A9III vs A7RV | Which Pro Sony Camera Is King?

[@A1000Truths]

The A7RV I think is such an underrated hybrid camera. It’s my go to for all professional and can’t miss moments.

[@Sunrise017]

The rolling shutter performance in the A7RV at 4K 24p (18.6ms) and 4K60 (15.0ms) is actually much better than that of the A7IV (26.8ms at 25p), though this often goes unmentioned or overlooked. It's specifically the 8K and Super 35 crop modes where things get worse. Of course, nothing can match the global shutter performance of the A9 III, but that's beside the point.

[@JasonVinson183]

Great comparison!! Agree an a1 II mash-up of the two cameras could make for the perfect camera!

[@clausgiloi6036]

Great video and I agree with everything you said. I started with the A74 and now have both the A7RV and A9III. For what I do, the 120fps is an absolute game changer.

[@derrick072]

RV is my workhorse for all my shoots that do not require fast-moving subjects and where high-resolution detail matters. The AI I use for fast-paced shoots. I held back from the A9III simply because my line of work didn't fit these criteria however, I am curious to try it for outdoor flash capabilities in extremely bright situations. Do I need it? No. My gut feeling is telling me to wait for the A9IV with an improved base ISO and a bump in the megapixel image.

[@mlwadester87]

Great breakdown, Benj. Keep killing it, man.

[@benjamin.j.marshall]

Fantastic breakdown. Probably the best I have seen between these 2 cameras

[@cking74sg]

I has been using Sony camera since A850. I got myself A7r mk1 at 2015 and another 2nd hand body after I am into time lapse. I brought another 2nd hand a7r mk2 as first A7r dies off. I got myself a brand new A7r mk3a but if I am not going to get mk4 or mk5 due to I am more into time lapse as 42MP already killing my storage. I also did have a 2nd hand a6k and a 200-600mm lens. Therefore, the next body would be a9mk3 if I am into it, even a1 mk2, I wouldn't need another high MP camera. Noise not an issue for me as there are noise reduction software, I need the speed! :D

[@firehorseweddingphotograph3995]

As a long time wedding photographer I can say that the A7RV is by far, the best stills camera I have ever used. Size, weight, choice of lenses, that tilt screen, the DR, the resolution/detail/ability to punch in hard. Nothing else out there exists for my needs at this time that can beat this combo. I get the occasional lock up and have to drop the battery out, about 1 in 1000 frames shot, but that is my sole criticism and is possibly just an issue with my specific unit.

[@sneakingelephant]

I feel like if price isn’t a factor the a9iii is definitely the camera to opt for me. As much as I would love the additional resolution of the a7RV, I would prefer the creative possibilities and flash flexibility the global shutter offers in photography.

[@JWS-66]

comming from the A9 is my 2e camera at the moment...the A7Rv has 8 stops of IBIS, nice auto focus , the 60mgp for cropping is great, and the aps-c mode 26mgp is stil more than the A9s 24mgp...the LCD is the best out there, so the EVF is nice the only thing with the A7Rv is the noise as expected, and the only 8-10 fps. the 20 fps stacked sensor with the electronic shutter is the reason I keep the A9 its still awesome ! good comparison Benj thanks.

[@g_lantos]

I own the FX3 and A7IV but I think if you got the A1 you pretty much good for whatever you have to do... It's just that good. If I would only shoot one angle all the time I would sell my two but I always need an A-cam and B-cam, so I stick with my current setup.

[@PhotogenicProperties]

Great content...thanks for your input...so many great choices these days.

[@obayedh]

It would be really interesting to see how Sony comes up with Sony AII ...

[@ldmndz4652]

Probably stay the same megapixel..bc they dont want to go near the R Line with its 61..will have the new AI, and AF separate processes for sure..bc this A7R5 was the first "new AI processors" and in the sense the "new generation" of Sony bodies..so even the upcoming A75 will have all this stuff updated of course but it will borrow from the A7R5 processing wise..etc..etc..

[@OdiumTV]

if they SOMEHOW manage to implement a 50MP global shutter for the A1 II I'll be tossing my A7RVs immediately... Or a global 24MP stacked with a 50MP sensor hybrid thingy, it would be perfect. High res singles and medium res bursts...

