Sony a9 III: The Truth on Image Quality | Dynamic Range & ISO
Вставка
- Опубліковано 27 чер 2024
- #SonyA9III #ImageQuality #DynamicRange #ISOTest #SpeedTest #Photography #Videography
Wondering if the Sony a9 III lives up to its speed and low-light prowess?
In this video, I put the a9 III through its paces testing the dynamic range, ISO performance, and autofocus speed. We explore its strengths and weaknesses, revealing its true potential for capturing breathtaking photos and videos in various lighting scenarios.
Here's what you'll discover:
Dynamic range capabilities: Can the a9 III handle high-contrast scenes without blowing out highlights or losing detail in shadows?
ISO performance: How well does the a9 III handle low-light situations without introducing excessive noise?
Autofocus speed and accuracy: Can you capture fast-paced action with confidence?
Plus, we'll share valuable tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the Sony a9 III's image quality.
Chapter Markers:
00:00 Intro
01:05 Performance (Image Quality, 120fps, Autofocus)
09:15 ISO Test
12:48 Build Quality & Design
13:26 Who This Camera is For
15:24 Video Performance
16:39 What Could be Improved
20:29 Conclusion
My Gear:
Camera: Sony A9III, Sony FE 16-35 f/2.8 GM II
Sennheiser AVX
MacStudio M2 MAX
Mac Studio Display
Lights: Aputure 300X Amaran T2c, Amaran F21c, Amaran COB 60X, Amaran P60c
Display Cabinet: Terravault
Chair and Desk: SecretLab - Наука та технологія
As always, an excellent, rational video based on keeping photography, needs and biases in the proper context. I enjoyed it, thanks for the good work.
Thanks Steven!
I totally agree with your summary, thank you and well done.
Thank you 🙏
Great video, you helped me make my decision. The other's on UA-cam put it down but you showed it's abilities. Thanks
Glad to help. Some don’t understand or appreciate what it can do because this camera isn’t their forte.
That zf image though. So nice even at higher iso!
Yes indeed
Nice review.
Thank you
Amazing review. Truly
Thank you. Means a lot
🔥 🔥
Dope review
Thanks!!
The funniest part about all these test is that the customers who get delivered these images most likely have no clue what ISO and dynamic range is.
I have worked for hundreds and hundreds of different companies, real estate agents, restaurants, you name it and this issue has been brought up not a single time ever.
We critique these cameras too hard sometimes I think.
You are absolutely correct. When I sent images to friends and colleagues who don’t even know about all this ISO and Dynamic range they never commented on noise. They were more fascinated with how the action was captured.
Great video that made me subscribe to your channel.
Thank you. Really appreciate the support
Thank you for that video and especially for the open words in the summary. Finally someone who understands and clearly communicates this being the first camera of that type and future developments from all manufacturers including Sony only getting better!
Thank you Ralf. Really appreciate the kind words.
For shooters who use 3rd party glass, shooting rate is limited to 15fps. I'm not sure about Sony non-G glass, but until now all the reviews of the camera that I've seen where Sony provided an A9III for review also came with G or G2 glass.
Yes as mentioned there are limitations with third party lenses unfortunately
Hey Bobby, when looking at the photos, I stopped the video to check them out and B & C cameras did well in the ISO test. Finding out after that they were Leica SL2 and Nikon Zf, didn't surprise me. I've recently been trying out DxO Photo Lab 7 and trying the different camera profiles on the Z8 RAW files, I like the look of Leica and Hasselblad profiles, more contrasty colors while cutting back on the highlights. The Panasonic and Sony had more noise at the higher ISO, which can be cleaned up but, one would have hoped for better performance straight out of camera. That being said, the Z8 has noise at that level as well, most people don't shoot at that level a lot. This makes me think more about getting a Zf. Thanks for the video.
Hi Wayne! No problem thanks for checking out the rest more in depth. Yes the Zf held up well. The a9III does a decent job for being a global shutter sensor. Some are overly critical on it for clicks I feel because in day to day usage it’s more than adequate.
good stuff thx
Thanks for watching
Agreed, Bobby. I use Nikon but Sony has done a great job with this camera. Thx
Indeed. Thanks for watching.
