Sony Alpha a7 III Kit Full-frame 24.2-megapixel mirrorless camera with built-in Wi-Fi® and 28-70mm zoom lens

Recording Features

Overview: The Sony α7 III (ILCE-7M3K) alpha series camera kit contains the α7 III camera body, and the FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS zoom lens (SEL2870),  along with a rechargeable battery, neck strap, and USB cable. The α7 III has a full-frame 35mm image sensor, and is compatible with Sony E-mount lenses. With the LA-EA4 Mount Adapter, the camera can also use Sony A-mount lenses.

3" Tiltable LCD Screen: The α7 III uses a 3" LCD screen with 921,600 dots. You can tilt the LCD up approximately 107° for low angle shots or approximately 41° for high angle photography. The Sunny Weather brightness setting utilizes WhiteMagic technology to dramatically increase the display's visibility in bright daylight. The brightness of the LCD monitor can also be adjusted in 5 steps from -2 to +2.

0.5" OLED Electronic Viewfinder: The 0.5" "Tru-Finder" XGA OLED electronic color viewfinder has 2,359,296 dots, and provides approximately 100% field of view. You can manually adjust the brightness in 5 steps, or automatically. The built-in diopter lets you adjust the viewfinder image to your individual eyesight. You can set the camera to switch between the LCD screen and viewfinder automatically when you look into the EVF, or choose one or the other in the camera's menu.

Display Options: You can choose how much information appears in the viewfinder and LCD monitor. There are five options each for the LCD screen and Viewfinder: Graphic Display, Display All Info, No Display Info, Level, and Histogram. There's also a "For Viewfinder" display option which shows multiple camera settings at once on the LCD screen that you can use when shooting with the viewfinder.

Live View: The α7 III's Live View lets you use the LCD screen and Electronic Viewfinder to frame your photos as you shoot. When the Live View display is set to "Setting Effect On", the LCD or viewfinder will provide an accurate preview of your photo, including the white balance, exposure compensation, creative style or picture effect. With the "Setting Effect Off", you can check the image composition without the effects of the exposure settings.

SteadyShot Inside: The α7 III is equipped with SteadyShot Inside, a 5-axis in-body image stabilization system. SteadyShot Inside reduces image blur caused by camera shake from five different directions: vertical, horizontal, pitch, yaw, and roll. This system provides excellent stabilization for both still images and movies. Previous systems had only vertical and horizontal image stabilization. The included lens (FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS) already has Optical SteadyShot. Other E-mount lenses without OSS, as well as A-mount lenses with an LA-EA adapter can utilize the 5-axis image stabilization for both still images and video.

Image Sensor: The α7 III features a full-frame 35mm Exmor R CMOS image sensor (35.6 x 23.8mm). It has a 3:2 aspect ratio, with approximately 25.3-million total pixels and 24.2-million effective pixels.

Still Image Recording Formats: The α7 III can shoot 35mm full-size image sensor photos, up to 24 megapixels. The camera has an APS-C Size Capture feature that can be turned on or off, allowing you to take photos equivalent to those taken with an APS-C size image sensor. Still images are recorded in JPEG file format in Standard, Fine, and Extra Fine compression rates. You can choose to shoot in 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratio, and in large, medium, and small image sizes. You can also record still images using the RAW format, which is uncompressed with no processing performed in the camera. RAW images must be transferred to a computer for processing, editing, and printing using the downloadable Image Data Converter software. You can select the following image sizes:

Movie Recording Formats: The α7 III can record 4K and Full HD movies in XAVC S (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with 2-channel LPCM audio), and AVCHD Ver. 2.0 format (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 with Dolby Digital 2ch audio). You can choose from the following file formats and bit rates:

Dual Media Types/Dual Slots: The α7 III camera features two memory card slots, and can accept two types of media for capturing still images. Slot 1 is compatible with UHS-I and UHS-II compliant SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, while Slot 2 will accept Memory Stick Duo or SD memory cards (UHS-I compliant only). You can choose from the following recording media settings:

• Standard: Records still images and movies to the memory card in the slot designated as Priority.
• Simultaneous (Still): Records still images to both memory cards, and movies to the memory card in the slot designated as Priority.
• Simultaneous (Movie): Records movies to both memory cards, and still images to the memory card in the slot designated as Priority.
• Simultaneous (Still/Movie): Records still images and movies to both memory cards.
• Sort (RAW/JPEG): Records RAW images to the memory card in the slot selected as Priority, and records JPEG images to the card in the other slot. Movies are recorded to the card in the Priority slot.
• Sort (JPEG/RAW): Records JPEG images to the memory card in the slot selected as Priority, and records RAW images to the card in the other slot. Movies are recorded to the card in the Priority slot.
• Sort (Still/Movie): Records a still image to the memory card in the slot selected as Priority, and records movies to the card in the other slot.

