Sony A7-first look from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.
Cinema5D (Click here) posted a new A/ first imrpession review seen from a videomaker perspective:
As you might see in the video above, the quality of video indeed improved over previous models. The “soft” look (out of the box) that bothered me with the A99 is now a bit better. Also, the low light capability of the camera is better. All the clips in this video were shot at ISOs between 800-1250.
More tests:
A7 images with Rokkor MC 50mm f1.4 by Phillip Reeve.
A7R + Zeiss biogon 35/2 ZM and Planar 50/2 ZM at Xexets
A7 hands-on at Chadwadsworth.blogspot.
The Mitakon 35mm f/0.95 almost covers the Full Frame area from the A7/A7r (Dchome.net)
Specs and Preorders in Europe:
Sony A7r body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Sony A7 body at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, Amazon FR.
Sony RX10 at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT, WexUK, WexDE.
Zeiss 35mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT,
Zeiss 55mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO, PT
Zeiss 24-70mm at Sony DE, UK, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, SE, PT
Sony G 28-70mm lens at Sony DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE, CH, AT, SE, FI, NO.
Specs and Preorders in US and Canada:
Dedicated Sony announcement page at Amazon US (Click here).
Sony A7r body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 body at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony A7 with 28-70mm kit lens at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS. TheCameraStore Canada.
Sony RX10 at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 24-70mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 35mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Zeiss 55mm at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
70-200mm A-mount at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony A-Mount to E-Mount Lens Adapter at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
Sony A to E adapter with mirror at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto.
A7/A7r leather case at Amazon, Adorama, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
A7/A7r vertical grip at Amazon, BHphoto, SonystoreUS.
Sony W Series Battery Charger at Amazon, BHphoto.
Sony FA-CS1M Off-Camera Shoe at BHphoto.
Semi-Hard LCD Screen Protector for A7-A7r at Amazon, BHphoto.
Asia:
A7r at Digitalrev.
A7 at Digitalrev, Amazon Cina.
A7 with 28-70mm lens at Digitalrev.
38 Responses
“Is now a bit better.” Hmmm…pass.
Heh heh heh…Wienerland.
Soft and mushy with poor skin tones – Sony still hasn’t fixed the video; same as a99.
I’d take a bit better as a firmware update, not a new camera.
any word on whether or not that sensor overheats after a few minutes (like in a lot of NEX cameras)?
+1 would like to know about this as well.. love my A99 without overheat, hope nex in this size can do so.
Don’t all those Phillip Reeve linked images say Nex6 on them?
Nevermind, scrolled up rather than down before page loaded.
I’ve used the Sony a65 for many professional shoots over the past year and a half and have easily graded and edited over 200 hours of footage from the camera in Final Cut Pro X. I can confidently say that the image from the a7 is on par, possibly a tiny bit better when taking compression issues into effect, than the a65. Honestly, for video, one should seriously consider the RX10. I’m getting it this Saturday as long as my local Sony store has it in stock, then shooting a documentary with it on Sunday. A perfect test for the little big guy!
would appreciate it if you could test to see it if has a sensor overheating issue! to date, nobody on the internet has done this yet
I plan to do a full review, and I will definitely cover that. Expect to see it in a few weeks, as long as Andrea decides to post it 🙂
I doubt it will have the problem. I have had the f3,c3,3n, 6 and 7 and the only one that had that problem was the nex-7. I believe they fixed the overheating problem a while ago.
Still not clear whether the A7 or A7r is better at video. Still, from whispers on the internet, the A7r is the one to get for video work. I’m about to pull the trigger as soon as there is some confirmation.
By no means familiar with shooting video on these camera’s, but isn’t phase detection always more preferable to contrast detection if you change focus during filming? The transition should be smoother. Since the A7 has PDAF and the A7r does not, I would think the A7 is the one to go for. But like I said, no experience with these camera’s, so I might be wrong.
Why would you use autofocus during video?
Fair point
I’m not interested in autofocus issues – just video quality. I currently use manual focus in video. Later down the thread it’s been confirmed that the A7r does have better video quality than the A7.
I am in now way a video expert but I understood that the lack of anti aliasing filter is more of a hindrance to video. From what I have heard, removing artifacts such as moire are harder to do in post processing video and this is why the 7 is better than the 7r.
But I am no expert…
A7 doesn’t have IBIS so it will NOT overheat.
A65 has IBIS but in video mode it is not used. In video mode it stabilizes electronically -cropping- the picture.
So? NEX-7 doesn’t have IBIS but it DOES overheat… I don’t think overheating comes from IBIS but from many transistors on a small surface. Maybe A7 24MP sensor will not get as hot because it’s surface is bigger, but that’s just an assumption…
d600 better than d800 for long exposure noise – same issue. It is high time for cooling to be implemented for pixel packed sensors.
The problem with that comparison is the A65 has a larger body shape (more space for air to travel) then the A7. I guess a better comparison would be to check if the Sony RX1 exhibit the overheat problem as the body size is similar to the A7.
Dear friends, thank you for taking the time watching the video and commenting.
According to Sony’s technical marketing manager whom we met for an extended amount of time, the A7 is the least suitable for video work. That’s why I chose to spend the least time with it…A7r review coming soon but next on the bench, the RX10
I’ve been working with it for the last 3 days and will start editing the material today. Will contact (dear) Andrea when the video is ready.
Thank you again!
Johnnie
Did he say why it was least suitable?
Hi John.
Yes, the A7 is the least suitable for video work picture quality wise.
Thanks.
Johnnie
Thanks. I’ve been looking for this confirmation for a longtime. I can finally order the A7r to replace my Nex 7 for video and photography work.
Sony Alpha 7 test scene samples added to http://www.dpreview.com
There is something in this interview that reviewers so far seemed to have missed or reported wrongly.
The EVF is the a7 series is NOT the same as the EVF in the A99/RX1(optional). The resolution is the same BUT contrast has been tripled and luminance increased by 30%. This might be relevant for people who were disappointed with former EVF.
I have a question. I know and understand that smaller sensors (RX10) will end up with a sharper image overall due to DOF and for the fact that it’s not binning pixels when downsampling. My question is though if an A7/7R is stopped down would we not have similar levels of sharpness as RX10 footage? Also it should be possible for a firmware to support less pixel binning on the sensor (provided it doesn’t overheat) correct?
Just taking a wild guess here, but doesn’t postprocessing and compression play a large part in how sharp the resulting video looks as well? It could easily make a video on the A7 look less sharp compared to the RX10 if they use different algorithms. But it would also mean this could be fixed in firmware.
That’s what I was wondering too but from reading EOSHD and other video orientated websites the first issue that causes problems is how the data is read from the sensor. To get better quality you need a more powerful processor in the camera that can downsample all the lines in the sensor rather than skipping lines. Apparently the RX10 is the first camera to sample all lines hence it producing fantastic video. Smaller sensors are able to do this easier than larger sensors.
Awesome pictures by Phillip Reeve….
Woot, My A7r arrived today and saw them in the shops on the shelf in sydney today too!
they’re on their way!
@Jas your work is excellent Sony should have been sending you a gift wrapped A7r kit, then at least the first videos to appear would have been excellent
Hah thanks. Will shoot something soon 🙂
Where ??? Georges camera ?
Saw both cams in stock (only a few in inventory) at the mini sony store / kiosk inside chatswood Westfield
Still waiting mine from Georges…