New Sony A7s to shoot 4K video

[Ron Evans]

I think we will see it in a VG900 replacement and with a bigger body for cooling may see not only internal 4K but 60P as well ?

Ron Evans

[Peter Siamidis]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

I think we will see it in a VG900 replacement and with a bigger body for cooling may see not only internal 4K but 60P as well ?

I figure the VG900 replacement will be identical to the A7s, but with 4k recording built into the camera since it can handle the cooling better, but otherwise will have all the same limitations (30 fps, codec, etc) as the A7s. That will let them release a FS700 replacement that has 4k, a better codec, 60 fps, etc at a much higher "pro" price. That will let their lineup of "A", "VG" and "FS" camera's co-exist at different price points, features and form factors. Although with more and more features being backed into these cameras, I have to wonder for how much longer the VG and FS lineups will both be able to co-exist.

[Ron Evans]

Differentiators would be just like my FDR-AX1 and the PXW-Z100. VG will have XAVC-S 8bit 420 and the FSxxx XAVC and XAVC-S with choices like the PXW-Z100 and hardware interfaces like SDI gen lock etc. Add to that buttons rather than menu selections and that may be all the difference. There will also be room for an EAxxx with 1" sensor of AX10 with buttons but similar codec restrictions( XAVC-S). EAxxx similar price to the FDR-AX1 giving a choice of fixed or interchangeable lens and the VGxxx a little less just like they are now. The larger camcorder bodies will support an XQD card interface needed for data rate and heat management for encoding to 60P.

Ron Evans

[Darren Levine]

Sony has so many cameras, they likely have a department dedicated just to making sure there's no in house cannibalization. I've really liked the design of the VG line, but it's been distinctly a prosumer camera, leaning towards the consumer end, and it doesn't seem likely that they'll give it anywhere near the ability that might hurt the FS line.

Then again, really all they would need to do is put in the a7s sensor, give it the same 4k codec as the ax100, and that would be enough to satisfy a lot of folks. the main problem with the vg900 being the sensor with the traditional dslr level processing and all the softness and artifacting that goes along with it

[Ian Thomas]

Does anybody have any thoughts on this camera been any good for wildlife filming?

[Noa Put]

I think you are better of with a m4/3 camera which has a 2x crop so it will double the focal lengths of the lens you use + you have a very usable ETC mode which adds another 2,5 times zoom, so if I calculate right a 200mm f2.8 lens on a full frame camera can become a 1000mm f2.8 on a panasonic g6.
see below video which was shot with the g6 and etc mode used.

Oracle Team USA on Vimeo

[Ian Thomas]

Thanks Noah

I was just thinking of the 50mbs and the lightness of the camera i use a 320 and in these days i wonder if there is any need for such a big camera, got the RX10 but lacks a bit of zoom range great camera all the same

[David Heath]

Originally Posted by Ian Thomas

Does anybody have any thoughts on this camera been any good for wildlife filming?

Depends what you're doing - if lowlight performance is important to you, massive telephoto reach maybe less so, this may have a lot to offer.

[Craig Marshall]

Originally Posted by Ken Ross

It's funny, when I try to capture a dark scene, I try to capture it as my eyes see it. I really don't see the point in making a night scene look like daylight. But then again I've never understood the obsession on having a camera that can do this.

A clean shot whose brightness is indicative of what you see? That I can see (no pun intended). But making daylight from night? Not so much.

I tend to agree. Remember the A7s is a consumer camera so will probably be priced as such. If you want to do 'low light' really well, take a look at this John de Borman clip in the referenced article. Personally, I think this is what true 'low light' capability should look like and all this from a camera which is 'only' 2K! (not withstanding a great lens too...)

I could definitely make good use of the low-light capabilities of this camera. There were many times I'd shoot an event for a client where the available light was much less than optimum (like a candlelight vigil, for example). It would be really nice to get a clean image that looks well lit under those situations. Even opening the iris to maximum, lowering the shutter speed, or boosting gain on the camcorder won't cut it for some things I've had to shoot.

[Emmanuel Plakiotis]

low light without adequate latitude is useless.

[Noa Put]

Are you referring to the a7s? Or is it generally speaking?

[Philip Lipetz]

(SR5) Sony Luxemburg leaks A7s and RX100M3 price (2295 and 849 Euro). Shipment in July. | sonyalpharumors

"A7s: And right now the official Sony Luxemburg store has listed the final A7s price which is set at 2295 Euro! Shipment will be late July! The same store sets the price of the A7r at 1899 Euro. That makes the A7s 20% more expensive. We can speculate the price in US to be 20% higher than the A7r too ($2295 here at Amazon). It would mean the A7s could price could be around $2750."

[Noa Put]

Like probably many I was hoping it would be around the gh4 prize but for a full frame camera and taking the other a7 model pricing into consideration it was to be expected that this would not be the case. Now that I have seen how much cleaner the gh4 is at 6400 iso compared to the gh3 I"ll settle for that instead, for my kind of work 6400 iso coupled with a 12mm f2.0 lens should be able to get me through even the darkest receptions and still have a dof that is manageable. The canon 5dIII however seems to have a serious competitor now when it comes to delivering video and the low light throne will go to the sony instead.

[Philip Lipetz]

Sonyalpharumors did their math wrong since the A7r price was a temporary discount, so based on the no sale price this signals a US price of closer to $2500.