Sony · camera stats

Sony a9 III

How 1,019 real photos from this camera were shot — and how they were edited in Lightroom.

Aggregated from photos analyzed on PixelPeeper · no spec sheets, only observed behavior

#36
most analyzed of 110 cameras
f/2.8
median aperture
ISO 400
median · p95 3,200
1/500s
median shutter
75%
shot in Manual mode

Shooting DNA

How Sony a9 III photos are shot

1,019 all-time photos · 448 with Lightroom edits

Aperture

  1. f/1.4 or wider 13%
  2. f/1.8 18%
  3. f/2.8 28%
  4. f/4 29%
  5. f/5.6 6%
  6. f/8+ 6%

ISO

  1. <=200 11%
  2. 400 48%
  3. 800 24%
  4. 1600 10%
  5. 3200 4%
  6. 6400+ 3%

Real-world ISO ceiling: 95% of photos stay at or below ISO 3,200.

Shutter speed

  1. 1/1000s+ 44%
  2. 1/500s 12%
  3. 1/250s 23%
  4. 1/125s 13%
  5. 1/60s 5%
  6. slower 4%

Focal length

Most common focal lengths recorded in EXIF.

  1. 50mm 20%
  2. 24mm 14%
  3. 28mm 14%
  4. 35mm 10%
  5. 25mm 5%
  6. 70mm 4%
  7. 16mm 3%
  8. 85mm 2%
  9. 31mm 2%
  10. 34mm 2%

Exposure mode

  1. Manual 75%
  2. Aperture-priority AE 24%

Time of day

When photos are captured, from EXIF timestamps.

Peak hour
15:00 · 10%
Flash fired
39%

Capture year

When the analyzed photos were taken · 2024-2026

  1. 2024 33%
  2. 2025 43%
  3. 2026 24%

What's mounted on the Sony a9 III

Lens pairings from the last 90 days, compared with the all-time share.

Last 90 days · 168 photos

  1. 1 Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II 26% up
  2. 2 Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM 17% up
  3. 3 Viltrox 28mm F4.5 FE 13% up
  4. 4 Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM 9% down
  5. 5 Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM 8% up
  6. 6 Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM 4% flat
  7. 7 Viltrox 50mm F1.4 FE 3% up
  8. 8 Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM 3% flat
  9. 9 Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM 2% up
  10. 10 Viltrox 16mm F1.8 FE 2% flat
  11. 11 Viltrox AF 35/1.2 LAB N FE 2% up
  12. 12 FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM II 1% flat

The edit fingerprint

How Sony a9 III photos are edited

Median Lightroom develop settings across every analyzed edit — data nobody else has.

from 92 Lightroom edits · last 90 days

The typical Sony a9 III edit

Dot = median · band = Middle 50% of edits. Neutral sliders are hidden.

  • Exposure +0.25
  • Highlights -34
  • Shadows +23
  • Whites -12
  • Blacks -5
  • Vibrance +1

Ranges show the middle 50% of edited photos.

The Sony a9 III tone curve

Median curve across all custom tone curves, with the middle 50% band.

Custom curve
100%
lift blacks
22%
lower whites
43%

Most-touched sliders

Share of edits where each Lightroom slider was moved away from neutral.

  1. Shadows 95%
  2. Contrast 94%
  3. Highlights 94%
  4. Whites 87%
  5. Exposure 86%
  6. Blacks 82%
  7. Vibrance 73%
  8. Clarity 58%
  9. Orange hue 47%
  10. Yellow hue 44%
  11. Orange luminance 44%
  12. Orange saturation 44%
  13. Purple saturation 44%
  14. Texture 44%
  15. Green saturation 43%
  16. Blue saturation 43%

White balance & profiles

Custom
72%
As Shot
28%
Median temperature
5,619K
Median tint
+14
  1. Adobe Standard 83%
  2. Camera ST 11%
  3. Embedded 4%
  4. DVLOP III 2%

The Sony a9 III color profile

Rendered from aggregate color grading and HSL data — never from photos.

Color grading

Median hue and saturation per layer, shown as the color it produces.

No reliable color grading sample yet.

Black & white
0%
Grain
39%
Vignette
15%
Cropped
91%

Color mixer activity

How often each HSL channel gets adjusted, with the hue/sat/lum split.

  • Red hue 39% · sat 30% · lum 24%
  • Orange hue 47% · sat 44% · lum 44%
  • Yellow hue 44% · sat 36% · lum 32%
  • Green hue 29% · sat 43% · lum 27%
  • Aqua hue 42% · sat 40% · lum 26%
  • Blue hue 33% · sat 43% · lum 28%
  • Purple hue 36% · sat 44% · lum 17%
  • Magenta hue 17% · sat 38% · lum 9%

Shoot with a Sony a9 III?

Upload a photo to see its full EXIF and Lightroom settings — the same data these stats are built from.

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Methodology

Stats are aggregated from photos analyzed on PixelPeeper, capped per contributor so no single uploader can dominate a page. Shooting values come from EXIF metadata; editing values come from Lightroom XMP develop settings when present. Every chart and swatch is derived from aggregate numbers. generated October 12, 2026.