A massive list of all the best accessories for the Sony A7r III and Sony A7 III. From screen protectors, memory cards, batteries and chargers to cases, bags and cleaning equipment, this guide to accessories covers all the must-have gear.
Sony A7r III – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Sony A7 III – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Table Of Contents
Essential Accessories Sony A7III, A7rIII
There are a few essential accessories that every Sony shooter must-have or must know about to keep their camera in flawless condition.
Best Screen Protector
I wish I had an image to show you, but Sony screens do not last. They become delaminated and bubble up. You MUST use a screen protector. The thicker the better. I use the glass protector on my A7rIII now because if you’re rough on your camera even the standard crystal clear protectors will not be enough and after years of using my A7rIII, the screen is still perfect!
Expert Shield Screen Protector For Sony A7III, Sony A7rIII
The A7 III and A7rIII screens now have limited touch screen functionality so you do need to make sure your screen protector is compatible with a touch screen. I recommend the Expert Shields screen protectors. They have a lifetime warranty and they don’t degrade touch screen performance. I’ve been using Expert Shield on all my cameras for years and have even taken advantage of their lifetime warranty without any hassle. I use the glass screen protector on my A7rIII and love it! |
Best SD Memory Cards Sony A7III, A7rIII
If you’re upgrading your camera from the Sony A7II or A7rII you will notice there is a dramatic increase in memory card performance. The camera now has two memory card slots with slot one using UHS-II cards and slot two using UHS-I.
I’ve benchmarked all the memory cards in each camera so you can see which card is the best.
Best Memory Cards Sony A7r III
Important: Recently I’ve benchmarked sd cards in the Sony A7rIV. Memory card performance has improved again dramatically. Only a few cards perform extremely well in the A7rIV, so I recommend you actually use that guide when buying memory cards because it will make sure you have a memory card that future proof within the Sony ecosystem.
Best Batteries Sony A7III, A7rIII
The Sony A7rIII and A7III have a new battery compared to the older Sony A7II and A7rIII. It has a much higher capacity and is much larger.
The Sony A7rIII and A7III also use the same batteries as the Sony A9.
Update: Older 3rd party batteries that were made before firmware 2.0 no longer work correctly with the Sony A7III, A7rIII and A9 cameras. You will get a message “The operation and safety of this battery cannot be guaranteed. Continue use?” See how Sony Firmware 2.0 kills third-party batteries.
But do not worry . . . RAVPower has updated its battery to work with this new firmware. I’ve posted links to this latest battery.
You can still use the older batteries, but you lose the battery indicator charge numbers and you get that popup message every time you start up the camera.
Official Sony NP-FZ100 Li-Ion BatteryAvailable At: Amazon The official Sony NP-FZ100 battery is much larger than previous models but it also has a significantly higher capacity of 2280mAh. The previous models only had 1020mAh. With the new Sony Z battery, you’ll be getting over twice as much power as before. It would seem the pathetic battery life in the Sony A7 III cameras is a thing of the past. |
RavPower NP-FZ100 Batteries
The latest batteries from RavPower that work with firmware update 2.0. One of my favorite third-party batteries is now available for the new generation of Sony cameras. RavPower makes a nice dual NP-FZ100 battery charger that comes with two batteries. The RavPower batteries are really nice and the charger that is included is also fantastic. I’ve never had any issues with their products in the past. They have a fast charge technology that will charge both batteries in five hours. Unlike the Sony multi-battery charger or the vertical battery grip which can take up to 10 hours to charge both batteries via the underpowered USB-C, this charger will charge both batteries at the same time in 5 hours. This kit might be the fastest way to charge Sony Z batteries and the price really is unbeatable. You will need a good wall adapter to get a fast charge out of these. |
Battery Chargers For The Sony A7III, A7rIII
The NP-FZ100 requires their own charger and there are a few official options from Sony. It seems some people are still having some issues with third-party chargers with the new Z batteries, so I recommend having at least one official Sony charger.
Personally I just charge my battery via USB-C. Some people say this isn’t a good idea but I’ve never had a problem with it when using my MacBook Pro USB-C / Thunderbolt charger.
