radio controlled flash. It features built-in wireless capability of operating up to 15 flashes in 5 groups.

When mounted on camera, Sony HVL-F45M can act as a flash commander or it can be triggered off-camera using a Sony FA-WRC1M Wireless Radio Commander using built-in 2.4 GHz wireless wireless connection capability of operating up to 15 flashes in 5 groups.

HVL-F45RM reduces size and weight over 10% from the previous model while improving the guide number to 148′ at ISO 100 and 105mm and improving the recycle time to 2.5 seconds. Full bounce capabilities are available as well with tilt from -8 to 150° and a total of 360° of rotation. Also, it has a zoom head of 24-105mm which can be expanded to 15mm with a pull-out diffusion panel alongside an LED light useful for video. The flash offers vastly improved controls via the rear LCD, including customizable buttons and flash distribution and memory settings. HVL-F45RM has a dust- and moisture-resistant construction.

Sony FA-WRC1M Wireless Radio Commander ($348 at B&H Photo | Amazon) this Multi Interface Shoe compatible remote flash commander can control up to 15 separately available FA-WRR1 Wireless Radio Receivers or radio-equipped RM-series flashes from up to 98.4′ away thanks to a 2.4 GHz radio system. This configuration also permits operation without requiring line of sight with all the units involved. Additionally, it has access to 14 channels for avoiding interference with other radio triggering systems in the vicinity as well as up to 5 groups for precise control over your lights.

The major benefit of the Wireless Radio Commander is remote control over your flash’s settings. This includes exposure compensation, flash power from 1/1 to 1/256, zoom, and more. Along with this, the radio system has full compatibility with Sony’s TTL method and supports High-Speed Sync at up to 1/8000 second. Other flashes can be triggered in a manual mode and a PC sync terminal is available for connecting to various strobes and other lights. In addition to all of this, the Commander is equipped with a Multi Terminal for connection and controlling other cameras.

Vello Off-Camera TTL Flash Cords for Sony Multi Interface Shoe allow you to remotely fire Sony flashes with ADI / P-TTL capabilities and the Multi Interface Shoe – removing the flash from the camera’s hot shoe reducing the harsh shadows commonly encountered with direct on-camera flashes and gives your photographs a more natural look.

If you want to eliminate the camera noise that comes with recording sound with your camera, you should consider using an external microphone. You can have much more control over the quality of the audio because you are using a device whose sole purpose is to record audio. There is a growing market of microphones for mirrorless and DSLR cameras, including mics with hot shoe adapters that allow you to mount the mic to the camera so you can record without having to worry about holding the external microphone. Sony’s ECM-XYST1M stereo microphone (Amazon | B&H) slips into the multi-interface shoe. Its features include the ability to fine-tune the angle at which sound is recorded, from a single point to a wide 120-degree spread to pick up ambient sound from an entire room.

If you’re looking to add XLR terminal inputs and audio level controls for a pro external audio input, the Sony XLR-K2M XLR Adapter Kit with Microphone $598 (Order from Amazon | B&H) is just the thing. It includes 2-Channel XLR Adapter has audio level controls for each channel that fits into Sony Multi-Interface Shoe and a Sony ECM-XM1 Shotgun Microphone.

Your a7-series camera offers Live View video through your EVF and LCD, but there are times when shooting video that a larger monitor comes in handy because it gives you more surface area, making it easy to compose your shot. Step up to a full HD Monitor with the Sony CLM-FHD5 5″ HD LCD monitor – $700 (B&H) is an ideal companion to the a7RII for video shooting. A compact 5.0 type Full HD (1920x1080p) LCD monitor, the CLM-FHD5 features enlarging and peaking functionality for precise focusing, false color and video level marker for adjusting exposure and S-Log display assist to assist S-Log shooting.

If you wish to step up to 4K 4:2:2 recording, you’ll need a separate 4K recorder like the Atomos Shogun Flame 7″ 4K HDMI/SDI Recording Monitor ($995 at B&H). This 7″ 1920 x 1200 on-camera recording monitor that combines 4K recording with a 10-bit FRC panel that supports native display of HDR (log) footage as well as high brightness viewing of Rec. 709 footage. It utilizes 4K HDMI and 12G-SDI inputs to support clean output signals at resolutions up to UHD 4K (3840 x 2160), recording it to 2.5″ SSDs using 10-bit, 4:2:2 Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHR codecs. It even supports DCI 4K (4096 x 2160) raw video streams over SDI from select Sony and Canon cameras, encoding it as ProRes/DNxHR files.

