sony a7iii lcd screen factory

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.

When I press "DISP" at the top of the rear control wheel while in M (manual) mode the LCD screen looks like it is in a normal shooting mode, regarding the text on the screen, but the background is still black. The evf remains as pictured above. This is also the case for S (shutter) mode.

When I switch to A or P mode the screen and evf both return from black to showing what is in front of the lens. I didn"t try modes other than manual at first after the problem arose because I had been shooting with a manual only Voigtlander 65mm f2 (in manual mode and without incident) before the problem arose.

I don"t have another manual lens to try on the a7iii at the moment, to see if the same problem is happening. I do have a Sony 100-400 GM I can try with the a7iii to see if there is any issue when it is attached.

If you are lucky enough to already have the Sony a7III sitting inside your gear bag, or perhaps you are thinking about picking one up, then you might like to know which are the best accessories to pair with the a7III.

I’ve spent quite some time reading reviews to figure out which are the best Sony a7 III accessories to buy so that you don’t have to. I also own and use many of the accessories mentioned here myself with my own a7 III and other Sony Alpha cameras.

Although this guide is primarily for the Sony a7 III, I think it also goes without saying that many accessories here like straps, cases, cleaning gear and tripods will work with many other camera brands and models too.

If you are looking for further help and advice on the a7III or would simply like to share your photos, then please head over to our friendly Sony a7 Forum. If you prefer Facebook then I also run the Sony a7III Shooters Group.

Sony’s official screen protector for the a7III is the PCK-LG1. You’ll find that the PCK-LG1 is labelled as the screen protector for the Sony a9 in many stores, but rest assured this is also supported fully with the a7 III. You can check the compatibility information here on Sony’s website. I’ve been using this screen protector on my a7III since day one. It’s well made and doesn’t affect the touch screen operation at all.

The Lennon Gecco LB3 combines a grip extension and a traditional arca swiss plate. The grip is attached via the a7III’s tripod socket and provides somewhere for you little finger to rest. Both Sony and Meike also offer similar grips but they need to be removed to change the battery. The Lennon grip however also includes an unlock button so that you can change your cameras battery without removing the grip itself. There is also an additional side plate (Lennon LB2) that can be purchased to turn the grip into an L-bracket.

The Sony RMT-P1BT Remote Commander is the newest remote control option for the Sony a7III. The RMT-P1BT operates using Bluetooth connectivity which provides a reliable connection even in bright sunlight or when there are obstacles between the commander and the a7III. In my own tests the RMT-P1BT remote works reliably up to around 18m or 60 feet away from the camera, and this is the case whether you are behind or in front or the camera, indoors or outdoors.

When the Bluetooth Remote option is enabled in the a7III settings the Location Info. Link is disabled. So if you are using Imaging Edge Mobile to record your location information via bluetooth, I’m afraid this will not work at the same time as the remote.

The Sony a7 III uses the new NP-FZ100 which doubles the battery life compared with the smaller NP-FW50 battery found in the a7 II. Still, if you are shooting all day then you will probably go through at least one battery. Personally I’ve never gone through more than two NP-FZ100 batteries in one day whilst shooting wildlife and motorsport (stills) with my a7III. That said, I still have 4 of these batteries just to be safe!

The Sony a7 III does not include the Sony BC-QZ1 charger in the box. You can still charge the NP-FZ100 battery in camera via USB but this takes approximately 5 hours to fully charge one official NP-FZ100 battery, compared with only 2.5 hours when charged via the Sony BC-QZ1 wall charger.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro cards have a claimed read speed of 300MB/s and a write speed of 260MB/s. The only cards that are slightly faster are the Sony SF-G cards, however these have been made obsolete unfortunately.

The Sony SF-G Tough cards should be the fastest, however in my Sony a7III Memory Card Speed Tests the Sony SF-G Tough cards are underperforming in the a7III possibly due to a firmware issue. Therefore I recommend the SanDisk Extreme Pro UHS-II (300/260) cards instead.

If you aren’t happy with the quality of the internal microphone on the a7III and the Rode VideoMic Pro+ is a little too pricy, then the Rode VideoMicro is a great alternative. It’s much smaller and lighter than the Pro+ version and it does not require an additional battery, you simply connect it through the mic port on the a7III.

The Peak Design Cuffwrist strap is a great way to protect your camera from accidental drops. It connects to the a7III via Peak Designs anchor system and the wrist loop magnetically locks in the open position, or comfortably cinches down on your wrist for added security. It took me a little while to get used to the magnetic lock, but now I wouldn’t want to be without this strap.

There are two versions of the slide strap, a full sized version with a strap width of 45mm, and a lite version with a strap width of 32mm. I’ve been using the full sized version of this strap for over a year, but it’s overkill for a mirrorless camera like the a7III. So I’d recommend going with the Lite version which I’ve also since picked up and now the full sized version never gets clipped on!

I own this bag myself although in the woodland green color and not charcoal grey like pictured above. It’s extremely comfortable and the straps are well padded. I like to use this as my lightweight day pack and it will even fit my Sony FE 200-600 attached to the camera (with lens hood reversed).

Sony mirrorless cameras packed full of technology are always going to need lots of juice. So here are your best battery options for the Sony a7 III. For a more comprehensive guide to batteries and chargers for the a7III, see my guide here.

The Sony a7 III uses the new NP-FZ100 which doubles the battery life compared with the smaller NP-FW50 battery found in the a7 II. Still, if you are shooting all day then you will probably go through at least one battery. Personally I’ve never gone through more than two NP-FZ100 batteries in one day whilst shooting wildlife and motorsport (stills) with my a7 III. That said, I still have 4 of these batteries just to be safe!

Important Note: Since firmware version (v2.00) Sony has really gone to war with third-party batteries. Many a7III owners who have updated to the latest v2.00 firmware have reported that they now receive a warning message stating that the operation and safety of this battery cannot be guaranteed. You can ignore the warning by pressing OK and the batteries will still work, however the battery percentage remaining indicator next to the battery icon disappears (rather inconvenient). This appears to be the case for all popular NP-FZ100 third-party batteries including Wasabi, Patona, Newell, and Baxxtar.

