http://www.bestmirrorlesscamerareviews.com/2014/07/14/shooting-with-the-dark-knight-first-impressions-of-the-sony-a7s/

Hey guys, I just picked up the Sony A7s and only have it for a week. I'll be doing some low lights tests and a shootout with the GH4, but what would you guys want me to test? Let me know here or on my page: http://filmbrosmedia.com/sony-a7s-review-in-progress/

I'm very weary of anything from 'Cinema 5D' - just look how they are happy to bash the GH4: 'The Panasonic GH4 had the worst dynamic range in our test. This is in line with the rather videoish look and contrasty colors we can subjectively observe.'

They are obviously Canon and Sony fanboys and sponsors. Not that I'm taking anything away from the A7s, its a beast of a little machine.

@apefos Try grading the slog footage posted earlier in this thread for yourself. Cannot be compared to flat styles on Canon cameras. Imo it grades very well, especially considering the codec. But you can try for yourself and see what you think.

a7S S-Log2 Exposure Test:

a7S S-Log2 ISO Test:

a7S S-Log2 White Balance Test:

For pixel peepers, I've also uploaded the high bit rate versions of these videos. You must log into 4shared to download: http://www.4shared.com/folder/w2Sapny9/Sony_a7S_tests.html

A few of my initial findings:

• The camera's S-Log2 output complies very well with the S-Log2 specification. The ACES IDT is transforming it into the linear color space very accurately.

• S-Log2 gamma with the S-Gamut color space is the correct choice for ACES, and it's the default for Picture Profile 7. But S-Gamut is a bad choice if you want to manipulate log footage directly: choose the Rec.709 matrix instead. S-Gamut is shifted in CIE x y space relative to the rec.709 gamut, and standard color correction tools cannot fix it.

• The ACES workflow is awesome. I can do exposure compensation and color balance nearly as well as with raw files in Lightroom, and easily match between shots.

• S-Log2 at ISO 3200 (the minimum available ISO with S-Log2) has the same highlight range before clipping as a standard picture profile and ISO 320.

• The best exposure for S-Log2 is the highest exposure you can manage without too much clipping. Around +2.0 on the exposure meter indicator is usually good.

• So far I haven't noticed any 8-bit banding. S-Log2 has increasing precision towards the higher stops of its output range, so you'll minimize banding by using a higher exposure or high ISO setting.

• In S-Log2 with zebras set to 100+, there is 2/3 of a stop of additional highlight range above where zebras are showing, encoded in the superwhite range.

• Full-frame 1080/30p video is very sharp but has a pronounced rolling shutter effect.

• Full-frame 1080/60p has much less rolling shutter, but the picture is slightly softer and suffers from binning or line skipping sampling imprecision. It's not bad at all, but just not quite as good as the other modes.

• APS-C has good rolling shutter and very good sharpness both for 1080/30p and 1080/60p.

• You can digitally zoom to about 1.3x before losing sharpness in any mode except full-frame 1080/60p, which is already a tad soft at 1.0x and just gets softer as you zoom.

• The APS-C mode has a crop factor of 1.53x. With an additional 1.3x digital zoom, that's 2x.

• The peaking is good, but not perfect. I find myself frequently changing the peaking level when I need to change focal lengths, and I often rely on the focus magnifier.

• The focus magnifier works while recording video.

• When the focus magnifier is engaged, peaking works on the new smaller scale of the magnified image instead of just magnifying the peaking, which is great for focusing precisely.

Good stuff, balazer. Very helpful. A question - the colors in your clips seem desaturated. Is that a personal choice or is that the way S-log2 is seeing it?

@balazer Awesome for these downloads. Would you be able to make a few xvac s-log downloadable?

@kupchenpo looks awesome! Enjoyed that little test.

I get that it's great lowlight. I wish I could afford special cameras for a single purpose. The Sony hype train is in full gear after laying low early on. Don't believe that this wasn't a planned approach.

4k is not a selling point of this camera, because it can't do it yet. Estimates now put the Shogun recorder at late sept now. No one knows if it will work well or even work.

Photos are average at best.

I'd just encourage everyone to read these two excellent reviews.

Gh4 vs a7s this is a very practical look at which one is most usable in the real world.

http://q8lavanda.com/8192.html

a7s jello the a7s Achilles heel,

http://andrewwonder.com/blog/entry/jello-shots-sony-a7s

I'm very much on the fence about the gh4, won't decide until I see 4k with 422 color. There's nothing wrong with staying with what you have, if you are getting good results. I have a hacked GH2 and a BMCC. I haven't seen enough to make me leave what I have.

To be blunt, the BMCC with all it's lacks and issues, puts out a more beautiful image than either a gh4 or a7s if you are a good colorist. Actually, it's not even close. Raw wins. Along with a sigma 18-35 with speed booster. That combination is hard to beat.

I'll wait and see what happens when the already delayed 4k recorders hit the street.

I would seriously consider this cam if there was a cheap way to record 2k and 4k direct to H265 external. The combination of small files and big quality would be a winner.

Someone know if the european version have the 24p selection?

I believe they are all cursed with the 30' recording limit.

Voldemort's 'evolving' review/propaganda is up. As expected, he jizzed all over himself about the High ISO ability.