Loving your videos man! This one was definitely a good one! Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Hey the Pagani Utopia! I saw you the other day along the hotel lobby, wanted to say hi -- Was chasing after the other Pagani that was leaving outside though!
Hi! No prob!
An interesting and balanced review with a fine conclusion, Matt. It's good to hear how many different improvements Sony has lavished upon this camera, I wasn't aware of that. However, and here it comes, the first sample pictures of the Sony A9 III I saw were dpreview's, and I found especially their sports files with higher (but not super high) ISOs in difficult indoor lighting to be looking very flat with disappointingly poor colours and skin tones and quite a bit of grain and visible smear, showing what seemed to be a very noticeably poor dynamic range and perhaps also lack of resolution. Your files in good outdoor light with perhaps also better exposure (!) look better than those, however. But if this presumed sports camera cannot produce images of stunning quality especially in difficult indoor lighting, but just insane speed, I think that other current cameras like the Nikon Z9 and Z8 may remain a better choice at this point as they are fast enough to freeze any action with many more pixels to crop and noticeably better IQ in all situations. However, I'm sure that this new technology will improve as all technology does. Nikon itself actually points into this direction with its very recent acquisition of RED, now owning the rights to RED's cinematic global shutter - with its supposedly good (but again not class leading) DR and IQ.
Hi Andrea thanks for the comment. I think you confused me with Matt Granger but it’s okay :)
Showing images on pre-production cameras is always tricky. This is why some companies won’t allow it or only show JPEG as some things may not be final.
I can’t comment on the process or the quality of DP Review’s photos as I haven’t seen them but from my own experience, when exposed correctly the files are similar to other 24MP images.
If image quality is the most important for your work or needs there are better cameras for that. For speed this is the best thus far.
The C camera was noticeably cleaner at higher ISO, I think that was the Zf. Basically, this camera is best for sports/action, which makes sense. For other uses, you could make a better choice.
True. It’s designed for speed and good overall image quality. If someone wants the best image quality possible there are other options
I used the a9iii at a high school basketball game and the 120fps was 🤯 I had to switch to 30fps after the first quarter due to storage constraints. I had no issues with buffer with my cf express a card. For my use case the camera is overkill, but it has all the features I wanted and I can eliminate bringing multiple camera bodies while traveling.
The camera for many won’t be maximised all the time but the power is there if and when one needs it.
Cracking overview, thank you 👍
Thanks for watching. Much appreciated
Hi Bobby great video appreciate your insight on the Sony a9iii I have a Canon r5 love it but have not used Sony so I’m thinking of getting the a7r V or a9iii I like to shoot landscape,wildlife,race cars 🏎️ street photography and of course Family photos and thoughts on which one to get ? 😊
Thanks for watching. I would say if most of your work is slower pace go with the a7RV. The a9III is really about speed.
Great review! This super expensive ultra fast sports camera isn't for me but...I can't wait to see what features they can trickle down to their midrange models. When they make an α7 mark V with this body design and whatever other improvements from the α7IV I think that will be the Sony camera I invest in.
Thanks! Yes will be great to see the tech come to other models and how it will improve.
I don’t understand the noise/DR complaints. #nobadcameras these days, is my mantra. Beautiful photography was captured back in the 2000’s with the earliest of DSLR’s and it was fine.
Yes agree 💯
Then why complain if a camera has 5 or 10fps burst. Back then photographers have captured incredible images with single shot without continuous autofocus.
@@avinashrai11141You’re getting a lot more keepers, which is understandably important for professional photographers these days whose livelihoods have become increasingly competitive. It’s in my opinion a separate topic to image quality.
Thanks. Ordering the A9 III this weekend. Just wondering if the L-Plates for my A1 will also fit the A9 III. Do they?
Hard to say. The grip is larger than the A1 and that increases the side of the camera. It could fit in some way but not exactly.
