Sony A9 III will be "the world’s fastest full frame camera"

Hannah Rooke
·2 min read
Sony A9.
Sony A9.

It’s been rumored ad nauseum that the Sony A9 III will be announced in early November (likely at Sony's Creative Space event in New York), alongside a Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens.

Since Sony registered two new cameras in China, we have been weighing what they could be. While an upgrade to the Sony A9 II makes perfect sense, considering it’s now four years old, A Sony A7S IV or a Sony A1 II (although less likely) could also be in the running.

Sony has not officially made any announcements regarding what will be revealed at the event, but Sony Alpha Rumors has shared some supposedly leaked specs. And the site's owner, Andrea Pizzini, has just released a video outlining what we could see in the new Sony A9 III:

Although he admits the information hasn’t come from his most reliable sources, it’s the first we’ve heard of any leaks and gives us some food for thought. We can’t be disappointed if the following isn’t true (after all, it is a rumor) but, according to Pizzini, the Sony A9 III will look and feel very much like the existing Sony A1, with the same lefthand dial.

It is likely to have a 33-36MP stacked sensor, developed specifically for the new camera. When in continuous burst mode, it’s said to be able to shoot 12-bit RAW images at 40fps and 14-bit RAW images at 30fps.

While he reiterates that he's not 100% sure about the details, he is bullish on the stacked sensor and its readout speed. "All I know form [sic] trusted sources is that the A9III uses a new stacked sensor to make it the world’s fastest FF camera." (The Nikon Z8 and Z9 both shoot at 120fps, so they are faster cameras, though they only output low-res JPEGs at that speed.)

Primarily designed to be a sports camera, the Sony A9 III won’t feature 8K video as there is really no need for it – speed, resolution, and autofocus accuracy are the main concerns.

Alongside the launch of three possible products, Sony could also release new firmware for the Sony A1 on the same day – and we are hoping it will add some significant upgrades (something Sony firmware updates haven't done much of). With Creative Space fast approaching, it won’t be long before we can stop fantasizing and start giving you some solid facts on what exciting releases Sony has up its sleeve.

We see the Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM lens fast becoming one of the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife – find out what other lenses are top-rated.