After one year experience with this camera, I have a few thoughts. I am more into video than photography. So my review is more about video shooting.VideoNot recommend to newbies, only if you want to spend years in learning. Watch some tutorials on youtube before purchasing. I do not use it for vlogging due to the heavy weight. If you want a simple vlog camera, simple to use and start with, this might not be the one for you.You also need a good specs on your computer to run and edit the footage from this camera, specially on the high compressed file types, like h265. Even if you use proxy, it takes a lot longer time and still sometimes choppy.If you have perfect lighting conditions to shoot in and for instance setting at pp8:Pros- Perfect 4k video quality- ... MoreAfter one year experience with this camera, I have a few thoughts. I am more into video than photography. So my review is more about video shooting.VideoNot recommend to newbies, only if you want to spend years in learning. Watch some tutorials on youtube before purchasing. I do not use it for vlogging due to the heavy weight. If you want a simple vlog camera, simple to use and start with, this might not be the one for you.You also need a good specs on your computer to run and edit the footage from this camera, specially on the high compressed file types, like h265. Even if you use proxy, it takes a lot longer time and still sometimes choppy.If you have perfect lighting conditions to shoot in and for instance setting at pp8:Pros- Perfect 4k video quality- Easy to edit and colour grade, colour correct footage- Good in zoom and long shots- After good preset, easy to switch wheel buttons- Best value for money when you want to maximise slog3- Can shoot for 1-2 hours (then you sometimes will get an overheat warning) so it is convenientCons- A bit heavy after adding lens- High requirement for lighting, nearly need perfect lighting- Steady stabilisation needs a lot more improvement, have a steady hand- Skin tone tends to be more red ( I did not set up for perfect exposure all the time, but if you do interview type, it will be fine)- Face priority does not detect all the time (maybe only my face lol)Additional informationShooting is best in native iso 640/12800, gives you least noise on footage. Built in mic is fine. I always use other microphone to get better sound quality.If you download Sony app, you can monitor it with your mobile or pad for saving some money. I hope Sony will develop their app very soon so it is more durable. If you want to do some B rolls, either you already have good muscle memories and skills, or you can useOther cages or gimbal or other tricks to help you to get steady shots. Otherwise it is really hard to get the footage you want even after editing.PhotographyVery good camera to use. Good in low lighting conditions too. You can use different lenses and filters to be creative and just follow your imagination. Raw file is the best quality.

Doesn't live up to the hype

For a camera of this price point the stabilisation is awful, and useless for video shooting, unless you use 'active stabilisation' which crops into the image. Even then the stabilisation 'holds on' to the image, then suddenly releases in a really unnatural way when panning, not ideal. I reckon that's why all the promo videos and YouTube videos are shot in slow motion. Shooting at 25 fps the image jitters all over the place, when just trying to hold the camera steady in your hand. Turning stabilisation off makes he camera virtually unusable for handheld shots. You're going to need a gimbal for this camera. I've shot with many cameras in 45 years of industry experience and this is the worst stabilisation I've ever seen. I sent my camera back in the hopes that it was ... MoreFor a camera of this price point the stabilisation is awful, and useless for video shooting, unless you use 'active stabilisation' which crops into the image. Even then the stabilisation 'holds on' to the image, then suddenly releases in a really unnatural way when panning, not ideal. I reckon that's why all the promo videos and YouTube videos are shot in slow motion. Shooting at 25 fps the image jitters all over the place, when just trying to hold the camera steady in your hand. Turning stabilisation off makes he camera virtually unusable for handheld shots. You're going to need a gimbal for this camera. I've shot with many cameras in 45 years of industry experience and this is the worst stabilisation I've ever seen. I sent my camera back in the hopes that it was faulty. Awaiting the replacement, but, from what I've heard,I'm not sure it will be any different.

I've never been more confident as a videographer

I've worked as a full-time freelance videographer for the past 12 years. In the 2 weeks I've used this camera, my confidence has never been higher as a professional. In particular regarding autofocus, face/eye tracking and focus locking. This camera is a CHEAT CODE.For me personally, the aspects that have already made the biggest noticeable difference not only in the quality of my footage now but my quality of life is dual card slots, zebras, insane autofocus accuracy and reliability, strong battery life, solid dynamic range and picture profile options, unbelievable low light performance, small/light form factor and native lens options.I kinda wish I had jumped on board sooner but better late than never I guess.