11:00 The A9III cooks it's RAWs, which means you can't actually "turn all the noise reduction off". The Canon R3 does the same.
Every camera will do their own “cooking”. Doesn’t bother me if the image looks good
@@btonelli Wrong again. Some cameras actually provide RAW video and RAW stills, such as the new Nikon Z6III.
Of course exposing right makes good pictures but the wonderful thing with great dynamic range is that the picture does not break down if conditions are NOT perfect like it happens often in real life. I think a9 s apsc camera range still is good enough but the missing dual iso hurts.
True, but the dynamic range is still decent. Not like there isn’t any.
For what this camera is designed for I’d rather have the speed and 0 rolling shutter vs a stop or two of dynamic range
@@btonelli ja if you shoot fast sports its perfect. Picture quality is not a top priority for this. Its a small niche tough no rolling shutter would be great for film makers but we want the highest possible dynamic range as well.
Thank you for your review. It is silly to be a single branded loyal consumer (Sony body MUST use Sony lenses & memory cards) to miss out what other manufactures has to offer. With A1 still the most expansive and highest Sony Alpha model without the A1 II insight, it would be interesting to see what features the new firmware would include to keep this model holding the title of "The One" with it's current price and how close it may be to the A9 III (yes, it will not have the feature of a global shutter.... it's a given!)
Thanks for checking out the video. I think it may have a global shutter at higher megapixels. If not then it’s a faster A7RV which I think Sony being in the position they are in can really push global shutter to the masses
💯
Thanks 🙏
Bobby, thanks for your open and realistic review of the A9III. I own an A9 for 6 Years, an A1 for 3 Years and now the A9III. I photograph sports, fast action and concerts. I have no issues with noise and DR. I am not a pixel peeper. I shot pictures that transport emotions. When it comes to flash photography, this camera will revolutionise flash photography. I have tested the camera with Elinchrom, Broncolor Satos and SONY HVL-60RM2. The performance of HVL-60RM2 together with the A9III, compared with very high end flashes, is simply amazing. You can shoot up to 120 Pic/sec , 1/16000, F/1.4 and ISO 250. You feel, you are in a Disco. The repetition rate of the flash is so fast. And all the pictures are tack sharp, without a single miss.
Thank you for the kind words especially from a Pro like yourself that maximises the camera.
Damn the Nikon ZF handles 12,800 like a champ
Indeed. Great handling of noise
What sucks about the 1/16,000 limit (The A1 does 1/32,000) is that because the base ISO is 250 you can't use the 50mm 1.2 wide open in direct sunlight without an ND filter. That's pretty weak on a sports camera. You can't even use a 1.4 lens wide open in direct sun without an ND. 1.8 lenses are ok exposure-wise, but then you've got to stop them down to f2 to get 120fps. If you're planning on shooting video, you're going to have to have some strong ND filters as well because the base ISO for video is ISO2000. That much ND also negatively impacts the AF accuracy.
What 1/16000 limit? It goes up to 1/32000 and then 1/80,000 when stopped down to f2 and slower single shot mode.
@@btonelli In continuous shooting mode the camera is capped at 1/16,000 not 1/32,000. If you are shooting in midday at f/1.2-1.6 you can't get a correctly exposed image because the base ISO is 250. In short, you can't use f/1.2 and 1.4 GM lenses wide open with any of the continuous modes in full sun with the a9iii without an ND filter. At f/1.8 it will go above 1/16,000 in single shot (not f2 as I mentioned)
Updates are out there for the lens
Yep. I updated all the test lenses prior to reviewing the camera
PCIe 4.0 will be implemented on future CFExpress Type A so expect them to hit 1900MB/s. Type B will be around 3800MB/s though. I think they delayed the A1 II for this matter. Also Lexar CFExpress Type A, VPG400 rated, are dirt-cheap on AliExpress via their official store and also other stores there. The lower VPG200 rated one, like the card you showed, from Lexar is even cheaper to the point SDXC V90 makes no sense.