[@danielgormanphoto]

Great Vid obviously. My photography changed when I started using the v from a 5d mkv. When I had the opportunity to try the a9iii it was an incredible camera as well but it just didn't do it for me. I'm very interested though in an A1v2 a mashup with global shutter would be incredible. I have noticed I don't do a lot of video because of the warp on the rv but hey that's what the fx3 and fx30 are for lol.

[@JessDemant]

I have the Sony A7CII and it gives me everything I need, and I can hardly see myself buying the next Sony A7CIII, because what more do I need for photography?

[@stkuj]

I've been shooting the A7RV for over a year now, totally fine.. wish video specs like 7k downsample vs pixel binning was better. That being said, I'm anxious to see what the A7V comes with (hoping un-cropped 4k60 min).

[@benjhaisch]

with Canon and Nikon giving their similarly priced/spec'd cameras uncropped 4k60, I'd be really surprised if the A7V eventually doesn't have that as it was even a criticism for many about the A7IV at the time.

[@sidvicious3129]

Ben, you are the one to ask this question since you own both cameras. Is the AI chip regarding Autofocus the same in both the A7RV and A9III, obviously not the frames per second, but the acquisition speed and reliability the same? I own the A7RV.

[@benjhaisch]

The sensors are still different even if they have the same chipset otherwise, but I haven’t found the A9III to be significantly faster or more accurate tracking, but I also don’t do a lot of sports.

[@williamsolis1]

Id probably lean to the A9III since im rarely at base ISO and use silent shutter quite a lot.

[@samspicer396]

Hi Ben, great comparison and quite timely for me - I currently use the a7rv alongside an a9 classic. I use the RV most of the day and the A9 for intimate ceremonies. I find the RV shutter is still quite loud vs the other brands. The beautiful EVF dropping resolution is unfortunate too. I’m tempted by the A9iii for the smaller file sizes and quality of life upgrades vs the original…but you’re right…I think the A1 mark II is going to be damn near perfect! I assume the a9iii doesn’t even have a mechanical shutter now? Do you ever get tempted by other brands offerings? I can’t help but think Nikons offerings are really good and well priced. The Z8 for example gives so much for the price… Always enjoy your channel!

[@Teslien]

If you shoot wide open with the a9iii, you get 0 sounds coming from the camera since it's all electronic unless you enable in camera settings

[@samspicer396]

@@Teslien yes I understand that - but I can't fully switch to electronic shutter...call me crazy but it's like the camera has lost its soul. The sound of my GFX shutter is sooooo good it makes me love to shoot. When I use my A9 classic it slowly eats away at MY soul haha! But it gets the job done. The A7RV is superb but I can't deny, Nikon make some great offerings with the ZF, Z3 both of which have lovely screens, small file sizes (I shoot RV on medium raw for weddings and its still large), great mechanical shutter sound... No perfect camera yet. I reckon the A1 Mark II will be...but not sure they'll include the mechanical shutter or not (I love the sound of that one too - so well dampened...wish they had put that in the Rv)

[@Teslien]

@@samspicer396 then go back to film? The colors in your camera is recreation of light, not a recording of light. You can enable the sound but it's a machine, not a organism. Cameras are a tool for photographers. If you seek a soul from a machine, then idk what to say... Calling something with a soul that never had one to begin with is where the English language faltered

[@samspicer396]

@@Teslien escalated quickly haha. Yes they are tools, but as a Wedding photographer shooting a high volume of photos, the shutter sound matters to me. I prefer having the feedback from the shutter. I reserve the silent shutter for close and intimate ceremonies only. The rest of the time I like mechanical. The A9 still eats away at my soul using it though - no joy. My GFX gives me joy and that's important. And I use film too...lots of it ;)

[@Teslien]

@@samspicer396 Maybe I separate the machine and man. Mechanical shutters are obsolete now since the global shutter created the solution. This is similar to vinyls, tapes, CDs, thumb drives, etc. I for one, do not miss anything from those days and am not gonna be stuck in the past.