Most Powerful Mirrorless Camera for Video

Every photographer / Videographer as much as we can and love to shoot just about anything, we tend to lean or specialize towards one direction, whether its a photographer that loves landscape, portraits, astro, architecture. To a person / videographer who may lean towards the direction of vlogging, cinema, professional videos / Wedding / Marketing. Every sony Full Frame class whether it’s “A7__”, “R Series”, “S Series” camera are targeted to every specialist, Balance, Sharp, Video. If you’re a person who looks to get the best video camera and all the potential to make your videos look and perform it’s absolute best. Then this is the camera for you. I am person who’s always worked with video, and was looking for the best, fortunate to pick up this gem. I currently ... MoreEvery photographer / Videographer as much as we can and love to shoot just about anything, we tend to lean or specialize towards one direction, whether its a photographer that loves landscape, portraits, astro, architecture. To a person / videographer who may lean towards the direction of vlogging, cinema, professional videos / Wedding / Marketing. Every sony Full Frame class whether it’s “A7__”, “R Series”, “S Series” camera are targeted to every specialist, Balance, Sharp, Video. If you’re a person who looks to get the best video camera and all the potential to make your videos look and perform it’s absolute best. Then this is the camera for you. I am person who’s always worked with video, and was looking for the best, fortunate to pick up this gem. I currently have this camera matched with 12-24GM.

No Software Support - Buy the FX3 instead

I bought this camera from B&H right when it was released in 2020.This has been one of the most neglected cameras by a company ever.People were waiting over 4 years for this camera to come out and when it finally did, Sony out of nowhere decided to release an identical camera in a different body in the FX3 just 4 months later but as part of their cinema line.What does that mean for all the people who bought the Sony A7SIII? It means that Sony has completely abandoned this $3,500 camera and instead put all their resources in supporting the FX3 and even extend its capabilities by providing meaningful firmware updates. To give you an idea of how little Sony cares about the A7SIII owners: You can select animal eye autofocus in video mode but it doesn't work. The ... MoreI bought this camera from B&H right when it was released in 2020.This has been one of the most neglected cameras by a company ever.People were waiting over 4 years for this camera to come out and when it finally did, Sony out of nowhere decided to release an identical camera in a different body in the FX3 just 4 months later but as part of their cinema line.What does that mean for all the people who bought the Sony A7SIII? It means that Sony has completely abandoned this $3,500 camera and instead put all their resources in supporting the FX3 and even extend its capabilities by providing meaningful firmware updates. To give you an idea of how little Sony cares about the A7SIII owners: You can select animal eye autofocus in video mode but it doesn't work. The camera was released with unfinished software. You would think that soon after the release of this camera they would release a firmware update to finish the software but think again. It's been over 2.5 years now since this camera has been released but Sony never bothered to finish the software. Instead, they are only providing firmware updates and adding new features to the FX3 and are focusing on cranking out new cameras that are cheaper and have better features than the Sony A7SIII. This has been one of the most frustrating experiences of a consumer product ever. If I didn't have over 10 Sony lenses I would have switched to a more consumer friendly company like Panasonic a long time ago. Instead, I am forced to have a fire sale on this camera to try to buy the FX3 instead just because Sony decided to completely stop supporting the A7SIII aside from stability updates aimed at fixing the issues of them releasing an unstable software.

Seriously, from a professional.

Honestly, When I first started (2004) I wasn't a Sony fan. Then Canon took the cake and inadvertently took digital filmmaking by accident with the 5D. And they held that candle for quite some time with their many iterations of the cinema line. Listen, I've had them all. Canon 5D, Canon 5D Mk2, Canon 7D, Canon C100, Canon C300, Canon C200, Red Epic Dragon, Sony FS700, Sony A7S, Sony a7Sii, Panasonic GH2, Panasonic GH3 (one of my favorites), Sony FS7, and the money pit continues on! The Sony A7Siii bridges the gap to enable you to meet most cinema quality standards, stay compact, great autofocus, amazing dynamic range, good battery life for the size, Amazing EVF (don't get it on the FX3) Great image stabilization, It's literally the most perfect camera I've ever laid ... MoreHonestly, When I first started (2004) I wasn't a Sony fan. Then Canon took the cake and inadvertently took digital filmmaking by accident with the 5D. And they held that candle for quite some time with their many iterations of the cinema line. Listen, I've had them all. Canon 5D, Canon 5D Mk2, Canon 7D, Canon C100, Canon C300, Canon C200, Red Epic Dragon, Sony FS700, Sony A7S, Sony a7Sii, Panasonic GH2, Panasonic GH3 (one of my favorites), Sony FS7, and the money pit continues on! The Sony A7Siii bridges the gap to enable you to meet most cinema quality standards, stay compact, great autofocus, amazing dynamic range, good battery life for the size, Amazing EVF (don't get it on the FX3) Great image stabilization, It's literally the most perfect camera I've ever laid my hands on. BTW, We're no slouches over here. We've delivered high-end Nationwide broadcast spots with that camera and a sigma lens. Just saying. It's the first camera that frees up creativity if you know what you're doing. Instead of having multiple hands to run a single camera. This camera will be hard to beat for years to come IMO. Well, the A1 is pretty sweet but a little overkill (and can overheat).

