Juank

Listen, guys. I love my A7S3. Yes I would love to have new dynamic stab, and better AF. I also would want a new video oriented clean on-screen menu layout, but I can live without it. The camera still rocks. The problem is not about it beeing crucial feautures, its the attitude to the community, to us, its customurs. And this attitude stinks. In our age not giving your hardware avalible software updates is really really unexusable. Showing support to your older product is showing love to your customers. And feeling abandoned for a new youger girlfriend is not exactly a stimulating emotional experience. 

I'd also argue that they've already got people's money, so they don't care. They want you to buy the next camera, not increase the value of the camera you've already bought. And it works, because more than a couple notable YouTubers ended up getting the A1 and the A7RV after selling the A7SIII, which I'm sure then influenced others to do the same since that's how it works. I just wish more people cared about this shitty behavior.

I'd rather they DIDN'T turn the A7S III into a ZV-E1
Nearly all the new features are a dumb bag of shite designed to help people with no effort to make better vlogs!
What do you want from the ZV-E1 that isn't in the A7S III that you really need?
As for the reason behind a lack of firmware updates, it's because the A7S III is still selling well and is already feature-packed... so it doesn't matter what Gerald says really, if it is selling well, they don't need to change it.
They'd just give me a PR line and mention the firmware updates they have done, like the a1 10bit 422.
I agree with you Sony is lazy when it comes to nice firmware updates vs the others, but the best option is to sell the camera and buy a Panasonic or a Fuji if you are unhappy with it. Best way to get Sony to change.
On the other hand I do think the A7S III is hardly lacking in features?

Personally, I would never, ever in a million years add sharpening to a video clip.

the pocket 4k is probably the best video camera you can buy for the money. however, it is annoying.
the pocket 6k is more expensive, with image quality that is about 3% better at most imo, but every annoying bit about the 4k is extra annoying (especially battery life) on the 6k. 
the 6k pro is more expensive than the 6k, but fixes many faults of the regular 6k with its quality of life upgrades. So imo its not even worth considering the regular 6k. Even though i have really liked using it due to its NDs and bright screen, you are kind of stuck with an annoying mount: canon photo lenses arent particularly pleasant to work with, and cine lens wise you're most likely gonna have to rent, because your selection is pretty small, and Sigmas or Zeiss CPs aren't particularly affordable. If you're looking for a B cam for a more serious cine camera, you could just convert the mount to PL permanently. 
Lens wise the 4k just rocks, Olympus photo lenses are good for manual focusing, and the MFT cine meikes are insanely good for the price. Since everyone is so convinced that MFT is dying out, this means that they are insanely cheap on the second hand market. I myself hate speedboosters, but you can find some qualitative PL and EF adapters for a bargain occasionally online as well. This means that your selection of viable lenses is basically endless. I can basically live with most of the grievances with this camera, because the footage you can get out if it is so good, and it costs nothing compared to anything else. 
 
 
 

I think "fun" is probably better defined as "less annoying" when it comes to these cameras.
In that respect, I'd say the 6KPro with the EVF as you then have two ways to address the major annoyance of the monitor screen.
The internal ND is obviously a massive boon anyway but particularly as you might be using a mixture of EF and EF-S lenses that have wildly different filter thread sizes.
 

..this is simply not true. ZV-E1 is 2699€. That's only about 30% cheaper. and you are not getting the mechanical shutter or the full IBIS. or the passive cooling. and you are losing a lot on the outside starting with the EVF (which is useful for video too in bright daylight). and in the end the high-frame rate and chunky codecs end up unusable because of overheating. all you are really benefitting from that sensor is high ISO and low RS. All the rest is crippled.
Even all the cool AI features end up ruining the IQ because the 1:1 4K sensor can't oversample. A shameful "cinematic mode". Zero vertical shooting options. Piss poor mobile communication. Really this is what you applaud? This is the best Sony can come up with for this market?
No competition? So you mean to tell me "VLogging" can only be done on a "ZV" camera? 
Sorry I find that a bit ridiculous. I follow a few "vloggers" and none use a ZV camera.
The pre-existing ZV lineup is pretty awful too.
No I'm not the target but I know people that are and they wouldn't touch this camera with a 6-foot selfie pole.
To me they got everything wrong with this cam. Its all hype and fluff. Basically a tourist trap for hype beasts.
 