Sony BC-QZ1 Battery Charger
The Sony BC-QZ1 has a universal 100-240 VAC Power adapter and can charge a single FZ100 battery in 150 minutes. This is included with the Sony A7rIII along with one battery. |
Sony NPA-MQZ1K Multi Battery Adapter Kit
The Sony Multi Battery kit holds up to four batteries for and will charge them in 480 minutes. You can also use it to extend the life of your camera by using it as a portable battery bank or AC adapter. It even has some mounting holes so it can easily be mounted as part of a video kit and includes two spare FZ100 batteries. |
Vertical Battery Grips
See my review of the VG-C3EM Sony A7r III / Sony A9 Battery Grip.
Official Sony VG-C3EM Vertical GripAvailable At: Amazon To charge the batteries in the grip, you have to charge through the camera’s USB port and it can take about 10 hours to charge both batteries. 5 hours per battery. The grip includes a compartment for the camera battery door which will help prevent you from losing it. With this grip, I find I can casually shoot street photography for several days before needing to charge. Keep in mind, having two of these massive Sony Z batteries plus the grip will significantly add weight to the overall setup.
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Meike Vertical Grip For the Sony A7 III, A7r III, A9
The Meike battery grip for the Sony A7III has all the same functionality as the official Sony grip. It’s not weather-sealed and the overall materials do not feel or match the official Sony grip perfectly. I personally use the Sony grip but have used these third-party battery grips in the past. They’re not bad and are especially nice for video shooters that need more power and don’t necessarily care about matching the ergonomics or rubber texture of the Sony camera. |
Sony A7III Cases
There are so many third-party grips and cases out there now but there are the brands I use and am familiar with.
Not listed but if you want more check out what JB Camera designs have, they always make nice stuff.
Gariz Sony A7 III Half Case
Gariz makes a great affordable leather half case for the Sony A7rIII. I like their cases because of the metal base that allows the camera to still be securely mounted to tripods. This helps prevent the base of the camera from getting scratched up from tripod plates but also adds some extra grip and protection to the camera body. |
Lim’s Sony A7 III Leather Half Case
The Lim’s leather half case for the A7III is a great alternative for the Gariz half case. I personally like Lim’s case more than the Gariz case and this is actually what I had on my Sony A7rII. They have a nice machined aluminum base with a built-in arca swiss plate. |
Sony GP-X1EM Grip Extension
For large hands, the Sony GP-X1EM grip extension adds some extra grip to make holding the camera more comfortable. The only problem is it makes it so you can’t set the camera flat on a table or use a tripod. |
Remote Triggers For Sony A7III, A7rIII
There aren’t a lot of great options for remote triggers by Sony but there are a few I have been using that get the job done. I found I use this less now that the Sony A7r III can have a count down timer with bracketing.
You can of course always use the PlayMemories App and there are cool third-party apps like the Smart Control iPhone App available on iTunes.
Vello FreeWave Plus Wireless Remote Shutter Release
Vello FreeWave Plus wireless remote shutter release is a nice option to trigger your camera remotely. It uses a 2.4 GHz radiofrequency instead of IR, so you can wirelessly trigger your shutter from any location and any angle in front or behind the camera. You can even press the shutter halfway to focus and you can control the duration of the shutter in bulb mode remotely. |
Foto&Tech Shutter ReleaseAvailable At: Amazon The Foto&Tech shutter remote is what I’ve used for the last few years. It is an IR remote so it requires a line of sight to the IR sensor on the Sony camera. When outside, you will need to reach around and aim the remote at the IR sensor on the front of the camera. When indoors it usually works even when behind the camera. A remote shutter isn’t something everyone will need as most landscape photography works great with just a countdown timer. But, if you need to trigger your camera from a distance and are in the line of sight of the front IR sensor, these work great and I have used them for years. You can also use this remote in Bulb mode. The shutter will remain open until you trigger the remote again. This is very useful for long exposure photography but you’ll need a separate timer and you’ll have to manually close your shutter. To use a remote, you will need to enable Remote Ctrl in your camera settings. It’s on page 3 of the Setup tab. |
Sony Speed Lights / Camera Flashes
I’m only going to recommend one flash. The Godox TT685S. This is what I use and it’s the best bang for the buck. Also, if you shoot with different brands of cameras as I do, you can use the same flash and just swap out the transmitter. For example, I use the Godox TT685F, for Fujifilm, but it works fine on my Sony a7rIII with my Sony specific transmitter.
