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Sony a9 III – Review 2024

The Sony a9 III[1] (£5,999.99, body only) is built around a state-of-the-art global CMOS image sensor that lets it capture a slice of time in a way previous consumer cameras[2] couldn’t. It primarily leverages this technology for a speedy 120fps drive rate with autofocus for photographers who cover professional sports and chase exotic wildlife. But these capabilities come at a steep cost: The a9 III is significantly more expensive than the a9 II[3] (£4,499.99), and its images show more noise and less dynamic range.

Whether those trade-offs are worth it is debatable, but the Canon EOS R3[4] remains our overall Editors’ Choice pick for high-speed cameras since it offers more balanced all-around performance, a dual-gripped body style, and a gorgeous HDR viewfinder for the same price as the a9 III.

Global Shutter Tech Enters the Mainstream

The a9 III’s headline-grabbing feature is its stacked Exmor RS CMOS 24MP sensor with global readout. That last piece of tech is new to consumer cameras, though it has appeared in some cinema models, including the out-of-production Sony F55[5] that sold for around £29,000[6] in its day. The a9 III outdoes the F55 in price as well as sensor size; the a9’s full-frame chip is about twice the size of the cinema cam’s Super35 chip.

The a9 III is also far easier to pick up and use–getting good footage from the F55 requires cinema experience, whereas the a9 III should feel familiar to any enthusiast photographer or videographer.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The global shutter has implications for both disciplines. For photo work, the a9 III perfectly freezes motion in durations as short as 1/80,000-second and can sync with an off-camera flash at any shutter speed. It makes motion distortion a thing of the past, too–mechanical focal plane shutters and traditional electronic shutters both scan across the frame to capture a scene, rather than snapping it all at once.

It’s not a difference-maker for every scene or situation, but if you make a living capturing images of subjects in motion, you’ll see the benefit. The global response also means that LED signage shows up properly in photos, a common obstacle in professional and collegiate arenas (slower sensors show banding, an unwanted effect). Moreover, photographers who work in a press scrum won’t have to worry about another person’s flash totally ruining a shot.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

For video, the motion-freezing capabilities mean you won’t have to worry about ugly Jell-O motion from rolling shutter distortion.

And, as with photos, you can set up shots where flash bulbs pop freely–think of old-time movies with press conference scenes. Finally, because the sensor readout is so fast, the a9 III records 4K120 footage with the full width of its sensor, a feature that’s still uncommon. The a9 III’s global readout sets it apart from competitors with earlier versions of Stacked BSI CMOS sensors that read out line by line, rather than all at once.

The original a9 and a9 II, along with the Sony a1[7], Canon R3, and Nikon Z 8 and Z 9, all use full-frame chips that leverage integrated DRAM to scan far faster than basic BSI CMOS chips (such as in the Sony a7 IV[8]), but they still can’t match the a9 III. DPReview measures the Z 9’s e-shutter[9] at 1/270-second, for example, which is similar to the speed of mechanical focal plane shutters that have done a fine job for decades of photography in the film and digital eras.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Ultimately, the a9 III exists more squarely on the pro side of the market than previous models. If you often work in environments with digital signage or need to capture scenes at 120fps in Raw format, you can surely benefit from its ability to nab every pixel, everywhere, all at once.

For many applications, however, a Stacked CMOS camera with a reasonably fast tracking rate is more than enough.

Signature Sony Style

The a9 III is a Sony camera through and through. It recycles the design language and basic control scheme from the original full-frame a7, with all the refinements you might expect from a decade of development time between the releases. The a9 III’s lines are a bit more curved, its controls feel better, and its handgrip is far more comfortable than that of the original.

But its 3.8-by-5.4-by-3.3-inch frame (HWD) and 1.4-pound weight aren’t too far off. Those dimensions are in line with other full-frame cameras that omit an integrated vertical grip.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

To date, Sony has skipped a vertical grip for its cameras, including the flagship a1. But if you prefer a heftier handhold, the £399.99 VG-C5 grip is available for the a9 III.

It adds some height to your camera and makes room for a second battery. Meanwhile, the Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z 9[10] both include integrated grips, with the Z 9 measuring larger. Nikon does sell the nearly identical, vertical-grip-free Z 8[11], however, so there is some diversity in this space.

