The setup for the test
7R II is limited to 50mbps for 120fps instead of 100mbps as the 7S II
Speaking at Sony/Advanced Media workshop on the 7R II & 7s II
Above is the Mark I of the a7s – still a great camera.
SO, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but last weekend I was asked by Sony Middle East and Advanced Media to speak at their workshop for the Mark IIs. I shoot a bunch of tests for myself with any new camera, but rarely edit them together. There’s lots and lots of info out there already, but this particularly interested me so I can make a better judgement call on which camera to use when.
Obviously the a7s II was going to beat out the a7R II in this regard, but HOW MUCH better is it? How does it compare at lower ISOs? What’s the rolling shutter like between the two? And some really interesting things came out as well that isn’t talked about much. When shooting in 120fps (which both cameras are capable of, albeit in HD), the a7s crops in. The a7R on the other hand gives us a full read out in very good 1080p. This is something to keep in mind.
I really wish Sony would bring about a firmware update to add slog3 to the 7R. This should be simple enough to achieve, and it’d be silly not to. Both cameras still have their own different uses due to the sensor, and it’d be easier to match grading when shooting in the same log. Oh, and view assist! That really shoulda been on the a7s in the first place.
The last few days, we’ve been shooting some events and currently going through that footage. The Mark I was already a great camera for events, small, great image, amazing low-light, adaptable lens mount etc… now this gets even better. It has turned the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 into a stabilized dream. Combine that with the low-light and you really have a winner. You could take it onc step further with a Speedbooster… but let’s not get crazy here.
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is a great lens made better when stabilized for handheld use
Now the real fun starts – adjusting my workflow and LUTs for slog3 and 4k file sizes…
But before that, here’s a photo of me with my latest camera and my oldest… an old miniDV camera with a wide angle adaptor from 16 years ago.
First camera: Sony TRV-30, and latest Sony A7s Mark II
