Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys

Roland Schulz · March 11th, 2018, 05:42 AM

I found some time to check my new a7III against my a6500 in regards of dynamic range.

I don´t want to write to much, simply download the original clips in the .zip and push them and evaluate yourself how many stops you would rate.

Included are Cine1, S-LOG2 and S-LOG3 clips, for the a7III additional a tuned HLG3 clip.

The wedge has a 1EV per window. The first window is always clipped to show the maximum brightness possible in the profile. The second windows is slightly exposed below using a waveform monitor connected to the camera. So start counting with the second window.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kqmbjv1nnj...a6500.zip?dl=0
(will be up ~one week)

What is not visible that good here is the fact that the a7III recordings look somewhat cleaner than the a6500 recordings.

Native ISOs seem to be ISO125 at the lowest for both cameras. a7III has a dual gain point at ISO640. The a6500 has two additional gain points at ISO500 and ISO2000.
In the test I only used the lowest reasonable ISOs (infos in the file).

What is also visible is that the sensor of my a7III has a fault. On the bottom in the left third there is sometimes a small line blinking. Sometimes when I power up the camera this is correct remapped and not visible but about 50% the power ups it is even visible in the viewfinder.
Seems I will have the camera exchanged.

Roland Schulz · March 11th, 2018, 07:48 AM

UPDATE: here are some comparisons regarding resolution between a7III and a6500:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzjceimon2...a6500.zip?dl=0

To come close, nothing special between these two since both do 4K from 6K sensor readout. The a6500 codec looks a bit cleaner for some reason.
Both cameras are in Cine1 ISO125, lens was Sigma 50 1.4 Art Nikon F-mount on adapter.
Pictureheight was adapted for sure.

Noa Put · March 11th, 2018, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roland Schulz

the a7III recordings look somewhat cleaner than the a6500 recordings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roland Schulz

The a6500 codec looks a bit cleaner for some reason.

Just to avoid confusion, which one of the two is cleaner?

Roland Schulz · March 11th, 2018, 10:42 AM

See yourself, in the resolution comparison I would give the a6500 the edge with a better controlled codec. Image is more like "frozen" where a7III shows some little motion that´s not in the scene.

Roland Schulz · March 11th, 2018, 10:44 AM

So, did another comparison between the two and will finish tests now since I already spent much time and must do something else.

This was the DR test:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kqmbjv1nnj...a6500.zip?dl=0

This was the resolution test:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzjceimon2...a6500.zip?dl=0

Now I have done a little ISO test:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2lyi3kbqdt...a6500.zip?dl=0

All .zips contain native files from the cameras.

The last ISO test show a little scene I made with the a7III having the Nikon AF-S 85 1.4G attached and the a6500 the Sigma 50 1.4 Art F-mount attached. I decided this for getting similar perspective. Both cameras get same lightning working at f4.0. Exposure is done by shutter. More info in the file.

All is done in Cine1 with detail at -1.

ISOs were the native 125, 500 on the a6500 and 640 on the a7III, then both on 2000 (native a6500) and then ISO6400 and ISO12800 on both.

The a7III shows the cleaner picture but loses some detail on higher ISO where the a6500 holds detail but shows more noise. In the end I would give the a7III the edge by about 1 stop, but often you need this one stop for the wanted depth of field.

Brian Murphy · March 11th, 2018, 07:36 PM

Roland
Thanks for all the work and research and posts. I am looking forward to getting my A7iii. We expect them to arrive in Canada in the beginning of April and I am anxious to get mine. I was about to buy A6500s to replace my two A6000s but have decided to hold off for the A7iii.
Can you tell me if the camera is the same physical layout as the A7Riii? I would like to preorder a cage from SmallRig and they have not listed the A7iii.
Cheers

Tom Van den Berghe · September 5th, 2018, 11:23 AM

the last days I watched several footage and reviews about the sony A7 III.
In low light it comes close after the A7S but this one has much better batterylife and autofocus.

Also the price is great.

But the 4K 30P is let me confused. Can you shoot 4k 30p for example a dance video and slow this down?

All my camcorders shoot now 1080p 50p (60p) so I can slow this down in post by 50%.

That's why I wanted a 4K 60p camcorder to do this. I'm a wrong about this issue?.