FE 135mm F1.8 GM, f/1.8, 1/1,250-second, ISO 250(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Grip or not, the a9 III’s build quality lives up to its £6,000 billing.

Its magnesium body is weather-protected (as are most Sony FE lenses)[12], so you can use it out in the elements without too much worry. The a9 III does not include a mechanical shutter to block dust ingress (a common concern with mirrorless cameras), but it does have a sensor shield for protection during lens swaps. This feature is off by default, so you should jump into the menu to enable it.

Just remember to power down the camera before changing lenses.

Controls Tuned for Action Photos

The a9 III’s controls line up with most Sony cameras, but offer some refinements. The grip is a little deeper than that of recent models like the a7R V, for instance, and the shutter release sits at a steeper angle. This design plays better with larger lenses and gives it more of a hair trigger feel, both pluses for action photography.

The On/Off switch collars the shutter, just like with other Sony bodies, though its angled position is Canon-like.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

A C5 button is another addition that improves handling for action snaps. It sits in between the grip and lens mount just under your middle finger and is assignable like the other “C” controls. Its default function is an overdrive option that pushes the camera to its 120fps burst mode, regardless of the current settings.

The utility is obvious. Although you are likely to use a more reasonable drive rate for most scenes, this button engages the fastest drive speed instantly for any moments that call for it.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

It’s not quite as in-the-moment as the overdrive button, but the a9 III also includes a left-positioned drive dial on its top plate. It shares this feature with the earlier a9 bodies and the a1, though it’s missing from the a7 series.

It includes Single, Hi+, Hi, Mid, Lo, Self-Timer, and Bracketing positions, along with a star (*) position that moves drive control to the menu. The drive speeds are set to 5, 10, 30, and 60fps by default, but are configurable–5, 10, 15, 20, and 30fps options are available for all speeds, while 60 and 120fps are options for Hi+. The drive dial features a press-and-turn lock to prevent you from inadvertently knocking it out of place.

A second dial nested vertically beneath it lets you set the focus mode (MF, DMF, AF-S, AF-C); it also includes a push-to-turn lock.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The Mode dial on the right half of the top plate has a similar arrangement, with the Photo/Video/S&Q toggle nested at its base. The a9 III includes three custom slots on the dial, along with the standard PASM and Auto slots. Configurable C1 and C2 buttons are nearby, along with forward and rear exposure control dials.

There’s also a dedicated EV dial with a central post button, but it’s not a press-to-turn design and simply engages or disables the lock. The rear control layout is typical for Sony–C3 and Menu buttons are at the top left corner between the eyecup and LCD, while Record, AF-ON/+, and AEL buttons line the top on the right side. An eight-way focus controller, a Fn button, a rear control wheel, a Play button, and a Delete/C4 button round out the controls.

Everything is standard fare here. Sony does not include backlights for the buttons like Nikon does with the Z 8 and Z 9. I don’t think many sports photogs will miss them, but backlighting is a plus for weddings and events in which ambient light is scarce.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The a9 III uses Sony’s newer, colorful menu system, which it introduced with the a7S III[13].

It’s been around for a few years, but anyone upgrading from an a9 or a9 II will have to adjust. I consider the newer menus an overall improvement–they are organized with side tabs (rather than top tabs), seem easier to navigate, are color-coded, and support touch input. The system is still lengthy (the a9 III has more than 60 pages of options) but the configurable My Menu lets you put frequently-used settings in one place.

An on-screen Fn menu includes twelve slots and is also navigable via touch. The default set includes useful options like subject recognition, pre-capture, and other focus-related sundries, but it’s customizable with separate stills and video menus. Competitors offer similar interfaces.

Nikon’s on-screen menu is close in concept and execution, while Canon puts its version in columns on the left and right edges of the screen rather than in rows at the bottom.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/400-second, ISO 250(Credit: Jim Fisher)

A High-Res EVF and Dual-Hinge Display

The a9 III’s electronic viewfinder is vastly better than those of earlier models. The camera uses Sony’s best panel, a 0.9x OLED that looks great thanks to a stunning 9.4-million-dot resolution and a 120fps refresh rate at full quality. You can even push to 240fps with reduced resolution.

