New low light high ISO camera king?

[gregbradley]

Sony has just released the A7S which is S for sensitivity.
Its a 12mp full frame camera based on the Sony A7/r body (smallest full frame camera). It does 4K video with an external HDMI out recorded.
ISO up to 409600 like the Nikon D4s.

Improved low light autofocus.

The key though is the 12mp full frame sensor. The whole sensor is used in the 4K video unlike only APSh section of the full frame sensor of the Canon 1Dc.

Its claiming extreme low noise in low light so it could be awesome for nightscapes, perhaps planetary (up to 120fps)/solar.

US$1699.

http://www.sony.net/Products/di/en-us/products/vq5f/index.html

Sony are really moving ahead hard also with rumours of a medium format compact mirrorless likely coming out soon.

Mirrorless is the area of intense R and D and product development and DSLRs may have hit their high point around now. Many manufacturers seem to be of the opinion it is the future of cameras. Perhaps not perhaps it will be. Mirrorless aren't quite there yet but the gap is becoming very small. Fuji XT1 and Sony A6000 now have autofocus systems that are as good as many DSLRs except the high end ones.
Electronic viewfinders have improved to the point that not so many would object to them and prefer the traditional optical ones. They have great advantages in previewing the exposure so before you take the shot you know what the image is going to look like. Live view on DSLRs is hard to see in direct sunlight so not really a competitor to that.

Lens selection in Sony is a bit weak still with their FE range of lenses that are native to their Emount (A7 (24mp). A7r (36.4mp), A7S (12mp)
with Zeiss 35mm F2.8, 55mm F1.8 (regarded as one of the best lenses on the planet), Zeiss 24-70 F4 (good not great)

Greg.

[rustigsmed]

sounds interesting Greg. looking forward to hearing reviews / seeing some pics from the camera.



cheers

[nebulosity.]

What exciting news! Can't wait to see what it's like :thumbsup:

You'll have to get one Greg and show us :D

Jo :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

Yes I am quite interested. Its in a very small niche market I suppose. Its appealling to videographers and also to low light photographers. We'll know more once sample images appear and price is officially announced. It will be several months no doubt before it is shipped.

In that regards as a low light camera its nearest competitor would be the Nikon D4/s and Nikon DF (same sensor as D4s). I was somewhat interested in the Nikon DF but its $3300 and this Sony most likely will perform better, have better video plus hopefully is a lot cheaper. Sony A7 is about $1500 and A7r is around $2500 or less. So AUD$1995 sounds about right.

They both do ISO409600.

I have read posts that ISO12800 is clean as a whistle and ISO40,000 is very useable. A Nikon D4s or DF are the current best and cleanest low light cameras.

It depends on the price which has as it turns out not actually been released so the US$1700 is more of a rumour.

It might also make a great modded camera for deep sky imaging.


Greg.

[rustigsmed]

http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/04/09/sony-a7s-camera-analysis/

[gregbradley]

Check out the amazing low light performance of this new camera:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2014/04/11/sony-alpha-7s-in-low-light-see-video-at-iso-409-600?utm_campaign=internal-link&utm_source=news-list&utm_medium=text&ref=title_0_1

Greg.

[Saturn%5]

I was thinking this should be nice, I might get one until i read this just abit out of my range.

Sony Australia has told us that it will cost around $3500, with a release date around mid-June.:mad2:

[gregbradley]

Oooh, that's quite pricey. I guess they figure its pitched at around Nikon DF prices (DF has no video though).

Greg.

[ozstockman]

It is actually $2799 pre-order from Sony website and you can get it as a grey import from HK for less than $2300 plus shipping.

I am thinking of getting one for video astronomy but do not expect any reviews from me soon. I have not done any astro imaging for almost four years but want to go back as I love this hobby.

[mithrandir]

Following his first light with the camera here's what Brian (a Canadian I know) had to say a couple of hours ago. I doubt he'd mind me passing it on.:

[gregbradley]

I have been following user reports of this camera on DPreview.com.

Phillip Bloom has a nice video that highlights how good this camera is. It turns night into day shots in video.

Basically what I get is that ISO25600 is useable. Perhaps ISO51200.
Above that it starts to look a bit noisy.

Its not just the noise that is superior its the ability to maintain dynamic range at higher ISOs as well as colour saturation.

What does this mean for nightscapes?

In my opinion not a lot. 6D, 5D3, D800, Sony A7r A7 all can do up to ISO6400 quite well. That's plenty on a nightscape at 30 seconds F2.8 up to 20mm.

Add in a Polarie and the high ISO is of no use as now you can expose up to 10 minutes perhaps even 15 minutes with a wide lens.

Where it would be handy is no Polarie and lenses 50mm and up which star trail very quickly untracked.

The A7s might also enable video of the night sky through a telescope which could be nice.

I am somewhat interested in this camera but don't see what it could take my A7r couldn't already do or my Fuji XT1.

Greg.

[Renato1]

But Sony's Alpha mount SLT cameras are basically mirrorless cameras which can do anything other DSLRs can do.
Regards,
Renato

[cometcatcher]

I can't get this thing out of my head. I reckon it would be a good match at prime focus for my SW 100mm F9 refractor. I could use a little extra ISO at F9.

[gbeal]

It seems nice, but as an early adopter of the A7R, and finding it didn't play nice with some of the Leica M lenses, plus the Sony/Zeiss lineup was minimal at best I opted out. The A7s briefly re-kindled the concept, but not at the price they ask.

It's definitely not US$1699, the price appears to be US$2498, significantly higher.

Lastly, as a die-hard Sony user (A series DSLR's) I'd want some means of controlling it. In the end I used a simple plug in intervalometer for my a700, but the likes of my Fuji X-Pro1 drove me nuts, not way to connect it at all, just a manual cable release.
Gary

[gregbradley]

A7r and A7s both can be controlled by your smartphone.
I can control my A7r with the Sony IR remote. There is an adapter cable now for plugging in an intervalometer. Not sure about any laptop control though. Some use an ipad and wifi the image to that which could be helpful for focusing.

Fuji XT1 similarly is controllable via a smartphone now.

Greg.

[gbeal]

I bit the bullet, swallowed a heap of pride, and bought into a 6D actually. BackYardEOS is a dream to use.
Gary

[gregbradley]

Congrats. Its popular and well supported. I saw a fabulous Milky Way image the other day from a modded 6D. Had me thinking!

Greg.

[Octane]

Oh, oh; welcome to the dark side! :D

H

[gregbradley]

I just saw this. Wow, Kodak chips like 8300, 11002, 16803 etc have read noise between 9 and 13 electrons.

This Sony CMOS chip has read noise of below 1 electron above ISO3200.

I wonder where they get the gain from? Better computer processors in camera?

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/53993974

Greg.

[Andy01]

Now if only they could get that bigger chip into an astro camera like a QSI or SX we would all be laughing :)

[gregbradley]

Also well depth of 157,000 electrons is better than my Proline 16803!

Yes it could be nice. If a mono version was available like Leica does it could be interesting.

Greg.

[ozstockman]

There is a video from Japan with using a Sony A7s for DSO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUzLJ-M2Z_I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8GcQQrDiMg



I

[mithrandir]

They don't say what "mod" they did to the camera.

[mithrandir]

Brian Allan (Alberta, Canada) has put up some test images with his unmodified Sony a7s.

https://plus.google.com/photos/116260312230579398213/albums/6041014868551134257