Pro Moviemaker Sept/Oct 2020 - Newsletter

GEAR SONY A7S III

“The 4K quality in incredible, with the best colours we’ve seen outside of a Sony FX9”

mentally high settings are not really usable, but could get you out of a hole one day. A very dark hole. There is a huge amount of dynamic range, too, especially in S-Log2 and S-Log3, as well as HLG. And if 600Mbps at 4:2:2 10-bit still isn’t good enough for you, the camera will output 16-bit Raw over HDMI to an external monitor/ recorder. This can be saved as 12-bit Log ProRes Raw by a recorder like the Atomos Ninja V. The camera we used was a pre- production model, so isn’t exactly what will be delivered to consumers when the camera hits the shops. But it’s easy to see the quality of the files in 4K and HD, especially at higher bit rates and colour depth settings. The 4K quality is incredible, with the best colours we’ve seen outside of a Sony FX9 in S-Cinetone, which is a camera that costs a lot more than the A7S IIII and is a lot bigger. There is lots of dynamic range – up to 15 stops, says Sony. And, of course, the low-light performance is stunning. You can easily crank ISO up without a worry. Although there is no official Sony information to back this up, we reckon there is some sort of dual ISO function that bases at ISO 640 and again at 16,000. Files we shot at ISO 16,000 were cleaner than at 12,800, for example. So we found that shooting up to ISO 6400 is simply stunning. If you need to go higher than that, skip the next settings and go straight to

16,000. Your results may differ on a production camera, though. We shot a lot of footage in 4K, 10-bit 4:2:2, but also in other settings, where we found the new Sony H.265 format was impressive, as was HD. Log shooting helped get even more dynamic range, helped by 10-bit files. This is finally a Sony mirrorless camera that offers 10-bit 4:2:2, so all the Log fanboys now have a camera that actually works as it was designed. The A7S series pioneered Sony’s in-body image stabilisation and the new version is very good. Sony’s IBIS has two modes, standard and active. Active is best for video but uses a 1.1x crop, apart from 4K/ 120p, where it’s already cropped. The stabilisation is very good, but other cameras do it better. Where many mirrorless cameras can be disappointing is in audio recording, which is why so many use an external audio recorders. The A7S IIII takes in-camera audio to a new level as it offers four channels in linear PCM, ideal for Sony’s XLR adapter. And it’s easier to set proper audio controls via the newmenu system. Sony also has a range of clever digital audio products that communicate with the camera via the clever MI-mount hotshoe instead of having to use cables. The camera is the first A7 series to get a fully articulating

menus have been one of the most complained about items for years and finally this is much better. One improvement is that video clips can be named, rather than them always defaulting to a standard format. But unfortunately you can’t change shutter speed to shutter angle, and there are no waveforms to monitor the footage. Fingers crossed for a firmware upgrade. In terms of using the camera, Sony has improved on its last launch, the A7R IV. The buttons are better and more positive, the grip is more chunky and there is a full- sized HDMI socket. The REC button has been enlarged and moved to the top-plate. And when manual focusing, pushing the AF button now gives you one-shot autofocus. The electronic viewfinder is one of the best we’ve ever used on a mirrorless camera. The A7S III is weather sealed and takes the same NP-FZ100 battery as many Sony cameras, which lasts far longer than the half-sized power cell in the older A7S II model. But it does get used quickly if you are using 4K with IBIS at high bit rates. To store all this footage internally, Sony has fitted two UHS-II card slots that also accept the new, more compact CFexpress Type A cards – the first camera to use this new format. If you use very fast SD cards, these are good enough for almost all the codecs. But to use the most data-hungry 4K/120p, S&Q and All-Intra codecs, you really need to invest in a pair of CFexpress Type A cards and the matching card reader. As the two card slots are identical, you can do hot card swapping. And the camera’s USB-C socket can now accept power delivery, so you can carry on shooting for a long time. That’s if it doesn’t overheat. Like lots of people, we carried out

ABOVE The electronic viewfinder is one of the best the Pro Moviemaker team has ever used on a mirrorless camera

touchscreen, where you can navigate through the much- improved menu system. Sony

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