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Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III

Portability
57
Imaging
56
Features
45
Overall
51
Sigma SD1 Merrill front
 
Sony Alpha A7S III front
Portability
61
Imaging
65
Features
92
Overall
75

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Key Specs

Sigma SD1 Merrill
(Full Review)
  • 15MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • No Video
  • Sigma SA Mount
  • 790g - 146 x 113 x 80mm
  • Introduced April 2012
  • Old Model is Sigma SD1
Sony A7S III
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 80 - 102400 (Push to 409600)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 699g - 129 x 97 x 81mm
  • Launched July 2020
  • Previous Model is Sony A7S II
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Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Overview

Here, we will be evaluating the Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sony A7S III, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by companies Sigma and Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the resolutions of the SD1 Merrill (15MP) and A7S III (12MP) and the SD1 Merrill (APS-C) and A7S III (Full frame) have totally different sensor dimensions.

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The SD1 Merrill was announced 9 years prior to the A7S III which is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Sigma SD1 Merrill being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony A7S III being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before going straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a simple view of how the SD1 Merrill scores vs the A7S III when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Sigma SD1 Merrill over the Sony A7S III

 SD1 Merrill A7S III 

Reasons to pick Sony A7S III over the Sigma SD1 Merrill

 A7S III SD1 Merrill 
LaunchedJuly 2020April 2012Newer by 100 months
Screen typeFully articulatedFixed Fully Articulating screen
Screen resolution1440k460kCrisper screen (+980k dot)
Selfie screen Take selfies
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sony A7S III

 SD1 Merrill A7S III 
Manual focus Very accurate focus
Screen size3"3"Same screen sizing

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Physical Comparison

When you are going to travel with your camera frequently, you should factor its weight and volume. The Sigma SD1 Merrill has got external dimensions of 146mm x 113mm x 80mm (5.7" x 4.4" x 3.1") accompanied by a weight of 790 grams (1.74 lbs) whilst the Sony A7S III has sizing of 129mm x 97mm x 81mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.2") having a weight of 699 grams (1.54 lbs).

See the Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sony A7S III in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have attached at the time. Underneath is a front view size comparison of the SD1 Merrill versus the A7S III.

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SD1 Merrill and A7S III is 57 and 61 respectively.

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III top view buttons comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Sensor Comparison

Typically, its hard to see the gap in sensor dimensions only by looking through technical specs. The picture here will provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the SD1 Merrill and A7S III.

As you have seen, both of these cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SD1 Merrill with its smaller sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field tougher and the Sigma SD1 Merrill will provide you with more detail with its extra 3MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures way more aggressively. The more aged SD1 Merrill will be behind in sensor technology.

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III sensor size comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Screen and ViewFinder

Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill as a Portrait photography camera
Sony A7S III as a Portrait photography camera
65
you can focus manually
decent sensor resolution (15MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
doesn't have liveview
71
focusing manually
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers face detection autofocus
saves RAW files
low resolution (12MP)
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Street Comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill as a Street photography camera
Sony A7S III as a Street photography camera
57
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
76
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW files
boasts touch focus
environment proofing
above average high ISO (102,400)
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Sports Comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill Sports photography information
Sony A7S III Sports photography information
61
decent sensor resolution (15 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
environment proofing
has phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
does not have image stabilization
76
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
offers tracking autofocus
environment proofing
good battery (600 per charge)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
low resolution (12MP)
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Travel Comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill Travel photography factors
Sony A7S III Travel photography factors
54
environment proofing
decent sensor resolution (15 megapixels)
missing Timelapse recording
doesn't contain selfie friendly screen
70
good battery (600 per charge)
environment proofing
supports bluetooth
boasts touch focus
selfie friendly screen
low resolution (12 megapixels)
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Landscape Comparison

Sigma SD1 Merrill as a Landscape photography camera
Sony A7S III as a Landscape photography camera
63
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sigma SA mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
decent sensor resolution (15 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
environment proofing
doesn't have liveview
does not have image stabilization
missing Timelapse recording
77
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
large sensor size (Full frame)
above average high ISO (102,400)
saves RAW files
environment proofing
good battery (600 shots)
two card slots
low resolution (12 megapixels)
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Sigma SD1 Merrill
Vlogging with Sony A7S III
9
no video shooting
77
selfie friendly screen
touchscreen functionality
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
offers face detection autofocus
high video quality (3840 x 2160 resolution)
includes external microphone socket
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Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony A7S III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sony A7S III
 Sigma SD1 MerrillSony Alpha A7S III
General Information
Brand Sigma Sony
Model Sigma SD1 Merrill Sony Alpha A7S III
Class Advanced DSLR Pro Mirrorless
Introduced 2012-04-10 2020-07-21
Physical type Mid-size SLR SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by Dual True II Bionz XR
Sensor type CMOS (Foveon X3) BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C Full frame
Sensor measurements 24 x 16mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 384.0mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 15 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio - 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4800 x 3200 4240 x 2832
Highest native ISO 6400 102400
Highest boosted ISO - 409600
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Min boosted ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Number of focus points - 759
Lens
Lens mounting type Sigma SA Sony E
Number of lenses 76 121
Focal length multiplier 1.5 1
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fully articulated
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 1,440 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 9,440 thousand dots
Viewfinder coverage 96% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.64x 0.91x
Features
Slowest shutter speed - 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed - 1/8000 secs
Continuous shooting rate - 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range no built-in flash no built-in flash
Flash options no built-in flash no built-in flash
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 @ 120p / 280 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 100p / 280 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 60p / 200 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 50p / 200 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 140 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 25p / 140 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 3840 x 2160 @ 24p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.265, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 120p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 100p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 60p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 50p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 25p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1920 x 1080 @ 24p / 50 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, XAVC S, XAVC HS, XAVC S-1, H.264, H.265
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 GBit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 790 grams (1.74 lbs) 699 grams (1.54 lbs)
Physical dimensions 146 x 113 x 80mm (5.7" x 4.4" x 3.1") 129 x 97 x 81mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 85
DXO Color Depth score not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 13.3
DXO Low light score not tested 2993
Other
Battery life - 600 shots
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FZ100
Self timer Yes Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures))
Time lapse shooting With downloadable app
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I, UDMA compatible) Dual SD/CFexpress Type A slots
Card slots Single Two
Price at launch $2,339 $3,499