If you do insist on using third-party batteries in your a7III then the RAVPower NP-FZ100 are reported to work well and not throw up any error messages at this time. These batteries are also bundled together with a dual charger. Their capacity is 2000mAh compared with 2280mAh for the official Sony NP-FZ100 batteries so they don’t last quite so long.

Sony decided not to include an external battery charger in the box with the Sony a7III. You can charge the battery in the camera with the supplied micro usb cable, but if you want to charge the externally here are your best options.

If you charge the NP-FZ100 battery inside the a7iii it takes approximately 5 hours to fully charge one official NP-FZ100 battery, compared with only 2.5 hours when charged via the Sony BC-QZ1 charger.

The Sony NPA-MQZ1K multi battery kit might be a very useful addition to your a7 III if you shoot very long video sessions and need as much power as possible. This kit can charge four batteries (NP-FZ100) in approximately 480 minutes. It also allows you to power two USB devices as well as the camera at the same time. The NPA-MQZ1K also includes two NP-FZ100 batteries, a cable protector and a mounting plate. You can find full details on Sony’s website here.

You can also charge your a7III via usb whilst on the move. My personal favourite portable charger is the Anker PowerCore 20100mAh portable charger. Although designed for smartphones and tablets, they are also great for charging your a7III on the go via USB.

The Sony VG-C3EM battery grip is crafted from the same materials as the a7 III and it’s also weather sealed. The grip holds two NP-FZ100 batteries, thus doubling your shooting time, and can also be charged via the a7 III’s USB port.

The battery tray does unfortunately feel rather cheap and flimsy, otherwise this is a fantastic grip if not somewhat overpriced. I’m using it on my own a7III and find that as well as extended the battery life, it also helps with the ergonomics enormously. Read my Sony VG-C3EM Review for a closer look at this grip.

If the official Sony battery grip is too expensive for your tastes, then thankfully Meike have a solution. Their MK-A9 Pro battery grip is very similar to the Sony VG-C3EM, yet it’s almost a third of the price. The grip itself doesn’t feel as nice as the Sony, but surprisingly the battery tray is actually better built. The button layout is the same, but it is missing the lock dial on the shutter button, so you’ll need to be careful not to inadvertently press this when shooting in landscape orientation.

Meike actually trumps the Sony grip by providing a remote control that works up to 100 meters with a 2.4Ghz wireless transmission. It can be used to control the shutter in Bulb mode or set interval time shooting (time-lapse). This is really quite useful since the a7 III does not provide any time-lapse functionality.

A lot of people will purchase the Sony simply for continuity reasons (myself included), but if this doesn’t bother you then you certainly can’t go wrong with the Meike MK-A9 Grip.

Although I have plenty of third party NP-FW50 batteries for my a6000/a6300/a6500 and a7R II, I’ll be sticking with the original Sony batteries and chargers for my a7III, at least until the third party options have been tried and tested for a little longer. As if my a7III goes up in smoke due to a dodgy battery, it’s unlikely that Sony will be replacing if for me. However, if you have taken the plunge with a third party battery for your a7 III, it would be great to hear how you are getting on in the comments below.

These cards should be in the joint top spot because they have identical write speeds to the Sony SF-G (Non Tough) cards but in the a7III they are underperforming by quite some margin. I’ve also tested the exact same cards in my Sony a7R IV and Sony a7R III and the in-camera write speeds are identical to the SF-G cards (as they should be). So I’m pretty certain there is a bug in the a7III firmware 3.10 causing these cards to underperform. When shooting jpegs the speeds are as they should be, but with raw files there’s an issue.

Sony’s MRW-S1 UHS-II USB SD Card Reader/Writer enables the fast transfer of data via a USB 3.1 interface. It can read/write to UHS-II SD Cards and is backward compatible with UHS-1 SD cards. It’s been designed with the Sony UHS-II SF-G series SD cards in mind but will also work with other UHS-II cards like the SanDisk Extreme Pro cards. The MRW-S1 together with Sony SF-G cards can transfer files to and from your computer at around 2.6x faster than UHS-1 cards.

The Sony a7III certainly has a lot of technology packed into a small body, although this is great when it comes to travelling light and packing small, some may find that it’s not the most comfortable camera to work with, especially if you are coming from a much larger SLR. Thankfully, as well as the battery grips mentioned above, there are a few more ways that you can improve the ergonomics of your a7 III, here are some of the most popular.

The RRS L-Plate has been designed to fit the Sony a7 III perfectly. You are still able to access all of the cameras ports, and just like the SmallRig l-bracket there is also a magnetic storage space for the included allen key. There is space to rest your pinky finger, and the l-bracket is fully arca swiss compatible. However, unlike the SmallRig l-bracket, you will need to remove the battery door to attach it.

The Sony GP-X1EM increases the height of the built-in grip on the a7 III and gives you somewhere to rest your fingers. The grip is very well made from aluminum and rubber, and it also matches the same color and texture that you will find on the a7 III.

Unfortunately the GP-X1EM does block access to your cameras battery door, so you will need to remove it to change the battery. This isn’t ideal but since the new battery in the a7III lasts so long, it shouldn’t prove to be too much of an inconvenience for many shooters.

The Meike MK-X1EM is very similar to the Sony GP-X1EM grip, but it costs half of the price. Just like the Sony grip, you will also need to remove the grip to gain access to the battery. There is also a very useful arca swiss plate built into the grip itself, which is something that the Sony grip does not include.

The Lennon Gecco LB3 combines a grip extension and a traditional arca swiss plate. The grip is attached via the a7III’s tripod socket and provides somewhere for you little finger to rest. Both Sony and Meike also offer similar grips but they need to be removed to change the battery. The Lennon grip however also includes an unlock button so that you can change your cameras battery without removing the grip itself.

