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Sony A7S Mark 3 - What to expect


Andrew Reid
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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

I'd buy it if.........

1, RGB scopes / histogram

2, Push button AWB

3, Video record from the main shutter button

4, 10 bit 4.2.2 codec with sensible bitrate (may not be possible with current SDXC cards)

First 3 could be simple firmware updates on the existing A7R/S2

Don't need 6k ( yet), don't care about stills capability - have A7r2 for that, don't care about battery capacity - have 12 Batteries and don't want it to get any bigger.

 

 

 

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Hi,

I've got an A7SII. There is nothing really disapointing in using it actually. The only drawbacks i find are the battery life and the 8 bits codec... But to be honest the camera has followed me on several films and it has done the job pretty well.  For the battery life i use a power bank via USB and Voila. 8 bits codec is cheap... If the WB fails on set and exposure is not done correctly... wow... crappy camera. But using a colormeter every shot and exposure meter too and this camera does a good job. I always use Slog3, knowing its weaknesses...

What i expect from an A7SIII is not necessarily a bigger sensor, but a faster with stacked memory. Rolling shutter on the A7SII has never worried me by now, but i understand it can be a pain for some persons.

What i expect is also a better codec, 10 bits higher bitrate... but i know Sony a bit and the A7SIII will be a "for everybody camera"... And 8 bits 100 mbps is great for everybody... Us, guys who want to buy a decent camera will not use that kind of a camera to shoot a commercial... therefore 8 bits 100mbps is average good to shoot cats and ducks on water... Those of us who want a more serious camera will go on the FS5 or FS7, more pro oriented... Sony won't shoot them in their foot... A7SIII won't have 10 bits chroma in my opinion... even if i truly want it.

Then what i want is an USB port like the A7SII.

240fps and 120fps 1080

Better menus

Better IBIS if possible...

A price that is related to their targeted market. Not crazy price...

Better AF even if i'm always Manual... lol... i think i've never used the AF on my A7SII... not once !!! I am canon equipped for lenses...

Better EVF if possible

 

Voila !!!!!! hope this will be tomorrow morning here in France...

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My prediction: There won't be an A7s III in the near future, but we will get an A9s and an A9R as a second, more expensive camera line on top of the A7 line (which will remain on the market).

The A9s will become a serious video machine, likely with 10bit and even 24fps RAW, but it will cost at least as much as an FS5 and therefore not cannibalize Sony's video camera business.

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I was just at the Sony press release and spoke to a Sony Rep. there was literally nothing interesting at the press release. I told the rep I was hoping for a Sony a9s and he asked me why? I told him it's because I want Slog and better video features. He then asked me "why why don't you just get an a7S II?" I said I want phase detect autofocus and the better battery. He then said "well you're going to have to wait a long time."

 

conclusion:

nothing new here. Looks like we will wait at least another 6 months before we see anything. 

 

At least I got a free cookie. 

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IMG_2653.JPG

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Their site always gives me cookies! Luckily those are of the fat-free kind, 'cause man!

Yeah, to be honest, I don't think they're going to release any other A9 versions. That's just one high-end stills camera. Like... Canon has the 1D X line-up for that. Ok, given, they had that 1D C once upon a time, not sure what they're planning there??

Like... for the A7-series it kinda makes sense that they have the A7S and A7R line-up as well. Here as well Canon is doing the same with the 5D line-up. 5D Mark IV, 5Ds & 5Dsr. It's easier to sell more different 'cheap' ones, than it is expensive ones.

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Look at the current Sony line-up and pricing and then see if something else fits in there:

A7II $1600
A7sII $2600
A7rII $2900
A9 $4500
FS5 $5750

Where do you put an A9s that doesn't eat into both A9 sales and FS5 sales?
Where do you put an A9r that doesn't eat into A9 and A7rII sales?
Where do you put an A7III range unless you supersede what you currently have and introduce at similar price points? What features do you offer that still provide the A9 as the high-priced flagship...? 

Sure, there's a small gap in pricing between A7rII and A9, but given the features of the A7rII, the A7sII and the A9, how can you possibly pack more features than the A7r/sII, whilst still crippling enough to not eat into A9 sales...?

Sony won't have an A7III or A9s/r series - not this year anyway. And frankly, the Sony pro line-up is positioned in such a way at the moment that it would take a huge announcement from a competing company to really make a dent in Sony's line-up.
And really, I just don't think there's that much of a market for a $5k video-oriented DSLR/DSLM.

Anyway, I don't really understand why Picture Profiles and/or S-log are so crucial to shooting video. It's 8-bit. And, really, the vast majority of log or Cine-profile shot stuff on the A7-series ends up being 'graded' to look exactly like PP-off, and then complained about because funnily enough shooting log or Cine in 8-bit didn't hold up as well when it came to grading....

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It would be nice if the A7s III had a higher bitrate even if it was only though an external recorder. I'd also like it to be bigger body so that might allow them to use larger batteries and perhaps not have problems overheating.  My 5D MK III never felt like a big camera but the A7s II felt like a toy *shrug*

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I am using a7sII for about 1 and half year. I would like to see Sony a7sIII with 4K60p, 10 bits 422 resampling and global shutter. As for the sensor, 24 mp is good but 12mp cmos sensor is good enough for me for my video as well.