Clear Image Zoom: Clear Image Zoom, powered by Sony's By Pixel Super Resolution Technology, increases the effective focal length of the lens by up to 2x by digitally magnifying the center of the image. Combined with the camera's Digital Zoom and Smart Zoom, you can increase magnification up to 8x over the lens' maximum focal length.

Focus Modes: The α7 III's 4D Focus auto focus system utilizes 693 phase-detection AF points, covering approximately 93% of the image area, plus 425 densely positioned contrast-detection AF points to improve focus. When paired with an LA-EA3 mount adapter, the α7 III can even take advantage of phase-detection focusing with A-mount lenses. You can choose from the following Auto/Manual Focus Modes:

• AF-S (Single-shot Auto focus): The camera focuses and the focus is locked when you press the shutter button halfway down. Recommended for use with motionless subjects.
• AF-A (Automatic AF): The camera selects Single-shot AF or Continuous AF according to the movement of the subject. If subject is motionless, the focus locks. If the subject is in motion, the camera continues to focus.
• AF-C (Continuous Auto focus): The camera continues to focus when you press and hold the shutter button halfway down. Recommended for use when the subject is in motion.
• DMF (Direct Manual Focusing): After focusing automatically, you can make fine focusing adjustments manually.
• Manual Focus: When it is difficult to get the proper focus in auto focus mode, you can adjust the focus manually. This mode allows you to set the distance of a subject by rotating the focusing ring on the lens to achieve a sharp focus.

Eye AF: When Eye AF is turned on, the camera can quickly detect the subject's eyes for accurate focusing and tracking. The Eye AF is effective even if the face is partially hidden, when looking down, when backlit, or wearing glasses.

AF (Auto focus) Area: You can select between 4 settings:

• Wide: The camera focuses automatically on a subject in all ranges of the image.
• Zone: You can select a zone on the monitor on which to focus.
• Center: The camera uses the AF area located in the center area exclusively.
• Flexible Spot: You can change the size of and move the focusing area in order to focus on a small subject or narrow area.
• Expand Flexible Spot: If the camera cannot focus on a single selected point, it uses focus points around the flexible spot as a secondary priority area for focusing.
• Lock-on AF: When the shutter button is pressed halfway, the camera tracks the subject within the selected autofocus area.

Eye AF: The new Eye AF function can be assigned to a customizable button. When Eye AF is selected, the camera focuses on a person's eyes for extremely sharp focusing of the face.

Face Detection/Smile Shutter: The camera can detect human faces, and adjusts the focus, exposure, performs image processing and adjusts flash settings for best results. Faces can be registered, and priority given to those faces over others in the frame.

Focus Lock: If a subject is off-center and outside of the AF area, you can lock the focus of the camera.

AF Illuminator: When you press the shutter button halfway down a red illuminator is emitted until the focus is locked. Under dark lighting conditions or when you shoot a low contrast subject, the AF illuminator allows the camera to focus more easily on the subject.

Drive Modes: The camera offers the following shooting modes:

• Single Shooting: Default setting for standard picture taking.
• Continuous Shooting: You can take photos continuously while the shutter button is held down. You can choose from Hi+ (10 fps), Hi (8 fps), Mid (6 fps), or Lo (3 fps). The maximum number of recordable frames depends upon the image size and compression.
• Self-Timer: You can set the camera to take a photo after a designated number of seconds (2 sec, 5 sec, or 10 sec). Self-timer (Cont.) lets you take 3 or 5 images after the selected delay time.
• Bracket Shooting: The camera is capable of shooting multiple images, each with a different setting. You can choose from the following Bracket options:
  • Continuous Bracket: Shoot 3 or 5 images, each with different degrees of exposure. The images are taken as you press and hold the shutter button.
  • Single Bracket: Same as Continuous Bracket above, except that the shutter button is pressed for each image.
  • WB Bracket: The camera records three images, each with different color tones, according to the selected settings of white balance, color temperature, and color filter.
  • DRO Bracket: The camera records three images, each with different degree of D-Range Optimizer.

