Relax, hey I know things get posted twice sometimes, not your fault, but I couldn't resist commenting, and I would never call it ludicrous, LOL

Share your thoughts always, but if you make bold assertions, it helps your point of view if you can back it up with some facts, examples, experiences, or references . I read your words correctly.

Quote from you; "24mp Sony A9iii with $6k price tag is a useless camera for most users. It maybe a great camera for sports shooters. Otherwise ISO starting at 250 with reduced dynamic range and low resolution of 24mp are not that attractive for other kinds of photography such as landscape and wildlife (for instance for bird photography, cropping is almost inevitable, for which 24mp is not that great). As for flash photography at shutter speed 1/80000 or at high speed maybe a gimmick in my opinion as then one would need an extremely powerful flash emitting narrow light pulse to illuminate the subject to capture a well exposed shot for that short duration of exposer. I think this camera will not sell in huge numbers at that insane price as it caters to only a limited types of photography."

And BTW here is a 24mp Sony A9 photo that was chosen as Worldwide Photo of the Week by Sony Alpha Photographers in 2021. Environmental Scientist Brooke Hildebrand in a slot canyon near Upper Antelope Canyon, Navajo Lands, Page, Arizona, USA. 24mp Sony A9 camera, Sony 24-105mm f4 G OSS lens, 24mm, ISO 400, f4, 1/30 second , handheld, all natural sunlight in the canyon. 24mp is a sweet spot for many photographers.

Click on download to see better image quality.

Cheers and best to you, really.

There are a few cameras that do pre-capture, but none can do it in raw at up to 120fps in fullframe like the new A9III.

I like this quote from your linked article from shuttermuse.com ;

"Make no mistake, this camera represents a seismic shift in camera technology. Stacked sensor technology with a fast-readout rolling shutter is now old news. Somehow, Sony managed to keep this camera under wraps until the very last moment. I think it’s fair to say that nobody expected a camera with this kind of speed, and certainly not with a global shutter."

And with a World's First 1/80,000 second shutter speed, even usable with flash at 1/80,000 sec. flash sync.

Again Sony asserts its #1 leadership in fullframe mirrorless technology and in camera technology, on the ten-year anniversary of it creating the World's First fullframe mirrorless camera ever, the A7. A camera that changed the photo world forever, and now another camera from Sony that changes the photo world.

Way to go Sony !!

Cheers and best to you.

Olympus/OMSystems cameras have had a pre-capture mode (they call it Pro Capture) for years, that works with RAW format. The OM1 can capture 120fps RAW. Panasonic also has been capable of 120fps RAW, and also captures 120fps RAW. The Sony is only 24mp, so it isn't that special as far as RAW fps and pre-capture modes.

Nikon Z9/Z8 has fast enough readout that it doesn't have a mechanical shutter, but it still has a normal flash sync speed. It has pre-capture modes, but they are only JPG.

In my opinion, the main advantage of the Sony global shutter is to provide substantially faster flash sync speeds and eliminate issues with banding. A secondary advantage is to eliminate rolling shutter, but recent sensors have achieved high enough readout speeds to minimize rolling shutter effects with electronic shutter. It is the flash sync and banding free capabilities that are really significant. One no longer needs to contemplate medium format with leaf shutter lenses to get higher flash sync speeds.

More info:
Patrick Murphy-Racey, top pro sports shooter, photojournalist and a Sony Artisan.

from my buddy and Sony Pro Rep David Snyder who has a bigger brain than mine:

"The dust protective curtain closes when the camera turns off, not when a lens is removed.

The burst playback as a group is on all the cameras inc. A1, not an Xperia feature. It’s not on by default in other cameras. What’s new is that it will play that burst/group as a quick video/sequential view.

You can auto focus fine at 1/80000 today. You can not shoot continuously at 1/80,000 on present Beta-copy A9III. only single frame.
1/16000 for continuous shooting. The note was coming firmware update will raise the maximum continuous shutter speed to 1/80,000 for burst at 120fps. .

Pocketwizard may not work at the high speeds for triggering and timing maybe off.

Pre capture can be set for much less than a half second minimum. The timing goes below .1 sec to .09-.01 as well. Pre capture can be set to begin with shutter half press, or af on, or both. So users can control when pre capture starts while still using AF separately (WOW!!!)

ISO range will not change in firmware, but in menu can be set as low as 125 ISO.

Exposure compensation dial is also on the grip, and there is a lug for a camera strap on the grip to carry the camera vertically and more accessible."

Cheers and best to you.

Ok, I guess everyone in this forum understands and agrees that Sony is the pioneer in introducing new technology in camera industry, and that A9iii with GS with all that goodies are great. For bird photography though, which I am interested in, please let me know if A9iii is an improvement to 50mp A1 or 45mp Z9 given that this kind of photography requires shooting at high ISOs and fast shutter speeds and also requires good amount of cropping - which one will you recommend, A9iii or A1? If possible please give your honest answer from a practical standpoint with facts.