AlexTardif

I'm a total amateur when it comes to video, at least comparatively speaking. That said... learning my way around the craft while shooting with A7Rii/A7Sii over the past two years has been fun but also often super annoying for all the reasons known to you guys (battery, ergonomics, controls, codec, etc.). Any combination of those issues were adding up to frustrations that were taking a toll on the creative process. I figured I'd try a more video oriented body so I rented FS5. After messing around for a week with it I bought one. Recent price drop to $4,750 helped. The only thing I miss from the A7xx bodies is... IBIS. That's it. Everything else is on another level and it's just so much more fun to shoot with. Everything just fits and works nicely together, I can just forget about fiddling with the camera and focus on the subject I'm shooting. And it's small... sure not as small as A7xx, but unless you build it up (just like you can frankenstine any A7xx) it's a very compact package. So, while I appreciate the A7Sii for its see-in-pitch-black capabilities and will continue to use it at night, I've retired A7Rii to it's stills-only duty and FS5 as the primary shooter. To each their own

A bit confused on this... please chime in! So we want to shoot in S-Log on, say, any of the 4K entry level cameras (A7Sii, Rii, FS5) to get that flat profile and wide DR. But I keep running into claims that unless you're shooting at the native ISO (1,600 for A7Sii/Rii bodies, 3,200 for FS5) you aren't getting all that DR. I just watched Allister Chapman's presentation on FS5 and he clearly states that you ONLY want to shoot in S-Log at the native ISO of 3,200, otherwise you're just wasting space because you are NOT getting that 14 stops of DR with any other ISO. I think I've read his comments on this as well in his A7s exposure guide too (edit: yep, just re-read it and he states the same there) So, what's the story here? I see everyone shooting S-Log in whatever ISO they want, but is it somewhat of a waste? Since the floor is already so high at 3,200, the only way to control your exposure is to use NDs and to stop down (neither of which is all that desirable, especially stopping down). But, bigger question for me is with A7Sii in low light... since I can't open any wider than my glass allows, what happened to DR when I start cranking up the ISO, to 6,400, 12,800+ while shooting S-Log? Is my DR reduced to the point where it makes no sense to shoot S-Log? If yes, then what are the benefits of shooting S-Log then... color grading from a flat profile? And probably an even more important question is... since you want to overexpose (2-3 stops) while shooting in S-Log, unless you're shooting at the native ISO (the only place where you actually getting the full 14 stops of DR) you really HAVE TO shoot at native ISO, otherwise, you'd be overexposing and not have that DR to work with in post. I'm still learning, so excuse the ignorance if these are "duhh" type questions!

Ah, PAL/NTSC... nice, glad to hear this is something that is presumably easy to fix via firmware... though I'm in the US (NTSC) I'd be bummed if this was a more serious hardware related bug. BTW, thanks for the review, Andrew - very much agree with all of your points, looking forward to the part 2.

Andrew - hard as I try, I can't seem to replicate the black hole issue with iPhone torch. It's raining outside so don't have the actual sun to test with. I've got the Loxia 35 on. Are you seeing this while shooting and/or playing back on the camera LCD or only once you bring it into post?

I'm new to adapters like such, so do you meant this: Sony A-mount to Sony NEX Speed Booster ULTRA? Looks like it claims to boost the speed by 1 stop (I need to research more, this sounds tgtbt, but of course welcome) but also make things wider by .71. Though if I'm shooting 4K in S35 the focal view would be back to roughly original FF equivalent. That is for the Sigma 18-35 it would be back to roughtly 19-37. Did I get that right? I wonder If the speed booster would be a good option for my 2.8 zooms (16-35 and 24-70), hm...

Thanks guys. Andrew - assuming this with LA-EA4 and not the LA-EA3 adapter? I'm getting conflicting stories on whether AF is supported with LA-EA3.

Hi guys - long time lurker, first time poster... It just occurred to me that the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 might be a terrific choice for the S35 4K mode on A7Rii. I can't find anyone else talking about it anywhere and definitely haven't seen any footage of this combination so I'm wondering - what's the deal? My initial thought is that other than the size/weight and adapter requirement this seems like it might be an absolutely winning combination: Great FL range (about 27-52 in S35)Internal zoomingFAST 1.8!Actual physical manual focus (unlike all native FE glass that use fly-by-wire only)I have the FE 28-135 F4 cine zoom, but it's not wide enough sometimes in S35 and not that great for run-n-gun due to the size/weight (I have it rigged in a custom setup anyway). Obviously questions next would be... does it cover the S35 area well without vignetting, how's the AF and which adapter would be ideal (get it in Canon mount maybe vs. Sony-A with the Sony adapter)? Thanks guys!