Sony A9 III :: Global Shutter is REAL

Sony has announced the first full frame mirrorless camera to use a global shutter. At 24 megapixels, the A9 III is aimed at sports photographers with a max shutter speed of 1/80,000 that supports flash sync, up to 120fps burst rate shooting speeds, 4k video up to 120p with no crop at all and much more.

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Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
2830 S. Hulen, Studio 133
Fort Worth, TX 76109
US of A

[aldolega]

It's still a CMOS sensor. CMOS can be made with a global shutter, it just affects the DR and noise performance of the sensor.

[redlock]

My main use case is live performance / concert / theatre stills in low/variable light environments, typically with high’ish ISO and where silent shutter is sometimes essential. I use an A9II coz it’s less prone to banding than anything else I’ve used and while it’s good it’s not invincible. Really interested to see how the A9III global shutter performs once we see production copies, but enjoyed your overview. Thanks 🙏

[Dactylgodhand]

Seems like this will easily be the standard for action photo and video use in the near future. Will send run and gun to a whole new level.

[cliflowry]

Because you asked... This is an observation I've made on a couple other YouTube reviews of this camera where the presenter made a comment to the affect of, "I don't think this camera will be for me but I'm excited for the future when this technology trickles down to more affordable cameras." To which I respond, "Well, maybe in 10 years." Consider it's been 6 1/2 years since Sony came out with the original A9 with the first full-frame stacked sensor. How many cameras has that technology "trickled down" to? Well, we have the Sony A1 that still costs even more than this A9iii will. And we have Canon and Nikon full-frame stacked sensors, again, only in their top of the line models.

So, my hope for the near future, meaning the next 1-3 years is that we start seeing full-frame stacked sensors in affordable cameras. I think we are a long way from seeing global shutter sensors in anything but the most expensive models because today, after 6 1/2 years, the full-frame stacked sensor is still only in the most expensive models.

Just my opinion.

[heynow]

It is amazing that they have created a camera with global shutter. As an owner of the A7S3 the rolling shutter has never been an issue. That being said I do the think the A93 is the best camera easily with the specs.

[hetschipVeronica]

I am a hardcore old-fashioned photographer from way back in the film days, Nikon F2 era etc. For me rolling shutter is a no-go which kept me from buying any camera that might have such a tendency. I shoot Leica M10 now and will keep doing that for a long time, I don't need nor want al the buttons and options (and choices) on most camera's. Having said that i think that the real global shutter sensor wil be a milestone in photography of the same magnitude as the introduction of the electronic/sensor camera as such. The sensor has grown up and has reached maturity.

[jfphotography]

The 120 fps is for 1.5 seconds. I shot the Nikon Z9 in the 120fps mode jpegs only. The amount of files you get with just a five second burst is ludicrous. Never shot at 120 fps ever again. All this 120 fps is mostly MARKETING, and for spec geeks.
Heck I still shoot with my D850 and enjoy it the same as when I first picked up that camera.

[whafrog]

There may be other benefits to a global shutter (eg rolling shutter), but honestly, 120fps doesn't seem like one. At that point, what is the photographer for other than being a sentient tripod? I do some wildlife photography with an Olympus EM1-iii, which has the vaunted "procapture" feature...never used it. On rare occasions I'll hold the shutter down for a low-speed multi-shot, but it's ultimately much more interesting, challenging, and satisfying to anticipate the action one shot at a time. Learn the target, learn the environment, trust your gut. Plus, when I get home I don't have to wade through even dozens of images, never mind hundreds or thousands.

[BudoDave]

Makes me excited for the next FX or whatever producer cam with a global shutter. One can wish, right?

[ItsEzlan]

so in 10 years we went from a Mirror Box to Mirrorless and now in half that time we will see the demise of the Mechanical shutter 🤔

[patricshaw]

as a professional fashion and beauty photographer we were used to flash sync speeds of 30th of a second on the pentax 67, 125th of a second on a 35mm film camera on a hasselblad C500 flash synced at 500th. of second so when sony introduced 400th of a second on the Alpha 1 it was a game changer for flash studio photographers now the A9 3 is the begining of new era of flash photography and video. imagine a medium format version of a global shutter Annie Leibovitz would be in heaven

[edwardnoble]

I was hoping that you would point out that global shutter captures an image faster than any film camera has ever been capable of as well (not just DSLRs or mirrorless). I feel most people will assume that global shutter is now only just at parity with film, rather than the fact that it's doing something that's never been possible (in full frame) before. The other interesting element is how many people this will benefit over a stacked sensor because if you don't shoot video or artificial light cameras like the A1 will still be the vastly superior option.

[rogeryoung-qwto]

Great video. I am not surprised you took a few days to really let the technology sink in. One minor point The stacked sensor in Sonys A9, A9II and A1 are actually three layers. Same principle, just even faster than a dual layered design would be.

[ianswann]

Hi Ted. Thanks for a great channel.
For me the ability to sync flash at any shutter speed is the big thing about this sensor. It's like going back to leaf shutter days.
I do value high dynamic range however, so like you I expect there will be a couple of generations before we see comparable DR with the best sensors of the moment.
I think the general sensitivity of these sensors is going to be somewhat lower. All this said Sony has done a fantastic job to get a camera out with this performance, so all praise to them.

[JohnDrummondPhoto]

The A9 IV appears very clearly to be a sports/events photographers's dream body. Everybody else needs to hold off for a bit.

[evenhandedcommentor]

Yes, I want high speed shooting....120fps sounds great. "Sounds" great. How well does the autofocus keep up? How many of those frames are in-focus? Sure, if the subject says in the plane of focus the whole time, they're gonna be. But if the subject is either advancing or receding from the camera position...then what? That for me will be the real test of the value of 120fps.

[costafilh]

I believe this will hurt sales of Sony's other high-end cameras because people will wait longer to upgrade if the A9 isn't enough for them.

[irutgers]

Rumour Nikon has the Z9H rumoured to challenge Sony’s global shutter

[torb-no]

I wonder if we’ll start seeing lenses utilising the space left behind by the shutter. Are there new possibilited optically speaking because of this?

[carlb]

Not really interested in the global shutter, but that new body complete with the dial on the top left would be great for the A7rvi when it comes out. The grip and overall size seems a lot better than the current A7 series.