Official a7S price in US($ 2,500)

[Emanuel]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1044728-REG/sony_ilce7s_b_alpha_a7s_mirrorless_digital.html

[Michael Ma]

Yikes.  I don't agree with this price by Sony.  

 

Where ample or harsh lighting is not a problem, such as in a studio, GH4 is a much better choice for $800 less.  

 

But at $2499, it is a much harder sell for a great but purposely handicapped 50mbit XAVC, and a compromised tool for photography at 12MP, with a lens system that will be new to you.

 

Even the 5D Mark III are starting to be offered for a little over $2500 which is already a recognized tool for professional videography.

 

In my opinion, it should have been $1699-$1999.

[Andrew Reid]

Looks like they took some bad advice somewhere along the line on price, but I still can't wait to get my hands on a 4K full frame image.

[varicam]

I will wait for a7T, if they continue with the naming scheme. :D

[pablogrollan]

We'll see how sales go... Anyway, unlike Sony or Canon -who take their time to lower prices- Sony offers rebates and discounts no too long after the camera is released. Let's hope it drops a few hundred $ by the end of the year like the A7 and A7R did.

[wolf33d]

What a shame I wanted to buy it at 1800. 
Now I don't know what to do anymore

[Daniel Acuña]

Well this is quite expensive...

[Dane]

I think a good full frame 4k image for under $5000 is pretty reasonable ($2500 a7S + $2000 Atomos Shogun + SSD's). GH4 looks like it will still be the go-to indie filmmaker camera for awhile because of it's internal 4k 24/25/30p and (somewhat soft)1080p96fps at $1700. Fast SD cards + optional $400-480 Metabones Speed Booster make it around $2300, or less half the price of a7S 4k kit, for a 4k image around super35mm field of view but not as good ISO. I'm looking forward to seeing more 4k a7S footage (rolling shutter worries me) as well as what raw can bring to the BMPC 4k camera (if only they offered a sony e-mount version to allow for a speed booster!). The a7S and BMPC will obviously each have their strengths, but the GH4 seems it will be the winner when it comes to portability, file size to quality ratio, and price.

[Guest Ebrahim Saadawi]

Well. It's not bad. It's just a bit disappointing as our expectations were lowered to 1800. If no one mentioned the 1800 price we would be excited for this price.

After all, it's a full-frame camera with full pixel readout, highest sensetivity in the world, records to the new XAVC-S in S-Log2 and as a bonus it outputs 4K video like the fs700 does.

When you think of it, how can they give us all of this for the price of the A7, which has none of these?
Nobody would buy the A7 of this was priced at 1800. It's lower than A7r because they think photographers will still want the 36 mp.

I am buying as soon as it hits the country's stores.

[maxotics]

The more I use the a7 (for photography however) the more I like it.  I used to have perfect eye-sight.  In my late 40s I started needing reading glasses.  I can no longer look at an LCD up close without glasses.   If I try to look, back and forth, without glasses, between the LCD and what's in front of me, I get blurry eyed (and maybe a headache).  With the Sony a7 I can set the diopter and have no eye strain, going back and forth.  I believe Anyone who needs reading glasses, and uses an a7, will NEVER go back to a Canikon without an EVF.  I can't see that I ever will.  

 

The focus assist features, with the a7 and manual lenses is near perfect.  The EVF gives you a very good idea of what you're going to get in post. 

 

It's difficult to determine the fair price of something without com parables.   I believe Sony could sell a fair amount of a7s for $3,500.  There's no camera like it.  The 5d3 gets that much.  Why not?   As Ebrahim said, it makes sense in relation to their other cameras.

 

When these cameras come out, a lot of people buy them, play with them, and re-sell them back to Amazon.  Within a week you can probably get an a7s for around $2,100 with almost no wear and tear.  

 

@Michael, what camera would you use to shoot both high quality, shallow DOF photo and video in a low-light, indoor function?  If money is no object,  what camera can match what the a7s will offer?

 

Anyway, I'm with Ebrahim, though maybe a few weeks after it hits country stores ;)

[andy lee]

same thing with the Panny G6 etc EVFs you can set the diopter and have a perfect EVF for your eyesight

its great ! I dont ever use the rear screen , I just use the EVF

[JohnBarlow]

Sony's price usually takes a dive after 6 months

[sunyata]

Way to shoot yourself in the foot again Sony. I think Ebrahim is correct in that they are focused on not cannibalizing an ageing product line, but it needs to be able to export 10bit for that price, even if only at 1080. 

[jasonmillard81]

If this camera can deliver image as appealing as the videos sony put out, which I find much more appealing than the GH4 image, along with decent stills it will not be too poorly priced as it will rival the 5d3 as well as probably drop in price by the winter.  I look forward to this much more than the GH4.

[Melbourne Park]

While pre-orders were being listed at $Au3,500, there are Australian sites offering the A7S for $Au2,500. Which includes our sales tax of 10%. So, that would be pre-sales tax in the USA, a price of $Au2,273. Which in US dollars, would be about $US2,200. Also the Australian sites are offering a free lens adapter of your choice, worth in Australian dollars up to $300, or $US280. So I think the likely US price for the camera is around the $US2,000 mark, when profiteering from retailers passes.

 

I am delighted with the price. This is around the same price as the 7R, for a stills and video camera that suits me better ( I don't want full HD but 1080P will suit me perfectly). I don't need 36MP resolution - sorry - I do not want 36MP - its a pain in the bottom IMO. And I hardly ever crop a photo. I have heaps of great photos from my old Olympus E-1. It's processor was a beauty IMO - and it only produced 5MP shots. 12MP is the perfect file size IMO. And you get low light capabilities, which means the need for a flash may be much less necessary - which is a very appropriate benefit in a compact camera.

 

I'll keep my micro four thirds gear for tele photography, and likely change over in time, selling my wide angle m43 lenses, although that will hurt I've got to say. I am looking forward too to using some of my old film lenses on a sensor size they were designed for.

 

My only reservation is focus speed, and I am hoping that they lower light capability will give improved focusing. Reviews remarked upon how while the A7 had phase focusing, the focus often missed. While with the A7R, the focus while slower was reliable. Perhaps the sweet spot might be the A7S, with faster but reliable focusing.

 

Not relevent for videoers, but perhaps the A7S was not designed for video'ers - perhaps it was designed for people like me?