LightShooter

There are really no bad options among all the 10-bit FF hybrids, they all have warts, but they all are capable of producing an amazing image. Sometimes we get hung up on bickering over aspects that are dealbreakers for me but not an issue for you. I don’t have the time while I work or the eyesight for manual focus, so for me I need good AF and a few key primes. And I have no interest in a c300 size camera. Obviously others don’t have the same problem. But right now only Sony, Canon and Nikon cover the bases and despite a brief flirtation with the RF mount I’m sticking with Sony. My a7s3 is on the way, it’ll be my first camera that shoots decent 120fps and 10-bit after years of Sony’s 8-bit codec. Good times. 
cheers
chris

Rolling shutter of the A7Siii is impressively low. Image on the S5 is free of artefacts and digital oddities. I would say it is the better image. As far as lens choices go, some people do shoot with manual lenses. A7Siii would have been tempting if with the image quality of a S5, which by the way has a rolling shutter of 10ms in S35 mode. The long gop codec, if the same as in the S1, is much slimmer than it is on the A7Siii and is performing impressively well. AF is much better on the A7Siii, of course. A7siii with 4k up to 120p full frame plus astonishing AF is indeed something people will take advantage of and will enjoy. I think it's super cool, that we have this crazy camera tech and that we are relaxed about it and wish eachother enjoyment with their cams. Very well said @Trek of Joy!
 

Got my email from B&H this morning and saw FedEx pick it up before lunch, I will have my A7S Mark III Friday 🙂   (of course, Friday is already taken with kids stuff, as is a good bit of this weekend, but I should be able to do something Friday and Sat just by cutting out sleep, ha; that camera can shoot in the dark anyway right, lol)...
Also, have version 10.54 firmware locked and loaded on my Ninja V.  ready to go.  I'm most interested to see the 16bit RAW linear to 12bit ProRes RAW results compared to the best internal codec.  I'm REALLY hoping that magenta cast is gone in the RAW.  I am terrible at removing magenta without affecting skin tones, so I usually can't touch it much.  Also curious to see if the SSD's I've got will handle the sustained write speed.  From my calculations it will, but we shall see.
Can't wait to see how that reduced rolling shutter looks on my motion controllers (I have Edelkrone's JibONE, SliderONE, Dual HeadONE, and SliderPLUS v5 Long).  

So, I have been eyeing the Kondor Blue Sony Ultimate Cage and have been in discussion with them about that very thing where the remote cable comes forward  and there is no way to change that.  Their cage goes a little low at that spot, and I am hopeful that I will be able to have the cable that comes out of the MI cable to be able to go up and over the top.  Basically, it might just require a slight filing to create a beveled edge on the part of the cage that is close to the MI.  Depends on how badly you want to achieve 4 channel audio into your main media files (reduced post work), for me that is one of my top priorities, so I will figure something out and of course share it.
I am sending them caliper level measurements to them, but right now they are busy machining out the cages and what ever adjustments they were able to do before the final CNC instructions were done already.  So what ever it is I am going to start with that and Figure it out.  
The good news is with their design has the camera on a Quick Release 501 Plate System, so you can slide the camera slightly forward or backward into the position that works for you (first attachment shows that with an arrow)  So I am hoping that I will be able to slide the camera and 501 plate back slightly allowing the leading bump of that XLR-K3M MI shoe cable reroute thing; to protrude forward but not hit the cage.  Then where the cable leave that it may be best to have a filed notch in the NATO rail to more gradually allow the cable to move up and away from the rail and not put stress on the connection inside the shoe.  A small cable size notch in the edge of the NATO rail won't keep it from functioning when you go back to run and gun setup with top handle.
The other alternative here, is that Kondor Blue is known for creating custom cables to solve these exact kind of problems.  I have already suggested it to them, but that solution will take some months.  It would involve a design where the cable comes out to either the left or right instead of straight ahead.
BUT... let me ask you this?  If you look at the second picture, the XLR-K3M itself does NOT have a leading bump and will likely just seat in the MI shoe (at least on the Kondor Blue cage).  In my opinion, if you are recording 4 channel audio you are on a tripod, so why worry about a top handle.  And if you don't have the top handle on (which on a well designed cage, takes 2 seconds to take on or off), why not just install the XLR-K3M straight into the shoe when you need 4 channel audio?  I'm planning on 95% of my 4 channel needs being tripod based and have no reason for the top handle.  I'm just going to make a lanyard that lets me hang the handle to the side when not in use and add back on when leaving the tripod.  That being said, my place of choice to hang my Ninja V from was the front of the top handle, so now I will be mounting their cine magic arm (or pro) on the top just to the side of the middle.  They have these sweet mini QR plates that will make it easy for me to go from a side loaded Monitor to back on the top handle for run and gun in a couple of seconds.  
MUCH more to come on the build out of that
In this first picture you can see the reroute cable that lets you run your XLR-K3M 12" away from the top center.  you can see the front leading bump it has and how it might hit the cage and/or NATO rail IF you have a cage that does not let you adjust the front/back position in your cage like the Kondor Blue does.

