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

[Keith_Reeder]

The a7SIII will likely be a much better video camera than either the R5 or R6.

Why, exactly?

Honest question.

 

[Tugela]

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 Everyone hated the outdated and heavy 5D4 codec (MP4), but it is detailed and easy on computers as it doesn't require transcoding.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.

Heat comes from compression efficiency, not bit rate as such, lmao. That is why earlier Canon cameras had such high bit rates in 4K modes, they had to use mjpeg to do the encoding because the processor would have fried if they tried to do it with H.264.

 

[TomR]

No... this is for raw output.

id be impressed if it did

 

[Tugela]

Why, exactly?

Honest question.

No overheating, no pixel binning/line skipping, better S/N ratio from larger pixels etc. High resolution sensors are good for stills work, not so great for video work. The R5 is primarily a stills camera, the R6 a hybrid and the a7SIII will be primarily a video camera. So, depending on what exactly you plan to do with the camera, you would choose between the three on that basis.

 

[amorse]

If there is one thing we can be sure of, it's that within moments of this announcement we'll be flooded with youtube videos comparing the announced spec sheet against the R5 and R6.

 

[Tugela]

RAW video? Sony just does 12 bits for stills with compression. I don't believe that anything uses 16 bit video, unless it’s the military and NASA.

Raw is not compressed. The sensor supposedly going into the camera has a 16 bit ADC, so raw will be 16 bit.

 

[Tugela]

I read somewhere that this is going to be an All New camera. Makes me wonder if the horrible menu system is going to be totally redone from scratch? It's not even close to being as easy to use as Canon's.

IMO Canon can take some lessons from Sony in menu design. Canon menus are terrible and awkward to use, while Sony menus are second nature.

 

[Kit.]

Why, exactly?

Honest question.

Why not?

After all, it would be a much worse photo camera, with resolution and weather sealing sacrificed for video performance.

 

[Tugela]

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.

Supposedly it has a quad beyer sensor, so it is actually a 48MP sensor, but without that mode enabled apparently. So in theory it could rival the R5 for stills if they wanted it to. I imagine they would use the same sensor in something like the a7IV when that comes out.

 

[Tugela]

If there is one thing we can be sure of, it's that within moments of this announcement we'll be flooded with youtube videos comparing the announced spec sheet against the R5 and R6.

They are different cameras for different applications, so those comparisons will be for specific purposes. I think most people are probably going to be comparing the video modes though.

 

[ericjon23]

ew, sony.

 

[Kit.]

The R5 is primarily a stills camera, the R6 a hybrid

Actually, the R5 looks like more of a video camera than the R6.
R5 has both a 8K mode and a non-overheating 4K mode.
R6 has neither.

Supposedly it has a quad beyer sensor, so it is actually a 48MP sensor, but without that mode enabled apparently. So in theory it could rival the R5 for stills if they wanted it to.

Quad Bayer has a very poor color resolution.

 

[BeenThere]

IMO Canon can take some lessons from Sony in menu design. Canon menus are terrible and awkward to use, while Sony menus are second nature.

un huh

 

[Pixel]

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.

You can't put a camera thru it's paces when you only have beta firmware. The camera was sent out to show off it's hardware features.

 

[DBounce]

id be impressed if it did

Me too... but let’s be real... sounds a bit far fetched.

 

[Del Paso]

IMO Canon can take some lessons from Sony in menu design. Canon menus are terrible and awkward to use, while Sony menus are second nature.

Are you kidding ?

 

[Nelu]

IMO Canon can take some lessons from Sony in menu design. Canon menus are terrible and awkward to use, while Sony menus are second nature.

You know, I hope this was a joke and I didn't get it.
Sony menus are so ugly that only their mother could love them!

 

[Viggo]

I think I smell a troll...

 

[Wallybud]

Did no one see that the Sony sensor is possibly a stacked quad bayer that would effectively be able to toggle between 12mp for video and 48mp for stills? However apparently they are saying the feature will be turned off. I’m not super techy on all that stuff but it’s all over in their comments section etc. thoughts?

 

[chrisgibbs]

As a former 5D3 shooter, one who switched to Sony with initial introduction of the A7R, I'm eager to test the new R5. Things I don't like with the current Sony's are:

1. The IBIS rattles when camera is powered off (hopefully the R5 parks & locks its IBIS [Nikon's Z does, best IBIS to date IMO]).
2. No flippy screen (the R5 fixes this)
3. The A7 has no dedicated "LCD OFF" button, and even after setting a custom button, still flashes ON when camera turns on initially, it's anoying as hell (not an issue with the flippy screen and my reason for wanting one)
4. Activation from OFF is still a little slow on the A7's

That's it really, great output (that's the bottom line right), good AF, easy to customize, so there's no need to dive into the menus.

One area Sony are ahead of the Canon, the A9 has an extra two steps on the electronic shutter, 1/16,000 & 1/32,000, great for wide-open shooting on those f/1.2 primes (if & when they arrive). This is my one disappointment with the R5 so far.