The compact camera I always dreamed of!

A camera like this was truly a fantasy when I got into DSLR video in 2010 with a T2i, and a 5D Mark II shortly after. Then I moved to the 5D Mark III. And while they were great at the time they were still cameras first and I mainly shoot video. After some time it became too hard to ignore the fact that Canon was falling behind Sony and Panasonic when it came to video.So I bought an A7SII in 2016 and mostly loved it. The video quality was a massive improvement over the 5D3, low light performance was absolutely insane. The color however wasn't so great and I'd still take Canon's out of the box color any day of the week. And the battery life was horrific. As frequently as Sony updates it's cameras I figured the A7SIII had to be right around the corner, but it didn't ... MoreA camera like this was truly a fantasy when I got into DSLR video in 2010 with a T2i, and a 5D Mark II shortly after. Then I moved to the 5D Mark III. And while they were great at the time they were still cameras first and I mainly shoot video. After some time it became too hard to ignore the fact that Canon was falling behind Sony and Panasonic when it came to video.So I bought an A7SII in 2016 and mostly loved it. The video quality was a massive improvement over the 5D3, low light performance was absolutely insane. The color however wasn't so great and I'd still take Canon's out of the box color any day of the week. And the battery life was horrific. As frequently as Sony updates it's cameras I figured the A7SIII had to be right around the corner, but it didn't show up. So when the A7III came out I grabbed it and was happy to have way better battery life, and it was razor sharp footage but again the color wasn't so great. I remember talking with a friend about what the A7SIII specs could be like, and he thought there was no way it would do 4K120 or 10-Bit, but I was optimistic since the GH5 was 10-bit and you have to be competitive in this space. So the A7SIII specs finally dropped and wow it had literally everything I could have ever hoped for. Articulating screen, 10-Bit, 4K120, improved color, full sized HDMI, etc. And nowadays people immediately start complaining about every camera when specs get released, but wow this had to be the least complained about camera of all time. I had preordered the R5 when it was announced, but after the overheating issues came to light I was hesitant and immediately cancelled and preordered the A7S3 when I saw the specs. It showed up and I took it out for some shoots and was in love right away. The 10-bit color is just beautiful, that's the biggest improvement imo. And 4K120 with no crop and no massive loss in sharpness is a joy to work with. I absolutely love this thing and cant recommend it enough.Now I'm trying to decide whether to keep it or get an R5C. I still shoot stills on my 5D3 and have a way better selection of EF lenses (16-35 III, 24-70 II, 70-200 II, 50L, Zeiss 50 f/2 Macro, 85LII, 135L). Sony I only have the 24-70GM, 24-105 and 12-24 f/4. So I could sell all my Sony stuff and my 5DIII and have enough for the R5 and still have $ leftover and have a way better selection of lenses and a better stills camera and that beautiful Canon color. Now that I type this it sounds crazy not to switch, but it's hard to drop a camera that I love so much.Anyways, if you're considering the A7S3 just buy it, you wont be sorry.

The last 4K video camera you will ever need

4K120, 10 bit recording, amazing autofocus, insane low light performance. I'd bet you already know it excels at doing those things. However there are a lot of other features of this camera that you should also be aware of.The image quality is beautiful. Combined with the 13 stops of dynamic range and the ability to record in 10 bit, with a little bit of color grading everything that comes out this camera looks gorgeous. It has a very filmic look vs the digital oversharpness of most of these types of cameras.The sensor readout speed is below 9ms. What this means is that you will almost never see the "jello" effect when you whip pan the camera. This really makes a difference, and can by itself mean the difference between cheap looking footage and professional ... More4K120, 10 bit recording, amazing autofocus, insane low light performance. I'd bet you already know it excels at doing those things. However there are a lot of other features of this camera that you should also be aware of.The image quality is beautiful. Combined with the 13 stops of dynamic range and the ability to record in 10 bit, with a little bit of color grading everything that comes out this camera looks gorgeous. It has a very filmic look vs the digital oversharpness of most of these types of cameras.The sensor readout speed is below 9ms. What this means is that you will almost never see the "jello" effect when you whip pan the camera. This really makes a difference, and can by itself mean the difference between cheap looking footage and professional looking footage. This camera stands alone in its ability to do this when compared with its competition.It never overheats or freezes. I do long form 4K recording in the hot Florida sun, sometimes for over two hours. This feature was vital to me and one of the main reasons I bought the camera. I am happy to report that it lives up to the hype in this regard.The viewfinder is another win for this camera. It's super high resolution with a large magnification. Makes it so easy to nail focus or check your footage. I could never go back to a lesser viewfinder after using this one.The "only" 12MP photos are more than adequate. It just means you can't crop as much. I actually enjoy taking pictures with this thing. You can easily print 5x7s or larger and never know they were taken at 12MP.The stabilization is pretty good but not the best. If you turn on active stabilization and pair it with a Sony lens then you will get nearly the performance of a GH5. My Tamron zooms however seem a little more jittery. You can use Catalyst Browse software to stabilize the footage later on your PC. This works extremely well, but it's an extra time consuming step, and perhaps worse...it only outputs in 8 bit unless you pay a monthly fee for Catalyst Prepare. No thanks.My other complaint is that this camera hasn't received many updates despite it being two years old. Maybe bring focus breathing compensation and anti-flicker to this camera like the A7IV has. Would be nice.All in all though I've never been this satisfied with a camera. It's a joy to shoot with and the footage that comes out of it competes with cameras many times its price. It's extremely reliable and even more powerful. If you need a camera that excels at 4K recording, and especially if you are already in the Sony ecosystem, this is it.