The Sony a7 III has a new touch screen, so you need to be a little careful about which screen protector you put on it. Pick the wrong protector and you might find the touch screen is no longer as responsive as it should be, or even no longer works at all. Thankfully the following screen protectors work perfectly on the a7 III.

Sony’s official screen protector for the a7 III is the PCK-LG1. You’ll find that the PCK-LG1 is labelled as the screen protector for the Sony a9 in many stores, but rest assured this is also supported fully with the a7 III. You can check the compatibility information here on Sony’s website. I’ve been using this screen protector on my a7III since day one. It’s well made and doesn’t affect the touch screen operation at all.

The Expert Shield glass screen protector is made from optical grade glass and hardened it to withstand impact so that it spreads blunt force across its surface and shatters uniformly to protect your camera’s LCD. The screen protector works perfectly with the Sony a7III’s touch screen functions such as touch to focus.

The neck strap supplied with all of Sony’s Alpha cameras including the a7 III is pretty thin, and I don’t find it to be the most comfortable strap for extended periods of use, especially when using heavier lenses like the FE 100-400mm GM (my review here). I also sometimes like to use a wrist strap, or clip my camera to a belt or rucksack. This is certainly not the most comprehensive list of straps, but I’ve been using Peak Design for quite some time now and can certainly attest to their quality as well as their customer service.

Needless to say, there are thousands of cases and bags that could be used to carry the Sony a7 III. Here I’ve just listed some of the most popular, including the ones that I’m using myself.

If you are looking for a small case for the a7III then the Lowepro Adventura TLZ 30 II is a great choice. It holds the a7III along with a single lens that is no longer than 120mm.

I’ve tried it with the Sony FE 24-70 F4, FE 16-35 F4, FE 28-70, FE 24mm F1.4 GM, and FE 85mm F1.8 all of which fit comfortably. With the FE 16-35 F2.8 GM it’s a very tight fit.

I’ve also read that it will hold the Sony a7III with the Tamron 28-75mm but it’s a tight fit. I’ve not tried it with the Sony FE 24-105 G lens but since it’s 113.3mm in length it should also fit comfortably.

I own this bag myself although in the woodland green color and not charcoal grey like pictured above. It’s extremely comfortable and the straps are well padded. I like to use this as my lightweight day pack and it will even fit my Sony FE 200-600 attached to the camera (with lens hood reversed).

There are many different types of filters that you can use with your Sony a7iii, but two of the most popular are the circular polarizing (CPL) and the natural density (ND) filters. These filters are available as both screw-in type filters that simply screw into the filter thread on your lens, and also slot-in filters that require a filter holder. Attaching a poor quality filter to an expensive lens and camera really makes no sense, so here are some of the best filter options for your a7iii.

If you are looking to use your Sony a7 III underwater then you will need to invest in a waterproof housing. There are a few options on the market, but you can’t go wrong with the following:

The Nauticam NA-A7III is probably the best waterproof housing that money can buy. If you need to dive down to up to 100m, then this is the housing for you. Full details can be found on Nauticams website.

The Sony a7 III does not include a built-in flash, so your only option is to go external, but don’t worry as there are plenty of options to choose from.

It has a built-in wireless radio-controlled system, and can be used as either a commander or receiver. As a commander you can connect up to 15 compatible flashes or receivers in up to 5 groups. Full details can be found on Sony’s website.

Sony’s flagship flash is the HVL-F60RM. More powerful than the HVL-F45RM, if you simply want a top-of-the-range flash and money is no object, then this is it. Full details can be found on Sony’s website.

If the price of the Sony flash units leaves you in tears, then you can dry your eyes now as the Godox VING V860IIS TTL is a much more affordable flash option for your a7 III. If you read the reviews on Amazon you certainly won’t find too many disappointed customers.

You can use the FA-WRC1M to connect up to 15 wireless receivers (FA-WRR1) for radio wireless flash control. You can also control existing flash units like the HVL-F60M, F45RM, F43M or F32M over a range of up to 30 m (98.4 ft.). For details on how this works I recommend taking a look at Sony Ambassador Mark Galer’s article.

There are far too many lens adapters on the market for this article, so I’ll be writing a complete guide to e-mount lens adapters very soon. Until then, here are some of the most popular e-mount lens adapters that can be used on the Sony a7 III.

For adapting Sony A-mount lenses to the a7III there are three adapters to choose from. For a full comparison of these lens adapters I’d recommend checking this Sony Article.

The LA-EA5 is Sony’s newest A-mount to E-mount adapter. The LA-EA5 adapter provides autofocus support for Sony A-mount SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) lenses, SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor) lenses, and even non-motorized screw-drive lenses (currently limited to the a7R IV and a6600 only) in still shooting modes.

The Metabones adapter lets you mount Canon EF/EF-S lenses to Sony E-mount cameras like the a7 Mark 3. It retains electronic communication between the camera and lens to provide automatic aperture control, EXIF data, image stabilization and autofocus. Metabones regularly update the firmware that helps to improve AF performance with many Canon EF lenses.

The MC-11 Mount Converter enables the use of Sigma EF-mount lenses on Sony E-mount camera bodies. It supports autofocus and auto-exposure, as well as in-camera image stabilization and full EXIF data transfer.

The adapter also supports Sony’s Human and Animal Eye-AF, as well as high-speed continuous shooting (up to 10 frames per second on compatible cameras).

The Sony RMT-P1BT Remote Commander is the newest remote control option for the Sony a7III. The RMT-P1BT operates using Bluetooth connectivity which provides a reliable connection even in bright sunlight or when there are obstacles between the commander and the a7III. In my own tests the RMT-P1BT remote works reliably up to around 18m or 60 feet away from the camera, and this is the case whether you are behind or in front or the camera, indoors or outdoors.

When the Bluetooth Remote option is enabled in the a7III settings, the Location Info. Link is disabled. So if you are using Imaging Edge Mobile to record your location information via bluetooth, I’m afraid this will not work at the same time as the remote.