 
Here I am showing the XLR-K3M itself, and it does not have that leading bump off the MI shoe like the reroute cable does.

I dont understand the whole concern about 12MP photos.
2048 pixels is the max res that the large majority of places that people publish their work. As far as the very few times most people with print their work, I have printed size A3 all day long from my Nikon D3 and even A2 (23.5" x 16.5") with simple upRes technology that most print shops have.
Question is are the very few times that people are actually getting prints done above 24", then if so, ok.. Yeah 18MP or 24MP.  But seriously, short of poor composition or not having long enough lenses, where crop is involved, but even then that is going to be rare AND rarer that they need to print that larger than 24".  Don't even get me started on needing more storage space.
For a very large majority, 12MP is more than enough for photos.  So I dont get the argument

sure, probably tomorrow, I want to finish adding the costs calculations first

Link to the Spreadsheet?
Oh, and thank you.

I dont understand the whole concern about 12MP photos.
2048 pixels is the max res that the large majority of places that people publish their work. As far as the very few times most people with print their work, I have printed size A3 all day long from my Nikon D3 and even A2 (23.5" x 16.5") with simple upRes technology that most print shops have.
Question is are the very few times that people are actually getting prints done above 24", then if so, ok.. Yeah 18MP or 24MP.  But seriously, short of poor composition or not having long enough lenses, where crop is involved, but even then that is going to be rare AND rarer that they need to print that larger than 24".  Don't even get me started on needing more storage space.
For a very large majority, 12MP is more than enough for photos.  So I dont get the argument

No, I'm just getting it from B&H. As it stands I only have one Sony body and two lenses, the 12-24/4 and the 24 GM, I'll need the s3 and I think another Sony lens to get pro support - but I'm probably getting the 35/85 1.8's so that should get me there unless I go Batis 40/85 instead. My order was processed just a few seconds after it went live and this is such a niche camera its not going to be in short supply with almost 2-months of lead time from announcement to ship date. IMO if it had 24mp or so it would be far more appealing to more photo-centric users because of the EVF and AF advancements. But that just means we'll get it faster LOL!
Chris

Did you by any chance jump on the "prioritized shipping" that Sony PRO Support offered?  First time I have seen them do that, and can't find much on what it means.  But when I filled out the form (seconds after they sent out the email, lol), I had to provide where I pre-ordered mine from, my order number, etc.
I'm wondering if they are working with each of their vendors to drop ship directly to us?  Which would cut out the need for Sony to ship it to B&H, then have B&H receive it, box it back up and ship it to me.

