Is the Sony A7SIII good for photography too? (+ a POV street photography session)

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While the Sony A7SIII is mainly for video, as a photographer, I find out whether it's great for photography too and test whether it'll have a place in my workflow for photos.
I break down the three areas that are important to me when evaluating a camera, and we also do a POV street photography session.
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0:00 Intro
1:57 Usability & autofocus - POV street photography
6:42 Image quality - Lightroom review
11:27 Image resolution - 12MP?
14:21 Conclusion

[@BenjaminVasquez]

YOU JUST SAVED MY LIFE! I'VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR A VIDEO LIKE THIS AND DUDE I OWE YOU ONE, REALLY... MUCH LOVE FROM THE PHILIPPINES! Been having a dilemma whether to get an rIV or sIII for social media purposes only, I'ma get the sIII for its ergo, photo and most importantly, its outstanding video features. Keep it up man! You deserve a sub.

[@uphdennyalexander]

Should i consider to buy a7r5 or a7s3?

[@greasyflight6609]

@@uphdennyalexander a7RV...I guess... A7S III is my Camera...it just works

[@xxxjmgxxx]

Probably one of the most important vids I saw this week! Was actually just considering this one, vs. the A7rIV and perhaps even waiting on for the a7iv. This is a great perspective for someone who is a stills photographer first. THANX! Good luck developing the channel! love the video quality and the value you provide!

[@patkay]

My pleasure! And thanks for watching!

[@makatron]

I did a ton of gigs with my d3s, d700, and d90 back in the day and the 12mp doesn't really limits me.

[@bigfishstudio2575]

That's a fact.. What was your biggest print size?

[@foljs5858]

@@bigfishstudio2575 You can do a fine A3 with 12mp

[@mjack745]

Recent subscriber and I must say your quality of content and expertise and knowledge is heartbreaking! Keep it up!

[@LoriGraceAz]

I was cringing when I took the a7SIII for a day for photos, but came back extremely impressed with the usability of photos. I do a lot of timelapse work with my Sony alpha cameras as well, and the a7SIII is terrific for that.

[@guavaberry]

as a photographer trying to transition into focusing on my video work this is exactly the kind of video I was looking for but couldn't find so thank you

[@joetrujillo639]

Thank you for this, it was very helpful. I'm planing on getting into videography and the A7SIII looks like it'll work much better than the A7RIV for me due to its slow motion capabilities. Other reviews had me concerned that it wouldn't be adequate for photography I'd like to do as well, but almost all of it will go on Instagram. Seems like this is the camera for me.

[@salahsalem9448]

this really a great video, you helped me a lot and I think this review is the best on youtube.

[@mrchams]

Excellent review. Answered all the questions I had. Thanks Pat

[@greasyflight6609]

Paired with the A7R V (waiting) the Sony A7S III is a perfect compliment. If you want one body with great video specs and 33MP the Sony A7 IV is all you may need and very reasonably priced. Thank you for the review.

[@soumyasharma9662]

Have been waiting for an analysis on Photography from this camera Thanks a lot :)

[@patkay]

No problem! Thanks for watching!

[@sv3nska]

Thank you for such great analysis Pat! I find it more and more difficult over the years to pick the all-around hybrid reflex camera that would suit all your needs without investing a $$$$ amount. Your approach gives great clues on the compromises that can be made when photo and video are both important. Please, keep up the great work :)

[@roflbot101]

Great video! It's inspiring to see what my a7S III is capable of. Loved the breakdown for how far 12mp really goes. PS: Sydney looks like a different planet... so sunny and relaxed compared to the Seattle right now!

[@kjltube]

Well done, and informative without the hype. I enjoyed 12mp on my Nikon D700 but still think 24mp is the sweet spot.

[@sachintharanatunga700]

Loved the video, so informative! Highly underrated channel.

[@patkay]

Thanks for watching =)

[@philenforce]

Your editing workflow must feel SO good jumping from the monstrous R4 filesize to the S3!

[@patkay]

omfg, i literally forgot what speed is like 😂 not waiting 5 seconds per action is great haha

[@timpolster]

Thanks for your nice video. Thinking of going this route for video & stills myself. Interesting to see the side by side with the a7RIV. The color on the a7SIII has been improved by Sony as the S did not have the magenta sky blue color.

