Sony Alpha 7R VI vs Sony Alpha 7S III
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SonyAlpha 7R VI | SonyAlpha 7S III | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | June 2026 | September 2020 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | Mirrorless | Mirrorless |
| Sensor format | Full frame | Full frame |
| Sensor type | Back-illuminated fully stacked Exmor RS CMOS | Back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 35.9 × 24 mm | 35.6 × 23.8 mm |
| Effective resolution | 66.8 MP | 12.1 MP |
| Largest image | 9984 × 6656 | 4240 × 2832 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 100–32000 | 80–102400 |
| Sensor detail | Approximately 72.6 million total pixels; effective resolution is up to 66.8 MP for stills and 55.8 MP for movies. Four- or 16-frame Pixel Shift Multi Shooting requires computer compositing; extended RAW processing modes are separate from the 9984 × 6656 normal still output. | Approximately 12.9 million total pixels; 3:2 sensor; anti-static coating and ultrasonic dust reduction |
| Image formats | JPEG, HEIF, RAW, RAW+JPEG and RAW+HEIF; Sony ARW 6.0. Compressed HQ RAW available. | JPEG, 10-bit HEIF and compressed or uncompressed 14-bit RAW (Sony ARW 4.0); XAVC S, XAVC S-I and XAVC HS movies |
| ISO detail | Standard still-image ISO 100–32000; expanded ISO 50–102400. Dynamic Active movie stabilisation limits movie ISO to 100–25600 in the exact Japanese specification. | Standard still-image and movie ISO 80–102400; still-image extension ISO 40–409600; movie extension reaches ISO 409600 |
| Image processor | BIONZ XR2 with integrated AI processing unit. | BIONZ XR |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Sony E-mount | Sony E-mount |
| Stabilisation | Sensor shift | Sensor shift |
| Maximum continuous burst | 30 fps | 10 fps |
| Lens detail | – | Interchangeable E-mount; full-frame FE lenses use the whole sensor; APS-C still-image crop available. ILCE-7SM3 is supplied without a lens. |
| Autofocus | Fast Hybrid AF with up to 759 phase-detection points for stills or movies and approximately 94% still-image area coverage. Recognition covers people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains and aircraft; Auto subject recognition supported. AF-S sensitivity is EV −6 to 20 with F1.2 at ISO 100, or EV −11 to 20 in the specified Bright Monitoring mode. | Fast Hybrid AF with 759 phase-detection and 425 contrast-detection points in full-frame stills; detection range EV -6 to 20 at ISO 100 with an f/2 lens; Real-time Tracking and human Eye AF in stills and video; animal Eye AF for stills |
| Shutter | Mechanical and electronic shutters; exact Sony specifications list 30 seconds to 1/8000 second for stills, with Bulb for mechanical shooting. Flash sync 1/250 second full-frame or 1/320 second APS-C with compatible Sony flash; electronic first curtain supported. | Mechanical or silent electronic focal-plane shutter; 30 seconds to 1/8000 second plus Bulb; flash sync 1/250 second with Sony flash; selectable electronic first curtain |
| Burst detail | Up to approximately 30 fps blackout-free electronic Hi+ with AF/AE tracking and up to 60 AF/AE calculations per second; mechanical Hi+ up to 10 fps. Maker buffer figures include 215 fine JPEG, 150 RAW or 65 compressed HQ RAW frames; card and recording conditions affect results. Pre-Capture and continuous-speed boost supported; lens compatibility affects maximum speed. | Up to 10 fps Hi+ with AF/AE tracking, 8 fps Hi with live view, 6 fps Mid or 3 fps Lo; Sony claims over 1,000 uncompressed RAW images at 10 fps with a CFexpress Type A card |
| Stabilisation detail | Five-axis sensor shift; Sony claims 8.5 stops at the centre and 7.0 at the periphery under CIPA 2024 pitch/yaw/roll conditions with FE 50mm F1.2 GM and long-exposure noise reduction off. Dynamic Active video stabilisation narrows the field of view more than Active mode. | Five-axis sensor-shift correction; maker claim 5.5 stops under CIPA pitch/yaw testing with the FE 50 mm f/1.4 ZA lens and long-exposure noise reduction off; Active movie mode adds electronic correction and narrows the view |
| Flash | – | No built-in flash; Multi Interface Shoe supports compatible external flash; flash unavailable with electronic shutter |
| Exposure controls | – | 1200-zone evaluative metering; program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual modes; exposure compensation ±5 EV, or ±3 EV using the dedicated dial |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 7680 × 4320 at 30 fps | 3840 × 2160 at 120 fps |
| Video detail | XAVC HS 8K at approximately 30p/25p/24p supports 10-bit 4:2:2 or 4:2:0. 8K oversamples from 8.2K and narrows the field of view. Full-frame 4K 60p is uncropped; uncropped 4K 120p requires 4K angle-of-view priority On. Dual Gain Shooting works only at 4K 30p or lower. Sony's 120-minute 8K claim uses 30p 200 Mbps 4:2:0 10-bit, temperature setting High, monitor open and 25°C ambient; it is not an unconditional recording limit. | Internal 3840 × 2160 up to 120p NTSC or 100p PAL with 10-bit 4:2:2 options; 120p crops the view by approximately 10%. XAVC S/HS reaches 280 Mbps at 120p; XAVC S-I All-Intra reaches 600 Mbps at 60p. S&Q supports Full HD 240 fps capture with 1420 × 804 sensor readout. HDMI can output 4264 × 2408 16-bit RAW at up to 60p to a compatible external recorder. S-Log2/S-Log3, HLG, timecode and gamma display assist; current Sony specifications include S-Cinetone. |