March 11th, 2018, 05:42 AM	#1
Roland Schulz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 64	Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys - some tests... I found some time to check my new a7III against my a6500 in regards of dynamic range. I don´t want to write to much, simply download the original clips in the .zip and push them and evaluate yourself how many stops you would rate. Included are Cine1, S-LOG2 and S-LOG3 clips, for the a7III additional a tuned HLG3 clip. The wedge has a 1EV per window. The first window is always clipped to show the maximum brightness possible in the profile. The second windows is slightly exposed below using a waveform monitor connected to the camera. So start counting with the second window. https://www.dropbox.com/s/kqmbjv1nnj...a6500.zip?dl=0 (will be up ~one week) What is not visible that good here is the fact that the a7III recordings look somewhat cleaner than the a6500 recordings. Native ISOs seem to be ISO125 at the lowest for both cameras. a7III has a dual gain point at ISO640. The a6500 has two additional gain points at ISO500 and ISO2000. In the test I only used the lowest reasonable ISOs (infos in the file). What is also visible is that the sensor of my a7III has a fault. On the bottom in the left third there is sometimes a small line blinking. Sometimes when I power up the camera this is correct remapped and not visible but about 50% the power ups it is even visible in the viewfinder. Seems I will have the camera exchanged.

March 11th, 2018, 07:48 AM	#2
Roland Schulz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 64	Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys - some tests... UPDATE: here are some comparisons regarding resolution between a7III and a6500: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzjceimon2...a6500.zip?dl=0 To come close, nothing special between these two since both do 4K from 6K sensor readout. The a6500 codec looks a bit cleaner for some reason. Both cameras are in Cine1 ISO125, lens was Sigma 50 1.4 Art Nikon F-mount on adapter. Pictureheight was adapted for sure.

March 11th, 2018, 10:42 AM	#4
Roland Schulz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 64	Re: Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys - some tests... See yourself, in the resolution comparison I would give the a6500 the edge with a better controlled codec. Image is more like "frozen" where a7III shows some little motion that´s not in the scene.

March 11th, 2018, 10:44 AM	#5
Roland Schulz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Germany Posts: 64	Roundup - added some ISO comparisons... So, did another comparison between the two and will finish tests now since I already spent much time and must do something else. This was the DR test: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kqmbjv1nnj...a6500.zip?dl=0 This was the resolution test: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzjceimon2...a6500.zip?dl=0 Now I have done a little ISO test: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2lyi3kbqdt...a6500.zip?dl=0 All .zips contain native files from the cameras. The last ISO test show a little scene I made with the a7III having the Nikon AF-S 85 1.4G attached and the a6500 the Sigma 50 1.4 Art F-mount attached. I decided this for getting similar perspective. Both cameras get same lightning working at f4.0. Exposure is done by shutter. More info in the file. All is done in Cine1 with detail at -1. ISOs were the native 125, 500 on the a6500 and 640 on the a7III, then both on 2000 (native a6500) and then ISO6400 and ISO12800 on both. The a7III shows the cleaner picture but loses some detail on higher ISO where the a6500 holds detail but shows more noise. In the end I would give the a7III the edge by about 1 stop, but often you need this one stop for the wanted depth of field.

March 11th, 2018, 07:36 PM	#6
Brian Murphy Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Monreal, Quebec,Canada Posts: 249	Re: Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys - some tests... Roland Thanks for all the work and research and posts. I am looking forward to getting my A7iii. We expect them to arrive in Canada in the beginning of April and I am anxious to get mine. I was about to buy A6500s to replace my two A6000s but have decided to hold off for the A7iii. Can you tell me if the camera is the same physical layout as the A7Riii? I would like to preorder a cage from SmallRig and they have not listed the A7iii. Cheers __________________ Brian Murphy Director-Editor-DoP Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto

September 5th, 2018, 11:23 AM	#7
Tom Van den Berghe Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: BELGIUM Posts: 401	Re: Sony alpha 7 III for videoguys - some tests... the last days I watched several footage and reviews about the sony A7 III. In low light it comes close after the A7S but this one has much better batterylife and autofocus. Also the price is great. But the 4K 30P is let me confused. Can you shoot 4k 30p for example a dance video and slow this down? All my camcorders shoot now 1080p 50p (60p) so I can slow this down in post by 50%. That's why I wanted a 4K 60p camcorder to do this. I'm a wrong about this issue?.