For anyone about to start do more external recording, especially external RAW, I compiled a list ProRes Disk Rates, Consumption, and Usage Times.  This time I added a section that has the number of minutes you would get out of 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB drives for your project estimations.  Also adding in costs soon, so that you can estimate your costs/TB and costs/Minute for the different combinations.  The spreadsheet I have will take in the size of the drive and the cost, and then calculate your costs per minute for each of the different codecs and fps settings.

yeah, Josh and I were commenting back and forth in the comments on that video.  The consensus right now is, we don't care what they call it, we'll take it 😉   Proof will be in the 16bit RAW output what the heck is going on there.  Can't wait to test that out.
as info, my YT Channel is named the same as my user account here 😉
Hangs4Fun is my trail name, as I've been an avid hammocker for decades

Hey Adl,
The XLR-K3M is the new digital version of the XLR-K2M.  The A7SIII will be the first camera that can actually record 4 separate channels of audio digital straight into camera at 24bit/48khz.  Here is how I will be using mine.  I have 2 pairs of Rode Wireless Go mic's and a Rode SC11 Y cable (that will take the output from 1 wireless go receiver and make it the left channel and the other wireless go receiver and make it the right channel > both now being in one stereo mic jack cable that goes into the 3.5mm input on the XLR-K3M https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1582563-REG/rode_sc11_3_5mm_trs_y_splitter.html  (this is nothing new though, I have done this for many years using a similar Y breakout cable from hosa, that is around $5 and it doesn't have to be Rode Wireless Go, it could be a Rode Video Mic Pro on the left and a lav on the right).
Any way back to the explanation of 4 channels.  So if you are still with me, we now have 2 wireless lav mic's going into the 3.5mm stereo jack on the XLR-K3M.  Next, for the 3rd mic, I will have my Sennheiser MKH-416 in the #1 XLR port with phantom power this mic will be boomed.  Lastly, my 4th mic, will be the Sony ECM-XM1 that comes with the XLR-K3M which is supercardioid shotgun mic, and it will be oncamera as backup audio.
All 4 of these mic's will have no cables going into the camera itself, instead they plug into the XLR-K3M.  And yes, the A7SIII supports using all 4 of them and injects that stream as LPCM 4ch (48khz 24bit).  See below which is straight from the production release docs.
Now the XLR-K3M on the A7RIV or A9II, is only a 2 channel option, you have to choose XLR or the 3.5mm, you can't do both, but on the A7SIII you absolutely can do 4 channel.  And now with digital audio recording at 24bit going straight into your media file, no more sync'ing in post, yet I can control all 4 channels separately.  I did a Zoom session with Sony PRO Support and watched him do it, to verify it wasn't a typo 🙂

easier editing in an NLE for sure.  But also, better reproduction of each frame.  Same thing happens when you go from All-I to ProRes RAW and then from ProRes RAW to linear uncompressed RAW.    Each time you gain slight improvements, and as anyone in an industry where you create something, as you want more and more control over the final product, you add more and more $$$ exponentially for less and less actual improvements.

In the a7SIII you can take the S-Log3 all the way down to 160 ISO 😮   though the minimum ISO when shooting S-Log3/S-Log2 is now native 640 but in extended can go from 160-500
So looking forward to no more minimum of 1,600 ISO.
You should seriously consider shooting the A7SIII in S-Log3.  Between this new min ISO and finally having the color range to support it, S-Log3 will finally be usable in a mirrorless.

SMDH...  Well, I just read the part that I copy/pasted from the doc and it clearly does say that those Creative Look settings are for BOTH stills and movies:
A selection of new Creative Looks makes it easy to create interesting moods for stills and movies right in the camera. 10 Creative Looks are provided as presets that can be used without modification or customized by the user, based on the currently selected camera mode.
So most likely, this is where Brandon set the highlights to -9 and the shadows to +9 and it was in the standard creative style.  In my a9 I only see Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness in my standard creative style (would guess the same for the a7III), so the highlights and shadows setting must be some new options only in the A7SII.

