Industry News: Sony Alpha a7S III coming July 28, 2020

Yes, I cannot verify those numbers, but in theory the end result may be better image depending on codec used and editing workflow, and the higher bit rate is also likely more heat. Every toggling bit is a small amount of heat. That is why I keep telling all these whiners to talk about equivalent data rates and stop with their inane arguments and comparisons.

Apples to Apples the R5 and R6 are incredible offerings for video without compromising a thing for stills like these other cameras are. Everyone hated the outdated and heavy 5D4 codec (MP4), but it is detailed and easy on computers as it doesn't require transcoding. While the loss in quality of a lighter and more modern but still compressed codec may be minimal it still may be relevant to some.

An iphone or GoPro can shoot 4K60 for a long time compared to some of these 'limits' but is hardly comparable in quality to a full frame 45MP sensor with 15 stops of DR and big glass. Every time I see equivalent things compared properly, most of these brands are very close to one another in what they can get out of sensors, readout hardware, thermal dissipation, etc.
Exactly! And the most important as you said is that final Canon is on 15 stops of DR with R5 (1Dx III rated with 14.5 stops DR at DxO). That with the 45mp sensor and all the offerings makes the R5 an amazing tool today!!
 
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Andy Westwood

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I will be interesting to see if Sony go the same way as Canon in only giving selected retailers and Canon explorers of light, pre-production cameras, leaving all the independent camera reviewers out in the cold.

I’m not a fan of this, I’d rather Tony & Chelsea, Jared Polin, Chris and Jordan from DP Review got their hands on these new models on launch and put them through there paces, but for whatever reason Canon aren’t letting it happen this time.
 
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Nelu

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I think this is more video camera than stills camera, but it covers the bases I need and I already have the native lenses. I was considering a system swap this year until the R5/R6 limitations became clear it woudn't work for me. Really wanted my first RF lens this year, but my incoming Komodo doesn't support the RF protocol yet, so I guess I can wait a bit longer!



Probably, but from a personal opinion, I do feel MILC hybrids should have balanced specs. I don't need top end specs that burn through media cards, and by the time I want maximum bitrates or RAW, MILCs aren't really suited for the task at that point. YMMV
What kind of stills camera would be this in 2020 if the resolution rumors are true (12MP)?
I guess will wait and see the final specs but to me it looks like a 100% video camera, not photo camera.
 
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PureClassA

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The lack of ProResRAW Output on the R5 and R6 is the one thing I really think Canon might come back and add. Especially the R5 which already shoots RAW. You look at Fuji, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic... they are all dropping that feature in their newer, upper end MILCs, because Atomos fully supports this recording mode which is immensely useful if you want to shoot in 12 bit RAW (as the R5 clearly can).

With Canon’s new aggressive attitude towards things, I think this is a real possibility to come in a firmware update... and really should.
 
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H. Jones

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How many trolls were in the comments of the R6 post about how "20 megapixels isn't enough for literally anything" and are now going to be totally silent about Sony releasing a camera with 12 megapixels in the year 2020?

Granted, I've said it before many times and I'll say it again, I don't really care about megapixels to begin with.

The newspapers I work with require a max resolution of 2 megapixels for FTP transfers, so most of my paid work could be done with a two megapixel camera without any issue. Admittably, I am very excited to get the R5 and be able to massively crop when I need to, but I'd say a vast majority of camera consumers really don't need more than 2 megapixels to post to their social media accounts or even print a two-page wide broadsheet spread in a newspaper.
 
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Keith_Reeder

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What kind of stills camera would be this in 2020 if the resolution rumors are true (12MP)?
I guess will wait and see the final specs but to me it looks like a 100% video camera, not photo camera.
It will certainly be interesting to see whether Sony users yammer as much about this stills photography compromise in order to make it a better video camera, as certain Canonistas have whined about the video compromises in the R5, which incidentally support its performance as a stills camera...
 
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Keith_Reeder

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How many trolls were in the comments of the R6 post about how "20 megapixels isn't enough for literally anything" and are now going to be totally silent about Sony releasing a camera with 12 megapixels in the year 2020?

Granted, I've said it before many times and I'll say it again, I don't really care about megapixels to begin with.

The newspapers I work with require a max resolution of 2 megapixels for FTP transfers, so most of my paid work could be done with a two megapixel camera without any issue. Admittably, I am very excited to get the R5 and be able to massively crop when I need to, but I'd say a vast majority of camera consumers really don't need more than 2 megapixels to post to their social media accounts or even print a two-page wide broadsheet spread in a newspaper.
And by extension, I'm willing to bet that the R5's video capabilities would be more than sufficient for any professional use you, and people in your line of work, would put it to...
 
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H. Jones

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And by extension, I'm willing to bet that the R5's video capabilities would be more than sufficient for any professional use you, and people in your line of work, would put it to...