Another wireless remote control option for the a7 III is the Sony RMT-DSLR2. It uses infrared communication and is pretty reliable. However, it rarely works well from behind the camera when outdoors, but works perfectly indoors from behind with a range of around 5-6 meters (18-20 feet) away from the camera. It will also work outdoors with the same range when you are in front of the camera, and a range of 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) to the side of the camera.

If the Rode VideoMic Pro+ is a little too expensive then the Rode VideoMicro is a great alternative that you might want to consider. It’s much smaller and lighter than the Pro+ version and it does not require an additional battery, you simply connect it through the mic port on the a7III and you are ready to go.

Rode’s latest audio recording system is the Wireless GO. It features a very compact design and offers a simple receiver and transmitter with microphone built in. The two-piece set simplifies the setup process by clipping the transmitter-microphone combo to your subject then connecting the receiver to the a7III.

The ECM-XYST1M makes use of the Multi Interface Shoe to pass audio directly to your camera, so no additional cable is required. The directional angle of the microphones can be adjusted from 0° to 120°, allowing you to fine-tune your audio capture with precision. An included windscreen enhances audio-quality further by cutting down on wind noise.

One of the reasons that many photographers switch to the Sony Mirrorless System and a camera like the a7III is to save weight. A lighter and small camera also means that you no longer need the largest and heaviest tripod on the market to stabilize your camera. As you most likely already know, there are thousands of tripods on the market to choose from. Here are just a few of my recommendations including the ones that I’m using myself.

If money is no object and you only want the best then it’s hard to go wrong with a Gitzo tripod. I don’t own one myself but would very much like to. Gitzo offer a wide range of tripods but if I were buying one I’d probably go for their Mountaineer Series 3 tripod for my a7III.

The Manfrotto Befree Advanced Alpha travel tripod is a special version of the Befree Advanced Lever dedicated to Sony Alpha Shooters. The plate is designed to match Sony a7III camera body 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.

The MeFOTO RoadTrip is a great travel tripod for the Sony a7III. I’ve owned one for over 2 years until I replaced it with the Sirui T-025x. It’s only 39.1 cm when folded but extends to 156.46 cm, it weighs 1.63kg / 3.6lb and can support up to 7.98kg / 17.6lb. It comes with a precision matched Q series ballhead and Arca-Swiss style compatibility quick release plate with integral bubble level.

If you are looking for a lightweight yet sturdy monopod for your Sony a7III then look no further than the Sirui P-326. I’ve had this monopod for a couple of years now and would be lost without it.

A cage is an open metal casing for your Sony a7III with multiple female screw threads for attaching a wide range of accessories. This effectively is the first step in creating a modular video rig setup. There are a few on the market, here are the two most popular.

The SmallRig 2087 Cage is designed exclusively for the Sony a7III and a7R III. The cage is equipped with an eyelet for the wrist strap on the top and an integrated cold shoe. The cage is equipped with an abundance of 1/4’’ and 3/8’’ threaded holes. When mounted the cage does not block the cameras buttons, ports or battery compartment.

The 8Sinn Cage for Sony a7III is a CNC Machined, anodized aluminum full-armored cage with integrated accessory mounting holes. The cage is designed for the Sony a7III and a7R III cameras and features a built-in cold shoe as well as slots for a hand strap.

I’ve recently bought the Zhiyun-Tech Crane Plus myself and it works perfectly with the Sony a7III. The Crane Plus introduces follow focus control, an intuitive way for you to control focus during your shoots. There’s a newly designed PoV (Point of View) mode that allows for additional camera movement by providing up to 45 degrees of synchronous motion on the roll axis.

Additionally, the maximum payload weight is 3.2kg / 7 lbs. There’s also an OLED screen that displays camera and stabilizer settings. Other features include a Manfrotto standard quick release plate for rapid camera mounting and a slow-fall function which protects your camera from sudden drops that may occur once the gimbal is powered down.

The DJI Ronin-SC is 3-axis gimbal that is tailor made for mirrorless cameras like the Sony a7iii. It has a net weight of only 1.1 kg, making it extremely portable and ideal for travelling, yet it still supports a maximum payload of 2kg.

There are times when shooting video that a larger monitor makes life so much easier, and sometimes an additional recorder can be useful to eliminate your camera’s internal compression and time recording limits. On the a7III you can only record video for a maximum of 30 minutes before you need to create a new recording, with an external recorder you can record for hours.

The Ninja V displays 10+ stops of dynamic range in realtime from Log/ PQ/HLG signals. This helps you to see your images clearly in bright daylight on the near edge-to-edge anti-reflection screen. You can also eliminate your camera’s internal compression and time limits and record 4K HDR video direct from the a7III over HDMI 2.0.

I recently picked up a Ninja V myself and have been using it to record the viewfinder output from my Sony cameras, mainly for YouTube videos. My only complaint is that the fan is a little noisy and is picked up by the microphone far too easily.

Some good quality lens cleaning wipes are vital if you want to keep your glass blemish free. They are also useful for cleaning your cameras body, LCD screen, as well as any filters you may have.

And that’s a wrap. If you feel like I’ve missed any really good Sony a7 III accessories that are worth including here, or you have your own experience (good/bad) with any of the accessories mentioned, then please do let me know in the comments below.

What’s up guys, Sagi here and welcome to another Tech Gear Talk. Today we’re going to check out the Sony A7iii. This thing is an absolute beast and I’m going to walk you through a review and my decision making process about whether I want to keep this camera. The A7iii is being talked about as an “entry-level” or “basic” full frame mirrorless camera but honestly it’s a ridiculous camera. I traditionally shoot with Canon but I’ve used plenty of cameras from other brands and this is one of the most impressive cameras I’ve seen. I’m going to cover what I liked and what I didn’t like about A7iii and there is a specific thing about the AF that I think is critical for you to know either before buying this camera, of even if you already bought it, so let’s get going. I’m going to very quickly go over some overall key features in case you’re just starting your research.

Sony opted the BIONZ X image processor which is outstanding and helps with operating speed and performance as well as the overall excellent image quality.

