New Sony A7s to shoot 4K video

[Paulo Teixeira]

At the 3:17 mark of my video, the rep mentions no 30 minute limit.
If their is a 30 minute limit than perhaps that will be for most PAL territories while NTSC territories won't get a limit.

Sony - A7S - NAB 2014 - YouTube

[Matt Sharp]

Paulo, the lack of recording limit is good to hear!

With previous Sony SLTs and NEX cameras I didn't have as much of a problem with hitting record to stop and start the limit again as I did with the cameras overheating after 30-45 minutes in 100+ degree temps.

[Noa Put]

Any word on price yet? I read on "the verge" that it was going to be 1,699 body only but is that site trustworthy?

[Matt Sharp]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

Any word on price yet? I read on "the verge" that it was going to be 1,699 body only but is that site trustworthy?

Are you talking about this article? Sony announces full-frame A7s camera that can practically shoot 4K video in the dark | The Verge

It says

expect it to come in north of the $1,699.99 asking price of the A7.

The A7 is $1,699 and the A7R is $2,299 so I doubt the A7S will be $1,699. It'll be closer to the A7R price if not even higher.

[Marc Salvatore]

When I asked the Sony guy at NAB if the $1699 price rumor was accurate he practically scoffed at me. Then he made a comment about how the only other 4k full chip camera was the Canon 1d for $10,000 and that the A7s would not be $1699.

[Noa Put]

That Sony guy forgot to mention that for the a7s salesprice you don't get 4K but need to buy a ext recorder as well :) Looking at the prizes of the other A7 camera's now I also would doubt it will be around that prize, don't think they will try to compete with the gh4 but rather the 5dIII

[Greg Boston]

Just wanted to address some comments made earlier in this thread about resolution and frame rate.

It's not uncommon to do line skipping for higher frame rates because there is a limitation on how fast you can read out the entire sensor without frying it. The rest of the electronics have to keep up as well and it makes more sense from a design and cost standpoint to offer the higher frame rate by dropping the resolution. You can see this in a lot of cameras on the market.

Even my PDW-F350 shoulder camera did this. Anything over cranked above 30P dropped the vertical resolution from 1080 to 540. To a discerning eye, this might be visible, but the end viewer is likely to never notice.

Regards,

-gb-

[Philip Lipetz]

Originally Posted by Marc Salvatore

When I asked the Sony guy at NAB if the $1699 price rumor was accurate he practically scoffed at me. Then he made a comment about how the only other 4k full chip camera was the Canon 1d for $10,000 and that the A7s would not be $1699.

Did you mention the GH4? Even if it is not FF. Are they trying to pretend it has not changed the 4K price structure?

[Noa Put]

Sony is awfully quite about their a7s price, they do have some serious competition to consider as their camera can only do 4k with another expensive investment, since 4k is the buzz word right now with many low prized serious offers pricing the a7s too high might kill their sales. Last year I saw a Dutch store giving the XLR-K1M 800 dollar xlr add on for free if you bought the vg900, that's something you don't do if sales go well so they still might be thinking where to place this a7s on their price scale compared to the competitors or they might be giving a 4k recorder with it for free if sales turn out to be bad :) Just look at what BMD did when they trashed their prices just to stay competitive, Sony could very well surprise us with a price they don't want to charge but have no other option to do so.

[Marc Salvatore]

Originally Posted by Philip Lipetz

Did you mention the GH4? Even if it is not FF. Are they trying to pretend it has not changed the 4K price structure?

I did and the guy made a comment about the GH4 not even being in the same class.

[Noa Put]

He meant "price" class

[Marc Salvatore]

The way he said it sounded like the GH4 could not even be compared to the A7s. I guess because of the full chip and the supposed amazing low light performance. I do find the low light possibilities exciting but the external recorder for 4k not so much.

[Ken Ross]

The Sony Rep was correct. It can't be compared to the GH4. The GH4 can actually record a 4K image internally without expensive accessories. The Sony cannot. ;)

[Cliff Totten]

How many people here believe this 12mp FF sensor was designed specifically for the A7s and the A7s "only"?...

Just what I thought....nobody!

So....how will this sensor show itself down the road again? A 4k FS200 with 4k XAVC-S onboard? Maybe at IBCI in the fall?

Hmm...I would expect to see this sensor in at least another Alpha and 1 or 2 new video cameras down the road.

Anybody care to speculate?

[Matt Sharp]

Originally Posted by Cliff Totten

A 4k FS200 with 4k XAVC-S onboard? Anybody care to speculate?

Seeing as it's a 35mm full frame sensor not super35 like the FS100 and FS700, it would probably be positioned higher as say an FS900 with a price tag to match. 4K XAVC full frame low light monster.