Its large size, crystal clear resolution, and smooth refresh rate make it one of the best in any camera I’ve tested. All that said, its dynamic range isn’t quite on the level of the Canon EOS R3’s HDR EVF. The latter trades size and resolution (0.76x, 5.8 million dots, 60/120fps refresh) for a wider color gamut that more closely replicates the experience of an optical viewfinder.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The rear display sports a dual-axis hinge, a design Sony introduced with the 60MP a7R V.

It tilts up and down on one axis, matching up with the movement that the a9, a9 II, and a1 offer. The second hinge, at the left of the screen, allows it to swing out and face forward. The dual hinges give you both popular methods of screen articulation, a positive if you strictly prefer one type over the other.

Compared with other brands, Canon’s EOS R3 uses a swing-out screen, while the Nikon Z 9 offers dual-axis articulation, but no forward-facing capability.

Shorter Battery Life and Flash Idiosyncrasies

Sony cameras all use the NP-FZ100 battery, a cell that it introduced with the original a9. With the a9 III, CIPA battery life estimates point to a 530/400 LCD/EVF exposure rating. That estimate is the same as for the Sony a1 but lags behind the EOS R3 (760/440) and Nikon Z 9 (740/700).

If these numbers sound low for a camera that promises 120fps capture, they are. The CIPA battery test is based on single exposures with image review in between. In practice, it’s no feat to get thousands of exposures per charge with the a9 III.

Just keep in mind that you can eke out more life from the EOS R3 and get nearly twice as many photos with the Z 9 if you use them similarly.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The a9 III has two memory card slots, each with support for both CFe (Type A) and UHS-II SDXC cards. CFe memory is faster than SDXC, up to 1,400MBps versus 299MBps for write speeds. For this camera, it’s worth spending more for the faster card format.

The a9 III’s buffer is good for nearly 200 exposures (roughly 1.6 seconds of action at 120fps) and it clears to memory more quickly with CFe. I tried 140-shot bursts of Lossless Raw+JPG with both CFe and SDXC and noted clear times of about 15 seconds with CFe compared with 25 seconds for SDXC. As for connectivity, the a9 III includes a full-sized HDMI port, 3.5mm headphone and microphone inputs, and support for digital microphones via its hot shoe.

Both USB-C and microUSB connectors are available for digital connections, along with a Gigabit Ethernet port and integrated FTP client support. Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band Wi-Fi radios are on board too, which facilitate a connection with the Sony Creators’ App[14] (available on Android and iOS).

FE 135mm F1.8 GM, f/1.8, 1/2,500-second, ISO 250(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Like most professional cameras, the a9 III doesn’t have a built-in flash. As mentioned, its global shutter offers sync with external flashes at previously unheard-of 1/80,000-second speeds, a feature it supports via its hot shoe or PC sync socket.

Most cameras can sync only as fast as 1/250-second. Flash compatibility is a concern with the a9 III’s new tech, however, and I couldn’t get my Godox V1 strobe to work properly with the camera. Trying automatic TTL exposure netted overexposure and manual controls were locked with the a9 III, even though they are open with the a7R IV.

A representative from Godox told us that the company’s engineers have not yet had access to an a9 III body, but plan on developing a firmware to support the camera if it’s possible.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/320-second, ISO 1600(Credit: Jim Fisher)

I don’t know whether Godox and other third-party manufacturers will be able to update their flashes to work with the a9 III, so I see this as a potential pain point for customers who expect their existing accessories to carry over. Sony promises full compatibility and TTL support with two of its strobes, the HVL-F46RM[15] (£399.99) and the HVL-F60RM2[16] (£549.99), but I didn’t have access to either to try.

Fast and In Focus

The a9 III is a speed demon for certain, but all the speed in the world is useless if your photos are out of focus. To combat that concern, Sony puts its class-leading focus tracking system in the camera.

Real Time Tracking tags and follows subjects as they move through the frame, while a subject recognition focus system trained by machine learning provides an assist. The a9 III identifies people; supports face, eye, and body detection; and offers discrete subject modes for Airplanes, Animals, Animals & Birds (combined), Birds, Cars & Trains, and Insects. Subject recognition takes some of the work away from the photographer, so it’s quite convenient.

For example, if you get the focus box near a bird’s body in the Animals & Birds mode, the autofocus is smart enough to jump to its head and eye, assuming you’re in the correct subject recognition mode. Of course, the a9 III can track any subject in any mode. It found and followed planes taking off from a nearby airport even when I forgot to change the subject recognition setting.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/400-second, ISO 1000(Credit: Jim Fisher)

As with most mirrorless cameras, focus points cover nearly the entire surface area of the sensor, so you have more freedom to compose a scene than with old-school SLRs.

