I’ve had the Sony Alpha A7s for about two weeks or so now, and I took a lot of sample photos so far using the FE 35mm f/2.8 Zeiss Lens and the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L Lens via the Metabones III Lens Adapter 😉
Talk about killer High ISO performance? Incredible is really the word for it and when you can just Willy nilly use ISO 20000 or even 100,000 and still get usable results, the times have officially changed. Yeah, the A7s is a game changer in the High ISO department by a significant margin.You can now hand hold with very little light in the room, and this has never been possible before at a reasonable price.
Using my older Sony Nex-6 as a base-line, the High ISO performance has not really improved beyond that and it’s been pretty much the same performance on the top end at around ISO 25,600.
The lower resolution A7s sensor (12mp) is much better than my A7r 36mp monster as far as high ISO is concerned and dynamic range. The raw files have more highlight and shadow information from what I can tell, but obviously much less detail due to the lower resolution sensor. If you don’t need gigantic prints, this full frame camera is going to be awesome for landscapes and everything else that needs to be captured.
Clearly a 4k monster, but also a photography camera by nature don’t forget 😉
If you strictly need a 4k all in one video camera, then the newer FDR-AX100 4k Ultra HD Camcorder is worth checking out (Click Here)
I’ve taken some video with the A7s so far and creating slow motion video footage is awesome! I will try and get some more sample footage including what the sLog2 gamma profile looks like on import so you can see what you have to work with.
Sony A7, A7r, or A7s?
Having both the 36mp Sony A7r and the 12mp A7s in hand, I would rather have the Sony A7s at this point personally for a few reasons. One being the insane high ISO abilities. Another being the silent shutter option and killer video capabilities. The build quality is basically the same from the outside and could still use a few slight tweaks. The Menu button for example is awkwardly way left and the lip that creates the inset for the lcd screen makes it harder to push also.
BHPhoto also did a great article comparing all three cameras side by side if you would like to check it out this way >>
Sony A7s Real World Sample Photos
Here are a few sample photos that I took so far with the full frame Sony A7s in various lighting conditions using the SEL35F28 lens. For more information on lenses, be sure to check out my E-Mount Lens Guide This Way >>
Starting off with the Z-Scene from my deck I was immediately impressed with the quality of the FE 35mm F/2.8 Zeiss lens. Awesome sharpness and bokeh rendering. The color and contrast is also very good in my opinion as you will see below.
Click the Photos for larger ~1000px Versions!
Also on the deck, and down to the left lounging in the sun was my buddy Chub’s who was also sporting a nice drool string 😉
Low Light
Here is a photo of Layla on the couch using just the television light for a source. First the Jpeg photo, then the raw photo so you can compare the on camera processing/ noise reduction. It did a good job in my opinion.
Check out this creepy scene with insane dynamic range and detail @ ISO 32,000
Randoms
The Jpeg images have more sharpening in some cases then I would prefer, but you can play around with those settings in the camera and fine tune them to your liking. I usually shoot raw, but have recently been enjoying the output of Sony’s jpegs on the A7s in particular. Here is another Jpeg image of an old tractor and the colors, contrast, and detail is excellent in my opinion.
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Layla and I went to the park the other day and I grabbed a few shots at the playground 😉
The lighting inside the illuminated slide tunnel was a bit confusing for the camera, but I was pretty impressed with this jpeg result. Layla was at peek happy, just look at that face!
Sony A7s w/ Canon 135mm f/2 L Lens
Using the Metabones III electronic lens adapter allows for easy use of my older Canon pro gear that is still laying around the lab 😉
My Dad was cracking up about something we were chatting about and I had the Sony A7s on my Lap with the LCD screen aiming upwards so I could see it clearly. I actually prefer to use manual focus with focus peaking to get really close, and then use the focus magnify (C1 default) to confirm and fine-tune. This works awesome in my opinion and really rings high on my photography fun factor! I love using killer primes even though they are limiting and harder to use in general, but the results are just worth the trouble always.
Awesome white Challenger R/T in the lot by the playground.
F/2 vs F/4 – 135mm Full Frame
Closing Remarks
That is about it for the Sony alpha A7s sample photos for now, but I have been sharing more on the Sony forum in the HDR Photography Forum, Transportation, and more… Other members are also sharing their photography in the various sections and it’s awesome!
Jay
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