Shooting Modes: The top-mounted Mode Dial lets you select from the following shooting modes:

• Auto: This mode allows easy shooting with settings adjusted automatically. The Scene Recognition function optimizes the settings for specific scenes: Portrait, Infant, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Backlight Portrait, Backlight, Landscape, Macro, Spotlight, Low Light, and Night Scene (with tripod).
• Program Auto: For shooting with the exposure adjusted automatically (both the shutter speed and the aperture value), while allowing you to adjust other settings manually.
• Aperture Priority: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the aperture value manually, letting the camera set the appropriate shutter speed. This mode gives you greater control over the depth of field.
• Shutter Priority: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the shutter speed manually, letting the camera set the appropriate aperture. With a high shutter speed, the moving subject appears as if it is frozen on the image. With a slow shutter speed, the moving subject appears as if it were flowing.
• Manual Exposure: This mode allows you to shoot after adjusting the exposure (shutter speed and aperture) manually.
• Memory Recall (1, 2): You can register often-used camera settings (including Shooting Mode, Aperture, Shutter speed) in one of two memory positions on the Mode Dial for easy recall.
• Movies: You can record movies in Full HD or standard definition in 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio. When selected on the Mode Dial, you can select the desired movie settings, including Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure.
• S&Q Motion: An exposure mode for slow-motion or quick-motion shooting. Additional settings include Program Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Exposure.
• Scene Selection: You can select an appropriate mode for the subject or the shooting conditions to allow you to shoot the image with a suitable setting for the subject: Portrait, Sports Action, Macro, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, and Night Portrait.

Picture Effect: In Intelligent Auto mode, you can select Picture Effect to get one the following effect filters to achieve more impressive and artistic expression: Toy Camera, Pop Color, Posterization, Retro Photo, Soft High-key, Partial Color, High-contrast Mono, and Rich-tone Mono.

Creative Style: The Creative Style function lets you select the desired image processing. You can adjust exposure (shutter speed and aperture) as you like with Creative Style. You can choose from: Standard, Vivid, Neutral, Clear, Deep, Light, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Night Scene, Autumn Leaves, Black & White, or Sepia. You can also adjust Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness.

Exposure Compensation: Exposure compensation is used to alter the camera's standard exposure setting. You can make the image look lighter (increased exposure) or darker (decreased exposure) The exposure compensation amount can be set up to +/-3.0 EV in 1/3-step increments by turning the dial on the top of the camera or +/-5.0 EV in 1/3-step or 1/2-step increments in the menu. When shooting movies, the exposure can be adjusted in a range of +/-2.0 EV.

AE Lock: You can fix the exposure before deciding on the composition when taking a picture. This is effective when the metering object and focusing object are different or when you want to shoot continuously while keep the same exposure value.

Metering Mode: A 1200-zone evaluative sensing system provides multi-pattern measuring for superior exposure control accuracy in a wide range of lighting conditions. You can select the method for measuring the brightness of a subject from the following methods:

• Multi: This method uses the whole screen divided into 1200 zones to measure light.
• Center: While emphasizing the central area of the screen, this method measure the average brightness of the entire screen.
• Spot: This method measure light only in the spot metering circle in the center of the frame.
• Entire Screen Average: Measures the average brightness of the entire screen, giving you a stable exposure, even if the composition or position of the subject changes.
• Highlight: Measures the brightness while emphasizing the highlighted area on the screen.

White Balance: You can adjust the color tones according to the lighting conditions. You can choose from the following WB options: Auto WB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (Warm White), Fluorescent (Cool White), Fluorescent (Day White), Fluorescent (Daylight), Flash, Underwater Auto, Color Temperature, Color Filter, and Custom (1/2/3).

Color Temperature/Color Filter: You can adjust the white balance further by selecting Color Temperature or Color Filter in the Custom White Balance option. With Color Temperature, the higher the number, the more reddish the image, and the lower the number, the more bluish the image. Color Filter achieves the effect of Color Compensation filters for photography. Based on the set color temperature as the standard, the color can be compensated to Green (G) or Magenta (M).

ISO Settings: ISO is a unit of measurement of sensitivity to light. The larger the number, the higher the sensitivity. The camera's ISO can be set manually or automatically, between 100 and 51200, depending upon the exposure mode. When the Expanded ISO range is turned on, sensitivity can be set as low as ISO 50, or as high as ISO 204,800.

