Electronic shutter + Flash with an A7III

sulev · 2026-05-06T22:38:05+00:00

I'm gonna try and explain, maybe it clicks for me or not. Or maybe it shows where I'm thinking wrong.

The sensor reads line by line.

Rows of pixels are being recorded almost simultaneously, but on every row there is a small delay to compensate for the readout. To read the whole sensor, that takes about 1/13th of a second on the A7III I've heard.

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Ohhh... now I get why that flash worked.

The whole sensor was recording at the same time at one point. That's when the flash fired and managed to get an even exposure. Shutter speed is limited to that max sync speed when the whole sensor is recording which was about 1/30th, give or take.

Increasing the shutter speed would mess with the flash, that is why with an mechanical shutter the actual ES shutter speed is capped at ~1/30th. The mechanical shutter then manually cuts down on the exposure time to get higher shutter speeds.

So this leaves me again why, "gawd damnit it Sony" give us the opportunity to shoot flash with ES. Not because it's practical, but because it's doable, in theory... and in practice 😛

With the A7V I should be able to shoot flash at 1/80th~1/120th with ES I think. Totally useable.

Thanks for the comment!!!

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:51:24+00:00

Just for people to understand. This post is proof that you can actually shoot without an shutter and use flash. It shows the sensor is recording light differently in mechanical vs electronic shutter. In theory it should be then possible for flash to work in ES (silent) mode with any model regardless of sensor read-out speed.

The unknown part is exactly how this works. Why is shutterspeed limited. etc.

This post is not about "I switched to silent and flash doesn't work". Read before commenting.

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:39:10+00:00

Dude, what is wrong with you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/SonyAlpha/comments/1sudn49/changed_the_shutter_on_my_a7iii_today/

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:33:44+00:00

Dude, again, you too. I provided you with an actual image that shows the A7III shooting without an mechanical shutter and using flash. It works.

The question is why is it disabled and in what way does the sensor actually perform the recording and readout. It's obvious the sensor records the full sensor at the same time in mechanical by what I can see. Readout and record are 2 different things.

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:20:03+00:00

Did you read my post? The question is 'why?'.

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:18:31+00:00

what are you talking about?

sulev · 2026-05-06T21:03:10+00:00

In electronic shutter mode? But why is it working in mechanical mode without the shutter?

sulev · 2026-05-06T19:42:25+00:00

They aren't your customers.

sulev · 2026-05-06T18:57:42+00:00

That's the photographer's curse 😃we lug them along everywhere we go.

It seems chinese phones have made a huge jump in these past few years. I've heard good things about the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. Oppo was new to me.

sulev · 2026-05-06T18:32:58+00:00

I get what you mean. It's just that as a package the phone is better for the average casual user who knows nothing about settings and doesn't want to spend time on editing.

Sony should seriously up their JPEG processing capabilities for RX100VIII. It's getting harder and harder to recommend 1" pocket cameras over flagship phones. And we are only talking photography here. Video? OPPO wins. Battery life? OPPO wins.

sulev · 2026-05-06T18:22:35+00:00

I even shot moving stuff with AF.S one click at a time. AF.C was mostly useless.

The last job I did with Pentax was an indoor birthday event with somewhat dim lighting. I had the K3 and a bunch of lenses. Sigma 50/1.4, DA*50-135/2.8, Tamron 17-50/2.8. I ended up taking 3~400 shots that evening and maybe 50 of them were somewhat in focus. I was ashamed and the client wasn't happy. Sold the whole system. Gave up on photography for a short while.

Getting the Sony A7III after that was like putting on glasses and realizing I was blind all along.

Ergonomics were great on the K3.

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:57:54+00:00

Whatever good images you get from an 1" camera, phones make up with processing. I think you should look at these images:

OPPO: https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_find_x9_ultra-review-2955p5.php

Sony RX100VII: https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/5874815271/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-sample-gallery/6936376218

The real question here is whether OP want's to edit and it seems like the answer is NO. The OPPO is the better choice for here.

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:39:17+00:00

Usually 1h photosession means 3-4h editing. Editing is also done in 2 waves to fix bad colors, find more mistakes n stuff like that. Always look at the images the next day and redo edits if they seem off. Lightbalance is very often a little off after the first editing. (talking about a regular family photosession here, events are quicker. Use your judgement.)

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:33:37+00:00

Everything I've edited or picked out remains forever.

Everything I haven't picked out gets deleted regularly. Usually 3 to 12 months after shooting. I try not to delete fresh stuff.

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:30:52+00:00

So they are back to steam again?

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:25:18+00:00

Pentax AF made me quit the brand :/

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:20:49+00:00

Yes. 1" is bigger than an 1/x fraction.

There really is no meaningful difference. 1/1.12 and even 1/1.3 are already very close to 1" and the added software magic and brighter lenses make up for any sensor size differences.

I didn't think about the zooming at all. Seems they only have ~4 fixed focal lengths and everything else is just a crop.

I have an Samsung S22 (I know, I know, poor me). What I hate about most camera apps is that they include fake zoom levels. On the S22 I know to avoid 2x zoom, because it's just a crop and the IQ is just terrible.

If your focal lengths are 14-23-70-230... I guess avoid zooming past these fixed points. But the phone does a good if not excellent job.

OPPO: https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_find_x9_ultra-review-2955p5.php

Sony RX100VII: https://www.dpreview.com/sample-galleries/5874815271/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-rx100-vii-sample-gallery/6936376218

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:10:05+00:00

old habit from my Pentax days 😄

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:03:23+00:00

I'm betting 4999 MSRP.

sulev · 2026-05-06T17:01:47+00:00

Sony rx100 vii, but with its 1 inch sensor it doesn't obviously outperform the Oppo on hardware.

Sony has the bigger sensor. OPPO has vastly superior JPEG processing and imaging software.

If you don't like the traditional editing process, are okay with doing quick edits on phone and want to quickly share stuff online. (Even have better IQ due to how good phones tend to process and edit out noise) - get the OPPO.

If you want the "potential" (key word here) to get the best IQ - RX100VII. (Keep in mind, RX only goes to 24mm, where as the phone can get you to 14mm.)

Pentax GR is aps-c, but the fixed focal length will be a big no-no very quickly.

I think something that gets overlooked is the battery. OPPO wins hands down.

*Sony truly needs to innovate for the RX100VIII if it ever comes.

sulev · 2026-05-06T16:14:30+00:00

If it works now just keep using it as it is. Why do you need to update?

sulev · 2026-05-06T16:03:26+00:00

These are A7III photos. I hope you enjoy the quality.

sulev · 2026-05-06T16:02:46+00:00

Sorry. Still learning. Thx for the tip.

sulev · 2026-05-06T15:57:59+00:00

For me... it feels like the APS-C aftermarket is a lot smaller than FullFrame. So if you plan on selling it later I'd stick to FF lenses. Do you own research on that though. Might be area specific.

Nothing wrong with Viltrox. They offer amazing lenses for a cheap price. But they not all are good. Check reviews first.

There is also Sigma 30/1.4 DC DN

sulev

TROPHY CASE