[@kingghidorah8106]

I was planning on A7RV but since most of my images are high speed candid moments with a lot of cropping I decided to get the A7IV. High ISO performance is nuts and it is something neither the A9III or the A7RV have. Plus I'm not a professional so, who cares

[@ldmndz4652]

Awesome comparison.Benj...for me and my pro work..my work hoarse is the A7RV's..previously had the A7R3..skipped the R4 at the time because for me the upgrade was not worth it..until the R5 released..so I had the R3 for 5years.. the only thing that kinda bugs me about the A7R5 camera..is the fact that Sony still put and or chose to have 10FPS!!! obviously its still does the job but It's so crazy!!!..kinda lazy on Sonys part in my opinion..but come on 10FPS has been in the last 3 iterations of the R line!!!..20-25 FPS should be at least the standard in the R and 7 lines going forward!..im not asking for crazy FPS like the A1 or this A9III of course thats overkill..haha ..I just think 10FPS should be gotten rid of!.. it's going to be 2025, 2026,2027 before you know it..and that gives Sony time to fix this issue!!..haha I hope by the next iteration A7R6 they bump up the FPS!!..please Sony!..lol What's even worse when you shoot lossless medium RAW it's less than 10FPS!!!..other than that the A7R5 for what I do is great for me..

[@marcp.1752]

IQ - A7R V, Speed - A9 III, it's *that* simple.

[@bryanlovephotography]

The A9III is an absolute beast for wildlife so long as you can get close enough. You can capture moments in time to give you shots no other camera can deliver. It's hyper-specialized though and most people will find greater utility from the A7RV.

[@q60bdz]

@bryanlovephotography You missed the point The a9iii is a beast of a photo and video camera... Why do people say specialized because it's capable of 120fps? Same can be said about a global full frame sensor with uncropped 4k 120.

[@Kevon420]

Honestly give me an a9iii (EVF, body design, etc.) with the sensor of the a7IV but with faster readout (like Canon R6II speeds) and I would be happy. The resolution of the R and the 30/60/120fps burst of the a9 isn't meaningful to me.

[@aCuria.]

This may be called the A7V.

[@Jonathantuba]

Depends what you are shooting. For fast action the A9iii is definitely king. For maximum resolution and subjects more static, the A7Rv is the camera. An A1 mark 2 with the best of both these cameras would be my dream camera.

[@RodrigoMS]

I have the A7SIII for videos, and the A7RV for photos. What you think?

[@benjhaisch]

Perfect combo

[@benjhaisch]

I’m heading out to shoot a video right now with the FX3 and A7RV

[@RodrigoMS]

@@benjhaisch Wow! I'll Love to wach!!

[@MensHealthMedia]

Ever use your A9III for a talking head ?

[@benjhaisch]

I don’t but you absolutely could. Just way overkill for it ;)

[@MensHealthMedia]

@ would love to see that since the A7IV with a higher oversampled 7k sensor gets used a lot on KZbin for talking heads vs the A9III’s 6K oversampled

[@benjhaisch]

@ eh it’s all splitting hairs at that point. A7IV is going to have better noise performance and that’d probably be the larger difference anyway. The point being, you can use it, but you might as well use the much much cheaper option. That said if it’s what you have, it’ll obviously work.

[@FookFish]

something like the a1 mk 2 already exists. its called a nikon z9 :)

[@motionpikczer]

Does the resolution also decrease in the a9 when focusing in the viewfinder? this is really the only drawback of the a7rv that I see. Unfortunately, it is very annoying.

[@benjhaisch]

correct. I talked to the Sony techs while I was at Kando about it actually. They said that the internal processor puts such an emphasis on all of the AF/subject tracking/etc that the CPU/GPU/whatever maxes out to there, leaving not enough processing to fully max out the screen resolution, which is obviously a bummer. All of their cameras have done this while using continuous tracking with either back button or half press, but it's still annoying. I've been playing with the Leica Q3 and it does the same thing.

[@dexteroiio]

Try to swith deflicker func off. It may help in some scenarios. Because deflicker has effects on screen resolution on a7rV

[@benjhaisch]

@@dexteroiio it *helps* but doesn’t solve the issue

[@motionpikczer]

@@dexteroiio OMG! This is HINT of the year! :) You've cured my viewfinder! Be sure to turn off the anti-flicker! Thank you very much!!

