Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R vs Sony a7R III — Which Is Better?

The Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R and the Sony a7R III are both full-frame mirrorless cameras built around high-resolution sensors. The S1R, released in 2019, uses the Leica L mount, while the a7R III, from 2017, uses the Sony FE mount, so your existing or planned lenses should guide the decision.

The S1R is the larger and heavier body at 149 x 110 x 97 mm and 1020 g. The a7R III, at 127 x 96 x 74 mm and 657 g, takes up less room in a bag.

The S1R is the stronger choice for heavy cropping and very large prints, with 47.3 megapixels against 42.4 on the a7R III. A distant wildlife frame cropped hard will retain more detail from the Panasonic.

For moving subjects the a7R III offers more autofocus points, 425 against 225, plus a slightly faster 10 fps burst versus 9 fps. The S1R answers with a faster 1/16000 second maximum shutter against 1/8000, useful for wide apertures in bright light. Both have in-body stabilisation for steadier handheld frames at slow shutter speeds.

Slow-motion editing is where the S1R has the advantage, with a 60 fps maximum video frame rate against 30 fps on the a7R III. The extra frames let you slow a sprinter or feeding bird to half speed smoothly.

Both share the same 4K maximum recording resolution, and the Sony adds XAVC S and AVCHD 2.0 alongside MP4 for more delivery options.

Framing and checking focus on the rear screen is easier on the S1R, with a 3.2-inch panel of 2100000 dots against a 3-inch, 1440000-dot screen on the a7R III. The Panasonic's electronic viewfinder is also sharper at 5760000 dots versus 3686400, which helps when manually focusing wide-aperture lenses.

Both also offer a tilting LCD, touch control, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and both are weather sealed for shooting in rain or dust. Neither has a built-in flash or GPS, so location tagging would need a connected phone on either body.

The a7R III is the better pick for a long day away from power, rated at 650 shots per charge against 360 for the S1R's DMW-BLJ31 battery. The Sony's NP-FZ100 is the higher-rated pack. The S1R can recharge over USB from a power bank or laptop, which the a7R III cannot.

Both cameras have dual card slots, so the practical difference is card format. The S1R pairs SD with Compact Flash media, while the a7R III takes SD with UHS-II compatibility for faster card writes.