Episode 376: Sony Delivers a Sucker Punch!

Show Transcript

Greetings, you’re listening to the Liam Photography Podcast, I’m your host Liam Douglas and this is Episode 376 for Thursday Nov 9th, 2023.

Well, we are quickly getting into the end of the year, Thanksgiving is coming up fast and it won’t be long after that and Christmas and New Year’s will be upon us. Yesterday was my 53rd birthday and man am I feeling it, my back has been stiff every morning lately thanks to that lovely car accident I was in back in 2015 when I lived in the Atlanta are and a guy in a construction truck thought it was a good idea to text and drive while driving at 70 in a 45.

So if you haven’t noticed already, I have expanded my Youtube channel to include Technology in addition to photography and videography related topics as I love technology and have always been a major Tech Nerd. Lately I have been using my latest piece of Tech, the VITURE One XR glasses and Neckband combo and I am really enjoying it very much. The neckband is a self contained Android based Media system that can tie into PlayStation Play and Xbox Play so you can remotely access and play your game consoles while on the road for those of you that are big gamers.

In addition, you can also stream your favorite apps on the Neckband as well such as Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, Peacock and others and it’s battery can stream for 3 hours on a single charge. The best part is with having the Neckband, you can connect the VITURE One glasses to the Neckband and have a truly portable self contained media experience you can take with you anywhere and not need to be connected to your phone or tablet.

But, let’s move on to the new item for this week, Sony just announced their A9 III camera and they have really released a sucker punch to the camera market with this latest generation on the A9 platform. The following are the key features for this new camera.

Key Features

24.6MP Full-Frame Global Shutter Sensor

Up to 120 fps Cont. Shooting with AF/AE

Pre-Capture Function; Speed Boost Button

Flash Sync at up to 1/80,000 Sec.

4K 120p 10-bit Video; S-Log3 & S-Cinetone

759-Point Phase-Detect AF with Tracking

8-Stop 5-Axis In-Body Image Stabilization

9.44m-Dot EVF with 240 fps Refresh Rate

3.2" 2.1m-Dot 4-Axis Touchscreen LCD

Dual CFexpress Type A/SD Card Slots

A New Dimension of Image Performance

Laying claim to the title of world's first global shutter mirrorless camera, the Sony a9 III is a speedy and incredibly capable system for sports, wildlife, photojournalism, and much, much more. This revolutionary sensor technology raises the bar for full-frame imaging, including the ability to shoot raw continuously at up to 120 fps and enjoy flash sync up to the maximum shutter speed of 1/80,000 second. Blending the functionality of this 24.6MP sensor with Sony's powerful BIONZ XR processor and AI Processing Unit results in a system that will provide unmatched performance for those looking for an incredibly responsive and reliable camera system.

Global Shutter—A First for Mirrorless

Sony has delivered the world's first full-frame global shutter mirrorless camera with the a9 III. The use of a global shutter provides a leap in performance over the rolling shutter technology used for decades. A global shutter provides a near instantaneous and simultaneous readout of all 24.6MP, eliminating skew and other artifacts that plagued rolling shutters. It also far surpasses mechanical shutter technology is every way, making the physical shutter unnecessary in the a9 III.

Global shutters help ensure consistent and uniform exposure across the entire frame in all lighting conditions. Flash sync is possible at any shutter speed-even the maximum of 1/80,000 second. The simultaneous readout also prevents banding from certain light sources, such as fluorescent lighting. In a gym, outside, or with mixed artificial lighting the a9 III will handle it with ease.

Pre-Capture & Speed Boost—Never Miss a Moment

Along with the key technology delivered by the sensor, the a9 III offers features new features to unlock the camera's full potential.

Pre-Capture: The a9 III can be configured to begin recording images to the buffer when the shutter button is half-pressed. Users can set this between 0.05-1.0 second. Upon pressing the shutter these images will be saved to the memory card.

Speed Boost: Not every shoot calls for the a9 III's impressive max speed of 120 fps. With Speed Boost and the C5 button, which is conveniently placed near the grip on the front of the camera, users can instantly switch their camera from their usual continuous shooting frame rate to a faster one to make sure their next shot is just right. Photographers will be able to select various frame rates up to 120 fps.

Pro-Quality 4K Video

While video benefits greatly from the use of global shutter technology-rolling shutter and banding artifacts are completely eliminated-the a9 III boasts plenty of other video improvements over its predecessor worth talking about.

The a9 III captures and downsamples the full 6K image area to produce high-quality UHD 4K video up to 60 fps. It can also record 4K up to 120 fps with no crop.

Record 10-bit 4:2:2 internally using All-I encoding for maximum quality.

Output 16-bit raw via the full-size HDMI port to a compatible external recorder.

S-Log3, S-Cinetone, and other Picture Profiles are available for optimizing the image for your workflow and production environment.

Refined Body Design

With a new generation of Alpha-series cameras comes some slight tweaks and modifications designed to make the operation of the system more ergonomic. The a9 III features a handful of updates:

Addition of C5 custom button to front of camera body.