Use This With S-Log3 or Else…

I don’t even know where to start…. But I will start here. This is NOT a perfect camera. However, no camera is. But, for the price point, it’s really hard to beat.If you check the YouTube videos, you will see everyone talking about the capabilities of this camera. I can’t deny any of the capabilities. The low-light performance is tremendous - especially when you pair it with a quality lens like the Sigma 24-70 f2.8. The dual native ISO took a bit getting used to, especially at ISO 12,800. My suggestion is to get a variable ND Filter to save you the time and frustration of over-exposing your shots - even for S-Log3.Since I am primarily a videographer, it works perfect for me. When taking photos, I do see some lacking in the quality because of its 12 megapixel ... MoreI don’t even know where to start…. But I will start here. This is NOT a perfect camera. However, no camera is. But, for the price point, it’s really hard to beat.If you check the YouTube videos, you will see everyone talking about the capabilities of this camera. I can’t deny any of the capabilities. The low-light performance is tremendous - especially when you pair it with a quality lens like the Sigma 24-70 f2.8. The dual native ISO took a bit getting used to, especially at ISO 12,800. My suggestion is to get a variable ND Filter to save you the time and frustration of over-exposing your shots - even for S-Log3.Since I am primarily a videographer, it works perfect for me. When taking photos, I do see some lacking in the quality because of its 12 megapixel sensor, but I knew what I signed up for when I purchased.Coming from the Canon ecosystem, and from DSLR lines, this camera is hard to have buyers mobile remorse for. It was everything I wanted in a mirrorless video-centric camera.I am trying to use this more for vlogging but I also have the ZV-E10 and that camera is great because of how small it is. Lugging the A7SIII around all day, especially with a bigger zoom lens can start to wear on you.I’m currently using it with the Atomos Ninja V+ and the quality that comes out of this thing is just unbelievable. That ProRes RAW footage is astounding.The one thing I will say is that to get the most out of this camera, you need to understand how to color correct and color grade S-Log 3 footage. There is no getting around it. If you don’t, you may as well get an APS-C camera like the ZV-E10 (or any other 8-bit camera) and get a better lens - depending on your goals. That will save you a ton of cash.

workhorse

I have owned the camera for 8 months this and use it for general filming of school events and hype videos. As a result i find my self in bad lighting conditions the low light capability and the larger dynamic range result in having a usable image in all situations. for our school hype videos the high frame rates Raine supreme and the low light capability and dynamic range mean you can do slow motion in in the craziest situations. And the auto focus is relabel it is always ready to track the eye of your subject no mater the situation and make sure you don't ever miss the shoot. The only regret i have is not buying a v90 card earlier to use the 1080 240 as i find my self wanting to use it more often . If you are looking for a no compromises video camera that can ... MoreI have owned the camera for 8 months this and use it for general filming of school events and hype videos. As a result i find my self in bad lighting conditions the low light capability and the larger dynamic range result in having a usable image in all situations. for our school hype videos the high frame rates Raine supreme and the low light capability and dynamic range mean you can do slow motion in in the craziest situations. And the auto focus is relabel it is always ready to track the eye of your subject no mater the situation and make sure you don't ever miss the shoot. The only regret i have is not buying a v90 card earlier to use the 1080 240 as i find my self wanting to use it more often . If you are looking for a no compromises video camera that can handle anything you trough at it look no further than the a7S III you well not regret buying this Camera.