16May Sony A7s $2498 official pricing announced.
At 12:00 A.M. this morning Sony officially announced pricing and a release date for the new A7s. When I first heard about this camera I was very disappointed at the lack of internal 4k recording, but after getting my hands on it at NAB it completely changed my mind.
While I’m disappointed that Sony chose not to add an internal 4k recording option to the A7s, the amazing low light performance of the new 12mp sensor really seems to make up for it. I’ve been shooting 4k with the Panasonic GH4 for the past few weeks and while the internal 4k recording is nice and image quality and resolution is good, I don’t see myself using it exclusively any time in the near future.
What it boils down to for me is extreme low light, a full frame look, and shallow depth of field versus internal 4k recording, flip out screen, and a lower price. While 4k recording is a nice feature to have, extreme low light performance is a much more useful feature for me and I’ve grown to love the look of full frame. I have no plans to invest in a $2,000 external 4k recorder so for me the Sony A7s will probably take the place of one of my 5d mark III bodies and my hated Canon c100.
I’m interested to hearing what you guys think. Is Panasonic GH4’s 4k recording and price more important to you than extreme low light at 1080p and a full frame sensor? Do you really need 4k in your DSLR or is it just the next “must have” feature?
As of right now I have 2 Panasonic GH4 bodies and a hand full of M4/3 lenses. I like the GH4 enough that i’ll be keeping one of them around, but I don’t think I’ll be investing enough into M4/3 lenses to make 2 bodies useful. The GH4 I have yet to unbox will probably be ebayed to pay for the Sony A7s preorder. To me it almost feels like these cameras will end up being complementary. When you want extreme low light in a full frame format, you’ll go for the Sony A7s and when you want 4k you’ll reach for the Panasonic GH4.
I guess it’s time to start selling some gear.
May 16th, 2014 at 10:26 pm
Low Light>4k
May 17th, 2014 at 6:58 am
+1
May 17th, 2014 at 4:57 am
I have GH3 and its a good camera but moire and aliasing in video was much worse then I hoped for. Stills are okay but I need the ability to shoot higher iso and I am shooting more stills. Since I already M4/3 lenses battery grips I was going to upgrade to the GH4 especially when I read no moire in 4k and then get D610 or d800 for stills camera since I can also use the nikon lenses with a metabones adapter on the GH4. But then I am kind of back to the old days of DSLR for stills and Video camera’s for video and all the gear to lug around for both. this was the main reason I switch to the GH3’s in the first place
So the sony makes more sense for me I can get a a7 or a7r for detailed large print stills (wish there was better AF) and a a7s for video and I don’t mind the Atomos for 4k since its a monitor too. this way I have the 4k option when I see I really need it.
May 17th, 2014 at 7:17 am
I’d say hold off on buying a 4k recorder until you really need it. This year the prices are pretty high, but if you can hold out until the end of the year I’m sure more options will start to hit the market at a lower price.
May 19th, 2014 at 12:27 am
I’m all in with m43, primarily because of size and weight. Smaller camera + lenses lets me use a smaller jib, tripod, etc., Also, the m43 system has a pretty mature selection of lenses now.
I missed the FF look at first, but the size/weight trade off was worth it for the work I do (travel video/photography, hiking, biking). On occasion, I’ll miss the ability to really knock out a background for an interview, but for the most part I’ve coped with it.
For me, I’m not so much interested in the GH4 as a 4k camera, but as a killer 2k camera. Most of my stuff is shot outdoors in decent light, so super high ISO isn’t too much of a factor.
May 20th, 2014 at 7:52 am
[…] fans who will sell some gear in order to get their hands on it. Reading DeeJay’s comments on DSLR Filmnoob, the A7s is impressive enough that it actually changed his mind when he had some hands on time with […]
May 28th, 2014 at 10:11 pm
I bought a Sony A7 for myself but of course I lust for the A7s’s high ISO performance. Overall however, I’m happy with the A7’s video reproduction even if it’s not 4k.
May 29th, 2014 at 8:27 am
The high ISO performance is what sold me. The a7s made my c100 look like a peice of junk in low light. Put the c100 up on ebay as soon as I preordered the a7s.