Continuous shooting mode dial can now be disabled and shooting speed can be adjusted in the menu.

Enhanced grip and the shutter button has been slightly moved to provide a more ergonomic experience.

Dual CFexpress Type A/SD card slots provide versatility, allowing users to use existing media or pick up the faster CFexpress options to take full advantage of the a9 III's increased speed.

USB-C port now offers faster USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds of up to 10 Gb/s.

3.2" 2.1m-dot 4-axis multi-angle touchscreen LCD-first seen on the a7R V. This screen has a wide color gamut covering the DCI-P3 space.

9.44m-dot 0.90x OLED electronic viewfinder with maximum refresh rate of 240 fps. The a9 III benefits from maximum quality viewing at up to 120 fps.

Ethernet port for advanced networking and data transfer workflows.

The optional VG-C5EM Vertical Grip is designed to match the updated ergonomics of the a9 III, including the new C5 button.

Future Firmware Updates

The Sony a9 III is going to get better with time and there are some details on what to expect in future firmware updates:

The ability to shooting continuously at up to 120 fps when using the maximum shutter speed of 1/80,000 second.

Workflow enhancements for IPTC metadata and FTP functions.

Addition of C2PA technology from the Content Authenticity Initiative.

As you can see from these specs, this camera is extremely impressive as the Global shutter means the shutter reads all pixels at once, so waiting, no banding, no binning. No more weird jello effect when shooting video and panning and no issues when shooting stills and LED lighting is present. With the Global shutter you also have crazy shutter speeds up to 1/80,000 of a second, which means you can use any shutter speed with your flash units. Until now you could only use high shutter speeds with your flash units with a leaf shutter but even then there were limitations and now there are none.

So, now this begs the question, what are Canon and Nikon going to do in response to this new camera from Sony? I think Nikon is a bit behind the 8 ball on this since they just released the Z8 and they don’t have as deep pockets as Sony and Canon. As for Canon, I would not be surprised if they are already putting a Global Shutter into their upcoming R1 flagship body that is yet to be announced. Being that the R1 will be Canon’s sports body on steroids considering the R3 is already insanely capable, I would think that Canon most likely already had the Global Shutter on their agenda. I would also expect the R1 to have their new Quad Pixel AF system that they have been working on for a while now and is yet to be released.

I also don’t think like other have speculated that the R1 will have a massive high resolution sensor or 8K video. Canon has NEVER used a high resolution sensor in their flagship sports body, preferring instead to stick to 20+ megapixels so that they have superb low light performance. You notice that Sony went with 24.6MP and I believe that Canon will do the same with the R1. Remember, I have said over and over that Canon is saving their Monster sensor for the Mirrorless replacement for their 5D/s and 5D/sR bodies which they have already announced will be coming in the near future.

Hopefully, Canon will also get with the program and also equip the R1 with matching memory cards such as dual CFExpress for maximum performance when shooting the high level sports such as NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA or the Olympics.

With the announcement and release of the A9 III Sony has certainly thrown down the gauntlet and I am sure Canon will answer back soon with their R1 body announcement and we’ll see what that body has to offer. It will certainly make things interesting and cause some struggles for Nikon going forward. For my camera company, Fujifilm, this doesn’t mean anything really. Fujifilm has a nice niche with APS-C and Medium Format and yet a Global Shutter would be awesome in X or GFX bodies, and I am sure Fujifilm will get there eventually. Now let’s look at a couple of news stories from our friends at PetaPixel.

https://petapixel.com/2023/11/06/the-phase-one-p5-is-a-128-megapixel-camera-built-for-drones/

https://petapixel.com/2023/11/06/final-cut-pro-is-getting-faster-on-mac-better-workflows-on-ipad-and-new-features-on-both/

Remember I now have my own discount code for all Platypod branded products at http://www.platypod.com using my code LD20 you can save 20% off on ALL individual Platypod branded products EXCLUDING Bundles, which are already discounted and Square Jellyfish or Lume Cube branded items.

I also now have my own affiliate link for Think Tank Photo, use the link to guy any of their gear, get a free gift and free shipping!!!

https://www.thinktankphoto.com/?rfsn=7232819.5f5392&utm_source=refersion&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=7232819.5f5392

Also be sure to join the Liam Photography Podcast Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/liamphotographypodcast/ You can reach the show by call or text @ 470-294-8191 to leave a comment or request a topic or guest for the show. Additionally you can email the show @ liam@liamphotographypodcast.com and find the show notes at http://www.liamphotographypodcast.com.

You can find my work @ https://www.liamphotography.net and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @liamphotoatl. If you like abandoned buildings and history, you can find my project @ http://www.forgottenpiecesofgeorgia.com. and http://www.forgottenpiecesofpennsylvania.com.

Please also stop by my Youtube channels Liam Photography

Forgotten Pieces of Georgia Project

Forgotten Pieces of Pennsylvania Project