Sony · camera stats

Sony a9 III

How 903 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

#34
most analyzed of 105 cameras
f/2.8
median aperture
ISO 400
median · p95 2,500
1/500s
median shutter
72%
shot in Manual mode

Shooting DNA

How Sony a9 III photos are shot

903 all-time photos · 384 with Lightroom edits

Aperture

  1. f/1.4 or wider 16%
  2. f/1.8 21%
  3. f/2.8 27%
  4. f/4 25%
  5. f/5.6 7%
  6. f/8+ 5%

ISO

  1. <=200 9%
  2. 400 51%
  3. 800 23%
  4. 1600 10%
  5. 3200 4%
  6. 6400+ 4%

Real-world ISO ceiling: 95% of photos stay at or below ISO 2,500.

Shutter speed

  1. 1/1000s+ 45%
  2. 1/500s 12%
  3. 1/250s 21%
  4. 1/125s 14%
  5. 1/60s 4%
  6. slower 3%

Focal length

Most common focal lengths recorded in EXIF.

  1. 50mm 22%
  2. 24mm 14%
  3. 28mm 13%
  4. 35mm 10%
  5. 25mm 5%
  6. 70mm 4%
  7. 34mm 2%
  8. 85mm 2%
  9. 31mm 2%
  10. 200mm 1%

Exposure mode

  1. Manual 72%
  2. Aperture-priority AE 27%
  3. Shutter speed priority AE 1%

Time of day

When photos are captured, from EXIF timestamps.

Peak hour
15:00 · 11%
Flash fired
34%

Capture year

When the analyzed photos were taken · 2024-2026

  1. 2024 34%
  2. 2025 54%
  3. 2026 13%

What's mounted on the Sony a9 III

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

Last 90 days · 127 photos

  1. 1 Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 GM 24% up
  2. 2 Sony FE 28-70mm f/2 GM 21% flat
  3. 3 Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM 14% up
  4. 4 Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II 11% down
  5. 5 Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM 7% up
  6. 6 Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II 6% up
  7. 7 Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM 6% up
  8. 8 Viltrox 28mm F4.5 FE 3% up
  9. 9 Sony FE 16-35mm f/2.8 GM 3% flat
  10. 10 FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS 2% up
  11. 11 FE 85mm F1.4 GM II 1% flat
  12. 12 Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM 1% down

The edit fingerprint

How Sony a9 III photos are edited

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

from 56 Lightroom edits · last 90 days

The typical Sony a9 III edit

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

  • Exposure +0.1
  • Contrast -18
  • Highlights -46
  • Shadows +24
  • Whites -3

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
48%
lower whites
40%

Most-touched sliders

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

  1. Highlights 100%
  2. Shadows 93%
  3. Contrast 88%
  4. Whites 86%
  5. Orange saturation 84%
  6. Exposure 77%
  7. Green saturation 76%
  8. Blacks 73%
  9. Yellow saturation 73%
  10. Yellow hue 73%
  11. Green hue 71%
  12. Vibrance 64%
  13. Red saturation 64%
  14. Purple saturation 62%
  15. Blue luminance 62%
  16. Green luminance 60%

White balance & profiles

Custom
54%
As Shot
46%
Median temperature
5,499K
Median tint
+16
  1. Adobe Standard 88%
  2. Embedded 7%
  3. Camera ST 5%

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
43%
Vignette
5%
Cropped
91%

Color mixer activity

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

  • Red hue 51% · sat 64% · lum 55%
  • Orange hue 55% · sat 84% · lum 58%
  • Yellow hue 73% · sat 73% · lum 56%
  • Green hue 71% · sat 76% · lum 60%
  • Aqua hue 49% · sat 46% · lum 29%
  • Blue hue 44% · sat 53% · lum 62%
  • Purple hue 47% · sat 62% · lum 29%
  • Magenta hue 22% · sat 56% · lum 15%

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 September 21, 2026.