The A7iii is of course the updated version of the A7ii and from what I see, it’s an upgrade in virtually every way. The newer sensor is better in both bright and low light, the AF system significantly better. But like I said it’s not all perfect so let’s talk about the good and the bad and see if this is the right fit.

The A7iii has a 24MP full frame BSI sensor and BIONZ X image processor. If I’m comparing it with another one of my favorite cameras of 2018 the Fuji X-T3, that camera comes with a 26.1MP sensor but it is an APS-C sensor. Going back to the A7iii, without getting into the nerdiness of BSI (or Back Side Illuminated – sometimes you’ll hear BI or Back Illuminated). It basically means that some of the elements were moved to the back of the sensor with the goal being better low-light performance. From day one of using this camera, I was so impressed with how well the A7iii performs in low light. And that was right out of the box, without changing any settings, or using a picture profile I specifically set up for low light. I’ll be publishing a tutorial which covers the exact custom settings I use when shooting in low light, and there a little bit of setup involved but it takes a few minutes and once you have it saved you’re golden. If that’s something you’re interested in and you don’t see a link up in the corner or in the description, drop me a comment so I know people are interested. But going back, this is really only optimizing the already incredible low-light capabilities of the A7III.

The Sony “color” is something that some people like, some don’t, to me it seems to have a bit of a greenish tint, which I normally adjust in Post. But there is a definitely improvement over something like what I was getting from the A6500. That was the sensor, let’s talk a little about the processor. Sony went with the Bionz X processor which together with front-end LSI results in faster processing times and the ability to capture 15-stops of dynamic range at low ISO values. And you’re going to notice this when you go outside and try to shoot in very challenging conditions. So when you’re shooting in situations where there is a significant discrepancy between the brightest and darkest parts of your scene, this is going to to be able to handle it a lot better than a sensor with a more limited dynamic range. Together with the nice sensor, you’re going to get sharper images and video and really nice low light performance. The Bionz X also makes the camera really fast to operate. The A7iii is pretty responsive for both video and stills. General menu operation is fast, it has a very quick startup and things like Image preview and video playback again are very fast.

One of the most important things for me with any tool that I use, is ergonomics. I don’t know why more people don’t talk about it. The A7III is both bigger and heavier than the A7ii, but It’s on the smaller and more compact size when I consider the fact that it’s a full frame sensor camera. The grip is nice and deep and is comfortable to hold. For my hand, it’s just tall enough to where I don’t feel like I need the grip, but I wouldn’t hate using it with one. If you do get the grip and have another body like the A7Riii or the A9, the same grip will work for all 3 cameras which is a nice bonus. And that grip holds 2 batteries, so you’re now shooting forever. The body has a magnesium-alloy chassis and the weather sealing makes the A7 III dust and moisture resistant. The new NP-FZ battery which is also used on the A7Riii and the A9 is amazing. You might think, “it’s a battery, who cares, I’ll just get and bring extra batteries” which is totally true. Except that it’s nice not to have to. This battery is rated for something like 710 shots and it feels like it lasts forever. Sony doesn’t include a charger which is more annoying, and you have to either use a micro-usb or usb-c cable to charge it, or you need to buy a charger. I think if you’re buying a 2K camera, it should come with a charger. I didn’t even think about it, I got an extra battery like I always do, and I don’t really use it because I have to take the battery out of the camera and put the extra one in, in order to charge. Luckily, like I said, the battery lasts forever, but come on – throw in a charger. You can also use the camera while it’s plugged in which is awesome if you want to use it for video or even streaming and don’t want to worry about the battery.

As far as buttons and dials, this is a major strength of the A7III. I think if you’re buying a camera and are just using it with the factory settings you’re really missing out. Part of the what you get for buying a higher end camera is the ability to customize it to work better for how you shoot. I have a follow up video that will show you exactly how I set up the A7iii. I recommend that you check it out when it’s published and even if you don’t end up using it the way I do, it will give you some great ideas and you can pick and choose what works best for you. On the right side we have a little barn door with dual card slots which is phenomenal. You can of course either use in sequence so that the camera starts using card 2 when card 1 is full. Or, what I recommend is that you have them mirrored so that you have an immediate backup. This is super important when doing client work, where immediately after the shoot, we split up the cards and they are kept by two different people in case something is lost, stolen or damaged. Only one of these slots is rated for the faster UHS-II which is kinda strange; maybe Sony was saving money. Something that happened to me (which I never experienced on any other camera before) was that I used Lexar Professional SD-XC UHS-II card and the A7III wasn’t able to read it, and I got an error on the screen. It didn’t work in either slots. I formatted it in the camera and then it worked, but first only in slot 1 at first. It was a little inconsistent and maybe there is a compatibility issue with this particular card type. I also know that there are issues with the camera and some Sandisk cards, so hopefully this is something Sony can take care of with a firmware update. If anyone watching has had this same experience or any feedback about that I would be super interested in reading your comments. My older Sandisk worked great and as long as both slots work, it’s great to have 2 SD slots – I’m looking right at you Canon EOS R.

The viewfinder is good, but not great. It is a 2.36m-dot EVF and If I’m comparing it to something like the EOS R which has a 3.69-dot EVF, then it’s obviously not as sharp. Sony kept their higher resolution 3.68M dot EVF for the A7Riii and the A9 which makes sense to me. You need to be able to offer increased value in your high-end models, otherwise no one would buy them. I talked already about how amazing this camera is as far as the ability to customize buttons.

What’s not amazing is the menu system. And it’s not the menu design that I found problematic. It’s actually super easy to use, it’s split into categories that make sense and you can clearly see what page you’re on and you can navigate up to the top level and move from one category to the next without having to scroll right through every page. So that part is actually well done. The issue is that it seems disorganized which leads to confusion. Features and settings just aren’t where I would expect them to be and aren’t sorted in the order I would expect based on importance. And I’ve shot with many other Sony cameras and this seems to be my general impression.