As mentioned, drive speeds from 5-120fps are available, with the C5 button’s on-demand overdrive function making the top speed a bit more useful. One caveat on drive speeds: Not every Sony lens supports 120fps–here’s the list[17] of the ones that do–and third-party lenses don’t go beyond 15fps. The a9 III also introduces a pre-capture mode, a new feature for Sony, but a long-running option on other systems.

With it active, the camera saves photos in memory (but not to the card) whenever you half-press the shutter to drive focus. Pressing the shutter all the way saves the buffered photos, along with those going forward. It helps make up for slow reflexes, and if you use it judiciously, can reduce the number of throwaway photos you need to cull through during an editing session.

Pre-capture appears as an Fn menu option by default, so it’s easy to turn on and off.

Sigma 150-600mm Sports, 600mm, f/6.3, 1/400-second, ISO 640(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Calling the a9 III’s autofocus performance bulletproof is cliche, but appropriate. Sure, the camera can miss its target, but I found those misses to be infrequent. Its subject recognition system simply goes beyond what competitors offer.

Neither Canon nor Nikon offer an insect mode and Sony works better for certain animals, notably horses. That said, the EOS R3 and Z 9 both handle people quite well, track effectively, and have modes for motorsports like the a9 III. Sony is ahead of both in acumen, but the margin is slim and all three cameras are capable of performing at a professional level.

Global Shutter: Less Dynamic Range, More Noise

The a9 III’s global shutter is groundbreaking, but it comes with some cost in picture quality.

The baseline sensitivity is higher than in other models, for example, an aspect that affects the dynamic range. Sony’s best camera for dynamic range, the a7R V, starts at ISO 100 and the Nikon Z 9 starts even lower (ISO 64). The a9 III ranges from ISO 250-25600 in its native range and goes one step lower (ISO 125) and higher (ISO 51200) in its expanded settings.

The sensor has 5-axis stabilization and provides up to eight stops of compensation with select lenses per CIPA standards. That’s on par with the EOS R3 and a bit better than the a1 (5.5 stops) and Z 9 (6.0 stops).

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/200-second, ISO 12800(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Practically speaking, you’ll see a little more noise in the shadows and darker parts of scenes, especially if you try and lift exposure. You also don’t have as much leeway to recover highlights.

From a noise perspective, the a9 III lines up with most full-frame contemporaries through ISO 6400 but falls behind the pack at ISO 12800. From there on up, it’s worse than the EOS R3 and Nikon Z 9 by about a stop. Although there’s a definite cost in picture quality due to the global shutter, I hesitate to call it a significant one, at least for the target market.

I don’t think many landscape and portrait specialists are looking at the a9 III when the far more affordable a7 IV or a7R V are available. Action photogs are likely more concerned about the noise, but the a9 III is on level with APS-C cameras at higher ISOs and the global readout trumps even mechanical shutter cameras when it comes to freezing motion.

Sigma 24mm F2 Contemporary, f/2, 1/30-second, ISO 500(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The Z 9 and Z 8 remain the champs when it comes to balancing picture quality and high-speed capture, as they are among the best-in-class for dynamic range, noise, and resolution at low ISO, support 20fps at full quality, and manage 120fps JPGs at a decent 11MP resolution. Meanwhile, the EOS R3 supports 30fps, even when using Raw capture at full 24MP resolution.

A few file format options are available. The a9 III records 14-bit Raw in Uncompressed, Lossless Compressed, or Compressed quality, and lets you choose between 8-bit JPG or 10-bit HEIF with either 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 color sampling for in-camera processed images. The Lossless Compressed Raw format is available at Large (24MP), Medium (10MP), or Small (6MP) pixel counts.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/320-second, ISO 800(Credit: Jim Fisher)

Although it’s not available at launch, Sony promises to add support[18] for C2PA authentication via firmware in 2024.

That’s important news for journalists, as authenticating photos is a growing concern with the proliferation of AI-generated content.

