AGENDA
NEWS
Entry level in all but spec!
The new FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GMOSS II zoom offers even better optical and AF performance than the current model. It is the world’s lightest constant aperture 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zoom– by a few grams. It is almost 30% lighter than the previous Sony model and has AF speed claimed to be four times faster with focus tracking. Zooming improved by 30% thanks to four XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors. The £2600/$2798 lens has two aspherical elements, including one XA (extreme aspherical). It also uses two ELD (extra-low dispersion) glass elements and two Super ED glass elements in order to significantly reduce chromatic aberration without colour bleeding. This lens includes an ED aspherical element in an Alpha system for the first time, suppressing both chromatic and spherical aberrations. The new lens is designed to reduce focus breathing, focus shift and axis shift when zooming. There are three customisable focus hold buttons, 90° apart around the lens body, for easy access. The aperture ring click-stops can be turned off for smooth, silent control when shooting movies. SONY TELEZOOM GOES ON A DIET
FOUR-MIDABLE Sony’s A7 IV is affordable and has lots of spec borrowed from the flagship A1 mirrorless camera
T he A7 IV might be the most basic full-frame Sony mirrorless camera. But now it has a 33-megapixel, back-illuminated sensor, the latest Bionz XR processor and advanced autofocus based on the flagship Alpha 1 – plus, the popular S-Cinetone gamma to deliver a rich, cinematic look. Costing £2399/$2498, it is designed for stills and video, with an ISO range from 50-204,800, and a claimed 15-stop dynamic range. Like the A7S III, it has a fully articulating screen, ideal for video. The A7 IV offers 4K/60p recording in Super 35 mode, and up to 4K/30p recording with 7K oversampling in
full-frame; HD recording goes as high as 120fps. There is also 10-bit 4:2:2 sampling to enable natural colour gradation, XAVC S-I intra-frame encoding for improved editing workflows, and XAVC HS for a more efficient H.265 Long GOP codec. Video in 4K/60p, 10-bit 4:2:2 can be continuously recorded for over an hour, thanks to the heat-dissipating structure. For the first time in the Alpha series, the new camera has Breathing Compensation, to combat focus breathing and maintain a consistent angle of view throughout focus changes on certain Sony lenses. There is five-axis image stabilisation built into the body, and ‘Active Mode’ image stabilisation helps to remove camera shake even more. There is a 3.0- type, 1.03m-dot vari-angle LCDmonitor, top-panel Rec button and high-capacity Z-series battery. With the same Bionz XR processor as the flagship A1, it delivers high-speed AF and continuous stills shooting at 10fps with AF/AE tracking. The AF system uses 759 phase-detection points that cover approximately 94% of the image area. Real-time Eye AF can now track bird and animal eyes for both still images and movies, in addition to humans. New to the Alpha series is a dual-layer mode dial, with a lower layer for selecting Still/Movie/S&Q video, and top layer for Auto/P/A/S/M and Memory Recall.
A CFexpress Type A compatible media slot supports cards with faster writing and clearance, but SD cards are also fine. The latest Sony is built to stream, and connects to its Imaging Edge Mobile app via Bluetooth; fast data transfer is possible by 5GHz/2.4GHz Wi-Fi. A range of new features support livestreaming and remote communication, without need for dedicated software. UVC (USB Video Class) and UAC (USB Audio Class) turn the A7 IV into a high-performance livestreaming camera when it is connected to a computer or smartphone. sony.co.uk
BASICALLY BRILLIANT The ‘entry level’ full-frame Alpha is the perfect machine for filmmaking on a budget
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