Exascend is selling the faster cards now actually
@@btonelli It's VPG200 rated though, but for Sony owners we shouldn't mind any CEFA cards from most of them because the highest video mode is 4K@120fps in S&Q that goes to 1200Mbps before being compressed to 100Mbps or so, meaning maxing out at 150MB/s.
It only matters in photo burst as they seem to react differently so better watch head-to-head comparisons as Nextorage claimed to be the fastest just like Exascend but performed poorly even compared to Pergear. Warm regards.
@@Bo_Hazem on Exascend’s site they also have a VPG400 card. Max Read 1800 MB/s and Max Write 1650 MB/s
@@btonelli OK now I understood! They have the new PCIe 4.0 version! Great for future proofing, but not practical for current Sony cameras that are still using PCIe 3.0 lanes but it's fairly priced. Most likely the A1 II would have PCIe 4.0 and that's why it's delayed to late 2024-2025 I think.
It's really insane how they missed the mark with A9III unless it has PCIe 4.0 lanes and only waiting for a firmware update, which I'm not sure about.
When compare it to canon, ppl complaining about canon DR but when sony comes up with a camera that dont have great DR, ppl will say if you expose correctly, how many DR do u need actually hahaha society these days
I’m not one to complain about Canon’s dynamic range but I know some do.
yeah a lot of sony users do...dunno why they are complaining when the camera they use is a sony sigh@@btonelli
I have actually seen many that complain about Canon but justify when Sony does it worst. Seriously society these days.
Your fanboy comment is perfect. No camera does everything. This camera does some stuff better than anything else...but it can't do everything better. So? What happens is people leave kind of silly comments about why they need a different camera more than this one. Yeah...okay...but why would I care? This is an action camera, not a landscape camera. Fine. If you want a landscape camera, why are you commenting here? If you want an action camera, but you have valid comments about this camera, spill them. But don't complain about this camera not being everything for everyone...or for you.
Well said 👍🙏. Thanks for watching.
Lot of truth at the end sir. I don't look at a photo and immediately go to the EXIF data for what camera it was shot with. I want to get better with my gear, so I am more interested in composition and technique. All gear today is capable in the right hands.
Indeed. Thank you
Ground breaking camera now your gonna need a ground breaking storage solution 5TB cards if your going to shoot 120 fps consistently
Haha yes we need some bigger cards but luckily it’s only 24MP images so a lot fits on a 1TB card
I’m wondering how nikon zf is so clean compared to others. At 12800 camera C has barely any noise particularly colour noise.
It’s very good for ISO performance. You sacrifice speed but have good IQ
kinda upset on banding at iso 12800 in camera A at 11:23 ;c
Yes a bit shocking. I like the Lumix too!
10:40 That says it all.
In what way
I'm think card speed limitations are likely capped to avoid overrunning the thermal envelope.
If they made it faster and risked overheating, the fan-boys would suddenly have an overheating issue as well as insufficient battery life to multi-focus on.
If they reworked the thermal envelope, the battery could also be enlarged, and the camera would be bulkier, heavier and more medium frame (or larger)in size. Queue fan-boys...
A9iii is a set of compromises that try to give a specific shooter what they might value most, rather than solve the entire wish list for everyone at the expense being excellent at nothing.
Perhaps or they didn’t implement the PCIe 4.0 card yet
@@btonelli certainly not. But the PCIe interconnect may not be the source of the power inefficiencies of this particular memory subsystem. I personally don't know.
People with 9 single focus points on the Camera: GOD? is that you? :)))
Hahaha
Cf tA + Cf tB 👍
Yes having both would be good but also just type B for redundancy and speed
at this point, why not just shoot video? i'd love one of these reviews to talk about difference between learning to get the shot in on shot vs spray and pray.
