Sony α9 III (ILCE-9M3) / Sony α7 IV (ILCE-7M4)

Sony α9 III (ILCE-9M3): α9 III ILCE-9M3 body; the VG-C5 vertical grip is sold separately. The α9 (ILCE-9) and α9 II (ILCE-9M2) are earlier models with different sensors.

Sony α7 IV (ILCE-7M4): ILCE-7M4 body (body only) and ILCE-7M4K / 7M4M kits (with the FE 28-70 mm lens). The α7 III and α7 V are separate models.

SpecificationSony α9 III (ILCE-9M3)Sony α7 IV (ILCE-7M4)
Release year20232021
Sensor35.6 × 23.8 mm full-frame stacked Exmor RS CMOS with global shutter; about 24.6MP effective for stills, 20.3MP for video

A global shutter reads every row at once, so the skew seen on row-by-row sensors with spinning propellers, golf clubs or fast pans does not occur.

Sony		35 mm full-frame (35.9 × 23.9 mm) back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS; about 33.0 MP effective (34.1 MP total)

Back illumination moves the wiring behind the light-sensitive layer, helping reduce noise in low light.

Sony
Processor and ISOBIONZ XR; ISO 250–25600 for stills (expanded 125–51200)

A base ISO of 250 means the lowest-noise setting is higher than on cameras with an ISO 100 base.

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AutofocusFast Hybrid AF; 759 phase-detection points for stills, 627 for video SonyFast Hybrid AF; 759 phase-detection points (full frame); EV -4 to 20; human, animal and bird eye detection (stills and movies)

Phase-detection points track the subject quickly; eye detection locks focus on the eye of moving people and animals.

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Burst and shutterAbout 120 fps (Hi+), blackout-free; electronic shutter only, 1/80,000–30 s

Sony says AF/AE tracking continues at 120 fps. Speed Boost switches to a preset higher rate with one button during shooting; Pre-Capture keeps up to 1 second recorded before the shutter is pressed.

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Flash syncUp to 1/80,000 s (electronic); 1/500 s

Thanks to the global shutter, flash can be used even at the fastest shutter speed without switching to high-speed sync.

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In-body stabilisation5-axis sensor shift; 8.0 stops (CIPA)

The figure is measured with the FE 50mm F1.2 GM on pitch/yaw only.

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Viewfinder and screen0.64-type OLED viewfinder, 9,437,184 dots, 0.90x; 3.2-type 2,095,104-dot touchscreen (multi-angle)

The viewfinder refreshes at 60/120/240 fps. The screen tilts up 98°, down 40°, swings 180° to the side and rotates 270°.

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VideoUp to 4K 119.88p; XAVC S (8-bit 4:2:0 or 10-bit 4:2:2), XAVC HS (10-bit 4:2:2), XAVC S-I 4K 59.94p (600 Mbps)

XAVC HS is H.265-based, producing smaller files at the same quality but needing a stronger computer to edit. XAVC S-I records intra-frame only, easier to edit but with large files.

Sony		Up to 4K 60p/50p in 10-bit 4:2:2; XAVC HS (H.265) up to 200 Mbps, XAVC S (H.264) up to 200 Mbps, XAVC S-I up to 600 Mbps

XAVC S-I compresses each frame individually; it is easy to edit but takes much more space. 10-bit 4:2:2 reduces banding when grading.

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Card slotsTwo slots; each takes SD (UHS-I/II) or CFexpress Type A

CFexpress Type A cards are better suited to clearing the buffer quickly when shooting RAW at 120 fps.

Sony		Slot 1: CFexpress Type A or SD; Slot 2: SD; both slots accept UHS-I and UHS-II SD

Fast cards are needed for high-bitrate S&Q and S-I recording.

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BatteryNP-FZ100; about 400 shots with the viewfinder and 530 with the screen (CIPA); charging and power over USB PD SonyNP-FZ100 rechargeable battery Sony
ConnectivityUSB-C 10 Gb/s (USB 3.2); plus Multi/Micro USB; 1000BASE-T wired LAN; Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4/5 GHz); Bluetooth 5.0; Type-A HDMI

Wired LAN is used to send photos quickly to agencies at sports and news events. Full-size HDMI gives a sturdier connection in the field than micro HDMI.

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Size and weightAbout 136.1 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm; about 702 g with battery and card (body only 617 g) Sony131.3 × 96.4 × 79.8 mm; about 658 g with battery and card Sony
ISO—Stills ISO 100–51200 (expanded 50–204800); movies ISO 100–51200 (expanded up to 102400) Sony
Image stabilisation—5-axis sensor shift; 5.5 stops (CIPA)

The figure is measured with the Planar T* FE 50 mm F1.4 ZA for pitch/yaw only; it varies by lens and conditions.

Sony
Shutter and burst—Mechanical/electronic 1/8000–30 s, Bulb; flash sync 1/250 s; Hi+ 10, Hi 8, Mid 6, Lo 3 fps Sony
Viewfinder—0.5-inch OLED, 3.69 million dots; 100% coverage, about 0.78× magnification; 60/120 fps

The 120 fps finder setting shows a smoother view when following moving subjects.

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Monitor—3.0-inch TFT touchscreen, 1.04 million dots; vari-angle (about 176° opening, 270° rotation) Sony
Connections—USB Type-C (charging/power with USB Power Delivery), Multi/Micro USB, 3.5 mm mic and headphone, Multi Interface Shoe with digital audio interface

USB PD lets the camera run from a power bank or adapter during long shoots.

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Wireless—Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 and 5 GHz); Bluetooth 4.1 Sony
Dust protection—Charge protection coating on the optical filter and sensor-shift mechanism

The coating aims to reduce dust sticking to the sensor; Sony gives no moisture-resistance rating on this page.

Sony