Sony last night has officially unveiled its new Alpha 9 (A9) III mirrorless camera for professionals. Pitched as the world’s first full-frame shooter with a global shutter system, it promises to deliver high resolution, blackout-free burst images at high frame rates, with highly accurate subject recognition performance.
Under the hood of the newly unveiled Sony A9 III is a 24.6MP full-frame global stacked sensor, paired together with the brand’s latest Bionz XR image processor. While the megapixel count may disappoint some, the camera makes up for it with its global shutter system which allows for shutter speeds of 1/80,000th of a second for stills, or 1/16000th of a second for continuous shooting. According to Sony, this allows it to shoot full-resolution, blackout-free 14-bit RAW bursts at up to 120fps with a 1.6 second buffer, therefore making it ten times faster than most cameras.
Further enhancing its speed is the onboard high-density focal plane phase detection autofocus (AF) ability, which is also powered by a designated AI processing unit that enables it to recognise a wide variety of subjects with high precision. Combined with a 1-second pre-burst feature that can capture scenes before the shutter button is pressed, Sony claims that the A9 III is capable of easily photographing scenes and moments that “cannot be seen with the naked eye.”
Video-wise, the new camera is said to be the brand’s first that supports 4K 120p video with no cropping, along with 4K 60p with 6K oversampling. It also offers 10-bit recording with S-Log3 capture in all video modes, and features Sony’s S-Cinetone colour profile that offers you a quick and efficient solution to colour-grading.
Besides that, the new camera also offers an ISO range of 250-25600 that can be expanded to ISO 125–51200, and an in-body 5-axis stabilisation system that offers 8.0 stops of optical shake reduction. Meanwhile, featured on its body is a 4-axis multi-angle LCD touchscreen, a 9.44 million-dot Quad XGA OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with 0.90x magnification, and a new dedicated button in front that allows you easily adjust the continuous shooting speed. In terms of connectivity, the A9 III supports wired LAN as well as fast CFexpress Type A and UHS I/II SD cards.
For select markets, the Sony A9 III will be available for pre-order soon for US$6,000 (~RM28,000). According to Sony Malaysia, the new full-frame camera is expected to be available locally during the first quarter of 2024, though its local pricing has yet to be determined.
(Source: Sony Malaysia press release / official website)
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