Sony’s latest announcement has certainly caused a stir among photographers. The Sony a9 III’s global shutter may be at the top of the list for many, but there’s a lot more going on in this incredibly fast third generation full-frame camera. 

Built around a 24-megapixel full-frame Exmor RS CMOS sensor, the a9 III’s global shutter—which reads all pixels at the same time—promises to eliminate rolling shutter and any distortion when photographing movement. Banding should be a thing of the past as well. 

More than just the elimination of anomalies, the global shutter also allows for continuous shooting speeds of up to 120 frames per second, with AF/AE and no camera blackout. And the a9 III’s shutter can capture images up to 1/80,000 sec (1/16,000 sec during burst shooting). Flash sync isn’t limited to the typical 1/200^th or 1/250^th sec either and when paired with a compatible Sony flash (HVL-F60RM2 or HVL-F46RM), users can sync with the maximum shutter speed. 

With its 24-megapixel sensor, the a9 III can’t capture 8K video but 4K 60p videos with 6K oversampling are possible. Also, the a9 III is the first in the series capable of recording 4K at 120p (without cropping). 

Those are just the basics of what appears to be another groundbreaking camera from Sony. But the company didn’t stop there. 

Announced at the same time, the 300mm G Master f/2.8 lens is the perfect companion for the a9 III with its ability to track subjects at up to 120fps. Better yet, the lens is incredibly lightweight for its class weighing only about 3.24 pounds (without the tripod foot). 

Both the camera and lens are available for pre-order now and are slated to start shipping in February 2024. 

Price: 

Sony a9 III: $6,000 

Sony 300mm G Master f/2.8 lens: $6,000