Zach Ashcraft Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 I've been considering the merits of selling my C100 and 5d3 (and t2i) for a sony system. Am I crazy to consider this? The image and functionality seems to be weighing in favor of sony, at a cheaper price no less. I shoot both stills and video from weddings to documentaries and some smaller scale but consistent commercial work. I'd probably want some of the native sony lenses to have good AF at weddings - probably the 70-200 and the 55 prime. Manual focus nikkor for the rest. Thoughts? Am I crazy or is Canon really that uncool. Ratguity 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzNimbus Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Fwiw, I love shooting with my a7s. Messed around with bmpcc for nearly a year, moved over to the a7s. Similar dynamic range, WAY easier to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fe4a3f5e8381673ce80017d29a8375f1 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 The C100 is still a mighty camera despite what the specs look like on paper. I vastly prefer the image from the C100 to the A7s. Personally I'd wait and see if the A7s really does establish itself as a workhorse video camera before making such a big decision. Or at least rent one and give it a go? BTW, do you use your manual Nikkors on your C100? I have a nice set of AI-s primes and occasionally flirt with the idea of buying a C100. How do they get on with each other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 The C100 is still a mighty camera despite what the specs look like on paper. I vastly prefer the image from the C100 to the A7s. Personally I'd wait and see if the A7s really does establish itself as a workhorse video camera before making such a big decision. Or at least rent one and give it a go? BTW, do you use your manual Nikkors on your C100? I have a nice set of AI-s primes and occasionally flirt with the idea of buying a C100. How do they get on with each other? Definitely going to give it a rental and see. I do like the C100 image quality, but I don't think my clients would be any less happy with the image straight out of the 5D honestly. I absolutely love my Nikkors on the C100. I hate to use buzz words like "character" but they do just seem to have more life than any of my ef glass. I've got a 35 f/2 AI which might honestly be my favorite, but I've also had great results with the 50 1.2 and the 24mm 2.8 af-d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ebrahim Saadawi Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 It really depends on how you think the footage looks, do you see the C100 image better than the a7s (I do) or vice versa. The a7s has the advantage of smaller size, bigger sensor, better lowlight perfornace, s35 and 16mm crop, 4k option, better screen and evf. While the c100 has the great audio and internal NDs, the only reason to go with the C100 over the a7s is the audio and NDs, or if you particularly fond of the image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richg101 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 The A7R is definitely a step up form the 5d3 in terms of stills - as long as you can live without the AF performance which come with canon and their L lenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkor Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 You got a working mature setup, I wouldn't dump it unless you replace it with another mature one. The A7'x are the first generation of a new system. Personally I don't think you would be better off with a A7R+A7S combo, unless you go for portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.f.r. Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Sony A7s is here to stay....... Selling your 5D and C100 will allow you to buy to Sony A7s systems completely rigged up. Sony A7s does 60p in 1080 mode which C100 does not or 5D. With Sony you also have much better Dynamic Range + high iso. 5D is a better photo camera, but even at 12mp you can shoot some awesome pictures with the A7s. My Suggestion would be to rent the A7s (couple of hundred) and take it out a couple of days before your shoot to get comfortable and then come back to it. Many people are using Sony FS100 and A7s as an A & B camera. I would sell the C100 and buy the Sony FS100 (with metabones speed booster) and sell the 5D and get the A7s ( or buy two A7s with rigs) Sony FS100 Footage Sony A7s Footage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickHitRecord Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I work with the C100 and 5D3 as well. I rented an A7s for a shoot a month or two ago and found that I didn't care for it (form factor, interface, menus, using Metabones adapters, etc). In fact it gave me a whole new appreciation for my Canons. Definitely rent one before making that jump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonmillard81 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Any reason to not consider the gh4? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I picked up the C100 when I was shooting a bunch of commercial real estate shoots. Its more than payed for itself through doing that, but the clients didn't know the difference between that footage and the 5D footage. It just made my life easier. The overall image is nice, but more than anything I just want high dynamic range and clean 1080p. For documentaries, I use the C100 and 5D as a two camera setup which has been frustrating. I'll usually have the C100 as a wider shot and the 5D as a close up which works moderately well. Having a single cam 4K setup is an extremely desirable thing for me. Also the ability to light using smaller and less powerful lights is huge, as I'm just starting to look into investing into some lighting kits. If I went this route, I'm thinking I would sell everything (bodies and lenses) and start from scratch. I'd probably pick up the Sony 70-200 FE to have for weddings and then manual glass for the rest. Having borrowed an A6000, I find I can shoot at 1.2 with focus peaking and nail focus just as quickly in the environments I'm shooting in. GH4 - I'm just not particularly attached to the image or the system. I think the low light capabilities coming from the C100 and 5D would drive me crazy as well, which is something I wouldn't have to worry about on the Sony. If I were just doing video, I'd consider picking up a pair. But not for stills. I gave both cameras a rental for an upcoming weekend, i'll keep everyone posted and shoot some tests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.f.r. Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I work with the C100 and 5D3 as well. I rented an A7s for a shoot a month or two ago and found that I didn't care for it (form factor, interface, menus, using Metabones adapters, etc). In fact it gave me a whole new appreciation for my Canons. Definitely rent one before making that jump. None of this really makes sense...... I've worked with multiple cameras over the years. Every system has it's own interface, Sony A7s is no different than any other..... If you use Sony native lenses you don't need an adapter, also even if you do use an adapter which controls your lens electronically it's the same as if it were on a native Canon body (except maybe a couple of inches bigger)...... Form factor place a grip on the camera, tripod/monopod, rig etc. I would go so far as to say it's even much better than holding a larger camera simply for things you can do with it. The problem I see people having is "stuck" on one camera system. I've used them all and see/know the good/bad with each system. Sony A7s is the best Slr Camera I have ever shot with. Raw on a 5D Mark III coming first (if you're up to the post workflow). The A7s simply having clean and I mean super clean iso at 6400+ is something I could never even dream of on Blackmagic Cameras, let alone Panasonic and 7D/5D. In the end rent and make your decision, but don't make your decision before trying the system out..... Peace *GH4 too me is actually a side step in image department. Panasonic focused on resolution instead of dynamic range and iso performance which would have been much more important. Having a camera that can only shoot at max 1600 iso (and thats acceptable limit noise) really confines you to daytime or well lit projects. In this day and age a camera should give you at least clean iso 3200 (5d, C100, 1dc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 The problem with the Sony native lenses is the fly by wire focus. Fine for stills, terrible for focus pulls! The problem with adapters and canon lenses, unusable autofocus speed. Fine for video and terrible for stills. This is my biggest beef with the system right now. Why I'm thinking of picking up one native lens and then just sticking with manual nikons and voigtlanders both of which I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeys Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 If stills are needed I still would stick to a DSLR, or another mirrorless system: The Sony's AF does not inspire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jara Moravec Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I am in the same boat currently, considering selling 5D2 for Sony A7S but cannot see myself using Sony A7S for commercial work (ergonomics/complicated menus/recording button-to be fixed) - it just does not feel professional at all. Quite dissappointed as I really like some of the footage I saw online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickHitRecord Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 None of this really makes sense...... I've worked with multiple cameras over the years. Every system has it's own interface, Sony A7s is no different than any other..... Huh? THIS doesn't make any sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fe4a3f5e8381673ce80017d29a8375f1 Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 FWIW Zach I can't see a compelling reason here, in your case, for such a big change. Do you have any scope for just adding a cheaper 4K camera to your current setup solely for interviews? The FZ1000 for example, or even the LX100? Not low light or bokeh stars, but just for interviews you could make it work perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted October 12, 2014 Administrators Share Posted October 12, 2014 I've been considering the merits of selling my C100 and 5d3 (and t2i) for a sony system. Am I crazy to consider this? The image and functionality seems to be weighing in favor of sony, at a cheaper price no less. I shoot both stills and video from weddings to documentaries and some smaller scale but consistent commercial work. I'd probably want some of the native sony lenses to have good AF at weddings - probably the 70-200 and the 55 prime. Manual focus nikkor for the rest. Thoughts? Am I crazy or is Canon really that uncool. The low light and full frame of the A7S will come in more useful for weddings. When you have limited space full frame is really useful. When you have dimmer interior light the high ISO performance is a huge advantage. I can go to 12,800 in S-LOG and not even notice I'm doing such a crazy ISO when it comes to grading the footage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 The low light and full frame of the A7S will come in more useful for weddings. When you have limited space full frame is really useful. When you have dimmer interior light the high ISO performance is a huge advantage. I can go to 12,800 in S-LOG and not even notice I'm doing such a crazy ISO when it comes to grading the footage. I had similar thoughts. The C100 is great in low light, but only to a point. I really don't like going above 3200 and I often find myself either doing that or lugging around an ice light, which completely changes the way people act on camera. I keep coming back to this video..the possibilities are endless. I won't be shooting in moonlight often, but throwing up an Arri 150 instead of a 1K to accomplish the same task sounds awesome to me. Oh yeah - one thing my clients actually want that I feel like I'm not able to provide well is slow-mo. All the 1080 60 footage from the A7s and even the A7r blows both of the canons out of the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Ashcraft Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 If stills are needed I still would stick to a DSLR, or another mirrorless system: The Sony's AF does not inspire. Which lenses have you used, and in what kind of environments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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