Multi-Interface Shoe: The α7 III does not have a built-in flash, but is equipped with the Multi-Interface Shoe, allowing you to use an external flash, such as the HVL-F20M, HVL-F45R, or HVL-F60RM.

Flash Features: When an optional external flash is attached, the camera offers several Flash Modes: Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync, and Rear Sync. The Red Eye Reduction feature, available with each flash mode, fires the flash two or more times before shooting to reduce the red-eye phenomenon. You can adjust the amount of flash light in a range of -3.0 EV to +3.0 EV with the Flash Compensation feature.

Connections: The camera has the following connections:

• USB Type-C: The USB Type-C terminal is compatible with SuperSpeed USB 3.1 (Gen 1). This high-speed connection makes the transfer of large image files smooth and effortless, especially during PC-tethered shooting. You can also charge the battery when the camera is connected via the USB Type-C port. A USB 3.1 Gen 1 compatible computer and cable are required.
• Multi/Micro USB: For those who do not have a USB 3.1-compatible computer, a high-speed Micro-B USB 2.0 port (labeled Multi/Micro USB) can be used to transfer images and charge the battery inside the camera. (The battery charging time is the same, regardless of the USB terminal you use.)
• Microphone Input: A 3.5mm stereo microphone jack is provided for connecting an external microphone. If the external mic is a plug-in power type, the camera will supply the power to the microphone through the input. When a microphone is plugged in, the built-in microphones are turned off automatically.
• Headphone Output: A 3.5mm stereo headphone output is provided for connecting a pair of headphones or an external audio recorder.
• HDMI: A Type-D micro HDMI jack is provided for connecting the camera to a 4K or High Definition TV. You can set the HDMI output resolution to Auto, 2160p/1080p, 1080p, or 1080i. When the camera is connected to a Sony Bravia TV via HDMI, the TV's remote control can control some functions of the camera.

Streaming Webcam: Using Sony's Imaging Edge Webcam software, you can use the camera to live stream high quality video on many of the popular video conferencing software platforms, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. You can control the look of your content by choosing the lens focal length to control the depth-of-field. Your video stream will stand out with better quality images, even in difficult lighting. To stream from your camera, you will need to connect it to your computer via the included USB cable. The camera's microphone will not capture sound, so a separate microphone is required, plugged into the computer. Optional accessories include a tripod or other mount, and a constant light source. Imaging Edge Webcam software is compatible with is compatible with Windows 10 (64-bit only) and macOS Big Sur (Version 11), macOS Catalina (Version 10.15), macOS Mojave (Version 10.14), and macOS High Sierra (Version 10.13).

Wireless Functions

Wireless Overview: The Sony α7 III can perform numerous operations using the camera's Wi-Fi, NFC, One-touch, and Bluetooth functions. These functions include:

• Saving Images to a computer
• Transferring images from the camera to a smartphone
• Using a smartphone as a remote control for the camera
• Viewing still images on a TV
• Recording location information from a smartphone to images
• Transferring images to the FTP server

Wi-Fi/Bluetooth: The camera's Wi-Fi supports IEEE 802.11 b/g/n protocol on the 2.4 GHz band. It uses WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA2-PSK security. It also supports Bluetooth Ver.4.1 (2.4 GHz).

NFC (Near Field Communication): By touching an NFC-enabled Android smartphone or tablet to the "N" mark on the right side of the camera, the smartphone will be connected automatically via Wi-Fi, and the Imaging Edge Mobile app will be launched. The two devices must touch for approximately 1-2 seconds to make the connection. NFC One-touch Sharing allows you to directly send single images from the camera to the smartphone.

Imaging Edge Mobile: When the camera is paired to your smartphone, you can use the Imaging Edge Mobile app to transfer the images and videos captured on the camera to your smartphone. Those images and videos can then be easily shared with your family and friends on social media. You can also use your smartphone to control your camera remotely, including checking the camera's live view on the screen. This is convenient for shooting night views, long-exposure, and extreme closeups without directly touching the camera. In addition, location information acquired by your smartphone can be added to the images captured in your camera. This allows the location where the image/video was taken to be viewed on social media and map apps. Imaging Edge Mobile is available from the Apple App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch using iOS 12.4 or later, and for Android smartphone and tablets using version Android 6.0 and up.

Included Lens

Lens Overview: The ILCE-7M3K kit includes the FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS zoom lens (SEL2870).