Next I want to talk about resolution, framerates and image quality. For stills, the A7iii has a maximum resolution for 6000 x 4000 which is more than what most people would ever need unless you’re planning on printing something huge. It can of course shoot in both JPEG and RAW so you can decide just how much information you want to capture depending on what you plan to do with the images in post production. The Image quality for stills is phenomenal. The images are tack sharp with fantastic dynamic range. It has some of the best JPEG noise reduction I’ve seen on any camera and the Sony colors are improving, specifically for skin tones. It still has the Sony “look” which I happen to like. But if you’re coming from Canon, it’s going to look slightly cool to you and you might find that the blues or greens are a little boosted. There is definitely some personal preference there so I’m just sharing my impressions and of course, and all of this can be easily worked out in Post.

For video, the A7III can record 4k video at up to 30fps and FULL HD, 1080P at 24, 30, 60 and 120fps. The A7iii can internally record 4k30p at 4:2:0 8-bit as well as 4k30p 4:2:2 8 bit via HDMI output, both at 100 Mb/s. Depending on how much I graded the footage, I didn’t always find recording externally to be a meaningful enough difference to justify a larger setup. As far as framerates, this isn’t exactly leading the pack. We have the GH5, the Fuji X-T3 and even the Nikon Z6 and Z7 which offer higher bit and framerate. That is of course assuming that all other things are equal which as we know, they are not; but I’ll leave that to the comparison video. A little nerd talk here. If you’re shooting 4k24p then the footage is oversampled from 6k which renders incredible detail. I mean, 4k footage from this camera is absolutely stunning, we’re using the full width of the sensor here and there’s no pixel binning. If you’re shooting at 4k30p then the footage is oversampled from 5k video capture and there is a 1.2x crop factor. Depending on how much of a pixel peeper you are, you could notice a difference in the quality between 4k24p and 4k30p, but honestly, it’s so good, that I don’t even think about it.

Now let’s get to 120fps which is one of the reasons someone who was previously shooting Canon is using a Sony camera. I love slow motion. I do, I can’t help it. And I love the footage I’m getting at 120fps with 100Mbps. The autofocus works really well and I’m super happy with the quality. There is also a video option called S&Q which if you’re not familiar with, allows you to select frame rates ranging from 1 frame per second all the way up to 120 frames per second. The camera will then either slow it down or speed it up to either 24 or 30fps. So if you’re using S&Q 120fps, and you watch the clip in camera or on your computer, it will already be slowed down, vs shooting regular 1080p 120fps which will still need to be slowed down in your video editor. I personally always shoot regular 1080P 120 and then slow it down in post because I think the quality is better. You can also use this feature to shoot a fairly limited timelapse. Meaning, the slowest you should shoot is 1 frame per second. So it’s not great, but Sony doesn’t offer a dedicated in-body timelapse feature and they removed most of the functionality from the PlayMemories App. So if you’re in a bind, it is what it is. You can’t really drag the shutter and like I said, the slowest interval is 1 second, but when in a bind you use what you have.

Alright, next, let’s talk about autofocus. One of the reasons I had been hesitant to use Sony cameras is that I have not had the best experience when it comes to continuous autofocus for video. Previously, for stills, the Sony AF has been good, but for video, the continuous AF would hunt and was just inconsistent. Well, the A7iii has a new AF system which is essentially the same system implemented in the A9. It uses 693 phase detection AF points that cover 93% of the sensor which when you think about is pretty incredible. For photos, the focus is very fast, using both Sony and adapted lenses from both Canon and Sigma together with the Sigma MC-11 adapter. I mostly used AF-C in flexible spot and used the joystick to control the focus zone. This was super reliable and worked really well for me even in low light. The Eye AF is insane with this camera. It’s so good. Basically I have it mapped to one of the buttons so that I can just hold it down it it’s killer. I was most surprised that it worked even when the person was wearing glasses. I love the green marker, you can’t miss it. And if it doesn’t find the eye, there is still the fallback to face detection. So again, it was good and fast with both the sony lenses and the adapted Canon and Sigma lenses. And really the only time it failed me was in back-lit low light at which point it just reverted to face detection. I’m not really ever shooting like that anyway but I was trying to see how far I can push it.

For video, I noticed a significant improvement over the previous Sony cameras that I’ve used. Sony has pretty confusing focus settings, there are a lot of them and at first glance there seems to be some confusing overlap. But once you dive deeper into each setting and dial down to the one you want for a particular scenario, it works incredibly well. I’m going to do a follow-up video dedicated to autofocus because I think there is so much to cover, but coming from Canon, which I still think has my favorite AF for video, this is the first time where I looked at a Sony camera and was super impressed. I really like the flexibility of being able to control how much of a change the camera needs to detect before shifting focus and on top of that having control of how fast or slow it will rack focus.

Moving to video, the Sony AF is good! And with subject tracking, I just really enjoyed using it. Face detection for video is pretty good as long as there is decent light, but there are some strange limitations. For example, if you use an external monitor because there is no fully articulating screen and you’re shooting in 4K you might find that your face detection no longer works. For some reason, Sony disabled this feature for both 4K 24 and 4k 30 which is super frustrating. Now, that is if you’re just using the monitor, to, well, monitor. If you disable internal recording, and use an external recorder with a monitor then face detection will turn back on. So if you need a monitor, and you need face detection, you have to also record externally. This doesn’t make sense to me, but it is what it is.

One thing I wanted to tell you about has to do with using adapted lenses. I used the Sigma MC-11 adapter which worked beautifully for me with both my Canon and canon-mount Sigma lenses for stills. Autofocus was extremely fast and the images were super sharp. If you have Canon or Sigma lenses and you’re a photographer, I definitely recommend using the Sigma MC-11. For video, only the Sigma lenses were able to use the continuous autofocus mode of the camera. None of my L-series Canon lenses would work for continuous autofocus and I had to use manual focus. I’ve read that you can kinda get it to work with the Metabones Mark V but with pretty inconsistent results. And for me, that’s never going to work. If I can’t count on the autofocus, I’m not using that lens. Of course, this doesn’t matter to you if you’re using Sony lenses, but I thought it was important so that you don’t buy this camera and expect it to do something it won’t. So to recap my opinion about the AF – for stills it’s fantastic, which I expected, but the AF for video as long as you’re using native and sigma lenses has definitely improved on the A7iii.

