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Sony A7s, FHD camera, with 12Mp sensor, big DR
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  • theconformisttheconformist

    @nobbystylus If you are shooting S-Log - don't use your results as an indicator. Only in situations of high dynamic range is it truly worth it - and most times will look bad anyway. It's best for controlled lighting as it really needs to be exposed properly.

    As Balazar says, Cine1, 2, etc give very similar DR and something like Still color gets you a very good image with minimal post processing needed. Play around with the picture profiles. If you want to do a lot of grading, it's only 8-bit 420 so you can't expect miracles even with S-Log.

    As for 4K argument - the a7s internal IS downscaled from 4K, the only reason for external monitor is if you need to deliver 4K, want 422, or want to crop around.

  • balazerbalazer

    I shot for a long time with S-Log2 before I figured out that cine1 with'still' color has better quality and is much easier to use. Now I'm very happy with the images. Extremely low noise and accurate color. Worlds better than my old GH2s. The internal recording is very good, IMHO. Though certainly external recording could give more resolution, I'm only interested in 60p.

  • Ralph_BRalph_B

    @RRRoger

    Could you please post a picture of your rig with the L plate and battery?

    Thanks.

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    @theconformist - you could be right. I've been shooting on the GH series for many years, and only have had the Sony A7s for a few weeks. Could well be user error, not getting the most out of it, settings etc. I've got it for another week so perhaps I'll prove myself wrong over the weekend....

  • theconformisttheconformist

    @RRRoger @nobbystylus Of course it's your subjective opinion... But in this case I suspect if you're getting poor results perhaps it's not the camera ;-)

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    NobbyStylus, Yes the A7s is pretty terrible for anything but low light by itself. I almost sent mine back. But, my Odyssey 7Q+ really brought it to life. 4k DownRes to 1080P30 (even using ProRes LT) is night to day better than anything I can get internally. And, the 28-135 Cine adds a lot of controls to the camera. A dummy battery with NP990 on a Sony L plate lets me record for over 4 hours unattended.

  • JackBayerJackBayer

    My GH2 is on ebay right now... :D and UPS still hasn't arrived. But as mentioned I'm going to shoot mainly on my recorder for 4k. I have a set of Minolta MDs which I'm excited about using without crop for the first time ever.

    A bit later, when my wallet has recovered, I'm thinking about that speed booster for APS-C mode.

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    The GH2 i used had the Moon T7 hack on it by the way.

  • tinyrobottinyrobot

    Try overexposing the a7S by one or two stops. It will not be noisy. The dynamic range is similar to the bmpcc and bmcc which is decent. Imo the a7S wipes the floor compared to the gh2.

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    Just spent two days filming with my GH4 back to back with an A7s. The A7s is not all its cracked up to be. Noisier and with less dynamic range than I'd hoped, battery life is much weaker. Low light is the only real benefit as far as I can see. In fact I also had a GH2 and the HD on the GH2 is much nicer than the A7s. I'm sure if I'd of had an external recorder the A7s it would of been a landslide, but internally the GH cameras are still the ones to beat.

  • nomadnomad

    I would recommend manual lenses as a very nice accessory for filmmaking…

    This camera can use just about anything that projected a picture to a film plane in the last 70 or 80 years!

  • JackBayerJackBayer

    Hi! So I´ve ordered an a7s together with a shogun (Atomos has a nice offer atm) and both should arrive today. Of course I'looking forward to lowlight shooting but also for stills -despite the nowadays low megapixels.

    I'll put it on my Ronin whenever possible and on a tripod if not. For a more handheld shooting style I am going to switch to APS-C mode to reduce its rolling shutter.

    Besides Slog and picture profile, which I'm really have to figure out for myself I guess (Cinema4 is my favourite so far from watching/reading here and elsewhere), what would you owners recommend to set up to first or try out or buy as accessory or, or or? ...so first time users tips seems to be what I'm asking for. Also autofocussing lens recommendations would be nice.

    Thanks for any insight!

    Patrick

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    image

    http://www.adorama.com/alc/7993/article/sony-alpha-a7s-travel-photography-filmmaker-and-pro-surfer-cyrus-sutton

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  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • kristofermankristoferman

    Looks great guys! Which PP did you each shoot in?

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • AllenHrynickAllenHrynick

    A artist portrait I did of a friend from here in Albuquerque, NM. First time I've really used the high ISO capability of this camera on a serious project. The evening shots were ISO 25k all on Zeiss Contax - recorded in UHD ProRes 422 then downscaled to 1080p at 62.5mbps. I experimented with Neat Video for noise reduction, only to find that with this particular footage it accentuates banding / does some funky things to color when used in conjunction with certain 3D LUTS (namely the Vision Color variety). What tips do you fine people have for producing cleaner looking images other than shooting at the native ISO and crushing out the noise? I found that dithering via adding noise/grain after denoising helps with the banding. Thanks!

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    Good time to get a good used A7s. If you time it when the perceived flood hits the market. This could be before or after the actual A7sII is available.

  • last_SHIFTlast_SHIFT

    So just in time for X-mas frenzy. Also a good time to find good deals on used A7rii on ebay that people will be dumping off to catch the next wave of specs :-)

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    image

    It seems that A7s II is not too far ahead.

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  • AllenHrynickAllenHrynick

    Recent no budget shoot done for a coffee roaster here in Albuquerque. Some clips are pp7 and some are pp5. Atomos Shogun, Zeiss Contax (4k downscale to 1080p).

  • MikeLinnMikeLinn

  • brianlbrianl

    Lately, for my audio and cam purchases, Adorama has been kicking B&H's ass. Range war brewing?

  • RRRogerRRRoger

    I have had my share of bad experience with FleaBay and PayPal. My best luck has been with sellers on these forums and with Amazon, Adorama, and B&H.

  • brianlbrianl

    Instead I saw private sellers selling cameras with big issues and openly lie about it.

    Been getting this from ebay lately. The sellers often notify me just before they ship that they overlooked xyz in the description but the item is unaffected. I've pretty much given up.

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