However, if you want to mount it to the top of your camera, you will need to get the specific flash designed for that camera system.
The Goddox TT685S is such a good flash and it does everything you could ever need. It’s also a really good value.
Godox TT685SAvailable at: Amazon / BHPhoto The Godox TT685S is a TTL flash that is without a doubt the best bang for the buck Speedlite for Sony. This is also the only unit that has +- 5-stop of exposure comp with HSS. Build quality is good, but the instruction manual is pretty bad. I often use these for product shots when I’m away from the studio strobes. The recycle time isn’t great compared to my Paul C Buff strobes, but it’s still very manageable especially on lower power settings. |
Godox X1TS Transmitter
The Godox X1T-S Transmitter is for the Godox speedlights. It takes 2xAA batteries and has everything you need to get you started using your TT685S. Some complain that you need to be more than 3 feet away for the speedlight for consistent performance. I haven’t had issues yet. |
Godox Xpro-S Transmitter
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Camera & Sensor Cleaning Accessories
Here are the essential accessories for cleaning your camera. I have a more detailed list of even more accessories in my cleaning guide.
6-Pack Micro Fiber ClothAvailable At: Amazon Micro Fiber cloths get dirty very easily and then instead of cleaning up oil and grease from our lenses, they will smear it around. This is why it’s important to always have some clean cloth on hand. I like to buy the 6-packs because they will last me an entire year before I need new ones. To get better life out of your microfiber cloths, don’t use them on your rear screen since that’s what your face touches. Use a screen protector then clean your LCD with your t-shirt. |
Rocket Air BlowerAvailable At: Amazon The Rocket Air blowers are essential for quickly cleaning your camera gear. I also use them to clear off any dust from my lenses and UV filters as well as my sensor. An air blaster should always be your first choice when it comes to cleaning off your sensor and lenses. There are a few sizes of the Rocket air but I’ve found for mirrorless cameras any size works fine. I have the large and the medium sizes and would probably just go for the medium if I was to buy them again. Make sure you always give a few blasts before using it on your sensor to clear out any debris, especially if you have kids or dogs. My toddler got a hold of one of these once without me knowing once and it left a nice surprise on my lens the next time I used it. So be careful. |
Sensor BrushAvailable At: Amazon Every so often some dust will stick to your camera’s sensor that you can’t get off with the Rocket Air. The next best way to clean your sensor is with a sensor brush. Never touch you the bristles of your sensor brush and give it a few blasts with the rocket air before use and you’ll be good to go. I keep a sensor brush in its plastic bag while in its tube and carry it in my camera bag at all times. The brush I use is by Dust Patrol. It’s very high quality with a wooden handle and is made in Germany. I’ve used it for many years and can’t recommend it enough. |
Sony E Mount Lenses
I’ve put together a complete list of every Sony E-Mount Lens. You can find any and all of the official Sony E-Mount lenses for the full-frame bodies in this list as well as all the available third-party lenses.
Replacement Parts A7rIII, A7III
Sony FDA-EP18 Eyepiece Cup
I lost my eyecup the first week of owning my camera. If you end up losing your eyecup for your Sony A7III or A7rIII this is the official replacement. I have confirmed that this eyecup works for the Sony A7r III and A7 III. I’ve gone through two of these now. My first one popped off, this new one has torn. |
Must-Have Accessories For The Sony A7III, A7r III | Conclusions
These are some of the best most used accessories for the Sony A7III and A7rIII. There are a few other accessories by SmallRig and a few more cases but they are more specialty items and I haven’t tried them out yet. I’ll keep reviewing new accessories as I find them and update them here.