Back in May Phase one announced the new IQ3 100MP Achromatic Back. This sensor is way larger than current FF sensor and still bigger than the “small” medium format sensors used by the Fuji GFX and Hasselblad X1D.

The back alone costs $50,000. but is it really making a big difference? Ted Forbes tested the new back:

So this is really a unique kind of image quality. And something 99,9% of our readers will never shoot with. But still, it is interesting to see what Sony sensor can achieve. They are really dominating the photography market with their sensors.

One more thing: This is the Sony medium format sensor roadmap for 2018:

1) New 100MP 44x33mm Medium format Back Illuminated sensor would be announced in 2018 (for the kind of cameras like the Fuji GFX and X1D)
2) New 150MP 55x41mm Medium format Back Illuminated sensor would be announced in 2018 (for the kind of cameras like the Phase One 100XF).
3) New 150MP 55x41mm Medium format Back Illuminated monochrome sensor would be announced in 2018

Dpreview tested the Dynamic Range of the new Sony A7rIII

1) The Sony a7R III retains its dynamic range even in bursts. That’s a big deal for a Sony ILC

2) The Sony A7rIII nearly matched the D850 performance. At ISO 100, the a7R III dynamic range actually exceeds that of the D850, thanks to incredibly low read noise. That’s impressive for a camera constantly running its sensor in live view.

3) The A7rIII has nearly half-stop improvement over its predecessor

4) As for Sony’s marketing, it sounds like the claim of 15 EV is believable, but only technically if you consider how your images look when shrunk to 8MP files. To be fair, there’s some benefit to comparing dynamic range figures after resizing camera outputs to 8MP, since it’s a common basis for comparison that doesn’t penalize cameras for having higher resolution (and therefore smaller pixels).

This is a good Job from Sony. But if Sony engineers could find a way to add a “real” ISO 64 to beat the Nikon…that would be lead to an even more impressive result!

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Sony Australia. Photo-Porst.de and Sony Netherland.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!

Here is my last roundup of A7rIII tests:

With A7RIII, Sony is heading to perfection – sample photos and hands on experience (Alin Popescu).
A7RIII and A9 eye AF comparison. 0:00~0:43 A7RIIIand 0:43~1:23 A9 youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=vcL5tF3vZOU

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Sony Australia. Photo-Porst.de and Sony Netherland.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!

Videos:

First the bad news: Tony’s and Chelsea’s preliminary conclusion is that there seems to not be any Dynamic range improvement over the A7rm2. But I doubt Sony can claim 1 stop improvement at Low ISO over the predecessor and then all testers don’t see any gain at all. So let’s wait for further test before we drew any final conclusion.

I also take once more the chance to remind Sony engineers to add a “real” ISO 64 on Sony cameras. I guess it’s something they could add via firmware upgrade.

The good news: All the rest of the camera is simply impressive. The image quality is basically on par with the Nikon but the Sony has many more features and faster autofocus and frame rate. Check out their video here:

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Sony Australia. Photo-Porst.de and Sony Netherland.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!

via CameraSize

The 24-105mm is considerably lighter than the competition: The 24-105mm FE weight is 663g. The Canon is 885g and the Sigma is 795g.

Join our new Sony a7rIII group if you plan to own this camera!

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Sony Australia. Photo-Porst.de and Sony Netherland.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!

We still have no info at all about the new Sigma 16mm f/1.4 pricing and shipment start. But at least we got a short Dpreview’s 16mm hands-on report. This is what they had to say about the new lens:

– In person, the new lens is a relatively small, but beautifully well-made prime
– At 405g (14 oz) it’s relatively heavy for its size
– While Sigma typically doesn’t make any specific claims about weather-sealing, a thin rubber ring around the lens throat should help keep dust and moisture from entering the camera.

Hands-on by Jason Vong:

Here is also a short interview with sigma by Cameta:

Photonstophotos.net posted this chart based on estimated (Not actual measured”) Dynamic Range. I saw in the past that those estimations can be very off. So I wouldn’t read too much into it. Som why did I post this now? because this chart being shown on many website and I wanted to make it clear that is yet NOT the measured Dynamic Range.

Sony said that at low ISO the new A7rIII will be around 1 stop better than the A7rII. The chart above shows no such improvements. But my bet is on Sony and that actual measurements will show this improvement at Low ISO.

Preorders:
Sony A7rIII at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK. Sony Australia.
Sony 24-105mm at Amazon, Bhphoto, Adorama, BuyDig, FocusCamera, Calumet DE, Wex UK.

Join the A7rIII facebook group to discuss the camera features and tests!