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I'd already be happy if they'd fix usability quirks and slightly update the camera, even if it was a paid firmware update. No dimming of screens, updated color science, video shooting with shutter button, improved auto white balancing / custom white balance in video mode, etc. After all in all the comparisons with the new Panasonic GH5, most people perceive the usability and reliability of Sony as their weakness, not really the image quality.

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  • Super Members

They all need to just stop fucking about to be honest.

Just sell us the sensor and processor in a housing and let us buy two different body shells to slot it into. An SLR type and a film camera type. Have an esata interface so we can choose to attach a memory card interface or SSDs so we don't get ripped off by external recorder manufacturers for wanting to record RAW or ProRes. Put every single capability they've got in it and let us wake the features up as and when through paid add ons from the controlling smartphone app. Let us do it monthly, annually, permanently or even daily if we want to.

It's 2017, people are used to these type of subscription and add on purchase models.

And if this all sounds a bit like what RED were trying to do well it is but they never really followed it through properly.

If they want to make more money from us, fine, sell us some accessories. Starting with a field monitor again stops us having to line someone else's pocket. And the big one is a gimbal. Who wants to have the hassle of importing some unknown device with no support when you could buy one from the manufacturer that would DEFINITELY work with your camera and provably more effectively because it would be fed data from the cameras own IBIS system.

A manufacturer that does this will clean up. 

Blackmagic could do it (and the micro looked like it could be a shot at it) but the path they seem to be on is the same as everyone else and just making different versions of the wheel.

So it'll have to be a startup or maybe an offshoot of RED that remains truer to what most of us believed they were going to do.

I hope someone does it as I'm sure we're all fed up having to buy a bunch of surrounding electronics over and over again just to change the functionality. It's like having to buy a different smartphone to use as a calculator and another one to do a spreadsheet on when we all know the underlying structure is the same it's just the interface that changes. 

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10 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

They all need to just stop fucking about to be honest.

Great rant, but you have little to no understanding of how these products work or are used.

37 minutes ago, Phil A said:

I'd already be happy if they'd fix usability quirks and slightly update the camera, even if it was a paid firmware update. No dimming of screens, updated color science, video shooting with shutter button, improved auto white balancing / custom white balance in video mode, etc. After all in all the comparisons with the new Panasonic GH5, most people perceive the usability and reliability of Sony as their weakness, not really the image quality.

None of these things are real issues. At the end of the day, as a shooter you should be going for image quality first. Sure, depending on what you're shooting minor annoyances can make a difference, but I honestly cannot see how a record button in a position that you can't easily accidentally push to turn off, and a screen that darkens if you happen to be in the wrong shooting mode are anything even close to deal-breakers.

As for colour science and AWB, I've never had an issue with either, though I have an A7s, and I've heard reports that colours and AWB may be worse on the A7sII...

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1 minute ago, jax_rox said:

Great rant, but you have little to no understanding of how these products work or are used.

None of these things are real issues. At the end of the day, as a shooter you should be going for image quality first. Sure, depending on what you're shooting minor annoyances can make a difference, but I honestly cannot see how a record button in a position that you can't easily accidentally push to turn off, and a screen that darkens if you happen to be in the wrong shooting mode are anything even close to deal-breakers.

As for colour science and AWB, I've never had an issue with either, though I have an A7s, and I've heard reports that colours and AWB may be worse on the A7sII...

I didn't realize shooting in UHD is the wrong shooting mode.

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8 minutes ago, jax_rox said:

I may be wrong but doesn't this only happen if you're in Manual mode rather than Video mode...?

Happens always if recording mode is set to XAVC-S 4k. Result is that the screen is basically invisible to me when using it outdoors (in anything but clouded weather) on a gimbal where you can't use the EVF and that is sometimes a deal breaker for me. Easily my biggest gripe with the A7 and A6x00 series.

Of course you can work around that, but it means either flying blind by feeling or adding a field monitor (= more weight, more batteries to charge & carry, etc.)

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16 minutes ago, Phil A said:

Happens always if recording mode is set to XAVC-S 4k. Result is that the screen is basically invisible to me when using it outdoors (in anything but clouded weather) on a gimbal where you can't use the EVF and that is sometimes a deal breaker for me. Easily my biggest gripe with the A7 and A6x00 series.

Of course you can work around that, but it means either flying blind by feeling or adding a field monitor (= more weight, more batteries to charge & carry, etc.)

Fair enough. That one does suck then.

Though I don't know how you use a gimbal without a monitor...

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4k60p seems likely. So does a MP bump and that stacked sensor now that processing can handle downsampling a FF sensor. Touchscreen focus should be mandatory. No PADF would be a big mistake IMO.

Sony doesn't want to sell us 10-bit until the FS line, I don't imagine that will change with any of the a7 bodies. Since the a9 is the new "pro" line, a $4500 a9s with 10-bit would make sense and wouldn't step on the FS line. The a7s line can continue at its current $3000 price point. 

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