Sony a9 III Review - Why doesn't this cost MORE than A1?!

The a9iii leads the Alpha range in SO MANY ways - and has their latest Sensor technology... shouldn't this cost more than the A1 - or shouldn't the A1 cheaper?

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TIMELINE
00:00 Welcome
00:20 The New Generation
01:10 The Body
02:19 Screen
03:05 THE SPEED
03:45 Festival
04:12 Video
05:07 Best of the Best
06:30 AF & Dynamic Range
07:00 Speed Limitations
08:50 Bird Photography
09:18 The Sensor
10:30 Image Quality
11:40 Better than expected
13:00 Pricing
14:13 NICHE Camera

[Skipsul]

Well done review. There was one other niche you can add to your list: indoor concert / venue shooters. I shoot some theater dance work, and while I don't need 120FPS (30 is plenty for most leaps and technical work), that global shutter would accomplish several things for me:
1. It eliminates the dratted flickering and strobing of the lights, which is getting worse and worse as theaters use more and more LEDs for everything from spots to dazzling and shifting multicolor light beams (shakes fist at sky over white balance issues). But that in turn gets me...
2. Higher shutter speeds even on single frames. The flicker right now means I have to keep my shutter speed low enough (and what that is shifts from scene to scene) to minimize banding and strobing (the anti-flicker compensation in the older Alphas is good, but not perfect, and requires constant futzing), and that makes for blurry dance shots (or at least less crisp ones). And that means...
3. I can actually shoot in Shutter Priority. Right now I often have to be fully manual to adjust for flicker and lighting changes from scene to scene, and that distracts from paying attention to the scenes.
I'll gladly deal with 24MP instead of something higher if that means my keeper rate is better and my action shots are crisper - can't fix blur even at 50MP.

[ronaldpollard]

Well Done Matt!!! Fair & Comprehensive Man!! Your work continues to be stellar!!

[lumenspaul]

That is a pellet the kingfisher coughed up, not a rock and it is digested fish or invertebrates that it is previously caught that it is unable to pass through much like owls with pellets, bones and fish scales.

[CO_]

Why doesn't the a1 cost less? I think that's the answer. Z8 is $3900, so a1 should be say $4500

[JohnDrummondPhoto]

As a part-time birder, 24 MP isn't enough. As a part-time landscape shooter, a base ISO of 250 is much too high. The A9 III is definitely a sports camera above all else, and for that it's great.

[calebplumleeoutdoors]

I feel like the biggest deal with the a9iii is the RAW precapture. That's fantastic. Now if they'd have done it at 45Mp and skipped the 120fps, i feel theyd have won more folks. Very few need or want 120, but soooo many want hugh res precapture

[Jonathantuba]

For me as a wildlife photographer the Pre-capture is the main attraction of the A9iii over the A1, while 24mp v 50mp is the main thing against the A9iii. The Global shutter is fine, but I have never noticed rolling shutter with the A1. Personally I think 30fps is quite enough in most situations and the A9iii then gives a generous 12 seconds of continuous shooting before buffering. So with some hesitation I did get the A9iii to add to my A1, and find it great - most times out I get images I would have missed previously thanks to the pre-capture, while I have got over the lower mp by upscaling in Topaz Photo AI whenever I heavily crop an A9iii image.

[puertadlm]

I never understood people’s freak out with iso 250. I shoot with my A1 at 800 all the time and deliver with no denoise at that iso. Never heard a single thing from repeat clients. Even 1, 600 iso with flash. I believe you regarding 250 being fine.

[TW-iuzy]

As an owner of the A9 III and A1, I have to say: this was a review that I can agree with in almost all aspects. very good, Matt. 👍 A little bit about flash photography, which is one of the most important features for me as a journalist. And I personally don't see the CF Express Type A cards as a big problem.

[asa_martinez]

totally agree about the niche! I am primarily a Corporate and docu style videographer that dables in sports and only shoot photos 15% of the time. But that 15% of the time means I need to own rather than rent. Realistically the A7iv is the correctly priced camera for me as a backup to my fx6, fx3 combo...but I'm going to try the a9iii because I'm always taking photos against led walls at events, don't need a large megapixel count and like to film/photo motocross, golfing, soccer and baseball. It's a bit expensive for my work but it falls into a hobby and personal side so I'm willing to try.

[jasonwilkinson]

Thanks Matt… great review as always and 100% agree with your comments re: a niche camera for selected segment of the market.

[Jeo-What]

Thanks for the review and It's definitely an interesting camera between it's siblings. I often look at A9 as the test camera for A1 and this A9 III for me is a test model for A1 II that is to come with "WOW", "DONE THE IMPOSIBLE", "AMAZING", "THE ONE... AGAIN" commands to follow. The differences between "IT CAN" and "IT NEEDS TO" plays into my decisions when choosing a camera. Yes, A9III can shoot 1/32, 000s flash sync speed & 120fps with recapture (no anti-flicker support) but do I normally needs to shoot portraits with strobes over 1/400s or 1/500s APS-C like on an A1, using strobes shooting in sports events at 1/1000s+ if it the evens even allow flash or forgo the high megapixel cropping option and carry a very long and heavy telephoto lens with 1.4x 2.0x extenders for wild life photography (most likely be a second body) and will have to spend the hassle to sell it again when the A1 II is released in the future because I may have money to burn or enjoy heavy debt or just lack of patient to wait for A1 II? Not for me at least. But, It is definitely a niche camera and still is an engineering marvel in every way as a photography tool and maybe a good collector's item for "The World's First Consumer Full Frame Camera with Global Shutter Sensor"... until the love ones have to give it away or sell it to someone when one is gone...

[carolynvines]

Great review! I appreciate that, in the end, you mention other options we might prefer, base upon what we're shooting.

[iLOVEsurfvideos]

Hey for everyone wondering about the niche. This is meant for guys like me who shoot surf action from the water. That barrel only happens for a second most times but it feels like an eternity and thats where capturing the moment is super important.

[StYfReX]

Niche camera, bought it. Love it. Good video, says the good things and downsides of it, but understand it doesnt matter for the users of it this "minimal" downsides.

[DavidReidPhotography]

Great video! On the fence with the A9III as a complementary body to the A1. Now leaning back into the A&RV to do that job.

[Kevon]

Great review, I highly suspect the a1 mark II to very much be an a9III but with the original Alpha 1 sensor (less than 120fps burst but still a bit more than the original a1), which will likely be a spectacular camera...I'm glad Sony finally started to make the ergonomics on their cameras decent too. Though I do wish they had the courage to make the camera a bit taller because the uneven strap lugs irk me.

[martinruiz]

Honestly, if Sony just took the a9iii body and hardware and put the A1 sensor in it, I would be happy with that being the A1 Mark ii

[Mr.Deeds.]

Thank you so much Matt for all your amazing work!

[Matt.]

I just got an A1 last week and I'm glad I went with that. I've been able to play with both before making my choice and the A1 is definitely better for my needs. Really 120fps only has a niche appeal for me when I want to try and capture a very specific moment and maximize my odds of getting it. But with the A1 my odds are still tripled from before and I'm still getting high res files like the A7RV gives me. I mostly shoot sports and portraits by the way so resolution matters for me so I can crop in on action and have sharp portraits.