And 5 minutes may be the max they can ever shoot before the camera overheating. This is just unacceptable, I don't care what kind of content creator you are or who this camera is marketed towards. And no camera should overheat while browsing its menu, that's just wrong. Reminds me of R5C getting its battery depleted during menu diving. This just completely breaks usability. Stop giving these cameras excuses.
As for "extensive color correction" well this is a 2699€ camera with some high-end specs. Why even offer 10-bit or XAVC-I if the camera can't handle it? Sony do it for the spec list but in real world conditions the camera fails to deliver on that. I called it before the announcement, this camera will have severe cripple hammer. and it does, not on paper but in real use.. straight out of the Canon playbook.
Its important to call these companies out for their shenanigans. Canon has learned via firmware updates and subsequent camera models that no longer overheat to ridiculous degrees. A lot of Sony ambassadors including Bloom and other big influencers are starting to rant over their crippling strategies and lousy firmware policies but on deaf ears it seems. Sony is sitting comfortably in its leadership position and only seems interested in pushing new cameras with the latest specs. 

Still better than the how many firmware that A7SIII got for $3500 when it was released, A7SIII could really use the IBIS shift to make its MP much bigger for starter.  At least if I want really high resolution I have the option, rather than no option. Though I hope it will have RAW in the future like other brand do.
I kinda feel for A7SIII user, paying big money but the service that Sony provide is pretty skimpy.

The A7SIII is definitely a video oriented hybrid though and could strongly benefit from some of the new features inside FX3/FX30 and ZV-E1. Notably LUT support which isn't limited to viewing but can also be baked-in. Very useful for fast turnover projects. Breathing compensation is a big one. And of course the new AF enhancements. These will all for sure enhance your shooting results and so yes improve the final image. 
Side by side tests have shown Cine EI gives cleaner results. Also FX30 has less NR. So yes firmware can improve IQ.
The AF improvements are substantial, and a lot of A7SIII users would like the added animal detection etc.
 
Anyways like I said, one should never buy a camera hoping for new features down the line but its also hard to understand how you could argue against firmware updates. Other companies have been really good with that lately so people expect this with Sony but their company policy just isn't tuned towards that.

Leadership position syndrome. Sony have become the new Canon. Little to No firmware upgrades. Heavy segmentation. Paper spec cameras that overheat. Zero regards towards criticism. 
That being I always tell people, buy a camera (or any digital product) for what it can do today. Don't expect added specs down the line, you're most likely setting yourself up for disappointment. 

I own A7S3. There have been no major updates for this camera in a fucking eternity! Now they release ZV-E1 which has the same sensor and processor (according to Gerald) and every a7S3 owner is obviously pissed off. Its got so many new features that we all want but not going to get, cos SONY IS... I really dont know, what is their reason to justify this obnoxious attiude. Do they want to simply increase sales a tiny bit by doing it, in exchange of a major reputation damage? What are they thinking? Maybe we need to start an online petition, ah? There are a ton of videos on youtube complaining about it over and over again, Philip Bloom did a video, Gerald adressed it, in the comments people are raged, but still nothing. Sony is not adressing, not talking about it, not giving any timeline of new firmware updates, they are completely silent on the subject. 
Maybe Andrew can interview them and ask that question directly? WTF is going on? That would be nice. I dont understand why a company would create such a terrible case in the first place. The loayalty and attitude of your fanbase and community is extremly important espescially nowdays, when fewer and fewer ppl by cameras. For me it became a substantial reason to even think about switching. I am looking at Panasonic - they are very generous with their firmware and camera support for years. Now they have PDAF, they have the best IBIS in town, I just want them to make o compact (not a huge 1kg monster), affordable camera that has FF 4k60p and might seriosly consider switching. 

I must confess I'm always a little mystified that people are willing to pay the Leica premium for digital cameras.

One of the most compelling aspects of a Leica film camera is that it's 'the camera you pass on to your grandchildren' - but how does that stand up for digital, given that the sensor etc in even the best of Leica's offerings will be obsolete in 10 years?

8k 60p DCI RAW vs 8k 30p 10bit not really a blowing away…
Plus S35 6k 60p RAW… and for 2100$ less than the A1.
Z9 is better priced and more competitive than the A1 for video.

For the whopping asking price ( 7299€ !!!) it kind of is behind imo: No DCI options, no waveform, no LUT support, no pro / RAW internal codec etc. I'd much rather get an R5 for 3500€ now that the overheat is fixed.
Sony just refuses to give you these pro video features on an Alpha camera. They barely even give you them in the FX3/FX30. Still some very clear segmenting going on with them. 