The Global Shutter Also Applies to Video

As mentioned, the a9 III’s motion-freezing capabilities aren’t limited to still photos. Its video modes work the same way, giving the camera a real-world advantage over other full-frame models that can suffer from rolling shutter mode due to slow readout speeds. And while the issue is really only a problem for fast motion with older Stacked CMOS and lower-pixel BSI CMOS[19] sensors, the a9 III eliminates the worry entirely, so you can record auto races, golf swings, and other high-speed motion without any distortion.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/500-second, ISO 1250(Credit: Jim Fisher)

That said, the camera doesn’t support pixel-for-pixel output from its sensor, so it doesn’t provide more than 4K output.

It oversamples a 6K picture for full-frame 4K at up to 60fps and supports full-width capture at 4K120, though not from an oversampled source. Internal recording tops out at XAVC compression with up to 10-bit 4:2:2 color, so you need to add an external recorder for ProRes or Raw video recording. The HDMI port sends out a clean 16-bit 4:2:2 signal to external recorders like the Atomos Ninja V[20].

The Nikon Z 9 and Z 8 both have an advantage here since they support internal ProRes and N-Raw capture to memory cards. The a9 III does a better job with picture profile support than the a9 or a9 II. It includes the flat S-Log profile missing from those cameras, in addition to the cinematic S-Cinetone look for creators who want a pleasing out-of-camera image that doesn’t require color correction.

Long-form recordings are achievable, too. In my room temperature overheating test, the a9 III managed 68 minutes of 4K60 video before shutting down due to heat.

FE 300mm F2.8 GM, f/2.8, 1/640-second, ISO 250(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The same nags we have about noise and dynamic range for stills apply to video. Again, the a9 III’s advantage is its ability to completely suppress rolling shutter distortion, not overall picture quality.

It’s quite capable for creators and cinematographers, but most will be fine spending less on a camera that’s more suitable for the task. The aforementioned Nikon Z 8 and Z 9 are great options with Stacked CMOS chips, while the Panasonic Lumix S5 IIx[21] (£2,199.99) has huge appeal for anyone after the full-frame look on a budget thanks to its ProRes support. As for audio, the built-in mic is clear enough to record voice memos so you can add notes to an image in the field.

Creators looking to vlog or use the a9 III for a documentary project should invest in an external mic, however.

Life in the Fast Lane

The Sony a9 III’s global sensor is a first-of-its-kind for full-frame cameras, eclipsing the best mechanical and electronic shutters’ abilities to capture a singular moment in time. The camera is tuned for speed, both in terms of performance and capture rate, with 120fps Raw drive and an autofocus system that’s a little more advanced than that from Canon or Nikon. That said, picture quality lags behind contemporaries, and you pay a premium for the cutting-edge tech.

High-level sports and action photographers understand that nabbing a moment perfectly is more important than some grain in an image, so nothing quite matches the a9 III on the market for those needs.

But if you don’t mind a slightly slower capture rate or intend to roll a lot of video, the Editors’ Choice-winning Canon EOS R3 and Nikon Z 8 are both top-notch alternatives.

References

  1. ^ Sony a9 III (uk.pcmag.com)
  2. ^ cameras (uk.pcmag.com)
  3. ^ a9 II (uk.pcmag.com)
  4. ^ Canon EOS R3 (uk.pcmag.com)
  5. ^ Sony F55 (www.cined.com)
  6. ^ around £29,000 (pro.sony)
  7. ^ Sony a1 (uk.pcmag.com)
  8. ^ Sony a7 IV (uk.pcmag.com)
  9. ^ measures the Z 9’s e-shutter (www.dpreview.com)
  10. ^ Nikon Z 9 (uk.pcmag.com)
  11. ^ Z 8 (uk.pcmag.com)
  12. ^ Sony FE lenses) (uk.pcmag.com)
  13. ^ a7S III (uk.pcmag.com)
  14. ^ Sony Creators’ App (creatorscloud.sony.net)
  15. ^ HVL-F46RM (electronics.sony.com)
  16. ^ HVL-F60RM2 (electronics.sony.com)
  17. ^ the list (support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp)
  18. ^ add support (www.dpreview.com)
  19. ^ Stacked CMOS and lower-pixel BSI CMOS (uk.pcmag.com)
  20. ^ Atomos Ninja V (uk.pcmag.com)
  21. ^ Panasonic Lumix S5 IIx (uk.pcmag.com)

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