Sony A7s, FHD camera, with 12Mp sensor, big DR

3Kids

So, does this mean that Sony will be releasing a 4K hdmi recorder as well? Maybe sell some recorders to GH4 owners :)

Tron

@Renovatio I'm a recent convert to thinking 4K recorded in "normal" light levels is going to become essential in the near future. Thinking back to just about every event I've ever shot, I probably never needed anything more than ISO 3200 to "get the shot." For shoots in controlled conditions I always light the scene for better dimension and visual drama. I imagine guys shooting concerts in HD with this cam will find the codec and low light capability to be very helpful features but we still haven't seen any video yet, so it's all speculation at this point - even the HD video quality.

Tron

@3Kids They said "3rd Party" which means anyone but Sony. They definitely would've touted it at NAB if their own recorder was going to be available any time soon.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Anyway. Most people miss that it can be good FHD camera, with good DR, and low noise. And remember, low noise will require much smaller bitrate, so 50Mbps can look very very good.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Vitaliy_Kiselev

kholi

That 4K Footage looks pretty damned good. DR and Lowlight's really great.

Wonder why on earth they wouldn't full fledge 10-bit the 4K Output just to better contain the massive DR it seems to have... banding might be horrid with this.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

Wonder why on earth they wouldn't full fledge 10-bit the 4K Output just to better contain the massive DR it seems to have...

I think it is exactly same LSI as in A7 cameras. Or very slightly modified. Hence the thing.

kholi

Correction:

http://www.fstopacademy.com/blog/sony-alpha-7s-first-hands-on-shooting-review/

10-bit 422 HDMI confirmed. Wonder if it's 8 > 10 or actual 10, but looking DAMNED good.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@kholi

8 bits comes from specification :-) go figure.

kholi

=[ Dang. The banding would concern me, that's the only thing. S-Log2 = killer, but there's not much point in using it with 8-bit in my opinion.

Renovatio

Let's see:

ISO it's the first thing, in video: 200-102.000 (up to 409.000 in extended mode)
First FF non-pixel binned sensor, 16:9 aspect ratio cover the sensor. In Fullhd in 24p and 30p only (not 60p. But no 120fps 720p? And what about 4k?).
S-Log2 gamma: improve DR. Is it an internal software of the camera?
Uncompressed 4k 4:2:2 8 bit, but OPTIONAL: Next question will be "what's the cheapest external recorder?"
Bitrate up to 50mbps. Sampling: classic 4:2:0, max 60fps in FullHD mode.
Up to 120fps in 720p mode, but with a crop (aps-c).
XLR output

What to say? Like this seems to be a GREAT 1080p camera, just as it is. Great detail and low light performance, in the first video we can see. The slow motion option (60p and pixel-binned) could be better. 4k 8 bit only and need and external recorder: do we need 4k? Look the detail it can catch already as it is.

kholi

That youtube video is a 4K video. So you're seeing the 4K Detail.

matthere

talk of same price as you know what... $1699

apefos

I can't understand why a so big company with talented enginers and professional marketing strategies like panasonic did not implement the 12 megapixel sensor in gh4, because it is a video oriented camera, now panasonic sucks with this sony release.

What Canon needs to do now to compete is to release a version of EOS-M mirrorless with 3840 x 2560 sensor, 9.8 megapixel for photo and UHD video with same technology from 70D, improved low light and dual pixel AF with the same log Dynamic Range, recording 4k to the sd card or recording FHD. Price under 1000 usd.

People wants to use all kind of lenses, not just proprietary lenses... so a expensive 5D Mark IV would not be perfect for competition.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@apefos

LOL. Because each company lives in the real world, including understanding costs to make completely new sensors or making completely new LSI :-) And no one sucks, nor GH4 nor A7s.