jgharding

The A7S is pretty expensive, but is a proper hybrid still/video camera by the looks of it, or at least as close as you can get in such a form factor I wish they'd just go full hybrid and actually put in some XLRs Without a tiny 4K recorder it'll be a hassle to get 4K out of it why not just allow internal recording? I doubt it'd affect any other Sony camera sales.

I reckon the extreme ISOs probably clamp down on dynamic range. You can't apply that much gain without that affect I don't think. Jello will probably be quite nasty given the sensor size and the A7's record, unfortunately... EDIT: Actually it's half the amount of lines, Jello should reasonably be a lot lot better.

Crazy ISO abilities! That's amazing... let's hope it's usable when we see it without YouTube compression

I'd love an affordable medium format. Say what you like, there's nothing compares to that look.... well... apart from large format ;) Medium format speed booster for A7S anyone?

Panasonic love M4/3, if they make an APSC or full frame, they admit that anything smaller is less good, I just don't think they'll do it. What professional photographers gain is a nice look and feel, as well as great light sensitivity. That video about full frame being a myth is just nonsense, it's practically trolling. All that needs to change is standardised sensor gain in DB for different ISO settings, to stop ISO cheating. The rest works fine. Physics is physics, a larger area captures more light. If you want to match the noise performance you either speedboost or use really fast lenses or both (within the transmission limits of the speed booster). But why bother when you can buy a second hand 5D MKii and an L lens and take amazing photos at night in the rain? That's what pros get out of it, something that just works well and looks great. I never go below APSC for stills, simply cos all that lost light has to come from somewhere. Unless that's a very very fast lens, you need ISO gain, which means noise. So I'd use a M4/3 camera with a speed booster happily, but then why not just use and APSC camera in the first place? I'm sure a speed-booster to make M4/3 into full-frame isn't far off. I think that's an interesting prospect.

For anyone with Premiere CC, Speedgrade CC makes a lot of sense! Just send the sequence, then it comes back with an LUT which renders very quickly... non-destructive and very fast

I've used the Canon lots for video. Sure it's a bit softer than the Sigma but it's weather sealed. If resolution matters the most get Sigma. If you want a weather seal get the Canon.

Hmmm Sony do love to "hobble" their equipment though, usually with some quirk that makes you want to buy the next one up, just like Canon did with the 6Ds video aliasing.

Perhaps they're working on it then... No one had a clue about the C300 til it appeared. They do run a relatively tight ship when they want to..

People like those high-end compacts because they don't have to think about lenses. I recently recommended the RX100 to 3 people who wanted to try some photography. It's just a good balance. And hip show offs like the retro-styled cameras, whether single unit or ILS! We are kind of reaching a "good enough" point now. I'd happily take stills on a 5D ii forever, in print terms. At least until affordable digital medium format comes along. The MKiii just added video features, so for stills the MKii will do fine! Those Nikon D800 stills are absurdly big.

Hahah I like the idea of endless boosters on a tiny sensor!! I have no idea to be honest... I'd guess you can leep fpcussing onto tinier and tinier points, much like when you start a fire using a magnifying glass. It's always just counteracting the light loss from a smaller sensor area, so if it's worthwhile or not I can't say. They only need to exist because smaller sensors exist. But I don't see why you couldn't just keep boosting down if they're all high quality.

It's a bit silly now really... Does anyone else reckon they might do a 5DC? I think it's an option.

Hmmm this lens is interesting. Since it's APSC only, and f1.8 x1.6 is f2.8 (roughly) I'd guess it's actually a full frame design for a 28mm to 55mm f2.8, or therabouts, with a "speedboosting" element at the back. I think my maths is funk there :/ but still, it'd make sense if this lens incorporated a focal reducer. That would explain why it's faster and sharper than most expect. So effectively you're going through two speedboosters! Maybe this accentuates transmission inconsistencies? Just a guess though

I don't own this camera, but when you push up to ISO25600, then maximise clarity I'd expect lines from the sensor to appear. Actually I'd expect it to be worse!

Personally I'm quite reserved when it comes to new cameras, and like to form my opinions over time. Mania or otherwise, working together is the best way to work out what's good and bad about a tool, that's what I like about forums. I think softening in post is fine, just a little fast blur if you want to smooth up like Alexa. I use this on C100 and C300 and it works with GH4 too.Try it! It's not sacrilege, it's actually pretty nice. Once you get over what you're doing and concentrate on the result you'll be happy with a softer look. I'd like to see how a Tiffen Ultra Contrast 1,2 or 3 works with it to put a little more detail in the blacks, but Tiffen softening tends to look 80s. I think the softening is best left to post, personally. Truth is, it's the only way to get 4K for such a low price, and the speed booster makes it Super 35. I've not yet made my mind up whether it's for me, but I won't call it either way til I've gathered enough knowledge and experience.

Yes the raw 5D3 stuff looks amazing! Man it's a stress to work with though...

Perhaps, but for downscaling from 4K to 1080p, why bother? The point of 5D to RGB was to simulate a lower level of chroma subsampling from 4:2:0 captured at 1080p (and mainly cos FCP7 did such a bad job of it). And it was just a simulation, a clever form of channel blurring. you can't really make 1080p 420 into 1080p 444. You don't need another process in order to do this when downsampling from 4K to 1080 though. I think most people are overthinking here. If you just work at 4K in a 32-bit environment (Premiere for example) and export at 1080p (with all maximum quality options ticked) you get great quality. If you crush to 1080 with some other app, then edit and do your post, you're doing your post with four times fewer pixels. That just ain't too smart...

I think the C200, C400 and C600 (or C100 MKii C300 Mkii whatever they're called)will be 4K. The C400/C300 MKii will be released first slightly higher price than release price for C300. That's my guess! There would be no conflict with existing lines, plus they would be competatively priced for pro 4K camcorders. In order to do 4K as well as the C series do 1080p, they'd need a 34 megapixel or so video sensor. 34 megapixels at 25p doesn't seem unreasonable.

Ah thanks for the tip! I'm considering getting one so it's nice to get tips for use. Do you have any tips for good fast lenses with OIS? I know speedboosters are great for a lot of shots, but I do like a bit of IS.

Try time stretching and treating your own voice! Also try www.freesound.org

When these things start to seriously affect their business, they will respond. They can happily keep making a ton of cash in the meantime. The Cxxx absolutely dominate rental, especially the C300. Above that it's the Alexa. The Cxxx series have no workarounds. None! They just work brilliantly. That takes a lot to make, as BMD, Panasonic and many others have shown. Truth is, whether we like to admit it or not, when they do come out with a 4K mirrorless it'll probably be the best one of the lot!

This time he graded the files. I think someone should take the plunge and try it out ;)

Some tests here, comments say it's not so good, but may be worth a try with GH4

I'd rather not buy so many bodies if I'm honest.... I'd try Tiffen Ultra Contrast 1 or 2

Yes indeed, I did think that, but I would never pick it for events or reportage, so I neglected to mention. I'd go with a 1080p camcorder like C100 or FS100 at least, just because they do it all without workarounds! For the kind of stuff I'd use it for, more narrative and promo, I can't imagine it's a huge problem, but still quite a bummer. It doesn't inspire confidence...