The Sony PRO Support person I have been working with, replied back that he had to ship back his A7SIII.  He is getting his production model in the next week'ish before the bulk starts shipping.  He is going to do another zoom with me once he gets it.  Currently all of Sony PRO Support is working from home, so they are not driving into a common place where all the gear they normally have access to.  So they request specific hardware based on the customers they work on.  There's no data set yet on when they return, so for now, until he gets his unit, he has not way to verify where those settings are and if they are in there.
I did however, find a small blurb listing in the final production document he shared about a shadow setting (I assume the highlight would be there next to it).  I'm beginning to wonder if Brandon confused a photography setting with video?  He is the first to tell you that he is not technical, like the opposite of Gerald Undone, lol (he's modest though, he knows some technical, just not deep)
"Use Creative Look to create moods in camera"
A selection of new Creative Looks makes it easy to create interesting moods for stills and movies right in the camera. 10 Creative Looks are provided as presets that can be used without modification or customized by the user, based on the currently selected camera mode.
The [FL] preset, for example, has clear contrast and an interesting blend of subdued but impressive colors. The [IN] preset has a soft, matte look. The presets provide a wide range of variations with different combinations of color, color depth, brightness, contrast, sharpness, and more.
Eight customizable parameters including contrast, saturation, shadow and others can be adjusted while viewing the resulting image via the monitor or viewfinder. Customized Creative Looks can be stored as Custom Looks for later recall and use.
So, maybe Brandon customized this Custom Look with those shadow and highlights adjustments.  My understanding is that these creative looks are only for stills and don't apply to movies, but I could be mistaken.
The other part of your question to do with firmware update to the A7III to add this, will depend.  If my above guess is right, that wouldn't help you if you want those adjustments for picture profiles (video).  Will update this once I hear back from support (may be 7 to 10 more days).

Yes, the 10-bit, all-i, S&Q 4k 120 and the HD240 are the options that require the CFA cards. I'm going to get one because I want the full glory of 10-bit and 240fps without long gop compression. For the rest I'm getting a couple v90 cards.
On the a7s3 FB group people are constantly asking about the cheapest cards to use in this camera or if a v60 card will record XXX framerate in XX resolution. I never understand these questions, if you're spending $3500 on a body for your projects, don't you want reliable recording? The difference between a 128gb v60 and v90 card isn't much. You can get two Kingston or Prograde 128gb v90 cards for about $250, pennies compared to the cost of the camera and none of this nonsense about "will this card work if I'm shooting...."
Anyway. Three more weeks till it ships...
Chris

Man, those are some serious bitrates for 1080P, holy crap (course that is S&Q).  I have never had the pleasure of recording an All-Intra based codec (and 4:2:2 10bit) in 1080P
S&Q Mode

Normal Mode

Not yet, some day hopefully.  That process takes time, just gotta stick with it.
Power Consumption is rated at 3.3W for stills and 4.3W for Movies: but depending on the video mode you shoot on, and also considering the CFExpress cards and also if powering 4 mics via the XLR-K3M, which I plan to do for Docs/Talking head/Corp work)

In comparison to some of the other FF Sony cameras (and 1 APSC):
A7S Mark III - consumes 3.3W for stills and 4.3W for movies A7R Mark IV - consumes 2.9W for stills and 5.8W for movies A7 Mark III - consumes 2.8W for stills and 4.7W for movies A9 Mark II - consumes 2.9W for stills and 4.9W for movies A6600 - consumes 2.4W for stills and 3.9W for movies Interesting that the A7SIII consumes the most for stills, but consumes the least for movies and almost as little power as the A6600.  I'll be honest, I did not expect to see this, thanks for the question.  They have really worked some magic into the video on this camera 🙂
Now, as to noise reduction.  Early reports from Phillip Bloom, who has spent the most time with the A7SIII from any other NDA'ed tester and was the only one with early access to the Ninja V with RAW, there some noise reduction that you can't turn off when using the internal codecs.  For most people that will be fine, but I would prefer to turn it off personally and manage noise myself in post.  Baking in noise reduction into your media file is just not a good idea IMHO.  However, the good news is that we are getting 16bit RAW with the A7SIII (into Ninja V at 12bit ProRes RAW log) and that should be straight from the sensor without any noise reduction.
Taking that discussion a tad further though and you have that very interesting "dual gain" or sensitivity boost or something going on at 16,000 ISO.  Not only do you see a noticeable drop in noise at 16,000 from 12,800, but the exposure slightly improves, as does the dynamic range slightly (it seems).  Question is, is this some noise reduction and exposure trick that is now baked into the image, or is it more like a "dual gain" design (yes, I know its not true dual gain to your ARRI snobs, lol...   We won't know until we get the production models and start testing.  VERY exciting though 