Smooth pans for video all begins with a good video head – which can be the difference between smooth video and shaky cam. Benro makes great video tripod and fluid video heads at a reasonable price. Benro A2573F AL Tripod with S6 Video Head ($300 at Amazon | B&H) is a good entry video head and legs combination for the Sony A7/A7R/A7S or for even smoother pans, move up to the larger S8 video head with the Benro A3573F Series 3 AL Tripod and S8 Pro Video Head ($450 at Amazon | B&H) – it’s larger, heavier video head makes for even smoother camera moves and it’s hard to beat for under $500. If you’re looking for a pro video tripod, Benro H10 Video Tripod with Carbon Fiber Legs ($1,050 at Amazon | B&H) will meet your needs.

CAME-TV CAME-Single 3-Axis Handheld Camera Gimbal is a single-handed stabilizer that supports loads up to 2.6 pounds, making it suitable for use with compact mirrorless cameras such Sony a7 Series. It utilizes three motors that stabilize the camera along the pan, tilt, and roll axes. This compensates for shakes, vibrations, and other unwanted movements, allowing you to capture smooth, free-floating shots. The system offers multiple operation modes for increased creative possibilities. You can choose to lock the camera in place along all three axes or have the camera smoothly follow your pan and tilt motions while keeping the horizon level. There is also a Commixture Mode, which locks the tilt axis while allowing the camera to follow left and right panning movements. Modes can be easily switched using a joystick, which can also be used to adjust camera pan and tilt position.

THE SKINNY: I found this gimbal stabilzer thanks to my fellow Sony Artisan Matt Buckman and it hits the perfect balance for fullframe Sony a7 Series mirrorless cameras – not too small and not too big.

THE SKINNY: This is the gimbal stabilzer of choice to my fellow Sony Artisans Ben Lowy and Michael Rubenstein because it’s beefy enough to support fullframe Sony a7 Series mirrorless cameras with a large prime lens.

ikan Beholder MS1 3-Axis Motorized Gimbal Stabilizer supports cameras weighing up to 1.9 pounds including Sony a7 Series mirrorless cameras. It features a 3-axis, motorized gimbal designed to keep your camera level and isolated from hand shake while allowing you to create smooth, organic moving camera shots. It features two operational modes: a following mode that smoothes your camera movements and a lock mode that will hold your camera in its position as you move. The MS1 features a thumb button/joystick which you use to select modes. You can also use the joystick to pan and tilt your camera on the gimbal.

ikan DS1 Beholder Gimbal for DSLR & Mirrorless is a 3-axis gyro stabilizer with brushless motors. It supports cameras up to 3.7 pounds such as Sony A7, GH4, G7 Series, Canon 5D, 6D, 7D, GX7, NEX Series, and DMC Series cameras. It features a quick release baseplate that makes it simple and easy to swap out the camera. Additionally, the baseplate can be adjusted, without tools, for precise balance. This can be especially useful when changing lenses.

THE SKINNY: This is the two-handed version of the gimbal stabilzer of choice to my fellow Sony Artisans Ben Lowy and Michael Rubenstein because it’s beefy enough to support fullframe Sony a7 Series mirrorless cameras with a large prime lens.

Feiyu MG 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal for Mirrorless Cameras is a handheld 3-axis motorized gimbal stabilizer designed to support loads between 0.77 to 2.36 lb, making it an ideal choice for mirrorless cameras such as the Sony a7 Series cameras. It features precision brushless motors that stabilize the camera along the pan, tilt, and roll axes to provide smooth footage free the typical jitters and shake of handheld shooting. Each axis can rotate a full 360° for unrestricted movement and angle adjustment. For added versatility, the MG includes two cross bar sections, two handgrips, and a handle that can be attached in several different ways, letting you switch between one-handed or two-handed configurations. It is operated using a single on/off and mode-select