Sony a9iii Wildlife & Bird Photography Field Review & Sony 300 2.8 Review (Initial Impressions) 

Steve I was a fatal accident investigator in NY, one of the formulas we use (developed by Northwestern University) was perception/reaction coefficient, it is generally accepted humans take .75 seconds to perceive AND react to visual stimuli

While some select features of the A9iii are impressive, the A1 is the true workhorse for the majority of wildlife photography in my opinion. The poor low light performance as compared to the A1 and the 24MP vs. 50MP are deal breakers for 99% of my photography and the impressive 120FPS spec may only apply less than 1% of the time for my photography. I think the real winner in this video is the 300 F2.8 lens real world observations that it is still excellent with TCs. Thanks for sharing your experience. Very helpful.

As always with Steve, an informative and balanced description.

I got the Sony A9iii and 300 GM adding to my A1 and 400 GM. The pre capture of the A9iii is a game changer for bird photography, enabling me to capture photos I would have previously missed. I was initially worried about only 24mp sensor, but in use if I have to crop heavily I will upscale image with Topaz and have not really noticed a reduction in image quality over the A1. The only problem is my cropping ability is much more limited if I want to enter images in photo contests to comply with the rules. For the 300 GM, the lightness in weight now makes it my go to lens and results with teleconverters are so good I cannot really see any degradation in real life - so this is now my go to lens. What an incredible set-up!

Hi Steve, so glad to see you still doing reviews on sony gear. I am a Perry fanboy and your sony a1 set-up ebook is the best guide I ever bought! I'm not interested in the a9iii though but will wait for the a1ii to replace my a1. Could also think of the Z8, however, it doesn't make sense for me to change system. Have the 300mm F2.8 and it replaced my 400mm 2.8. The weight difference is game changing.

Nice video as ever, Steve. I have the A1 and was using the 100-400 lens. But planning to get the 300 2.8.. looks quite light and pairing with the A1 and a 1.4 teleconverter, it should cover quite a good range at f4. If one uses the APSC mode in the A1, still longer reach, so all in all that looks like a great combination - even better than the 100-400's flexibility.

Great review Steve! Sony needs to do the built in teleconverter in their lenses.

For me the Sony A7RIV, A7RIVA works fine for Wildlife & Bird Photograph. I was close to buy the Sony 300mm 2.8 GM with teleconverters, but then the Sigma 500mm 5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens was announced, I got the Sigma in March and it is an excellent Lens, compact, light Weight, very easy to handle and use, I can carry it for hours in my hand when I am hiking in the Nature.

One of the things I noticed about using the 300 GM with the A9 III is how fast the lens locks on focus. After upgrading the firmware on the A9 III to 2.0 and being able to shoot at shutter speeds of up to 1/80000 in all drive modes, the few chances I’ve had to try it out have been incredible. Sony really thought this out well. IMO it is well worth it to get native lenses that utilize the full power of the A9 III vs 3rd party. The 300 GM is the wave of the future for telephoto primes. The weight and balance alone makes it a joy to shoot. Although the 400 and 600 primes weigh more and are bulkier they are both outstanding but I just have a gut feeling that versions 2 will be smaller, lighter and faster. Nikon did a great job with their 600 and 800 6.3. I almost went for the Z8 but I am so ensconced in the Sony ecosystem that I probably would have flipped back later. So I’m glad I didn’t. Sony has been my main gear for over a decade starting with the a6000. I see the A9 III as being the start of more innovation on Sonys part. Global shutter. No offense intended for high MP sensor owners but even though I have the A7RV I have barely used it. And it has 61 MP. A great camera also. Watch all the superb reviews but boring. The A9 III? Fun as hell! 👍🏻

Thanks Steve for doing this Sony review. Your A1 book is a masterpiece and allowed me to get so much more out of my A1. The 300mm looks very attractive for the weight.

300mm f2.8 weighs 1.5kg. very impressive. waiting for Nikon version.

The cropping factor analogy that you did with the A1 vs A9III is the exact same reason why I'd stick with a 400 f2.8 vs a 300. 300mm is just too short in most wildlife photography I'd argue. And having to constantly slap on teleconverters is just too big of a hassle. The price point definitely helps though!

