GEAR
SONY A7 TESTS
SPECIFICATIONS A7 III Price: £1999/ $1998 body only Sensor type/size: 24.2 megapixels BSI-CMOS, full- frame Image stabiliser: Image sensor shift with 5-axis compensation ISO range: 100-51,200 - expandable 50-204,800 Autofocusmodes: Single, continuous. Multi-area, tracking, face detection, touch Autofocus points: 693 Rawbuffer: 89 shots Exposure compensation: +/-5 stops in 1/3 stop increments Shutter speeds: 30secs- 1/8000sec, plus B and T Shutter type: Focal plane mechanical, plus electronic Metering: Multi segment, average, spot, centre-weighted Max frame rate: 10fps LCD: 3in, 921k dot, tiiting touchscreen Video functionality: MPEG- 4, AVCHD, XAVC-S, 4K at 24/ 30p in 60/100Mbps, Full HD at 24/30/60/120p in 16/25/50/60/100Mbps. S-Log 2/3, Hybrid Log Gamma, HDR Interface: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB-C, USB 2, microHDMI with uncompressed video out Storage: 2x SD/ SDHC/ SDXC cards - one UHS-II Dimensions (WxHxD): 127x96x74mm/ 5x3.8x3in Weight: 650g/1.4lb including battery and card
themaximum transfer speed is governed by the slower card slot. Both newA7 series cameras have two USB connections, one standard USB-2 but the other fast USB-C. This makes it ideal for tethering via USB-C, or even for downloading cards or charging up the camera froma laptop. And while tethered, you can use a remote release in the other USB-2 slot. And best of all is a bigger battery, as found in the A9. You’d need a least a handful of the batteries in the old A7 series to see you through a day’s shooting. The new lithiumbattery is more than twice as big and lasts for a lot of shooting, thanks to the camera’s more efficient use of power. You’d still want to carry a spare for an all-day shoot, though. One of the biggest benefits of mirrorless cameras is in their video capabilities, helped by impressive five-axis stabilisation which has been improved on both cameras. It’s not quite in the same league as the Pananisonc GH5 or Olympus OM-D EM-1 Mark II though, but these have smaller sensors. Both Sony 7-series cameras have eerily similar video spec as they shoot in 4K to 30p and in 120fps super slow-motion in full 1080 HD. The A7R III can record from the full width of the sensor or cropped into amore traditional Super 35 size. The 4K footage is actually improved slightly when using the Super 35 crop as it captures 5K footage then downsizes it, rather than captures it in full-frame 4Kwhere themore lossy pixel-binning is used. It also means you can use Super 35-size lenses. If shooting in 1080, then full- frame offers a far better image
amatter of principle, youmight be missing out. With bothmechanical and electronic shutters, both cameras can bemade to shoot stills totally silently – ideal for weddings, wildlife or even golf. However, where the A9 has a lightning-fast stacked sensor, the A7 cameras aren’t quite as quick and therefore there can be some rolling shutter issues in stills and video. So the golfer’s clubmid- swingmay look a little less than straight, for example. In terms of ergonomics, for stills- focused shooters there’s back- button focus using the dedicated AF-ON button. There’s also amuch more obvious Rec button, instead of the tiny button on the corner of the old body that could be accidentally turned on and off. There’s also a thumb-operated AFMultiselector toggle that allows you to quickly move the AF point. And thankfully, twin card slots, although only one is for the faster UHS-II cards. If you write to two cards at once,
ABOVE It’s a dirty business, but the A7 III’s AF 693-point system is fast and accurate.
BELOW For those ‘I do’ moments, both of the new Mark III models
offer totally silent shooting modes.
94
PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2018
Powered by FlippingBook