[@Teslien]

There needs to be an 8tb cf express a card before they would even announce a successor to the a9iii. Before people know it, they'll have over 10k photos from 1 full day of shooting. The amount of speculation is mind numbing since people want these specs but aren't willing to pay the price. Which makes video and forum sentiments impractical.

[@benjhaisch]

Haha I very very rarely use it in the full boost mode. But having the custom function button on the front to enable it is smart.

[@Teslien]

@@benjhaisch it's more of a get the shot and not worry type of deal. Same goes for video footage of 4k60p. The current 2tb cf express a card isn't enough, hence why people use external recorders to store their footage. Sony is about pushing the bounds so I would very much purchase 8tb cards because I rather have it and not need it. Unlike their other lines of cameras, those people are looking at 3rd party gear and accessories. Most people would have to give up and sell off their 3rd party if they do match the same specs, which would make 3rd party become worthless for the new spec gear from now on.

[@imanolcamblor]

To answer to the title of the video: The Sony a1 is still the king. I absolutely love that it doesn't have AI chip and the balance between image quality, resolution and speed is just fantastic

[@benjhaisch]

Why would you not want the AI chip?

[@imanolcamblor]

​@@benjhaisch Hard to explain... but I feel that the AI chip marks the limit (that I want) between the photographer/camera relationship. I want to feel that I am the one that makes/takes the photo. The new generations exceed that. Don't get me wrong, they are absolutely stunning, but in a world of cameras reaching perfection, I want a little bit of imperfection. I found that in the a1 (that I still think is perfect for me)

[@Teslien]

@@imanolcamblor the AI chip fixes bugs and helps in autofocus. It's not recreating something out of nothing. At worse, it makes 3rd party lenses kinda pointless since you're getting nerfed performance. And it's too bad, if you check Sony's newest gear, they all have the AI chip built in. It's the future for sure whether we like it or not

[@aryanenzo]

What's the better car? A Ferrari Enzo or a Rolls Royce? What are you doing?

[@andersistbesser]

I would buy the a9iii if it was in a fx3 body. I need a fan in there as i do lots of video

[@benjhaisch]

Fwiw, I’ve done a lot of video with it and have never had any overheating issues.

[@andersistbesser]

@benjhaisch ja for short clips its ok but not for long time recording in hot Environment. There is a reason why sonys video centric cameras have a fan in it.

[@RachelLombardi-c4z]

I shoot 99% of the time in churches with the awful flickering LED lights 😭🤦🏻‍♀️ is there a Sony that helps not capture the terrible black banding? I prefer to shoot on silent because my Sony a7s shutter is SO loud

[@benjhaisch]

The A9III will do that for you, but most of the modern ones also have an anti-flicker mode to offset that as well. It’s mostly about just dialing in the right shutter speed. But if you really have to have a completely silent shutter, the A9III is the only global shutter camera out there

[@frostybe3r]

They're for completely different things

[@benjhaisch]

And yet people are still confused by which to get for those genres (like weddings) where their features overlap.

[@sincosy]

Thank you Ben for the Sony Video, but where is your take in the New Leica Q3 43? 😢

[@benjhaisch]

I don’t have a spare $7k lying around to test one :/ I reached out to Leica but no dice

[@cameraprepper7938]

Sony A7RV is you want the best possible image quality ! The A9III is only for speed freaks !

[@vitaleonis1196]

@@cameraprepper7938 Finally, someone that summed it up perfectly

[@sr.lumbreras8618]

Well it depends on the lens XD you get bigger files from a7r5 but not better image quality

[@cameraprepper7938]

@@sr.lumbreras8618 Yes you do get better image quality, just try and print out very large, noob !

[@fredbakhuis7977]

In my opinion the r5 could be the camera for 99% of al photographers were it not for build in / design oddities. The AI focussing I find lacking sophistication and is confusing in use cases. Let alone the type of cards. Just to name 2. R5 firmware updates could be benificial for AI focus but are lacking imo. It's a matter of could but won't let us users benefit after big investmens, again imo

[@harryvuemedia]

Sony's Pro King camera it the A1!!

[@patmat.]

