.ARW · 2018 · 24 MP full-frame

Sony A7 III RAW Files: Open, Cull & Edit .ARW Free

One of the best-selling full-frame mirrorless bodies ever, adopted widely by wedding, portrait, and event photographers. Dual card slots and a 10 fps burst made it capable of covering a full event on its own. That combination of popularity and event use means A7 III archives are often some of the largest a working photographer manages.

Sony A7 III RAW at a glance

RAW formatARW — Sony Alpha RAW (.ARW)
Sensor24 MP full-frame
Resolution24 megapixels
Typical RAW sizeabout 20-26 MB
Released2018
RAW options14-bit ARW RAW with lossless-compressed added by firmware alongside the standard compressed mode.

Editing A7 III files with imagic

imagic opens .ARW files from the Sony A7 III natively on Windows and macOS. Point it at a card or shoot folder and it builds previews, scores every frame for sharpness, closed eyes, and composition, and groups near-duplicate bursts — so a full shoot collapses to its keepers before you edit anything.

Processing runs through the bundled RawTherapee engine, entirely on your machine: batch-apply one look across the keepers and export JPEGs in a single pass. Nothing uploads, which matters at about 20-26 MB per frame. The 7-day trial is full-featured and needs no card; licenses are one-time, from €19.

Frequently asked questions

What RAW format does the Sony A7 III use?

The Sony A7 III writes ARW files with the .ARW extension. 14-bit ARW RAW with lossless-compressed added by firmware alongside the standard compressed mode.

How big are Sony A7 III RAW files?

Expect about 20-26 MB per frame from the 24 MP full-frame sensor, depending on compression settings and scene detail. A full shoot adds up quickly, which is why culling before editing matters on this body.

How can I open Sony A7 III .ARW files for free?

imagic opens ARW files from the Sony A7 III natively on Windows and macOS — the 7-day trial needs no card. It culls the shoot with AI quality scoring, groups duplicates, and batch-processes keepers locally through its RawTherapee engine.

More about ARW

The A7 III's .ARW files share their structure with every Sony body using ARW — the full ARW guide covers compression variants, free openers, and conversion options in depth.

Other Sony bodies

Sony A7C R Sony A9 III Sony A1 II Sony A6000 Sony A6300 Sony A6500 Sony A6400 Sony A6100

Cull a A7 III shoot before your coffee cools

AI quality scoring, duplicate grouping, and local batch processing for .ARW — free for 7 days, no card required.

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