And it looks to be something of a “Baby-A9”, with the same 24 megapixel resolution, a backside illuminated sensor for improved light-gathering and higher ISO range, 10 frames per second continuous shooting, most all of the body improvements of the A9 and A7 Mk. III, plus the same 693 PDAF autofocus points as the US$4500 A9… all at US$2000!
This is the camera I was really waiting for when I spoke last year about considering the jump to full-frame. But, for various reasons, I didn’t wait and I picked up a Sony A7 Mk. II instead. I’ve been very happy with the A7ii, but the new A7iii checks a lot of the boxes on things I wish the A7ii had, starting with 4K video recording in both full-frame and APS-C crop modes, plus a touchscreen for focusing, a bigger battery, and improved placement of the video record button.
Here is an abbreviated list of some of its specs and features, taken from the product page at Sony.net:
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- 24.2MP 35-mm full-frame CMOS sensor with back-illuminated design
- Sensitivity range up to ISO 51200 (expandable to ISO 50-204800 for stills)
- Fast Hybrid AF with 693 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection AF points
- High-speed continuous shooting of up to 10fps with AF/AE tracking
- 4K HDR movie recording capability
- Battery Life for still images = Approx. 610 shots (Viewfinder) / approx. 710 shots (LCD monitor) (CIPA standard)
- Dual SD card slots (one with UHS-II support)
All in all, it really looks like Sony has taken some features from the A9 – the 693 phase-detection autofocus points on a backside-illuminated 24MP sensor – combined it with some features of the A7iii – 425 contrast-detection autofocus areas, 10 fps mechanical shutter – and placed it all in an A7Riii body (with only a few minor differences) and kept the EVF and LCD screen of the A7ii to keep the cost down.
On paper, it all looks very good for a “basic model” full-frame camera as Sony called it in their announcement.
f1point4.net 
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