Sony A7S footage topic

[richg101]

Sony don't think that way:(  They will impart the same old consumer way of thinking to this -leaving the good stuff out and save 10bit for the next model, or the next model, or the next model..  Wish they'd just slow down and release products that last 2-3 years instead of releasing a new model every year with only marginal improvements.

 

here is how the A7S should be released and aimed at the pro market:-

 

Marketed as a specialist low light camera as well as a 'c cam' / 'stills + movie' camera for those using F65, F55 and F5

X-AVC 10 Bit 1080p up to 50p internal

X-AVCs 4k internal

body shape bigger and bulkier (as the A7 + battery grip) to fit proper connectors, better processing and space for one of their bigger batteries

architecture to accommodate updated firmware over a 3 year period

£3500 price tag

 

Instead they're releasing a camera perfect for consumers which will be ooo'd and ahh'd over by the dumb sony alpha rumours readers for the first month then forgotten by them and the support team in 8 months time.

[themartist]

Not into the body shape being bigger or a Â£3500 price tag. That would 100% convince me to go with the GH4.

[Quirky]

Speaking of the price tag, do we still not know the actual retail pricing and delivery date of the A7s, in 12 May 2014 A.D.? 

 

I'm not going to join the Panasonic fanboi/anti-Sony curmudgeon choir but, I do believe that withholding the price point this long is beginning to work against them, and help the competition. 

 

Letting the hype machine speculate the price point might have been a workable marketing gimmick for a week or two, but this is getting counter-productive. It tends to confirm the speculation that Sony were in a hurry to release the product at NAB, perhaps slightly prematurely. Or maybe there are some production problems we're not aware of. 

 

In any case, the gap between introduction and knowing actual price point with actual delivery date shouldn't be too long. Not without a practical reason, like in the case of the NEX-7 delay. But in that case we did know the price point right after introduction, and it ended up not hurting the NEX-7 sales much. This may be different. 

[pablogrollan]

Speaking of the price tag, do we still not know the actual retail pricing and delivery date of the A7s, in 12 May 2014 A.D.? 

 

I'm not going to join the Panasonic fanboi/anti-Sony curmudgeon choir but, I do believe that withholding the price point this long is beginning to work against them, and help the competition. 

 

Nope, but Sony has a scheduled announcement on May 15th where "supposedly" the retail price will be revealed. I'm not so concerned with the secrecy about the price. It seems obvious that the launch of the GH4 may have had some effect and Sony has had to re-calculate the ideal price point. I'm more concerned with the lack of pro photographers and videographers releasing pre-production tests to showcase the camera, especially considering it was meant to start shipping early in the summer.

[Quirky]

Nope, but Sony has a scheduled announcement on May 15th where "supposedly" the retail price will be revealed. I'm not so concerned with the secrecy about the price. It seems obvious that the launch of the GH4 may have had some effect and Sony has had to re-calculate the ideal price point. I'm more concerned with the lack of pro photographers and videographers releasing pre-production tests to showcase the camera, especially considering it was meant to start shipping early in the summer.

 

The lack of test shots looks like another indicator towards some production issues we don't know about, doesn't it. Maybe the price point is not about deliberate secrecy, either, maybe they haven't been able to decide/fix it yet. Or maybe the moguls at different departments are still bickering about it.

 

Nevertheless, I'm not too concerned about the lack of test footage online so far, as I'd rather see test results made with actual production models rather than with pre-production models. Whenever the product is 100% ready to be purchased. The typical online test videos alone aren't really that critical, either, as only a few of them are typically of any use, all of them are compressed and none of them tell the whole picture.

 

So perhaps Sony should have kept a lid on the A7s until they're actually ready to deliver, after all. A delay this long starts eating up the hype advantage gained by the NAB coverage. A product without a price tag is mere vapourware, not actual hardware. People will only buy products with a price tag, like the GH4. And even if they told the asking price, surely Sony wouldn't want to "Blackmagic" their latest high profile product launch for too long.

 

But let's hope they will indeed give us the price and the delivery date later this week. Or maybe even start delivering it on the 15th.

I'm not in a hurry to buy a new camera at the moment, though. I just wish Sony won't fsck things up, as they've got an interesting thing going with this new product. Different enough from the competition, including both Canikon and Panasonic.

 

PS.

