Gregormannschaft

Your Mac WILL struggle with the 4K footage. I love the A7s, I don't think I've ever been so happy with video footage, it was miles and miles better than the 5D. Keep the 5D for photos, like you said, purchase the A7s, see how it handles and use the extra cash for lights or a great rig.

Good point, although I do like the aesthetic a LOG profile gives footage if you don't grade too harshly, there is a difference even if, as you say, it's squashed down by LUTS. 

Very tough choice, choosing between the A7RII and the A7SII. Video is my main thing, but I take occasional stills. I'm still leaning towards the A7SII, but it's a narrow choice.

The A7RII doesn't have Slog 3, just Slog 2. Slog 3 has been a bit divisive on the A7SII so you're not missing out on too much.

Not from the A7S2, but the A7R2, but this footage is gorgeous.

https://vimeo.com/142734311

Feels like an excerpt from The Master.

The Verge: "The body will be priced at $7,450, while the lens will cost $4,950"

You can get 2.5x A7SII for one of these. It's WAY above the former's price bracket. It's above the FS5. It's even about the same as an FS7. 

But don't get me wrong. It could be a really nice all in one solution. But for us video minded folks it's not a huge game changer.

Price is way way above the A7s so a bit unfair to compare. 

Andrew, any gut feelings on the video quality vs the A7RII? Is the inclusion of SLOG3 a real plus? And plenty of folks also noted the A7RII had more pleasing colour science...I know the weather has been awful in Berlin lately but any gut feelings if that slight improvement has made it to the A7SII as well?

Yeah, I heard a few folks saying the crop mode might be quite soft. Still waiting for a proper in-depth review, these things take time though I guess but I feel like there was way more fuss around the A7RII.

Took a while for Metabones to get everything (I say everything, I mean IS and aperture control because auto focus never really works) so it could be a few months for this.

Not sure if this is natural enough for you, but I found this on Vimeo yesterday and thought it looked really really nice - especially given that the camera has only been out a few days.

https://vimeo.com/142764518

Threw a grade on these, looks really nice colour wise, even with Berlin's limited colour palette. Couple of mixed Impulz Luts and then a few with FilmConvert.

Thanks for these clips and good to see Berlin being it's beautiful grey self. Did you pick this up and start filming straight away? I'm thinking of buying one over in the States early next month as it's a good 600 euros cheaper, but worried about getting busted at customs on the way back.

My comment before was probably a little harsh, I really liked the A7RII review you guys put together and look forward to seeing what you guys think after spending some more time with it. I've been to some of these press nights before in other industries and they leave you tired and exhausted so appreciate you guys managing to put together a review.

Yeah...I like their reviews but this was pretty awfully shot and graded. Will wait for someone with a bit more finesse with making images before judging.

So any news yet on the overheating? Maybe someone with the camera already can give it a whirl.

Thanks for taking the time to watch, this is really fantastic feedback. The next corporate shoot will almost entirely roaming handheld shots for b-roll which I'm hoping will add a little more dynamism to the footage. I'm also going to do a few test sessions, swapping out the Zeiss with the Canon L lens and see which looks works best.

Interesting idea about the C100. I really, really like the look folks have got from the FS7 but the C100 could be an interesting option. I've used the first one once in a shoot and not had great results though.

To give you guys an example, Google did a developer story at our office. This was the result which, although not great to watch, is pretty beautiful. They used an Arri:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Iw7Tg_afKk

This was my behind the scenes video for an Apple Watch game we put together pretty last minute. My second ever corporate shoot, shot last minute with the A7S. Again, not great to watch, and it looks 'alright' but nowhere near the first video.  Looking to shoot the second video more handheld which should give it a little more energy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w4Gf97q2oU

And I know, in hindsight the interviewees were speaking way too fast.

Love this place, thanks for all the help guys. Nick, I'll download that guide you recommended.  

The rental price for some Zeiss CP.2 prime lenses aren't too bad. I might use a 85mm and a 35mm for the day. I also have an old vintage lens, not sure if it will resolve enough detail for 4k but I'd love to give it a shot. It's an old 50mm 2.8 Jena lens...plenty of problems with it but always felt it adds a lot of character.

And regarding the rest of the lens conversation, I'm pretty damn unexperienced. Have only done self funded doc work and some corporate shoots. So it's probably right that I have the videographer look going on.

 

Thanks for the feedback, this is helpful. I was planning on using the Canon 24-105mm L lens. This is a bad choice because...they lack character? Are overly sharp? Philip Bloom (not the benchmark, just happened to watch his FS7 review to plan) uses Canon L lenses and his footage looks pretty good.

Cheers, thanks for the advice. The shoot is a sit down interview all set up and with plenty of time, some roaming office shots and broll - so the menu system shouldnt be a problem.

I've never rented a camera before, equipment sure, but not a camera. Likely we should buy our own media, right? 

 

Hey folks.

I'm flying to LA next month to do a corporate BTS shoot. It will be the 3rd one I've done for this company and now I have a pretty open budget. I shot the first two with the Sony A7s, and I was relatively happy with the results but you can still tell it's shot on a lower tier camera. I'd like to give this newer film a more professional aesthetic. 

We had folks visit our offices a few months back and shoot on Arri Amira. I can't stretch that far, but was thinking about the Sony FS7. I'd like to shoot in 4K and downscale it to 1080p delivery. Only problem is, I've never used the camera before and am a little nervous about shooting a project with a camera I've never used before. Does anyone have any advice about this?

I've looked at a few video walkthroughs and reviews to get a better idea of how to set it up. I'm a little bit more concerned about equipment.

I'd like to handheld shots, does anyone know if it's useable out of the box?
I guess we'd need to buy XQD cards. Would 128GB be sufficient for about an hour of 4k footage?
Would I be able to lock it down on my Manfrotto tripod? Would I need a new baseplate? Can I screw in my shitty cheap one?

The other option was hiring an Atomos Shogun, but I think we'd also still need to buy media for that. And a rig or cage, I guess, to secure it to the camera. And quality wise, would the FS7 still blow it outta the water?

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated. 

That Minolta 1.7 lens was my first vintage lens as well, it's lovely. One of the biggest temptations with the new Sony cameras is that IBIS so I can use old lenses handheld.

You know it's just for photos, right? You won't be able to tell a huge amount of difference. It's a nice addition but not groundbreaking.

I thought Sony shipped review units, like how Cinema5D got their hands on the A7RII pretty early and posted lots of video impressions. Very curious about it overheating, the colour and how SLOG3 holds up.