How is a ZE1 priced at 2699€ a better deal than an R8 at 1799€ ?
R8 may not have all those gimmicky AI functions but at least it doesn't overheat. Plus it has a EVF and front curtain shutter. Seems like much better value to me..
 

honestly the low light of A7S3 is a little over rated imo. its actually a 48MP quad bayer sensor so not actually bigger photo sites.
marketing aside if you just compare this cameras price point and its specs to the competition (S5ii, R6ii) that's when you realise how stingy Sony went on specs.
Actually the test I saw was the camera overheating in 30mn in XAVC-I in 24p in normal indoor conditions !!! Going LongGop extends the time and 8-bit as well obviously.
Gerald Undones video is up now and the overheating jumps down from 2 hours to 1 hour when ambient temperature rises from 22 to 24 degrees Celsius. The camera will probably be completely unusable in summer / hot locations.
I'm not even speaking of 4K60p & 4K120p.
This is really my main gripe about the camera. No matter the target. 

I think the price is very steep for the target demo. Especially in Europe. I just can't imagine your average vlogger dropping that kinda coin on a camera targeted at amateurs/beginners.
That being said the camera has some pretty solid specs/features. They didn't gimp it as much as I thought they would.
In fact, in quite a few ways it actually surpasses the A7S3 with next-gen AF, focus compensation and even LUT support.
And it retains ALL-I 10-bit Slog3. 
I assume an A7S4 is just around the corner.
The body of course is of the cheaper kind. And no EVF, no mechanical shutter. Micro HDMI etc.
The IBIS is also the more basic A7C one, not the same as in A7 series.
And the biggest con, no active/passive cooling. 
I've just seen some tests and the camera overheated in 30mn using XAVC-I. 
This totally kills it imo for most types of shooting.

“cinematic mode” (built in black bars feature)

2699€

Unlike the Canon R5, which switches to a 12 bit readout when engaging the electronic shutter for photo and video, the Z9 electronic shutter is 14 bit, as that is all it has. Therefore, it is possible for the 14 bit readout to carry over to video, which Resolve apparently confirms at 24 fps in this example:

Of course, it could still be a 12 bit source wrapped in a 14 bit file, or there could be an error in how Resolve interprets the files. However, looking at the N-RAW footage, I'm seeing a color depth and tonal range that I don't associate with 12 bit cameras. This is very close to 16 bit R3D files or 14 bit RAW photos:

 
 
 
 

It seems that he added the NR on the Z9 N-RAW 8K in post using Resolve, but it does not include downsampling. With downsampling to 4K, you should be able to get another .5 stop. So, if you take out the NR but downsample to 4K, you should be back at around 12.5 usable stops.
As for why Nikon did not advertise the 14 bit NEV files, I'm not entirely sure, but I plan to find out . . .

I would definitely be considering it if it is a 14 bit readout. That would be very unique. 12.5 stops with the texture of 8k raw would be very nice.

Still a heck of a lot pricier than my Sigma FP, but for a good reason.

Ever since the D750 I've had hopes that Nikon would pull through with a banger of a release in video specs. I think the Z9 RAW indicates they're going in the right direction, but I just haven't seen enough use or support online to draw a proper conclusion. When NRAW was released I was super hyped; maybe it's just my eyes or bias but I did "perceive" what looked like richer tonality in the few sources of footage online. That kind of color depth from 5D magic lantern, Sigma FP, or Redcode etc. I'd like to find some files of well-lit scenes and push in Resolve.

So I'm looking forward to hearing what both the rumored Z8 and S1Hii releases bring. I'd trade up from my s5ii to either of them for ultimate high-res hybrids with PDAF and color I favor, and just adapt EF glass. I just can't bring myself to settle on the R5C man.

12 bit log has a similar amount of info as 14 bit linear raw. But yeah the image definitely looks very nice regardless.

This chart mentions NR. Is it just talking about the NR that comes from downsampling 8k to 4k? or is it adding noise reduction in davinci or other program.?

If it is adding NR in post that means the actual dynamic range is about 12 stops. The Panasonic S1 has more without NR. 12 stops still isn't bad.

The 8k Sony venice gets 12.8 stops when downsampling 8k to 4k in post. The RED raptor is getting 12.5 stops. So 12 isn't bad.

The stills you posted do look fantastic though. Would be awesome if it was a 14 bit readout, though it seems like they would advertise that.