Photo and video is getting more blurred with this type of technology. I talked about learning but with a Nikon lens review
@@btonelli i'll check it out! ty
great 💪
Nikon ZF is killing it with the ISO performance
Yes does a good job
so if this camera is so fast, can you check if i can shoot PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY in harsh sunlight using bracketing?? i know i will have 5 or 9 images for every position, i dont care but i will never have sky blown out...I repeat, shooting portraits outside in bracketing mode all the time@@btonelli
As much as Sony cameras are amazing one thing I absolutely hate about them which is the lack of “Updates”. They are good at innovating but not good at updating, terrible. And it’s been like this forever.
I hope this changes.
They just dropped a bunch of decent updates in response to these complaints for a few cameras, so we'll see if this is a one time deal or if they're changing.
@@MaddJakd saw that. Hope it changes going forward
Yeah you are right.
Your images/footage can be repeated with non-GS cameras. Hence calling the A9III a game changer is hyperbole. What the A9III does is improve your chances of getting a better shot with little to no additional effort. That's game improving, not game changing. And because you lose half (or more) the pixels compared to the a1 or the A7rV, it's actually a trade off. Game changing is when we went from film to digital or manual focus to autofocus. Those really changed the way we did photography.
Having a global shutter in a camera like this is a defining moment for photography. We only saw this before with a cinema camera.
Being able to capture subjects at any speed, video at any frame rate without warping or rolling shutter is something we haven’t seen before.
@@btonelli Oh yes we have and it's called the Contax N, which used a full frame CCD global shutter (although it wasn't called that at the time) and it was announced in 2000! There are several GS cameras, including ones faster than the A9III (e.g., 1M FPS), just not in a form factor of a consumer camera. Lay off of the Sony marketing gaga and hyperbole, do your research and firmly establish yourself as a credible reviewer.
@@sandb1867 so again let’s go back to what this is about. You are highlighting cameras that aren’t consumer. I never said this is the first global shutter camera, but it is for this form factor and for photography in this way.
The Contax N was not considered a global shutter camera. Sorry you can say the technology may be this or that, but if it was it would have been talked about.
This isn’t a Sony is the best etc it’s just stating this is the first of its kind for a camera like this.
@@btonelli Uh, the Contax N was a global shutter camera, in a consumer style camera body. It did exactly what you'd expect from a global shutter: capture light from all photo sites simultaneously. Absolutely no rolling shutter effect. It had no need to call itself GS because it wasn't considered a problem back then. If you don't understand technology, don't bother doing reviews! LOL!
The only reference to the Contax N being “global shutter” is the FujiXweekly article with no notation of official sources. Outside of that I don’t find any info on the web to support your “global shutter” statement. If you have please share.
I still stand by that this camera does things no other consumer camera does due to the global shutter. Were there others before yes. Is this the first no, but no camera does what this does for photos and video in one system.
I can clearly see C is cleaner at 12800 than D at 4000. If that much difference isnt enough then go for Sony a9iii.
It’s such a minor difference. The a9III holds its own well
My man brought up the Sony memory stick….lol. I HATED that damn thing!!!!!
Hahahaha
Yeees, good camera, but Nikon ZF at 12800 looks better than z9 at 4000, so much color noise....okey, it' hard....
Yes it does hold up well
The exascend card isn’t as good as the Sony. You’ve misunderstood the certifications on the card, if it was better than Sonys then it would have a VPG400 rating rather than a VPG200 rating, even in your screenshot is shows a min write speed of 200, that is slower than Sony. When the Compactflash association grade it a VPG200 thats what you pay attention to, not what a company says. Stick to Sony, Lexar, Prograde and Angelbird. They all have the VPG400 rating. Sustained write speed is the most important factor for the a9iii and clearing the buffer.
Actually Sony’s higher capacity is VPG 200 based on my findings not 400. The lower storage cards are rated at 400. When Sony uses Gen4 cards then we will se a significant increase
@@btonelli I’m on about the VPG400 cards… based on my comment why would I be on about the VPG200 cards when I’m specifically on about VPG400? So you’d rather use a card thats too slow for the sake of swapping out and claim the cards you use are faster when they aren’t just because the company printed some numbers on the card. Cool.
