25 ways the Sony A7S trumps the Canon 1D C

[jasondhsd]

Read Andrew's review of the 1DC he was never happy with it and I agree 100% with the issues he brought up. http://www.eoshd.com/content/10179/the-canon-1d-c-review  Canon really needs to rethink it's business model.  Maybe they could get away with their overpriced crap a few years ago but IMO if they want to continue to sell high-end cameras for $10k plus they need to do internal 6k and external 8k, global shutter, 16-20MP, xlr inputs, etc.   Right now 4k is being used to acquire and deliver to HD, so what Canon needs to do is anticipate when consumers want 4k delivery and make a camera that will do 8k or 6k for a 4k delivery.....I say this because the best advantage in using 4k and delivering in HD (besides a cleaner image) is you don't need as many cameras you can have a wide shot and crop in to close-ups.

[Joao@Providentialsystems]

As a UAV builder and seller, I appreciate the ergonomics of the A7S. This would allos my clients to get more useful flight time vs having a heavier payload onboard. The 1C is a nice camera, but way too complicated to get a proper COG on our gimbals and aircraft.

 

Also, since the A7s can shoot in very low light conditions, it makes for some interesting shots. If I had access to one, the first thing I would do, is to put in one of my multicopters, get up high enough and find a nice location for a shot, perhaps with some mountains in the foreground, and then start shooting trying to get a decent exposure of the the milky way in the background. Do you think it can do it? That would certainly be an amazing shot if it could do that, a "timelapse in the sky"! Yess :)

[PaperBag]

Color science (no greenish-yellow tint and strange color response in different lighting conditions (looks like a 3D color map kind of flaw)).

Rolling shutter.

Still shots with autofocus and Canon lenses.

 

I've really enjoyed Andrew's article and these comments. There's pretty much no commentary I can find online comparing the a7s and the 1dc, and used 1dc cameras are showing up on eBay for $9000 now. I'm a long-time Canon user with a stack of Canon lenses, so the question has been on my mind. If it goes for $8000, I might well give in.

 

Seems to me that colour science is subjective (though I tend to agree with jcs). Internal recording is certainly a 1dc advantage (but many DSLR shooters have been putting up with frankenrigs for years -- what's one more box on an a7s?). Rolling shutter for most normal applications isn't that big a deal.

 

So the advantage of the 1dc comes down to: you're getting a 1dx that can also shoot 4K, which is basically what people have been saying for a while. I think there was a review on DSLR News Shooter that said something like, "If you already have a C300 and a 1DX, there's no reason to get a 1DC. If you don't, then maybe you could justify this camera in place of both of them." So, all the photo advantages are what might make it attractive over an a7s -- not only playing well with Canon lenses, including with CA and vignette correction, but more megapixels, fast continuous shutter, weather proofing, etc.

 

If you're not a hybrid shooter, my personal opinion is that there's no compelling advantage of the 1DC. Even assuming the two cameras were identical in price, or that you were Roger Deakin and could use any camera you wanted for your next project, the a7s might on paper be the all-round better choice.