[@andrewjclarke]

Love the video mate! I see we came to basically the same conclusion regarding resolution for digital content and print haha and I 100% agree with your comment that you can take a hit to effective DPI to print at A3 - my test print looked great at A3. Also love how we basically had the exact same idea (and format) for a video at the same time 😂 Looking forward to your next one!

[@patkay]

Ah man honestly I was so impressed that you went to the lengths to actually PRINT them. SO cool. And yeah, haha. Funny how things happen like that! Very different videos, but similar. Pretty cool that we came to the same conclusions though!

[@Akiidan]

Dude this is a really well composed video! Thanks for sharing!

[@patkay]

Glad you dig it! Thanks for watching!

[@jonagreyphoto]

that alley way! Good review man, keep em coming 🙌🏼

[@patkay]

cheers my homie!

[@TKNORTH]

ayyy nice vid man! Sounds like a great option for you along side the A7R4. Loving the POV vibes too. Pretty keen to try one out!

[@patkay]

would still prefer just the one body, for photo and video, but i guess that camera doesn't exist yet =(

[@deibot14]

Just came to say you are amazing!! Thank you for inspiring us with your content! Big shout out from Costa Rica 🇨🇷!!

[@patkay]

you're welcome! thanks for watching! 😊

[@GaryJahman]

Really enjoyed this video! Going to steal your idea of that POV style footage haha Greetings from the Netherlands!

[@patkay]

Thank you for watching!

[@SNTMoto]

Looking at the video I thought you had like 200k, amazing quality keep this up and you'll be going places

[@patkay]

Thanks for the motivation! I'll try!

[@marcof771]

Love the choice between JPG and HEIC files

[@humphreybrondy]

Great video Pat, I love the way you are explaining your workflow. You should do more of POV sessions! Great content, keep grinding :) !

[@patkay]

Thanks man! My most recent vid is the full version of the POV session! Check it out if you like =)

[@humphreybrondy]

@@patkay I've seen that, I'm going to watch it for sure! I'm pretty surprise by your High Shutter Speed during your session? I would love to hear your perception on that. Good luck Pat for next!

[@LawrenceMcDanielEstler]

extremely helpful, and great analysis. thank you!!

[@vicluistudio3320]

I just received my a7Siii, and having the exact same question in my mind. This video answered me, with photos example. Thanks

[@patkay]

Glad I could help!

[@robmulally]

Amazing video mate, i had the same question about the resolution this was great to watch

[@melaku7344]

your videos are so clean, nice job man

[@patkay]

thanks man!

[@Kaisolostudio]

I’ve got the a7riv, and instead of waiting for the A7IV to be released for my B cam, I might actually pick up the A7siii for events. I’m wanting to get into video, and so for video the a7riv can b cam the A7siii haha. Amazing video Pat, exactly what I was looking for.

[@DennisBarrera]

Great Video man Awesome quality!!

[@Jon_bodhi]

This was the video I was looking for! I kept thinking id have to bring a second body when I was traveling for photography.

[@ShihanDissanayake]

Very informative. Keep up the good work.

[@giankoash]

Plissss i need more pat kay vlogs or street sessions like thisss

[@benjamincraib9647]

Clean and easy to watch videos Pat, also a great length. Just a question about using ‘general subject tracking’. I’ve always been really confused as to what settings to use for that kind of thing? Like, flexible spot, continuous etc. What did you have it set to for this video? Keep them coming dude!

[@patkay]

so tracking is only available on AF-C, which is autofocus continuous. I personally have the locking set to flexible spot so I can change the point around if I need to, but most of the time it's in the centre and i'm just locking there and recomposing 😊

[@NafisAhmed73]

great informative video..loved the simplicity

[@patkay]

Thank you! Cheers for watching =)

[@unclejezza]

This is a needed video - thanks for this!

[@patkay]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching =)

[@andresm645]

Hey Pat! Awesome to catch another one of your videos. Seeing the first part of this video was a bit crazy to me. From your POV camera you just see a street, or an alley, but then you show the photo and it's a BANGER. I guess that's what talent plus a lot of experience looks like xD Have you compared the 2 cameras on very low light situations (night photography for example)? I wonder if the SIII with the much larger pixels would fare better than the R IV in terms of grain on high ISOs for example. Also do you have any experience with Canon, or are you exclusively a Sony guy?