Can't have instant sensor readout on a 60 Mpx sensor at this stage. So the A1ii won't be the A9iii + A7Rv.

[@benjhaisch]

3.8ms is pretty damn good though. I was really surprised at how fast that sensor is for photography.

[@olly1oo6]

As a seasoned wedding photographer, I found the A7RV a real challenge, originally coming from a Canon R5. I ultimately ended up swapping back to the Canon. The worst thing was the rolling shutter performance. I love to shoot silent for ceremony + reception as much as possible, and found the rolling shutter pretty shocking. I did also struggle a bit with the AF, which seemed less intuitive than I was used to on the Canon, even if it was arguably just as good (but I wouldn't say better). The other major issue - file sizes. Cards were filled at alarming rates and I ended up with over 500GB per wedding. Lightroom struggled with the huge galleries too. Low light performance was also average (not unexpected for a 60MP sensor). I found the Canon was the better of the two when pushed to 3200 and above, which was disappointing surprise. On the upsides, I was fairly happy with the files, colours were OK, and the biggest plus was how well it paired with the absolutely brilliant Sony compact primes, the 24 2.8 and 40 2.5 - sharp, punchy and just wonderful in rendering everything for such compact lenses. The ability to crop from 60mp is also amazing, but something I also benefited from with the only slightly smaller 45mp in the Canon. In hindsight, I should have opted for the a9 series, even if it doesn't have the same crop flexibility. Faster, better in low light, no rolling shutter issues, and non-stupid file sizes. With respect, I cannot see how the A7RV can be recommended to wedding photographers.

[@benjhaisch]

Sure if you’re going to shoot silent, but the shutter on these things is so much quieter than the DSLRs that everyone was using even 3 years ago. I’d assume the AF issue was more on getting used to the system than anything. Curious what file type you were using and how many files ended up at 500GB. That’s significantly more than my catalogs have been, LR has no issues though as I edit from smart previews regardless of the camera. I guess it’s different priorities in a camera though, because the A7RV is totally my recommendation to most people between the two.

[@olly1oo6]

@@benjhaisch Fair point. And you're right it is vastly better than what DSLR shutters have been in the past. I think I just got so used to silent on the Canon that I didn't really want to switch back. The R5 isn't without rolling shutter artifacts, but the scan speed is fast enough that it's not an issue 99% of the time, which I tended to rely on. I ended up swapping down to the 36mp compressed RAWs to reduce file sizes, which helped, but they still ended ups larger than the 45s I was used to. I loved the Sony primes so much I am still in mind to eventually make the switch, but I think I'd be leaning to the a9iii's after the experience with the RV.

[@sgpork]

Erm what? More than 500gb per wedding. How. You take wedding photo as if its BIF? Thats many many thousands of photo for 1 wedding though.

[@olly1oo6]

@@sgpork I take anywhere from 4-6k photos on a wedding day, which is still on the low side for a wedding photographer. Uncompressed RV file sizes can exceed 120mb (insane), so that's how.

[@benjhaisch]

@@olly1oo6 why uncompressed?

[@robbie154]

Sony needs to fix their EVF and rear screens before I jump back to Sony. No excuse for the poor quality in 2024. Sony is the tv/screen maker of the big three camera makers 🙃

[@johnadams3038]

What the point of this comparison, the two cameras have completely different use case scenarios...

[@benjhaisch]

I’ve probably had hundreds of questions, comments, and DMs in the last year or so asking which camera friends of mine should get between the two.

[@ldmndz4652]

There is still a point!!..the comparison is not useless...take out "sports" in the "use case scenarios" because we all know the A93 is mostly that "sports/action camera"....and with that..obviously each camera can be used in interchangeable "scenarios"...Weddings, portraits, documentary, street, etc etc...its an individual case by case..depending on the photographer..Even if we put back the "sports scenario" in the conversation...I even have had photographer friends who have used a A7R5 for shooting baseball and football games..granted they used M raws/jpegs..bc L is overkill for sports..haha and they had to be specific with their moments bc of the lack of FPS..the action sequences that they captured was maybe not as specific as they could be unlike with using the A93..haha then the next day they shot what they normally do wedding..haha