Great work, Steve. Having been there on the Chobe river about a year ago, I will confirm how fast those Malachite Kingfishers are, let alone how small they are. I was only shooting my D6 and D850 and simply getting the bird in the frame at times seemed like an accomplishment.

Pangolin + Steve Perry, what a collab!

Besides the awesome review (as all of your reviews) I love all of the easter eggs like quoting epic Italo Western “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo) opening the door for Clint Eastwood becoming a superstar.

Great video! Appreciate your insight with the A9III. I just got the 300mm as well and agree with everything you said. Just wow! The lightness of it will make it a lens I grab a great deal more often to shoot.

as always, very informative, very inspiring. thanks so much.

I’ve been using this combo since Jan 24. I’m an hobby photographer do all sort s of genres performance as well as wildlife. My standard is not even close to Steve’s! Have shot with A9, A7R4, A7R5 and A74. Hired the A1 when it first came out for a week dont did video and didn’t find it that great for the price at the time. Mostly use the 100-400 and 200-600 for wild life. Hired the 400 2.8 for a weekend but don’t have the budget for that or the 600 f4. So my A93 is now my go to body most of the time if my subject moves! Have not had an issue with low light and that’s the norm for me in Northern Europe where it still feels like winter in June. Agree the 250 iso is too high but like all bodies you can drop it but only to 125. Having a faster shutter speed is not really an issue though. Denoise software is very good these days, but just a chore in post if you’ve many images to process which for a dance event can be hundreds. The 300 is much lighter than the 200-600 and does take teleconverters well the 1.4 is great the x2 not bad where as I would say 2x not usable with some body/lens combo as the focus is too slow. Not tried the 120fps don’t really need that but precapture is good. As Steve said need to remember to turn it off to not get a lot of shots of a stationary object! The 24 megapixel feels like more I was hoping for an increase perhaps 33 would have been ideal. The 300mm lens I find the foot too short and I hold the lens by the large rubber focus ring. If dmf was on this was an issue as the lens appeared not to focus! Overall if you have the budget I do recommend both products, use the 300 on the A7R5 don’t have the fps but that is good enough for a lot of my wildlife when one needs a big crop 😊

Thx you Steve for this great review, I am a hobbyist and always a Sony shooter from the start, the A9iii i will never own, way above my skillset ,I really like the new 300mm F2.8, I tried it out a bit at my camera store on my A74 and was surprised at the weight of both Camera/lens, nicely balanced for me , I have carpal tunnel in both hands so i can't hold anything to heavy for long, I didn't get sore hands using the 300mm on my A74 and it took great pics and then they gave me the 1.4 Tx with it and like you i was stunned at no noticeable change in sharpness or resolution , for what the 300mm can capture and the way it performs and especially the balance it has on my body , I think its a good price with the 1.4 TX and its still half the price of the 400mm F2.8 here in Canada , to order a 300mm here in Canada it s 6 to 10 months to get one which to me is ok just allows more time to save up for it 👍

Steve: Excellent real-world review of the A9iii! Having used it for much of my bird photography since its release, I agree with your conclusions. For bird workshops, I'll use it for relatively near setups and feeders with lots of action and pre-capture opportunities but will stick with the A1 in the field walking around. Thanks!

for most of my DSLR career I used the 300 f2.8 with the 1.4 and 2.0 TC's on the Nikon D800, D500, D3s/D4/D5/ and D850. For birds I used the Sigma or Tampon 150-600 lens as girds are not my main subject. Bigger game here in Africa, we are blessed. Now use the Z8 with 400 f4.5 but cannot wait for the Nikon 300 f2.8 as I crave the 2.8 especially low light. I am not a great fan of the f6.3 zoom lenses, personal preference. For me the 70-200 f2.8 and 300 f2.8 with 1.4 and 2.0 works for me. Fortunately the 70-200 f2.8 Z mount works very well with TC's and give be 280 f4 on the zoom or in DX mode 420 f4 for very flexible closer distance zoom. So cannot wait for the 300 f2.8 and the Nikon Z500 (high level DX Body.) I am not based by the A9iii as the price is just crazy high and for my use the Z8 is perfect. Great Video as always

I can’t believe I’ve had this camera the last 2-3 months and only just now (after seeing your video) have found the other focus menus for the specific subjects etc 🫣😁. I am pleased to see your video Steve as always. Thankyou.