I'll be honest, the majority of the videos the papers I work with run online are shot on cellphones at this point. Anything else has a hard limit of 1080p, and honestly sometimes gets downsized to 720p for social media.

Admittedly though, advanced video features make my life way easier. Having the flip-out screen will be a huge bonus, the added DPAF tracking in video will make it far easier to get video clips from sporting events, and the *biggest* bonus to me is that video settings are separate from photography settings. I can't tell you how many times I've been photographing breaking news at 1/1000th, switched to get video clips at 1/60th, and then forgot to switch back to 1/1000th when I'm back shooting stills...Lots of accidental panning shots and blurry images of firefighters.
 
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Keith_Reeder

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I'll be honest, the majority of the videos the papers I work with run online are shot on cellphones at this point. Anything else has a hard limit of 1080p, and honestly sometimes gets downsized to 720p for social media.

Admittedly though, advanced video features make my life way easier. Having the flip-out screen will be a huge bonus, the added DPAF tracking in video will make it far easier to get video clips from sporting events, and the *biggest* bonus to me is that video settings are separate from photography settings. I can't tell you how many times I've been photographing breaking news at 1/1000th, switched to get video clips at 1/60th, and then forgot to switch back to 1/1000th when I'm back shooting stills...Lots of accidental panning shots and blurry images of firefighters.
Sure thing. I'm just making the point for others that the likes of the R5 will be absolutely capable of "professional" video use, because "professional" videography isn't only stuff such as what Peter Jackson does for a living...
 
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cornieleous

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tbh I just hope canon releases a dedicated video camera on this R line up that will outperform this upcoming A7s III. The sony camera is really interesting but I want to stick with canon so bad...

Just curious is there a limitation holding you back that the A7S3 addresses? It seems the Canon will have very good 4K in regular and oversampled modes. The overheating doesn't appear to show up as much with the regular 4K modes, and who knows until we have them in the real world.

However, even the Sony seems like it needed passive cooling and who knows if that means it shoots indefinitely (doubtful)- but they only have to read out 12MP, not 45MP and bin down the pixels. I'm guessing one advantage the Sony might have is low rolling shutter. I've got the pro version of the AX700 with the XLR grip, and while Sony makes great sensors, I find their ergonomics and stabilization frustrating on their camcorder and MILC bodies, at least what I have used (not the latest offerings). I know the newest ones are getting much better, but it is maybe a factor to consider the system rather than one capability. Since Canon does all I need in a robust system that is flawless for me in the field, a few tiny features or capabilities of the next best camera have never bothered me. I would definitely get another Sony if it offered a capability I needed though. Right now all these brands seem neck and neck or near enough to me, that I am buying into the system they offer.
 
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H. Jones

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Sure thing. I'm just making the point for others that the likes of the R5 will be absolutely capable of "professional" video use, because "professional" videography isn't only stuff such as what Peter Jackson does for a living...

Oh yeah for sure, I will say even if we were shooting everything in 8K, almost all of our video clips are about 10-30 seconds long at a time. Saves us a lot of editing time on deadline getting exactly the clips we need in camera, versus what we've done when I've worked on documentaries where the cameras are always rolling.

Even during interviews, most of the time I shoot a question and an answer at a time, recording each question in separate clips to keep myself more organized than having to cut a single 20 minute clip into 20 different questions. Normally a question might take 2-3 minutes at most for someone to answer, a little longer if there's some back and forth or follow up question in the middle of that.
 
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I read that Sony uses around 600mbps for 4K120 when Canon has almost 1900 mbps. I’m not into video, but doesn’t that mean quite a bit of difference in IQ?

Nope. The 1900 mbps is for compressed raw recorded on the camera. The Sony raw will be recorded off camera, so the bit rate would be whatever you set the recorder at.

The a7SIII will likely be a much better video camera than either the R5 or R6. Not so good for stills though, the R5 would be best for those, with the R6 somewhere inbetween.

We will need to wait until all three cameras are in user hands to see how it all pans out in practice though, but I think the Sony will win on video with the R% being primarily a stills camera.
 
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I will be interesting to see if Sony go the same way as Canon in only giving selected retailers and Canon explorers of light, pre-production cameras, leaving all the independent camera reviewers out in the cold.

I’m not a fan of this, I’d rather Tony & Chelsea, Jared Polin, Chris and Jordan from DP Review got their hands on these new models on launch and put them through there paces, but for whatever reason Canon aren’t letting it happen this time.
The click bate reviewers pick out some trivial feature that is lacking and beats it to death in headline reviews to draw viewers to their site. How many independent reviewers would you call “fair & balanced”? Most have an ax to grind one way or another. Of course the Explorers of light are also biased, but at least show you the possibilities while generally playing down any negatives.
 
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