Sony has revealed its latest professional mirrorless, full-frame camera, the A9 III, which has a stacked 24.6 megapixels sensor and comes with a new shutter.
Launched four years after its predecessor, the A9 III is the first full-frame camera with a global shutter, allowing every pixel to be exposed at the same time, resulting in no distortion in stills or video. Most other mirrorless cameras, including the Canon R5, Panasonic GH5, and Nikon Z9, all have a rolling shutter.
The new global shutter means the A9 III can shoot 4K 120fps video with no crop, 120fps 14bit RAW for 192 frames, with real time AF, flash sync at any shutter speed, and a max shutter speed of 1/80,000 or 1/16,000 during continuous shooting.
There’s a one second pre-capture which can capture 120 frames before the shutter is pressed, as well as a custom button which can temporarily boost shutter speed during a continuous shutter press.
The one problem though, with the global shutter, it is doesn’t usually perform well in low light, and doesn’t provide as much dynamic range.
Sony has remained quiet about low-light performance, however the specs note it can capture images at up to 51,200 ISO.
The predecessor, the A9 II was launched in 2019, and had blackout-free continuous 20fps shooting, as well as a 24.2 megapixel sensor.
Sony’s A1 was released in January 2021, and was faster, had more megapixels, a new, faster processing engine, and better focusing speeds.
The Sony A9 III is available for preorder beginning November 8th, 2023 for $5,999.99 USD. Australian pricing has yet to be revealed.