Thank you Steve, Good info. I am in the market for a new Sony and this helped me a lot.

Ciao Steve. I'm a Nikon shooter and when I saw the performances and the weight of the 300 2.8 I decided to give it a go with the megadapt. I was shocked by the results. Not only behave very well on my Z8 , but when I paired with the TC2x I barely saw any difference. Fast, precise, sharp, beautiful transictions... a prime 600mm at f5.6 without compromises. What a lens!!! I made only the mistake to let my partner use on her A7r5. She doesn't let it go anymore. Ciao!!

I’ve got an A7RV and A9. I’ve rented the A9iii. There are specific scenarios where precapture and high frame rate would help. Red bellied woodpecker parents leaving nest. Probably got 20 great wing spread photos over 15 days (30-45 minutes near nest). I think I could have gotten more in one session with the a9iii. I did decide on the A7RV as my personal body (cropping and overall IQ). Bigger birds like Osprey and Herons are pretty easy in flight with A7RV, as long as you stick to mechanical shutter (even better if you jump to APSC).

Yes, the video I was patiently waiting for.

Great stuff....Not a Sony user (all $$ currently in Nikon) but clearly for Action is the way to go! One day perhaps I'll get the body and a mid focal prime just for Willd life here where 600mm would not work well as I just walk a 3 mile loop in tree cover out of tress in tall grass in the open repeat but the action is fast and furious so I'm thinking a 300/2,8 prime would be ideal! Still hoping Nikons gonna get our Z9s up to 30fps at raw!

FANTASTIC VIDEO!!!!!! AS ALWAYS!!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏 thank you very very mucho for sharing and for your work!!!!! looking forward to have this kind of camera

Love you energy and presentation

Just got my 300mm last weekend, excellent even with the TC's speed same A/F or better than the 600mm f4 . amazing sticking with my A1 waiting for the A1 mark 2 👌

I shoot mostly wildlife and especially birds. 120fps is not a thing for me. Its just too many files to go through, and I don't want to deal with it. Having a 46-50MP is the sweet spot right now for wildlife. The ability to go crop mode for extra reach and/or flexibility to crop in post easily outweighs the faster burst rate of the A9III. As for general comments on being stuck with 24MP and a 300mm prime, its wishful thinking to say you can just get closer and fill the frame. That is not going to work out the majority of the time. Being able to step back a bit seems to be an option a lot more often. IMHO a 300 f2.8 is not really a wildlife lens, and in the case of Sony their TC's are the worst of the big three. For wildlife, I would pick a Z8 and a Z 600 PF lens over the A1/A9III and E 300 f2.8 any day of the week even if the price was the same...which its not. You're talking $7800 vs $12000.

Amazing information thank you . Using both the cameras and primes. Terrific knowledge imparted . SP fan club . Cheers

Waiting for A1 mark 2 . That 50 mega pixels with minimum 60fps would be great

Many thanks for the heads-up on this camera, Steve. I think here in the UK there will not be enough occasions to use it unfortunately, the birds tend to be quite distant (years of being shot by humans). It was also frightening to hear you rightly say that you would go for the A1 in low light situations. Overall, not convinced about this camera for my BIF photography requirements and shall keep going with my lovely A1 & 600mm f4. An impressive camera in some ways, but has too many technical issues for me.

Damn now that's some retired dentist level gear! Almost 6k for a 300mm! I'm out 😂 I don't begrudge seasoned wildlife photographers that have had an entire career of working up to this sort of gear but it's bloody hard watching new folk turning up with this stuff.

Excellent review Steve!! If we need Pro-level review we should hit your channel!!

Wath a great video. And i think too, it's a very special camera for some people. For me , no. More Megapixel are important for me. I like my Z8 and my Z800. Especially for bird fotografie. And 20f/s very enough for the most people. Have good day. Günter

Thanks for the video Steve , very interesting .One thing I'm noticing a lot with the images posted on BC etc they have an almost yellow cast to them, colours look a little odd compared to say the A1 , also seeing quite a lot of highlight blowout. BTW you already answered what I needed to know, I'll just be sticking with the A1

Hey Steve, 1000 thanks, awesome review as always 🙌🏻. Where do you enable the display settings like shown at 7:32? I went through all the menus and couldn’t find it. For your convenience, my a9iii body is at firmware 2.01.

