12Jun Sony A7S v.s. 5d mark III low light test
I’ve posted a few things about how Amazing the low light performance is on the new Sony a7s (here and here) but the video below really drives the point home. Sony really made the right choice move to a lower megapixel sensor and focusing in on lowlight and dynamic range performance. I rarely need 22MP, but I often find myself wishing I could crank up the iso just a little higher.
The difference between the Canon 5d mark III and the Sony a7s in this test is really jaw dropping. At 6400 iso the Canon image starts to get a bit mushy, while the a7s holds together very well. By 12800 iso the a7s image quality really starts to pull ahead and the noise pattern starts to get ugly on the 5d mark III. At 51200 iso the Sony a7s still looks good, although it’s slightly over exposed, and even at 102400 iso the image still looks pretty decent.
Low light performance on the a7s is remarkably good, it’s a shame Sony didn’t include 4k internal recording. This camera could have been epic.
UPDATE: Taking a closer look at the video on a proper screen, the 5d seems to be out of focus. Much of the “mushy” I was seeing this morning is likely due to that. I only had a 1280×1024 screen when I posted this, thanks to Dave for point that out.
June 12th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
It’s a big shame that it doesn’t do internal 4K and 10 bit out the hdmi port. But if it does really great HD, that might be more practically useful on a day to day basis and could really steal some serious business away from the GH4 which has so-so 1080. Having to downsample 4K to get sharper 1080 sounds like a workflow pain. The crazy high ISO ability makes up for a lot.
June 12th, 2014 at 1:21 pm
I wish I had the money to preorder this camera. I know that you and many others have purchased the gh4, and it is a good camera, but if someone handed me one for free, it would be the a7s without a second thought. No one seems to be talking about this camera. I think it’s because you need to record 4k externally. But anyway, kudos to you for writing up on it.
June 12th, 2014 at 1:47 pm
I preodered it as soon as it was available. My experience with it at NAB completely changed my mind about the a7s.
June 12th, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Are you concerned about the limited amount of native Sony e-mount lenses? I use vintage primes on my DSLR and probably would KB this too, but it would be nice to have some Sony lenses with autofocus confirmation and such.
June 12th, 2014 at 2:07 pm
I have an e-mount to A-mount adapter on the way as well as the canon adapter. If the sony a7s is a keeper I’ll probably pickup the tamron 24-70 and a few sigma a-mount primes. Between that and my canon glass I should be in pretty good shape.
June 12th, 2014 at 3:34 pm
The Canon shots are out of focus, which certainly gives the SONY an edge up.
June 12th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Hmm, I’ll have to grab my glasses and look at it again when I get to a decent sized screen I only had 1280×1024 when I say it this morning.
June 12th, 2014 at 5:56 pm
Yes, go to the section of the video at ISO 6400 at :31 and it is quite obvious the focus is soft on the 5D3 compared the the tack sharp Sony…
June 12th, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Just looked at it on a proper monitor, your right, looks like it’s out of focus.
June 12th, 2014 at 8:01 pm
I disagree. Having vast experience with the Mark 3, especially at this distance and available light, it’s in focus. It’s just a soft camera. Great for interviews, not so much for landscapes such as this.
June 12th, 2014 at 9:23 pm
I know the 5dmk3 is a little soft, I shoot with it daily. However, watch the water fountain spray on the 5dmk3 and you’ll see that it’s very sharp compared to the rest of the background. While the 5dmk3 is a little soft on backgrounds, the water fountain makes me lean towards out of focus.
June 17th, 2014 at 9:04 am
I don’t think the 5D was out of focus, just it’s usual unacceptably mushy self. I will be interested to see how much detail there is in the blacks on the 7s. The comparison is not so great here as by iso 12800 the lit areas are blowing out and there is no point to raising the iso further. Dynamic range is the thing to wonder about.
June 18th, 2014 at 1:24 pm
I asked about the focus because many of the video and stills comparisons I see between the GH4 and 5D tend to show the 5D to be very soft. I think the 5D has great color, low light and the advantage of FF DOF, but it just doesn’t render as much detail. Thanks for the comments.
June 12th, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Would be great to see a three way test between the C100, GH4 and A7s. I’ve been looking for a good b-cam to my C100 since my 5K mk II isn’t working out that well.
