Kangaroo Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 A few days ago I helped a friend with a shooting, he was using the a7s, the first one, and he was shooting everything in 1080p. The footage was really impressive, I started looking at a few samples online and I found this: https://vimeo.com/104968552 It's 60p so it should be even worse than 24p and in my opinion it looks better than most of the normal consumer cameras. I've read that even the a6000 should have better 1080p than the a7s but I had that camera and I don't think so, maybe I'm wrong but even by today standards the a7s look like a really fine camera. Is there anyone still using it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadcode Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 9 minutes ago, Kangaroo said: A few days ago I helped a friend with a shooting, he was using the a7s, the first one, and he was shooting everything in 1080p. The footage was really impressive, I started looking at a few samples online and I found this: https://vimeo.com/104968552 It's 60p so it should be even worse than 24p and in my opinion it looks better than most of the normal consumer cameras. I've read that even the a6000 should have better 1080p than the a7s but I had that camera and I don't think so, maybe I'm wrong but even by today standards the a7s look like a really fine camera. Is there anyone still using it? For the used price it's awesome. But it has several flaws for today standards. Andrew wrote a good review about it in the last decade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trek of Joy Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Used prices seem to be in the $500 range, you can get a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera that does 60p raw and pair it with a cheap HDMI monitor for about the same price. That's the route I'd go if 108024-60p is enough. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 25 minutes ago, Trek of Joy said: Used prices seem to be in the $500 range, you can get a Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera that does 60p raw and pair it with a cheap HDMI monitor for about the same price. That's the route I'd go if 108024-60p is enough. Or get a Panasonic G85 for even less, and get 4K + IBIS We are spoiled for choice in 2020! I guess a7Smk1 still makes sense if you've got an unhealthy obsession with "the FF look" or you want obscenely outrageous high ISO performance for dirt cheap. noone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart0less Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 3 hours ago, Kangaroo said: I've read that even the a6000 should have better 1080p than the a7s but I had that camera and I don't think so, maybe I'm wrong but even by today standards the a7s look like a really fine camera. Is there anyone still using it? I've had a chance to shoot some videos with a6000 and I was happy with its video quality, especially when I managed to nail white-balance. It had some quirks that were quite irritating (very reflective LCD screen, no mic input, weak heat management), though almost every Sony camera has them. Here is a video I shot with it in 2017: It was mostly shot in 1080p60 with shutter set to 1/80 and Portrait (-3, 0, -3). a7S still impresses me, too. These shorts aged well, IMHO: mercer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfoundmass Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 The A7S is one of those cameras that I drooled over when it first came out. I didn't even care about full frame, it was the low light that appealed to me! The battery life and overheating though 😭 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronFilm Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 19 hours ago, newfoundmass said: The A7S is one of those cameras that I drooled over when it first came out. I didn't even care about full frame, it was the low light that appealed to me! Same! It wasn't the FF which sucked me in to lusting over the a7S I came so so so close to buying an a7Smk1 back when it was a current camera, the hiccup was the sale was only to Australia citizens I was struggling to coordinate my ozzie cuzzie to buy it for me before the sale ended. (I couldn't for instance use my own credit card to buy it either) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 @heart0less nice video. I was always a fan of the a6000. I briefly had the a5100 and liked it as well. What camera was your Citadel Park video shot with... X-T3? To the OP... if you can make the a7s work for your needs... then yes... go for it. It still makes a very unique and great image. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart0less Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 1 hour ago, mercer said: @heart0less nice video. I was always a fan of the a6000. I briefly had the a5100 and liked it as well. What camera was your Citadel Park video shot with... X-T3? Thank you! Nah, it was shot on Sony NEX-5 (bare "5", no N / R / T). The Citadel Park was my entry for EOSHD $200 challenge. mercer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 20 minutes ago, heart0less said: Thank you! Nah, it was shot on Sony NEX-5 (bare "5", no N / R / T). The Citadel Park was my entry for EOSHD $200 challenge. Haha... smart phones are the great equalizers. It looked good. I wasn't following that contest too much but yours definitely had a cool look. heart0less 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart0less Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 17 minutes ago, mercer said: Haha... smart phones are the great equalizers. It looked good. I wasn't following that contest too much but yours definitely had a cool look. That's the point I was making a while ago! Why should we bother with 8K, etc. if 90% of viewers will watch our work on their phones / tablets? 