That screen mechanism seems pretty much perfect, hope the Nikon Z9 & Z8 successors will go with this instead of the flippy screen, that Nikon seems to be going all-in on. Overall, impressive camera and very exciting tech. For wildlife, though, I think the higher MP stacked sensor cameras (A1, Z8, Z9, R5 mkII?) are still mostly the way to go.

Great Information, Thanks Steve

Great video, really helped with my setup on the a9iii. This camera should be a game changer for lightning photos with the pre-capture don't you think?

At 120 frames per second, the buffer will hold 2 seconds of shots if using compressed raw. It's the uncompressed raw that only lasts one second.

Terrific review. Thanks!

Steve. It will be interesting if you get the chance to test the new Sigma 500mm f5.6 Sport for the Sony version. It is a very “affordable” and appealing option for many people that are looking for a prime quality without breaking the bank. Thank you!

Hi Steve, what do you rate as the best CF Express Type A card to use on the A9iii? I'm interested in speed to clear out the buffer, thanks in advance!

Steve, how bright is the a9iii’s screen? Is it no problem to use it at bright sunlight or is it still dull like on the a9ii or even a1 or is the one of the Z6 III better? Talking of the LCD, not EVF. Thanks for help!

Glad you're wading more into the Sony ecosystem, Steve. I know Nikon and Canon are the legacy brands and still relevant but Sony has been on fire lately. Love the changes they've made with their ergos and they're refining their bodies to be competitive. The tech is simply unmatched, IMO. Would love to see more of your ebooks and continued commitment to Sony. Appreciate your work!

a 300 2.8 is the best allrounder to this day for me.❤ And the 1st mirrorless 300 2.8 Nikon will be the 1st interesting new tele.

Pretty soon all we’ll need to do is turn up and the camera will do it all for us! For me the sense of achievement is declining partly because if one has the money for the gear then it’s pretty straight forward to get the images!

Thanks for informative review

Great and informative video

So, I'm in the odd position of being able to get the Sony 300 2.8, but I won't be able to upgrade my body from the A7III for some time. I haven't seen any reviews saying for sure how they work together. I was wondering if anybody has used this 300mm 2.8 GM on an A7III, and what are your thoughts?

I’ve handled this camera at B&H store along with the a1. Its grip is much much better than the a1 or any Sony camera for that matter.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on fujifilms cameras like the xh2s and xt5. Hopefully we will get some nice primes soon too

Dang I guess the Sony 5g transmitter is required for this. Looks like the issue is read/write speeds and storage space. I wonder if going only video mode might perform better than taking photos itself

Pls test with the 1.4x tele converter

Nice video Steve,But for us Z9 Z8 users is Nikon going to give us pre capture or are they just twiddling their thumbs?

6:52 I have 22~23 sec with my Z8 (45MP lossless raw) at 20 FPS, it must be something with the card you used.

how do you feel the Z6iii autofocus compares to this with wildlife and sharpness

@backcountrygallery You just have to produce your configuration guide of the A9III!

Looks like A93 blew z9/z8 out of the water? Or is this not correct?

Great video Steve! really looking forward to that A1ii now. Do you feel that the new 300mm with the 2X works really good on the A9iii only or is it just as good no the current A1?

Very Well Explain Steve 👌👍

I get longer buffer times than you, eg 4 seconds for 60fps and 13secs for 30fps, I suspect it's because I use compressed raw.

Thank you Steve, masahiro

Amazing that the A1 stills holds up, how long has it been?

Great video, Steve! How often did you reach for the 300 vs the 600 vs the 100-400?

Great video.