| Audio | Built-in stereo microphone and 3.5 mm microphone/headphone sockets. Optional XLR-A4 enables up to 96 kHz 32-bit float four-channel in-camera recording through the digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe; this is not an internal-microphone specification. | Built-in stereo microphone; 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets; digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe; compatible accessories support four-channel 24-bit LPCM |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Electronic | Electronic |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 2,095,104 | 1,440,000 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Tilting screen | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | Four-axis TFT LCD tilts approximately 98° up and 40° down, opens 180° sideways and rotates 270° in the open position; automatic vertical information display supported. | Side-opening vari-angle LCD; opens approximately 176° and rotates approximately 270°; touch menus and focus selection |
| Viewfinder detail | 0.64-inch Quad-XGA OLED with 9,437,184 dots and approximately 0.90× magnification; 60/120 fps display. Sony specifies DCI-P3-equivalent gamut and 10-bit HDR display. | 0.64-type Quad-XGA OLED; 9,437,184 dots; 100% coverage; approximately 0.90× magnification with a 50 mm lens at infinity; 60 or 120 fps refresh |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 710 photographs | 600 photographs |
| Body weight | 622 g | 614 g (better) |
| Release detail | Sony UK specifies availability from June 2026; month precision is retained. Sony Japan separately specifies 5 June 2026 for ILCE-7RM6, which is not treated as the UK sale day. | Sony USA specifies September 2020 retail availability. This is ILCE-7SM3 with current maker-supported specification features. |
| Recording media | Two multi-format slots, each accepting CFexpress 2 Type A or UHS-I/UHS-II SD media. | Two combined CFexpress Type A/SD slots, each supporting UHS-I and UHS-II SDHC/SDXC; simultaneous, relay or separate-format recording |
| Ports | Two USB Type-C ports; port 1 supports 10 Gbps USB 3.2, port 2 supports 480 Mbps USB 2.0. Full-size HDMI, microphone and headphone sockets, sync terminal and digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe; no Micro USB terminal. | Full-size HDMI Type A, USB-C (USB 3.2 at 5 Gbps), Multi/Micro USB, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets, digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe and vertical-grip connector |
| Wireless connections | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax at 2.4/5/6 GHz and Bluetooth 5.3; no NFC in maker specifications. | Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4 and 5 GHz; Bluetooth 5.0; NFC; FTP transfer and smartphone remote control; 5 GHz availability varies by region |
| Battery life detail | NP-SA100, 2670 mAh; CIPA approximately 710 photographs with LCD or 600 with viewfinder. USB Type-C Power Delivery charging and power supported; Sony Japan requires a 27 W or higher compatible supply/cable for the specified in-camera charging setup. | NP-FZ100; CIPA maker claim approximately 600 photographs using LCD or 510 using viewfinder; actual movie claim approximately 95 minutes with LCD or 80 with viewfinder |
| Charging | – | USB-C in-camera charging and power supply with USB Power Delivery support |
| Dimensions | Approximately 132.7 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm (width × height × maximum depth); grip-to-monitor depth 72.8 mm. | Approximately 128.9 × 96.9 × 80.8 mm; depth from grip to monitor 69.7 mm |
| Weight detail | Approximately 622 g body only; 713 g with battery and memory card; lens excluded. | Approximately 614 g body only; 699 g with battery and memory card; both exclude lens |
| Materials | – | Magnesium-alloy body; maker describes dust and moisture resistance without guaranteeing complete protection |
| In the box | NP-SA100 battery, BC-SAD1 charger, cable clamper, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap and eyepiece cup, according to Sony UK. | Sony Japan lists NP-FZ100 battery, BC-QZ1 charger and mains cable, cable protector, strap, body/shoe caps, eyepiece cup and USB-A to USB-C cable |
More comparisons
- Nikon Z5IIC vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Canon EOS R8 Mark II vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Nikon Z 8 vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Canon EOS R5 Mark II vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 1 II vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 1 vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7CR vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R II vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R III vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R III (ILCE-7RM3A) vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R IV vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R IVA vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7R V vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Sony Alpha 7 V vs Sony Alpha 7R VI
- Canon EOS R6 V vs Sony Alpha 7R VI