Optical Steady Shot (OSS): When the SEL2870, or another "OSS" lens is mounted to the camera, you can activate the Optical SteadyShot image stabilizer in the menu. Optical SteadyShot compensates for camera shake without sacrificing image quality by internally shifting lens elements. OSS gives you more flexibility when shooting in low light situations, or when zooming in on distant objects.

Specifications:

• Lens Type: Sony E-mount Full Frame
• Focal Length: 28-70mm (35mm equivalent: 42-105mm)
• Filter Diameter: 55mm
• Angle of View: 54° - 23° (Full Frame); 75° - 34° (APS-C)
• Minimum Focus Distance: 11.88" (W) - 17.76" (T)
• Maximum Aperture: f/3.5 (W) -  f/5.6 (T)
• Minimum Aperture: f/22 (W) -  f/36 (T)
• Maximum Magnification: 0.19x
• Aperture: 7-blade circular
• Lens Construction: 9 elements in 8 groups, including 4 aspheric surfaces
• Dimensions: 2-7/8" (Diameter) x 3-3/8" (Length)
• Weight: 10.5 ounces

Play And Print Functions

Playback Screen: You can view your photos back as a single image on the LCD monitor, as an Index or as a Slide Show. During Image Index mode, you can view 9 (3 x 3) or 25 (5 x 5) images at once.

Auto Review: After an image is recorded, you can have the camera automatically display it on the LCD monitor for two, five or 10 seconds. You can also turn off auto review.

Image Rotation: Vertical shots can be rotated automatically so that they are displayed upright during playback. This can be done manually or automatically.

Slide Show: You can automatically play back still images continuously in a slide show. You can set the interval to 1, 3, 5, 10, or 30 seconds.

View Mode: There are five View Modes to choose from for playing back images and movies: Date View, Folder View (Still), AVCHD View, XAVC S HD View, and XAVC S 4K View.

D-Range Optimizer/Auto HDR: The camera allows you to correct the brightness and contrast of an image automatically, using the D-Range Optimizer (DRO) and Auto High Dynamic Range functions. The DRO optimizes the gradations of a recorded image in each area of the image; you select the optimal level from Lv1 (weak) and Lv5 (strong). When Auto HDR is selected, the camera shoots three images with different exposures, then overlays them to create one image with the correct exposure and an overlaid image.

BRAVIA Sync: When connecting the camera to a Sony TV with BRAVIA Sync via HDMI, you can control the camera with the TV's remote control.

Protect Images: You can protect all images on your memory card or select only certain images to be protected from accidental erasure.

Printing Options: The camera offers the following printing options.

• DPOF Compatible: Using the camera, you can specify the images and the number of images to print before you print images at a photo-shop or with your printer.
• Memory Card: You can print images with a Memory Stick or SD card compliant printer.
• Computer: You can copy images to a computer using the available downloadable software and print the images.

Battery Information

InfoLithium Battery: The α7 III is powered by the supplied NP-FZ100 InfoLithium battery. The battery communicates data to the camera, so that the percentage of battery power remaining can be displayed. The battery life specs are as follows:

Charging: The NP-FZ100 InfoLithium battery requires approximately 285 minutes (4 hours 45 minutes) to reach a full charge in the camera, using the supplied AC-UUD12 AC adapter and USB cable.

Optional Vertical Grip: The α7 III is compatible with the optional VG-C3EM vertical grip, which can hold one or two additional NP-FZ100 batteries. It also has convenient controls for use when the camera is in the vertical (portrait orientation) position.

Power Save: You can set different time intervals for the camera to switch to Power Save mode. You can set the interval to 10 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes, or 30 minutes. Once the camera goes into Power Save mode, you can return to the shooting mode by pressing the shutter button halfway.

Software

Downloadable Software: The α7 III does not include software in the box. Instead, Sony offers software for Windows- and Mac-compatible computers for importing still images and movies recorded with the camera to your computer. You can download the software to your computer using the appropriate URL provided in the supplied Instruction Manual. The following downloadable software is compatible with the camera:

• Imaging Edge (Remote / Viewer / Edit): Imaging Edge desktop software lets you remotely operate the camera from your computer, either tethered with a USB cable or wirelessly via Wi-Fi. The software lets you make precise adjustments to the focus and composition, using the grid, guide, and overlay functions, and view images live on the large computer screen. You can also perform confirmation, selection, image-quality adjustment, and RAW development on your computer. The software is compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, as well as macOS 10.13-10.15 operating systems.