With the sheer lack of actual A7s footage so far, surely this topic turning into a regular A7s discussion topic is not actually off-topic, let alone unexpected, right?  ;)

[maxotics]

I hope to post some video soon.  The a7 definitely succumbs to video moire.  However, I bought it mostly for photography.  It seemed obvious to me that Sony announced the a7s to take some wind out of Panasonic's sails.  My guess is the camera will come out fall/winter.

 

After a few days, I have not found anything I don't like about the a7.  Being able to set the diopter to my vision and chimp in viewfinder is more useful for me than the d600.  Focus zoom and peaking with manual lenses is extremely useful.  Really, a remarkable camera.  Sony keeps improving their firmware and ergonomics.  

 

However, the Sigma DP1M still takes a better photo than the a7 with a Nikon 24mm.  Most wouldn't see difference though.

[pablogrollan]

Nevertheless, I'm not too concerned about the lack of test footage online so far, as I'd rather see test results made with actual production models rather than with pre-production models. Whenever the product is 100% ready to be purchased. The typical online test videos alone aren't really that critical, either, as only a few of them are typically of any use, all of them are compressed and none of them tell the whole picture.

 

So true! I coudn't agree more. My concern is not because the videos are useful, but because it seems suspicious that they are not letting any pro -except for Den Lennie- touch a camera...

 

 

So perhaps Sony should have kept a lid on the A7s until they're actually ready to deliver, after all. A delay this long starts eating up the hype advantage gained by the NAB coverage.

 

On the contrary, it seems to me that they were forced to advance the announcement at NAB so that their target audience would decide to hold a little and not rush into buying a GH4. Imagine what could have happened if they still had not announced the A7S? I'm sure many of "their" buyers would already have the GH4

[Julian]

Exact GH4 for a life at a half price you get a very piece of art.

A7S is a typical sony hanged features camera... Lumix Panasonic is a winner in market

 

But what is the point of posting all this pro GH4 posts in the A7S topic?

 

Yes, I bought the GH4 myself because for me it's the best value. But maybe other people value the low light capabilities and the full frame sensor of the A7S more. Who are you to judge against them?

 

This is not an A7S vs GH4 topic. It's a topic to show/discuss footage from the A7S. What are you even doing in this topic except for fanboying about the GH4? Why don't you just respect that fact that other people have other priorities and maybe budget isn't a problem for them (and we still don't know the price anyway so discussing about that is pointless).

 

Just cut the GH4 crap. Again, I bought one myself, I think it's perfect. It just doesn't belong in the A7S footage topic.

[Quirky]

My concern is not because the videos are useful, but because it seems suspicious that they are not letting any pro -except for Den Lennie- touch a camera...

 

Maybe it was a very early beta at that point, and they simply didn't have but one sample unit for demo use. Hence the undisclosed delivery date.

 

 

On the contrary, it seems to me that they were forced to advance the announcement at NAB so that their target audience would decide to hold a little and not rush into buying a GH4. Imagine what could have happened if they still had not announced the A7S? I'm sure many of "their" buyers would already have the GH4

 

 

I don't think it's really that dramatic IRL, even though the Panasonic fans like to think so. Some people might indeed have gone for the GH4 or something similar, but I believe quite a few of the potential buyers of a Sony FE-mount camera would not 'rush' into the mFT camp just like that, not for the latest upgrade to the GH line. Surely everybody is aware of the fact that the GH4 won't be the only 4K camera around for too long. Surely even Sony will still come up with more 4K options, possibly later on this year. Soon other brands will follow suit. At least I tend to believe that not all people are so ADHD and instant gratification that the first 4K interchangeable lens camera made their heads explode, and turned them into instant mFT converts. They can easily wait a little while longer. Case in point, myself. Among many others. 

 

As for forced to advance the announcement, well, suppose it's indeed possible that an early (even premature?) announcement was pressured by some easily intimidated board members and marketing moguls at the Sony marketing dept... even though the boffins at the engineer dept might have wanted to wait a bit longer. Oh well, suppose we'll find out more soon enough.

 

Meanwhile, 4K is not the only reason many people including myself are interested in the A7s. In my case, I'm looking forward to learning about other 4K options, too, in the near future. The most likely candidates being Sony A mount (or some PL/hybrid solution) and Canon EF or M mount, or something with a fixed PL mount, perhaps some fixed lens cameras, too, probably from the usual suspects.  But since this is an A7s topic and the A7s is interesting for a number of reasons, well... 