[@patkay]

haha thank you! i'll be releasing a more chilled video of the full version of that next week! hopefully you enjoy it. comparing the two is night and day; the A7RIV was never that great at low light (although it's still far better than some other brands), and the A7SIII pretty much sees in the dark 😂. for general photography, they're still both pretty comparable considering how good Lightroom is, but for video, that's another story altogether. oh, and i'm exclusively a Sony guy 😊

[@daveed4475]

Thank you for this excellent analysis, providing a nice pause for reflection in the fog of the megapixel race.

[@boyodeman]

Awesome review man. Thanks & keep it up..

[@patkay]

Thanks for watching!

[@sailonstellarwinds]

New viewer, just found this channel! I like your street shots, quite close to the style I also enjoy doing. I have a question about the SIII body: how do you find the fully articulated screen on the streets? Would you have preferred the tilt screen from the RIV?

[@CalgaryCalamari]

Great video thanks! Only thing missing for me was discussion on the frames per second in photo mode... :D

[@soritchan7964]

Can you do bracketing in photo on this a7s3? I'm currently shoot on a7r Iv as well. My a7s iii is on the way, but I'm just not quite ready to let go of the r4. Great video. Subscribed!

[@areeszgandhistudios]

Great video man. Keep up the good work.

[@patkay]

I'll try! Thanks!

[@rvllvncnt]

I am really learning a lot from this video hahaha thanks Pat!

[@patkay]

my pleasure, thanks for watching! =)

[@RoyaltyPlays]

I'm so excited to buy this camera for video but happy to know if I need some quick photos that it'll preform well 🤤

[@patkay]

100% it'll be great!

[@sebastianpatrickp]

Great video man! Keep it up!

[@patkay]

Thanks for watching!

[@vijeeshm7317]

GREAT EPISODE BUDDY ............... LOVE IT ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

[@patkay]

Thanks man! Cheers for watching!

[@x_jaydn]

What's your take on the ISO performance (with dual native ISO) and RAW dynamic range compared to the a7iii, a7iv, and/or a7Riv bodies? Also, do you know what the image stills fps is with this body?

[@thomasleonczik1453]

a high MP count is one of those things that camera companies have done a great job at convincing people that it's absolutely necessary. especially in today's world of social media, the average joe will never tell if there's less pixels in a photo. high MP counts are really only for very specific parts of photography, 99% of which don't apply to a consumer photographer

[@toddysurcharge771]

Well a 4k monitor can only really show around 8.5 megapixels anyway so 12 is more than enough when viewed on most people's monitors. Also due to the pixel pitch of an A7S series camera the print size can be decently large too without much noise. I printed a pretty large print before and it looked great. I think the higher resolution cameras are great for high croppage scenarios (I wouldn't use the A7S3 for wildlife photos for example), landscapes and portraits. I think a 1-2 punch of the Sony A1, A9 or A7RIV and A7S3 is a dream combo.

[@stutuckerphotography]

This is great review. I own this camera. It’s an absolute blinder for photography!

[@katietagu5168]

Ooooh I wanted to try street shot!! Thank you for your tips Pat!!! 🙂Never tried so I had no idea how to shoot! Sorry for my late watched 😅

[@patkay]

ah you should try street photography! it's definitely very different but very fun!

[@Bellnjerry]

Great review Pat!

[@patkay]

Thanks man!

[@SpaceMiracleStudios]

Nice review. I also got one recently and after watching your video i have clarified many things.

[@patkay]

Oh great! Out of curiosity, what did you clarify?

[@ryanvacation7319]

My first full frame digital camera was the 12mpx Canon 5D. Never needed more even when I needed to print.

[@SonicReverieBeats]

Awesome Pictures! Love it!! 🔥

[@patkay]

i'm glad! 😊

[@akhilkulkarni3924]

Cant wait for you to vlog in japan!🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@patkay]

omg i can't wait to vlog japan too 😂

[@marcomeeuwsen]

Thanks for sharing your perspective

[@shaheerkhan5171]

Could you tell us about the pov setup u have the gear etc! Please and thanks.

[@georgemiguel1265]

Very digestible, thanks Pat!

