Sony is making waves with their exciting new camera announcement! Welcome the world's first full-frame camera with a global shutter system, the next-generation Alpha 9 III! With a newly developed global shutter image sensor, 120 frames per second high-speed shooting, distortion-free and blackout-free images, Sony’s most advanced autofocus system to date with AI autofocus, and flash sync at all shooting speeds, the A9 III is opening up the world for photographers to capture every decisive moment!
The new Sony Alpha 9 III boasts a newly developed, and the world's first, global shutter full-frame stacked CMOS image sensor with approximately 24.6 effective megapixels and built-in memory. Combined with Sony's latest BIONZ XR® image processing engine, the A9 III achieves blackout-free Continuous Shooting Speed with AF/AE tracking of up to approximately 120 fps. Designed with a designated AI processing unit that uses Real-time Recognition AF to recognize a wide variety of subjects with high precision, the A9 III supports movies as well as still photography with accurate subject form and movement recognition. By combining high-speed performance of up to 120 fps with highly accurate subject recognition performance, it is possible to easily photograph scenes and moments that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The A9 III's Real-time Recognition AF and Real-time Tracking provide a significant improvement in human eye recognition performance, giving it the ability to automatically recognize, track, and focus on the eyes of a specified subject. The camera is also equipped with 8.0 stops of optical 5-axis in-body image stabilization, allowing for high-quality image rendering.
Capturing at a high speed without any distortion is a breeze as the shutter speed is freed from the limitations of conventional mechanical shutter image sensors and achieves a maximum shutter speed of 1/80,000 second (1/16,000 second during continuous shooting). When a compatible Sony flash is attached, such as the HVL-F60RM2 and HVL-F46RM, it is possible to synchronize the flash and take pictures at all shutter speeds up to 1/80,000 second. With the full-speed flash synchronization function, it’s now possible to photograph scenes that could not be easily captured with conventional technology.
The A9 III features selectable release lag modes which allows the user to prioritize release lag or viewfinder/monitor display. The newly developed Pre-Capture function allows the camera to continuously record up to one second before the shutter is released, making it easy to capture moments that would otherwise be missed. When selected, the Continuous Shooting Speed Boost function allows for the user to change to a faster, preset speed set by the user at any time during shooting, and enhanced burst stamina ensures that important moments are reliably captured due to a large buffer memory and increased overall system speed allow up to approximately 390 Fine JPEG images to be captured in one continuous 30 fps burst. Updated features include the latest AF algorithms to achieve high AF precision down to light levels as low as EV-5 in AF-S mode (ISO 100 equivalent, F2.0 lens), AF tracking for continuous shooting at F22 and a composite RAW shooting function that gives the ability to combine multiple consecutive images into a high-quality composite.
When it comes to the advanced video performance of the A9 III, the global shutter image sensor provides distortion-free image expression for videos as well as still images. As the first Alpha™ series to be able to record 4K 120p high-frame-rate video without cropping, the camera allows the user to shoot at the angle of view intended. It is also possible to shoot high-resolution 4K 60p videos with 6K oversampling. The A9 III boasts S-Cinetone™, a unique Sony feature which can create a cinematic look straight out of the camera without post-processing. With the latest video performance including rich gradation performance and S-Log3, and when in Log shooting mode, it can reflect and display the user's favourite imported LUT (lookup table). The A9 III is compatible with the mobile app "Monitor & Control" for video creators.
When it comes to the design of the Alpha 9 III, Sony has made requested changes including improving the shape and ergonomics of the grip so that it can be easily held in the user's palm to avoid straining the user even when wearing a telephoto lens or using it for long periods. Equipped with a 4-axis multi-angle LCD monitor that can be operated by touch, allowing for intuitive operation using the latest touch menu. The electronic viewfinder uses a 9.44 million-dot Quad XGA OLED and achieves high visibility and brightness with a magnification of approximately 0.90x. A custom button on the front of the camera along with the continuous shooting speed can be changed by operating the custom button assigned with Continuous Shooting Speed Boost with the finger holding the grip, allowing for highly immediate operations.
New features for the A9 III include a playback image filter that allows the user to efficiently select a large number of images using high-speed continuous shooting, and a function menu that can be used even during image playback, strongly supporting professional workflows from shooting to delivery.
The "Playback Function Menu" can be assigned in advance, so the user can perform protection, smartphone transfer, File transfer protocol, etc. during image playback. The user can select images narrowed down with a playback filter and play them from the function menu, allowing for quick delivery of specific images. The camera has a dedicated microphone for voice memos on the back that allows clear recording of audio even in noisy environments. The recorded audio data can be transferred via FTP along with the images. The camera allows the user to set up to 20 presets from the International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC), an international consultative body in which news organizations from various countries participate.
The Alpha 9 III can transfer data up to twice as fast as the Alpha 9 II. 5 GHz communication offers maximum speed and stability for news and sports shooters who need to deliver immediately via FTP, as well as for studio environments. The Alpha 9 III allows stills and movies to be recorded to memory media in numerous ways including the two media slots that support CFexpress Type A cards as well as UHS-I and UHS-II SD cards.
It is compatible with the professional mobile application "Transfer & Tagging" which speeds up the image delivery workflow, and the application "Remote Camera Tool" which allows remote shooting of PCs using wired LAN. In addition, the A9 III is scheduled to support functional enhancements such as FTP operability, relay playback, and C2PA format support through a camera software update.
For even more information on the new Sony Alpha 9 III and to be notified when pre-order is available, please visit our website.
TCSTV's Dave and Evelyn visited NYC for the launch of the Sony Alpha 9 III and they gave us their first impressions on this groundbreaking new camera! Check it out below!
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Sony a9 III Body