June 12th, 2014 at 5:54 pm
Sorry Rob, i sold my C100 after it finished up it’s last job about a week ago. The a7s will be replacing it for low light. Never really found a good fit for that thing, had all kinds of problems with it, and the low light footage was always really grainy. It earned it’s keep and it sold for the same amount I paid for it, the proceeds are paying for all of my a7s purchases.
June 12th, 2014 at 10:40 pm
how much of low light are you planning to push? Is your line of work require to shot in low light all the time? There is no 4K coding. You will need a Atomos Shotgun for it. It start to add up just like buying Black magic system now. 🙂
June 13th, 2014 at 3:36 am
@Alex The only thing that 4K really gives you at this point is some editing latitude. Otherwise, it’s a headache to store, process and edit since it’s so highly compressed. Plus, most video these days is bound for web or distributed on DVDs which isn’t even HD. Even Blueray is only 1080. Most TVs can’t even make use of 4K. So that means you have to transcode the footage and/or downsample it to 1080, 720 or whatever the final format is. Crazy high ISO and clean 1080 is far more useful right now.
June 13th, 2014 at 8:51 am
Rob’s right. Even on the projects I’ve worked on that were 4k, we delivered 2k files to the editor. The final project was bound for 1080p. On most of them don’t even bother to crop any 4k shots, just output the redcode to 2k and handed it over. The 4k footage is usually archived just in case, but no one really uses it. I think we are at least 5 to 6 years away from 4k being a requirement for local markets, most of the broadcasters i’ve talked to are still paying off their 1080 upgrades from a few years ago and have no plans to upgrade anytime soon.
As for storage the 4k compression rate on the GH4 makes the footage pretty manageable 100Mb vs a 50Mb codec at 1080p, more so than most other 4k formats. I’ve been shooting a lot of 4k with the GH4 for testing purposes, not because I “need 4k”. The selling factor for me on the GH4 has turned out to be the form factor as opposed to 4k.
June 13th, 2014 at 8:28 am
I’m often required to shoot in areas where a generator is required. The less lighting and power needs I have, the smaller (and quieter) the generator is required. As for 4k, there isn’t really a demand for it in my area. The few times it’s required I simply rent.
June 13th, 2014 at 3:33 am
Does anyone know the name of the hdmi locking port shown in the photograph of the A7S
June 13th, 2014 at 8:11 am
Word is, it is included with the a7s and not sold separately.
June 13th, 2014 at 10:16 am
Also, not mentioned often enough is the SONY FE 28-135 F4 POWER ZOOM LENS, and compact XLR mic kit.
This will be an incredibly versatile set up along side the Atomos Shogun for 4K, and beautiful large preview.
I feel that some of my best projects are shot when using an external monitor versus the back of the camera. I used to shoot with a DP7 on a C100 using the hood all the time.
I’m planning on switching to the a7S if all the hype is really true (and Sony have fixed skin tone color, as it was horrible on the FS100 I used to shoot with).
Sorry Canon- the only thing that kept me hanging on was the Magic Lantern hack.
Never really entertained the thought of buying a GH4…
June 13th, 2014 at 11:15 am
Haven’t used the power zoom but the XLR-K1M is a pretty decent option and it’ll work with the a7s. However, i’m not a fan of the included ECM-XM1 Shotgun Mic included with the XLR-K1M kit. Audio quality and pickup range is lacking and the XLR-K1M is a bit over priced for what you get.
June 13th, 2014 at 12:03 pm
Hopefully someone will make an aftermarket version if the new compact version coming this year without the crappy mic. Stick an NTG on there and you’re golden. I’m also hoping the power zoom is decently sharp and affordable. C’mon Sony!! You can do it!
June 13th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Think the hot shoe adapter is proprietary which is the reason we haven’t seen any aftermarket units so for. But I could be wrong.
June 13th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
Very nice post and very sober comments! Deejay, you mentioned an adapter for Canon glass, could you specify which one is suitable here and will it support electronics such as IS and Auto focus?
June 13th, 2014 at 6:57 pm
The Canon adapter I’ve tested is the Metabones adapter, AF is slow, but the electronic controls work. They have a list of supported lenses on the Metabones site. Not the most elegant solution, but there aren’t very many Native E-mount options for the new a7 series Sony cameras.
June 26th, 2014 at 7:42 pm
yeehha…finally the A7s arrive today. When is your coming Deejay?