Alright, let’s move to lens options – and I think a lot of people forget to look at this part when they shop for a camera. When I test cameras, I like to use a variety of lenses at different price points to help give people a true feel of what they should expect. I used the Sony 28-70mm 3.5-5.6 which comes with Optical Image Stabilization. This is an inexpensive lens and I found that for the price, it did quite well. It couldn’t compete with my L-Series glass, and of course it’s not a constant aperture, and it’s not a very fast lens, but again, as a function of price, I think it’s a good value. Lenses are a bit of a touchy subject for some people. It’s not a matter of quality, it’s a matter of cost. If you’re looking at the GM lenses, you’re looking at incredible glass, but expect to spend some serious cash for it. For a quick comparison, the Sony GM 70-200 2.8 is $2600 and if I compare it to the Canon L-Series 70-200 2.8 MKIII which costs $2100 I’m looking at an extra $500. The Sony 24-70mm 2.8 is $2,200 and the Canon is usually $1,900 (although if you look it up now it’s $200 OFF at $1,700. So you’re either looking at a $500 or $300 difference. And this continues.

For me, if I’m shooting professionally, this difference isn’t significant. I know $500 a lens is a big chunk and it adds up as you get more and more lenses, but I know this coming in and I would build that cost into my business plan. This would be a tool I would use regularly and I don’t mind in investing in it, but I think it should be part of your decision-making process when you choose a system. So to revisit, Sony has an outstanding selection of premium lenses at a premium price. Sigma has also announced that they are going to start making 9 of their art series prime lenses for the E mount. That’s going to make a lot of people happy. Unfortunately, they haven’t said anything about zoom lenses, but I’m telling you it’s coming.

Let’s talk a little about the screen. The A7iii has a 3” tilting touchscreen-ish LCD. Let’s start with the tilt. You can tilt the screen up to 107 degrees which is good when you’re shooting from the hip or anytime when you’re above the camera. You can tilt id down but only to 41 degrees which is a little frustrating. So you can’t always get the angle you want if the camera is at a high angle. It does not articulate to the side and doesn’t flip or face the front. That is something that might be a deal-breaker for me. What I try to do in my videos is share with you my experience, based on how I use a camera – and I concede that that you might use it differently. So a practical example. I went to shoot some footage on a single handle gimbal and the screen is pretty much blocked by the back motor. Also, if I want to use it underslung of if I am walking around someone and want the camera to be facing to the side, I can’t see the screen.

When I use my large rig, I’m always using an external monitor, so in that case it’s not an issue, and I know I could attach an external monitor to my single handle gimbal, but they reason why I’m using it in the first place, is because I want a smaller and more portable solution so that would defeat the purpose. It was also an issue if I was using it on a slider here I’m not always directly behind the camera. So for me, that’s a real pain point and it creates friction. But if you don’t plan on using these tools, or if you’re just willing to deal with it, I totally get that. I would prefer that Sony just implement a fully articulating screen and charge me an extra $100 and we call it a day.

Now let’s get to touchscreen – I said touchscreen-ish because it is technically a touch screen. You can use it to set a focus point or to select a subject for AF but that’s it – you can’t control the menu you can’t change settings, none of that. Again, I’m not sure why Sony would do this. The screen is clearly capable of detecting touch and it seems like the next logical functionality. As far as the quality of the image – it’s fine. It’s not great and definitely not as good as the A7Riii or the A9. It’s a 922K-dot display vs 1.44M-dot displays on the A7Riii and the A9. The Canon EOS R, just as another example, has a 2.1M-dot LCD. The screen quality is not a deal-breaker for me, and I could make it pretty bright using the brightness setting and I didn’t really have issues with it as far as brightness goes – I just wish it was sharper.

I also want to talk about other features that this camera has that may help you make a buying decision. First I want to talk about image stabilization. The A7iii does have in-body image stabilization. And we’re not talking about digital image stabilization of course, we have 5-axis sensor-shift stabilization meaning that the actual sensor is moving to compensate for, and offset camera movement. And Sony says it can minimize the appearance of camera shake by up to 5 stops. I didn’t have a scientific way to measure this but I’ll just say that having shot on a lot of cameras, and having a feel for what for what I should and shouldn’t be able to do with my shutterspeed, the stabilization is noticeable. What’s great here is that this lets you get image stabilization with lenses that don’t offer optical image stabilization – so that’s a huge bonus.

Next I want to talk about timelapse. The A7iii does not do in-body timelapse, and on top of that it doesn’t even have a built-in intervalometer. That’s pretty disappointing to me. So I’m forced to use an external intervalometer every time I want to do a timelapse. This ties into the next thing I want to talk about and that’s the playmemories app. It’s fairly basic, you can control shooting mode, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, White Balance for both photography and video.

In my opinion Sony needs to do better. We’re talking about software here, and it’s not a significant ongoing expense. We don’t need a ton of features, but autofocus control, timelapse and complete file transfer should do it. Develop it once and make everyone happy. The next set of features that I want to bring up have to do with Audio. We have a mic input and a headphone jack so I can use an external microphone to get much better audio and can also monitor audio while recording. Another thing that is sometimes missing on other cameras is the audio levels display is always available when you’re in movie mode and just makes my life easier. So on some cameras, you have to go into the menu to set and see your levels, but then when you go back to recording, the levels aren’t displayed, which isn’t great.