 

 

Just cut the GH4 crap. 

 

Yeah, that.  :P

[pablogrollan]

Meanwhile, 4K is not the only reason many people including myself are interested in the A7s.

 

Me neither. 4K would be an added bonus. Having the possibility of shooting 4K if by any chance a project/client requires it is a plus, but I'm much more interested in the improved dynamic range, full frame sensor, XAVC-S and clean 6400-12800 ISO -no need to get to 400000 ever, I hope-.

[jgharding]

GH4 is much much much much better for a video lover and also from the side photo, as it is breathtaking shots :)

 

Take GH4 for a half price and live happy :)

 

Relax, this is a Sony A7 discussion thread... 

 

ISO 409,600!

 

Most cameras top out at 25,600. Each tool serves the right situation. Good luck shooting that room with four-stops less gain and a lot less sensor area... you would see pitch black and a lot of noise.

 

I'd like to see these huge ISOs processed with Neat Video, captured with no internal noise reduction, and using the uncompressed feed

[wolf33d]

:( :( :( :( :( 

 

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-sony-luxemburg-leaks-a7s-and-rx100m3-price-2295-and-849-euro-shipment-in-july/#disqus_thread

[Nikkor]

2300€ + Recorder... They will have to lower the price soon enough.

[sunyata]

The A7S should do 10bit HDMI and 8bit 4K internal. I hope Sony reconsider and put at least the AX100 processor in there for internal 4K recording to XAVC-S. After all it is a more expensive camera than the AX100!

 

8bit external and 8bit internal... not much logic in that is there?

 

 

ahh, but there is if you work for sony and drink the kool-aid, which i have done a few times (but not electronics). they have this obsessively broad vision for their products, everything must fit tightly into it. i've been considering buying one to take apart to try to hack. probably no easy task. 

[Andrew Reid]

Not a pleasing price but I think it is unique enough for me to still want it, for low light, full frame, to sell my A7R and replace it with this just to get rid of AVCHD is worth the extra! 4K in future to Shogun a pretty big bonus in my view.

 

GH4 still the one to get overall in the here and now... it is simply better featured for video.

[Daniel Acuña]

I just think choosing a GH4 over a sony A7s, or the other way around will depend on your personal needs for the kind of work you do.

You just have to compare the features on both cameras, if you shoot a lot of low light scenes well you will obviously consider the A7s over the GH4.

 

But then again it's up to you.  :)

[dinzitari]

I really, really hope this camera lives up to its intention. I currently shoot wedding films as a primary gig, working on breaking in to commercial work, and just wrapped my first narrative short (36 min). On that short, we shot with the Sony F5. It was a dream, and I loved working with the extra range and PQ with the Slog2 and XAVC codec. 

 

During the beginning of the year, I almost pulled the trigger on 3 Canon C100s to replace my FS100s. I wanted log workflow for my primary job, but the price was just too high. 

 

Now enter the A7s, full frame capable (i think) of shooting in a super 35 format, XAVC S codec at 50mb/s, and the glorious sLog2 gamma. It's so much more than a "low light" camera (which many are already tagging it with) This just checks so many boxes for me, a premium event camera with advanced dynamic range and codec, and capable of being a great B cam for a BMPC 4k or URSA, or Sony F series.

 

I really need to see what shooters can get out of it, and the "S" after XAVC has me suspicious that this could really be "AVCHD 3.0". I do think many of you are expecting too much from this camera though. I'm okay with 4k external, the camera has true pro cinematography tools featured in Sony's pro lineup, and the body can only dissipate so much heat for well implemented internal 4k shooting.

[Nikkor]

If you want to use super35 glass I think you will have to look for compatible teleconverters (1.5x).

[dinzitari]

If you want to use super35 glass I think you will have to look for compatible teleconverters (1.5x).

Most of my go to glass is full frame, but I wonder if the sensor allows you to shoot in super35mm/aps-c mode while recording 1080p. That's a major advantage for me. I don't need to change any glass, and I prefer the look. Can anyone clarify this?

[Nikkor]

I guess you will be able to record in cropped mode but it will look worse than fullframe. As I said, it might be a good choice to use a teleconverter (1.4,1.5x) to increase the image circle and match it to the Fullframe sensor.