[@DonnieGQX]

Can you upload a file or 2 from this series so i can test upscaling the 12mp file.

[@TeipelFilms]

Nice Video, just a side note - the 2nd gain circuit already comes on at ISO 2000 when shooting in pp off :)

[@ZakCiotti]

This was really helpful. 2 questions: Do you live in Japan? And what camera is the one strapped to your chest?

[@JohnThaiFilmmaker]

very awesome shots bro ^^

[@theinfinate]

I’m coming from a sony a9 and love using the a7siii for photos, granted I don’t make money from photos as I’m a video guy who enjoys taking photos for the fun of it, I don’t really miss much from the a7s vs a9 experience

[@patkay]

Yeah, at the end of the day, the Alpha series, regardless of what model you get, is going to produce fantastic results for most things!

[@Hilal_abdelilah]

Love your explanations.

[@gadgetphilosophy8290]

Nice review mate. You’re a natural

[@patkay]

thanks mate :)

[@lobsang_thungdok12]

I wanted to confirm this, Thank you from Tokyo, Japan.🙏

[@stefanexplores]

Shooting videos on A7iii right now. Making me consider a switch to the S haha!

[@patkay]

the 10-bit 4:2:2 and 4k120 is a game changer imo haha

[@VRKtaka]

I am seeing color change on the photos when i swipe them on the screen.. slightly changes the color from dark to bright or bright to dark.. What might be the issue?

[@grrooowll]

great informative video. thanks

[@patkay]

My pleasure =)

[@mramu6200]

Great job 👍 I was shooting photos with Nikon d700 and now a7sii ...12 MP just enough and great images 👍

[@AbrahamTario]

I would have loved to see the setting you use on the a7siii

[@rdrnd]

What are your photo settings? And are you using any filters during post?

[@louisejennings7439]

Does the Sony A7Slll have the option for in-camera double exposures? is that something you've played with?

[@mlatief5865]

Hey Loved the video, It helps. Thanks

[@bettadenu7]

Would of been good if you showed us your in camera settings for photography with the a7siii Like auto focus settings etc

[@brandonmcmillan9641]

My first DSLR was a Nikon D40x 10.1 megapixel. I printed out photos for clients at 20x30. They were happy. 12 megapixel is enough. 24 megapixel is the best! Anything over is overkill, unless you are doing extreme crops or fine art extra large prints like 40x60. FStoppers did billboard photograph with 2 megapixel camera. Up close the photo was crap, however cars driving pass the billboard cant tell that far away

[@patkay]

Totally agree!

[@JulianLallo]

Great video homie!

[@patkay]

Cheers man!

[@DomChongVlogs]

Follow your instagram and I like that you make videos. A picture says a thousand words and a video is 24/25 pictures a second. So hell yes to your a7siii. I can't even see the benefit of your rIV on instagram but I sure as hell will see a difference in your videos in the low light now! And also 4k slow motion haha

[@patkay]

haha hell yeah! i hope so. images are far more forgiving when it comes to benefits. video though... another thing altogether 😂

[@edwintan73]

I recently migrate from nikon to Sony and bought this camera, not sure why but when I shoot with iso 1250, I found a lot of noise in the dark area and I didnt shoot with any profile set,, appreciate your advice

[@justinsiebert6952]

what light are you using in your opener

[@M7mad_Amjad]

Very very good! Thank ypu so much

[@patkay]

my pleasure :)

[@manuhe991]

Subscribed!! Thanks for the info

[@patkay]

my pleasure! thanks for the sub!

[@gaza4543]

