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Sony A7s
I got one a few days ago and it's been and adjustment. Let me start with one huge pro - there's a option to link flash and ambient exposure compensation which should be standard on all DSLRs. Thank you Sony for raising the bar to toe height. The menus a much better than the Nex 7 and there are a lot more customization options. Good design is very simple - any function in the camera should be mappable to any custom function button, and that's still not the case. The use of auto ISO with manual is great because they have a dedicated EC knob and there's also an option to expand the selectable ISO to the full range. What falls short yet again, is this type of range option needs to exist for both aperture and shutter speed. So far that only exists on a 1D and I assume the Nikon equivalent. Or there should be a safety shift option with a range limit. I've been using mainly Nikon lenses with aperture rings, so I haven't been able to asses the AF, but mostly I've been zone focusing and letting the auto ISO jump around. I shot an extremely dark concert within an hour of getting the camera and it was amazing. I had a 28, 35, 55 and a 70-210 and they're all so small that I could fit them in a Think Tank Trim Changer - less weight made a huge difference. Shooting manual focus was way better as there was zero lag when pressing the shutter. One frustration has been having to cycle through the different levels of MF assist. I'd like to have the option to set just one level of magnification so that there's just A/B, normal/magnified rather than 4 stages. I'm having to start from scratch with RAW conversion. The first time I loaded files I had LR 5.5 which worked, but didn't have the A7s profiles and I had a hard time getting the colors right. When I update to 5.6 it was much easier to get them looking good quickly - and that's when I started to see how much dynamic range this camera has. I've never been able to recover this much highlight or shadow detail. I can get so much back that I'm really struggling to make the images look right in B&W because I'm able to pull everything to the middle. The main lightroom sliders and even the curves sliders are simply too coarse. The only thing I can think of at this point is that I'm going to have to make all new point curve presets for the nuances and then the coarse adjustments will be adequate. I haven't seen much discussion of the camera here, so I'm guessing it's not one most people are interested in. If anyone knows of a dedicated forum, please let me know. I haven't been able to find one yet. Aug 23 14 07:50 pm Link It's not the fact that people aren't interested in it. There aren't any topics on this camera yet because you're one of the first people I know that has one. Glad you're enjoying the camera. From what I've seen and read, it's an impressive little rig. Aug 23 14 10:37 pm Link I didn't realize it was that new. I'm really dying to try it with an AF lens. I'm hooping to turn my NEX 7/lenses into a 35 2.8. I did a shoot zoned the weekend with what only what I could carry in a small belt pouch - body, a Nikon 35 f2, the small Sony flash and some extra batteries. I was so much less exhausted after. Not carrying all that weight makes a huge difference. I found some interesting settings for the flash when using it in the combined EC mode of flash and ambient, but making individual adjustments. At first I thought the individual adjustments would disable that mode, but when I went in and disabled the mode, the results were totally different. I'm getting pretty close to the point where I can set it and have the exposure I want without having to make any adjustments while shooting, no matter how much the light changes. The manual mode with auto ISO is like having a personalized auto mode. Aug 25 14 08:54 am Link I've been thinking of picking one up. The high iso performance is definitley impressive. Any idea of it's pros and cons for shooting video? Aug 31 14 01:54 pm Link I saw an initial/partial review on "Luminous Landscape" that said this camera has a D Range of over 20 stops!!! I think Sony needs some new marketing peeps but...Holy Shit Batman... The designers and engineers are freakin' revolutionizing the whole industry!!! As soon as more Zeiss and G lenses become available...WHOA!!!!!!!! Aug 31 14 04:41 pm Link Martin Kessler wrote: It seems to have auto focus when shooting video. Sep 02 14 12:37 am Link billy badfinger wrote: I don't think it's 20 stops, but it's enough more than my 5D3 that I'm having trouble processing the files. It's so easy to pull the shadows up and the highlights down that you can end up with an all middle grey photo. Sep 02 14 12:39 am Link billy badfinger wrote: According to Sony's web site, RAW output is 14 bit. Sep 03 14 12:49 am Link Mikey McMichaels wrote: NOW THAT , is awesome! Sep 03 14 12:55 am Link There are lots of little things that fall short, which is a shame. They've got a lot of customizable options, much better than then NEX 7, but you can't assign the switching between the viewfinder and the LCD to a custom button. Sometimes I like to hold the camera in a way that switches to the viewfinder and I want the LCD to stay on. I've tried leaving that parameter selected in the menu, but if you hit play and then the menu, it jumps you to a different spot in the menu, and then you have a lot of scrolling to get back. There's a function menu that's helpful, but I'd like to be able to assign things like single shot AF vs Continuous to a button. There are some custom presets, but they store shutter speed, aperture and ISO. It would be ideal to have presets just for switching between the other functions or button mapping presets. This isn't really any different from other camera manufacturers, but it's a shame to out this much thought into a camera and miss on so many obviously needed features. Sep 03 14 01:30 pm Link Yea I like my A850 because it has so many buttons. How pros can shoot with a NEX type camera where all the options are buried in menus is beyond me. I like the newer sensors, but I'm willing to wait for it to show up in a more SLR like body. Big hands are another reason to use a big camera. Sep 09 14 09:22 am Link With a top ISO of 400,000 and a usable ISO of 100,000, you really only need shutter speed, aperture and EC knobs. Two generations of cameras from now, it's going to be genuinely ridiculous what you'll be able to do. Sep 09 14 12:44 pm Link Wanted to add my voice here. I absolutely adore my new A7s. Nothing else like it out there. The huge exposure latitude can make pictures gorgeous. Not like film but has qualities different than standard digital in a parallel axis as film. Sep 15 14 11:34 am Link I went with the a7r since I'm mostly studio and stills. I'll never go back to a big body with anything similar to a mirror box or slt ever again. I tried the a7s at the sony store to try out the whisper silent shutter, it made no sound, definitely a bonus if I were to rent one for an indoor event where silence is required! Congrats on the purchase! Sep 15 14 11:56 am Link Armando D Photography wrote: Ditto...For me any advantages to having are an optical viewfinder are far outweighed by the advantages of a quality mirrorless system. Any advantages that a DSLR currently has with auto focus will be gone in a year or two if not a few more months. haha...I do realize thems are fightin' words. I'm probably overstating, but I do love mirrorless. Sep 15 14 12:56 pm Link Armando D Photography wrote: One thing to know is that there's banding at the high ISOs with the silent shutter, but not with the regular shutter. Sep 15 14 04:52 pm Link Sad Movie Photography wrote: What advantages does an optical finder have over an electronic finder? Sep 15 14 04:54 pm Link Mikey McMichaels wrote: I can't fucking stand electronic finders, nor do I like the viewfinders on modern DSLRs. Give be a big bright viewfinder any day (like on a Nikon F3, F4, F5..) or, better yet, a nice piece of ground glass to look down into. For me, the advantage is actually being able to see the way I want to see. Sep 15 14 04:58 pm Link |