Sonys are minimum 400mb/s but actually sit around 600 based on testing the exascend is advertised at 200 on their website so let’s take them at their word based on the VPG rating the Sony is minimum 2 times faster but more like 3 times faster. The amount of shots you risk losing by not being able to clear a buffer outweighs the amount of shots you risk losing by changing cards twice. Also multiple cards gives you better odds of not having a full day of shooting lost.
@@stuartmartin093 actually I did a test on a future video and the Sony and Exascends speeds are roughly the same.
@@btonelli they aren’t though, your testing is flawed otherwise they’d have a VPG400 rating. The best cards are the Lexar and Angelbird but Angelbird discontinued theirs (likely getting ready for a gen 4 card).
@@stuartmartin093 no camera from Sony from what I’ve been told handles gen 4 yet. Perhaps the A1 mark II will or whatever camera they come up with but right now not even the A9III can support the speeds.
As for my testing, I have Sony CF Express type A and Exascend type A. Both are about the same in terms of read and write speeds. Now, one thing to consider is, every test will have different results, drive, cable used, software OS etc. there is no real defacto way to test cards exactly from a consumer level that I have seen so that also must be taken into consideration
Damn Bobby I was just giving an example you didn’t have to delete my comment. I was totally with you on the video but anyways I guess you’re subjective to specific comments really sad. I was a big fan of your work anyways have a blessed one.
Sorry what are you talking about. I haven’t deleted any comments
The truth is that what might be considered acceptable is solely dependent on what a given person is regularly shooting. So there is no Hard Truth for everyone. Also, out camera IQ really hasn't improved much over the last few years. In fact, many would say for stacked sensors IQ, there has been a visible decline. So sticking solely with IQ, it's a super disappointment for a $6000 camera. So it's not really about the a9iii IQ and DR. It's really about everything else.
True but also the a9III produces more than acceptable results for those that need speed. If one just cares about image quality, there is always medium format.
I disagree it’s a disappointment for a 6K camera especially with these versatility and features it brings
@@btonelli Only each person will decide what is or isn't acceptable. Also, by far the majority agree that out of Camera IQ is subpar. The $6000 price tag is for everything else, not the out of camera IQ. If one cares about IQ there is the Sony a7rV, so no Medium Format isn't needed. Especially considering MF limits elsewhere.
@@natureredux1957 Isnt youtube community responsible for killing dslrs? They were so vocal about speed of mirrorless vs dslr that created a trend almost killing dslr. As of now no camera can compete with nikon d5/d6 when it comes to low light yet youtubers except Boby completely trashed that camera. For me and what I use camera for 120fps shooting has zero use but a better high iso performance can make a difference. I shoot mostly with d500 with incredible low light performance and since then nothing can beat it except single digit nikon pro body dslrs like d5/d6. I will only buy a camera which will surpass Low light performance of my current one. Capturing wildlife in night with almost always above ISO-12800, with maximum 5-10 shot burst. Give me slowest sensor readout camera with no video feature if that camera has 2 or three stops better ISO performance and take my money.
Don't try this in a EV 😂😂 A Duracell AA would pass out !! @ -58 Degrees
Wow! Actually there is nothing bad on this camera but this is very common when you want to promote a product. Fairy tales as always!!!!
Thanks for nothing!
Well I get nothing from promoting something that isn’t good to begin with.
Perhaps I see this camera for what it’s designed to be instead of trying to make it something it’s not designed to be. When you look at it through those lenses it’s a very good camera
So sony is expecting ppl to buy this just to make lousy DR and ISO image!? How naive
tell me you didnt watch it without telling me you didnt watch it.... I swear the ignorance with your statement is ridiculous
Thanks. Some just write without seeing the content
oh hi mr know everything, actually i did watch till the end...cheers@@yusei151
DR is a function of noise too. Turn on NR and you get more DR. The a9 iii applies less NR than other cameras. I prefer it at lower ISOs. You should look up cineds review of this camera and then check the one done for the iPhone 15. The iPhone has “more” DR than the a9 iii.