If you know how to blow up your images and or let the RIP do it in print (which are very sophisticated more so than any piece of software ) this A3 "limit" is largely null and void (the online calculator is a little bit of BS tbh) printing is all about intended viewing distance which I'm sure you know. Natively at 300dpi you will only get a around about a meter out of a7r 3/4, there comes a point all camera files reach a limit as too where they they have to be blown up. I can get just under a meter out of a 12 mp sensor with a viewing distance of around half a foot view with no apparent lose of detail and it REALLY helps to have clean files for enlargements your not blowing pixels up then. Who the hell in blowing images up to a meter (outside of commercial work) to hang on there wall. The a7r4 (or what ever) is completely wasted on 98% of people in all honesty and your doing is wasting money on storage. The a7r4 actually has quite a lot of noise viewed 1to1 on the monitor at pretty low ISO and so there should they are cramming 5-6x the pixels on the sensor that's the same size as the a7s3, ive blown up some a7r4 files and they dont hold to gather nearly as well and it because of the noise. Not so long a go the a7s3 would have been considered one the best sports cameras in world! unlimited buffer, great in low light, auto focus that sticks like shit to a blanket. Heck its still one of the best sport cameras you can buy period. Poeple bang on about its video and rightly so but I think that's really underselling the camera a lot as you also rightly point out . For me regardless of resolution the a7s3 is probably the best camera in Sony's Line up. People chase MP's far to much and you hit the nail on the head "it's what they do with them" that counts. Future proofing MP is a load of rubbish too sorry, silicon is not the answer AI algorithm's are, like the Lightroom AI super enhance is one such tool. And this will become more prevalent and improved as phone's lead the way on image tech. There is no free lunch, The only camera in Sony's line up that outright surpasses the a7s3 is there top flight A1, the others are variations with specs added but something (a lot) taken away The a7 4. Low res view finder, extreme rolling shutter, crops it 4k footage meaning you have to recompose, no 4k 120, can't do 10 frames a sec in anything other than super compressed raw mode all others a 6 frames a second. All they have really added is 10 bit video and a 33mp sensor and better auto focus but still not a good as a7s3. The a7r4 pretty much the same as above but it line skips it 4k footage making the MP count next to worthless the 12mp of the a7s3 is actually sharper by and good long way. And that's just major differences, look at all those compromise's you have to make to get resolution. I've come to conclusion that id buy the A7s3 and rent the more niche hi res camera as and when a job calls for it. People have to pick there poison and I know what id pick and I currently use a fuji xt2 but have been heavily testing the Sony line up renting the cameras downloading test files and footage along the way.

[@sherlockthebunny7703]

Amazing review

[@MrsCap2]

Remind me the POV of Pierre Lambert. Thanks for sharing I am wondering if I should go for this camera or no, I have currently the a7III that I can keep for picture but I wanted something more Video and not to bad in Photo if I need. By the way, the purple fringing for the 85f1.4GM is so heavy on the shot 9:12

[@patkay]

I'll take that as a compliment! There will be more POV videos coming, so look out for that. 😊

[@BazliAli]

I needed to see this camera more from a photographer's perspective rather than a videographer so thank you for that :) Can't wait to get my hands on one to try for myself haha

[@patkay]

hope you got some value out of this man! it's a good photog camera too :)

[@mastrorj68]

So it's 9 months later... I need a new stills camera and I'm thinking siii over the r4. It's 9 months later what do you now think I should do?

[@nightwalker8347]

your shutter speed is pretty fast. i always put iso 1600, 4000 at most, with fstop possible lowest at 2.8, i couldnt make my shutter more than 1/250.

[@timothyng5297]

What do you think of the a7siii for headshots?

[@francisortile]

Hi Pat! Can you please do one like this for A7SII please.

[@simeonrf7047]

cant wait for the a74 to hopefully have a flippy screen and not an overly high mp count

[@patkay]

Hopefully that comes true!

[@yuxi2424]

thanks. but what the iso performs at night when taking photos😂

[@benldr]

Wouldn't pixel shift on this camera be a game changer?

[@AdventureWithShannon]

great video pat

[@patkay]

thank you!

[@MagnetiqLabs]

i'm using my original A7S in pair with my A7III, and almost never feel lack of megapixels on A7S, even for printing

[@patkay]

yeah, i think it's definitely more of a mental barrier than anything else. it's been so conditioned in us that more megapixels = better, but that's just not the case 😂

[@Jorcap]

@@patkay i have a Gx8 (20mpx) and I think that the A7S has better photo’s because of its higher dynamic range. Other than that, we are spoiled now. My first phone had 2mpx camera and I was happy with that back in the day

[@user-ur3ob4ji3x]

Cool!! i really~ wanted to confirm this, Thank you bro!!

[@patkay]

No problem!

[@user-ur3ob4ji3x]

@@patkay But I still want to have a7r4. How about a7r4 for video shooting? Now I have a7C.