nice, yeah me too.  I was on B&H at 9am, hitting refresh every 5 mins or so, just in case they had an oopsie early opening (kind of like their "oopsie" release of that A7SIII video in the early AM).  Then when it was about 10minutes till 10am, I started hitting refresh every couple of seconds.  They were spot on though, and exactly at 10am, I saw the page, added to card, checked out, and had my conf email all in the first 10 secs, lol (sad, really if you think about it, I mean, it's a dang camera; hahaha).  Any way, HIGHLY recommend PRO Support, I've been a member since they started it and just the 3 cleanings per year alone is worth it (they pay shipping both directions), plus I have gotten "loaners" during, as well as you can request 2 week test usage of any camera or lens as long as they have it, and again they pay shipping in both directions.  You also get to work directly with support staff that I can't say enough good things about (night and day compared to normal support).  And those guys know their stuff, yet when they don't, they don't pretend they do and I really appreciate that. Plus they have brought Engineering in on some discussions and become your champion on enhancement requests.  One area I haven't used of PRO Support is the professional events support, things like the Olympics, major events, they (Canon and Nikon) have a setup to support the pro's working the event to make sure their gear is working tip top and if not quickly get you a loaner to get back at it while they figure out a solution.  Some day, hopefully 😉 I will get to use that.

I've added it to my shot list.  Let me know if there is any interest for a live stream.  Almost like being able to remote control the A7SIII and then have the resulting files uploaded to see the results.  Could be an interesting experiment.  But at the very least, send me any kind of shots you are interested in and I will add to my list.

yes, it should.  But now that you mention it, let me think about it.  I may need to call up my ole college professor and run it by him.  Great point!

I think this would solve the issues in this thread too, right?  Since the camera wouldn't be getting its power from the V Mount battery directly like with a dummy battery?

BeBob is really good, expensive but you have a workhorse that will give you every bit of what the sticker says. 
I'm building out my A7SIII rig, and went with the FxLion NANO TWO.  One it is small AF, and two it has USB-C with PD.  My plan is to actually run my A7SIII on it's Z100 battery, and at the same time charging it through it's USB-C PD port (the A7SIII supports charging the battery while also using it).  And for the first time, thanks to PD, you can charge the battery faster than it can use the battery.  This allows for me to swap Z Mount batteries without disruption to recording.
I also plan on recording out to my Ninja V sometimes 16bit RAW out (to 12bit ProRes RAW) others good ole 10bit 4:2:2 ProRes HQ.  What about battery swaps with that?  Well, thanks to Atomos buying TCS (makers of UltraSync line of timecode devices), they have a new AtomX module I just picked up this week called the AtomX Sync.  It provides Genlock timecode as master or slave with an RF and Bluetooth wireless network.  Best part is the timecode is baked into the media files, so none of the BS post work of converting LTC footage.  OK so what the heck does timecode have to do with batteries??  Well, the Sync module ALSO includes a small capacitor (aka battery), so that you have a good 5mins you can continue using your Ninja V monitor and recorder while you swap batteries.
So no disruption of recording locally and/or externally, because both the camera and the Ninja V will keep going while I swap V Mount batteries 🙂    I'm pretty proud of this setup, haven't heard anyone else doing it, as all of the pieces needed to do it are so new.  Hope to produce a few videos on it as soon as my A7SIII is in my hands.  I'm also doing some other cool stuff with my rig setup for quick change outs to go between cage/top handle only B Roll to Gimball to shoulder mount to tripod and back and forth.