1080p is still king. mercer and IronFilm 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 8 minutes ago, heart0less said: That's the point I was making a while ago! Why should we bother with 8K, etc. if 90% of viewers will watch our work on their phones / tablets? 1080p is still king. Exactly why I see no point in upgrading my camera yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrothersthre3 Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 The A7S has great 1080p. Color science is very meh but if you are good at grading then its not a worry. The A6000 1080p was nice too, low rolling shutter, low moire. Not great past 800 iso though and poor dynamic range due to the lack of log. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick B. Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Yeah, the original A7s was the first camera I seriously lusted after as I was just diving into the world of trying to shoot my own music videos and social media content. Agree it was really the idea of being able to shoot in any lighting that was so attractive. I saw this Trace music video done by the very talented Nathan Presley and fell in love with the look. (He used to have it posted on his Vimeo and it specified the A7s in the title.) I always thought it had a filmic quality to it. I ended up buying a used A7S ii and later selling it (along with an a6000, a6300, and a5100). The battery life on with their gen 1 battery always drove me nuts, but if they’re really going for $500 used that is a steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noone Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 The A7s is still my all time favourite camera for both stills and video. I had one for around four years until it died and no way i can afford another one but my family recently got me a new one for my birthday. There is STILL no camera i would take over it in really low light (there are now some that are close and even a few that are better in the ISO 3200-12800 range but above that, no, I do not think so). The A7s has greater DR at ISO 25600 for instance than many cameras have at ISO 6400. It is NOT a camera for anyone that wants a massive pixel count and forget about AFC but it is still actually a pretty good camera even for daytime use. Its 1080 is still some of the best native 1080 (some 4k cameras downsized beat it now though) and while auto focus kinda sucks, in one respect it is better than most for AF and that is its ability to focus for AFS in stills at least in almost no light. (AF in video IS ok if your subject is moving fairly slowly in a limited area EG a rock band that is not too high energy). Auto WB sucks a bit (depending on the light). I find the colours from it to be great (closer to realistic than most) and if you want more colour choice, this is a camera that can take the Live View grading APP from Sony (costs about $10) and gives you years worth of combinations in camera. To me, it shines for low light still and video and that included sports with a manual focus 300 2.8 as I can still be shooting at high enough shutter speeds long after I would have had to put other cameras I have had away. ...I also like walking around at night with a tilt shift lens hand held. The EVF is good enough that along with the cameras high ISO, you can see through the EVF (or LCD) in light that i can not see with my eyes alone. So for ME, it is still as good as it gets but others would absolutely hate it. Nikkor and Mako Sports 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealOG Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 What are your thoughts on the a7sii? Still worth it for video these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eleison Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 On 2/11/2020 at 8:13 AM, heart0less said: a7S still impresses me, too. These shorts aged well, IMHO: Even today, the above shorts would be hard to replicate. The A7S is a monster in low light. I have the a7iii and the A7Sii. When you cannot bring your own lights, the A7S will destroy other cameras. My friend has the pocket 4k, and it will definitely destroy the pocket 4K. Basically, the only way a lot of the newer cameras can create the above shorts would be to add more light and than "make it seem darker" in post. It's the "grain" quality for low light shots that make the A7S the legendary camera that is now and even though it's 5 years old, larger Hollywood productions still use it because of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrothersthre3 Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 Sony is stupid for not doing the same style camera with 10 bit, new AF, and Venice color IronFilm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted February 13, 2020 Administrators Share Posted February 13, 2020 I miss the old A7s Nice and small, very light, and simply one of the best 1080p images ever for the time. noone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkor Posted February 14, 2020 Share Posted February 14, 2020 15 hours ago, Andrew Reid said: I miss the old A7s Nice and small, very light, and simply one of the best 1080p images ever for the time. Is there a way to fix the alien colors? IronFilm and BenEricson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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