Thanks for your insight. I mulled over this camera for quite a long while over the points you brought up and hesitated until recently. I had been shooting an A7 IV for over 3 years along with the 200-600 but always felt frustrated in terms of birds in flight or action in some cases. Since getting the A9 III I have been so impressed with not only the AF but the high fps. I entertained the thought of the A1 but felt as a 3 year old camera it was overpriced. Considering Nikon has released the Z8. I also thought about waiting for the A1 Mark II but Sony hasn’t given any real indication of when they will refresh it or even if they will refresh it. So, I ended up selling my trusty A7 IV and also getting the A7RV for landscape, stills and low light situations. And for those static bird shots where I might want that extra resolution. Personally I feel the issues in regards to the resolution, ISO and DR with the A9 III are overblown as IMHO, the IQ is incredibly good and those issues can be easily resolved in post. I also have the 300 GM with both TCs and have been so happy with the results. I actually got the lens a couple of months before I got the cameras. A friend of mine who has the A1 also said the A9 III is now his favorite camera and I can see why. I love mine! So for those wanting to wait for that A1 Mark II that was me a couple of months ago. But I sure am glad I got this beast of a camera. It’s an excellent tool for wildlife photography IMO and with the 300 you have everything you need to capture any type of action. Whether it be sports or wildlife. And if you want that extra resolution and better performance in low light? Go to your A1 if you have one or in my case the AR75 with the updated form factor and AI AF. Still the A9 III has the best AF I have ever used hands down. When the A1 Mark II comes out, hopefully in a year, I will probably get it but for now I’m very happy. But spending $6500 for a new A1? Nope. The A9 III is a much better deal. 👍🏻 Global shutter, flash sync. No rolling shutter. 120 FPS in raw. New form factor. AI AF. The pros IMO far outweigh the cons. If Sony does a refresh of the A1 all of those will be in it I’m sure. Global shutter? Not sure about that but interesting to think about. 🤔

The other point of the 300mm is price, it is "cheap" compared to anything the competitors have: $5998 1470g vs $9499 2590g for the Canon 100-300mm f2.8. Nikon does not even have a Native 300mm f2.8 , and the old one is $5497 @2900g. Nobody has check the Sony's performance at close range to see if it's a true 300mm, but for wildlife Applications is less relevant. Now for me 300mm is a little bit short, and I shoot Nikon so for me the 400mm f4.5 is a better option and I like Nikon created that one before working on a 300mm f2.8

I wonder, how people used to live 5 years ago before 50mp sensors. Yea i know, D850, but not all use Nikon and everyone was pretty happy shooting D500, 19mp cropped sensor. As for ISO, here is the question, what was the max ISO on D850 anyone used? :) On the 'no lower ISO', well, its a matter of getting used to cranking up shutter speeds. There is a reason M43 cameras with base ISO 200 had shutter speeds 16000 long before FF cameras got 8000 fps.

Hi, Is it a good way to rename all the imported pictures to lightroom classic or leave the pictures name as is. Thank you.

Great video. Do you not think that the price of that set up puts it out of the reach of the average person? It’s a bit like some apple products. We would all like bits but just can’t afford it. 😢

steve what are your bets on a A1 mk2 opting for a global shutter ,will sony refine it enough so iq does not get to impacted in real worlds use,or will they try to advance existing stacked sensors ?If i remember the original A9 was never a champion of image quality but could outperform the competition in speed, but never the loss of iq like the global shutter ,i guess becuase only half the photosite is open to light whilst the other half is used to store it. Still that 300mm f2,8 looks very nice and at least a option for sony users to get 600mm with out breaking in to sweat.price and weight .

I'm a slow responder for good BIF, only occasionally able to capture decent BIF photos 😂😂

Have you used the sony 300mm on a nikon body with an adapter? Wonder how that combo works

I am guessing that the 24mp is partly due to the poorer iso as if it were a 45mp sensor l guess the iso would be a lot worse eh.

How does it compare with Z8 in terms of auto focus, pre capture and global shutter ?

I would not change my Canon R5 and R3. Great camera though

You are a Rock Start

final toughts: buy a Z8 instead LOL

Sony is great making computers that take pictures and videos. So if you are able to get through the menus and read the manual ask for a diploma from Sony that you have graduated successfully. Cheers!

better off with a used a9 VER 1 for 1500$

"spoiler alert" if you use manual settings, you never need exposure compensating.

1000th view!

Let's wait for AI, which auto clicks :}

Why do you review 300 mm f2.8 and showing 100% of the images made on 600 mm f4.. makes no sense.. You can reveiw A9iii but titling it "300 mm f2.8" and then showing all images on 600 mm f4 totaly screwed this video and I feel only clickbaited. I might be interested in 300 mm f2.8 and saw nothing important, with zero examples.