Ok, so I think the A7iii is one of my favorite cameras if I’m looking for one camera to do photography and video. Actually, scratch that, it’s one of my favorite cameras – period. To recap, it’s Sony’s entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera, but I’m super impressed by how powerful it is and the image quality and functionality are superb. For photography, the image quality is so good, the autofocus is super fast and the eye detection is outstanding. For video, autofocus has definitely improved and I’m starting to like the extra level of control there. I love how much I can customize the buttons and I really did some work to get it to function exactly how I want it to, so that I don’t have to go into the menu very much. I get incredibly sharp and detailed 4K at up to 30fps, and Full HD or 1080P in up to 120 FPS which lets me do 4x slow motion at when I edit videos in 30fps or 5x when I edit in 24fps. The lenses are expensive but the quality is definitely there, and I’ve got IBIS and dual SD card slots – although I did mention the card compatibility issue. And the option for an external microphone to monitor audio using the headphone jack is also a fantastic bonus for videographers. The screen are viewfinder are ok, they are not like what you get with the top of the line Sony, but again, this isn’t the top of the line so there have to be some differentiators. It’s relatively small, considering it’s a full frame camera and I really like the ability to shoot at both full frame and APS-C or Super35 so I can maximize my focal length. The build quality seems pretty solid, and of course the more I use it the more I’ll be able to give you feedback there. Remote functionality using the app is pretty bad and there is no built-in way to shoot a timelapse which I would have really liked. The body alone sells is right under $2,000 and I think it’s a very good value if you’re looking for a full frame camera. We talked about the prices of the top-of-the-line Sony lenses. They aren’t cheap, but they are excellent in terms of build quality, sharpness and bokeh. This is the first video in this series and I have several more coming to show you my favorite cinematic settings, and a low light settings tutorial, so if you’re interested in learning more, go ahead and hit that Subscribe button so you’re notified when they are published.

I really hope I was able to give you a good overview of the Sony A7iii. If I did, please let me know by sharing this article, and if you haven’t yet, join the community by hitting the subscribe and notification buttons on my YouTube.

The Sony α7 III (model ILCE-7M3) is a full-frame mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera manufactured by Sony.Sony α7 II and available April 10, 2018. Described by Sony as "the basic model," the camera shares many features with the high-end Sony α7R III and α9 models.Sony α7 IV, announced on October 21, 2021.

Sony A7 III does not include vertical AA filter, only horizontal. Which is improve sharpness, but also creates visible amount of moire on clothes and hair.

Cooke, Alex (7 June 2018). "The Camera You Should Want: Fstoppers Reviews the Sony a7 III". Fstoppers. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

Etienne, Stefan (30 March 2018). "Sony A7 III and A7R III review: mirrorless magic". The Verge. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

Mathies, Daven (15 November 2018). "Sony A7 III review". www.digitaltrends.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.

As many people do know, Sony a55, a77 and the Nex series all had a removable factory built-in LCD protector. For those who didn’t put a new screen protector in their cameras when they bought them, the screen would soon start getting scratches and stains. Many photographers sent their cameras for repair and others tried to change the LCD, until David Kilpatrick found out that Sony was actually putting a factory built-in screen protector in their LCDs, which you could remove and then just put a brand new protector. It was a bit of a scary procedure, not because of technical difficulty, but because you had to pull the protector with considerable strength, as the glue was very strong. I did it to my a55, a77 and nex5 and it worked flawlessly.

Last week I was trying to find a 2nd hand backup a7R for my Iceland photo tour next week, and found a portuguese photographer who had one. I bought it and upon close inspection the LCD was in very bad shape, with lots of scratches and small stains all over it. I immediately remembered the good old screen protector technique and decided to do a quick research about that procedure in the a7 series. To my huge surprise I found nothing about it being possible. As a matter of fact I found the opposite, with many photographers stating the a7 series LCD was different, and it was no longer possible to peel off the LCD protector. I started getting really worried, because not only I had spent a lot of money in the camera, but also because I had no time to return it and search for a new one before my trip. I spent several hours trying to find an answer on the web, including youtube and forums, and still got no answer. People who had damaged LCDs were going through the trouble of ordering new LCDs from ebay and doing a complicate procedure to install them, some of them ending up with non working LCDs.

Following a recommendation from David Kilpatrick, my usual savior and favorite Sony Guru, I decided to ask the question on the a7R Facebook group. Fortunately, not only I got the usual “it’s not possible!” answers, but also got feedback from three photographers who had done it to their a7 cameras with success.

I checked and re-checked asking if it was really doable, and filled myself with courage and went ahead. As you can see by the images, the screen protector is fully removable, just like it used to happen with the previous Sony Cameras. I have no idea why this is not disclosed by Sony, and some people were actually advised by Sony to wipe their screens with lens wipes or to send the camera for repair! You need to apply a scary amount of strength while trying to remove the protector, and make sure you are properly grabbing the LCD with your other hand, to avoid damaging it. As you can see in the images there was a lot of residue accumulated below the built-in screen protector, and I had to spend a bit of time using Zeiss wipes to remove it, including glue residues in the LCD margins. There is still a bit more to clean, but at least I’ve finally solved it.

UPDATE: One word of caution: you should try to avoid having your LCD in such bad shape, so always make sure you put a screen protector as soon as you buy your Sony camera. If your LCD is severely scratched and/or is severely stained, then do this procedure at your own risk, knowing that it might void the camera warranty.

You might see this message after powering your camera on, or suddenly after shooting normally without any issues. Most likely, it’s a stuck shutter – but not always. Here’s a list of the usual suspects that might be causing this error message on your LCD screen.

If your Sony camera was accidentally plugged into the wrong power source, it might have shorted out the circuitry, which keeps power from getting to your shutter, or to the IBIS assembly.

If removing the battery or power source doesn’t fix the camera error, you may have one last trick up your sleeve. If you can access the camera’s menu, navigate to theSetting Resetscreen, here you will have two options: Camera Settings Reset, or Initialize, choose Initialize. This will reset your camera to a factory reset. Please be aware that this removes any custom settings you may have.

From amateurs to professionals, we understand the importance of getting you back behind the camera as quickly as possible. With the fastest turnaround times in the industry and the largest stock of Sony OEM replacement parts, we can repair your Sony Alpha camera within one weekonce the repair estimate is approved.