Sony’s new A7S III video centric mirrorless camera.
So Sony have just launched the A7S III. And very impressive it is. Amazing low light performance, great dynamic range and lots of nice 10 bit codecs. You can even get a 16 bit raw output if you want. I can’t wait to get one. But I really don’t see the A7S III as a threat to or replacement of my FX9 or any other 4K professional video camera.
All the same discussions took place when the original A7S was launched. Sony F5 owners looked at the A7S and said – heck how can that little camera shoot full frame 4K while my camera can’t even shoot s35 4K. Why can the A7S have AF when my F3/F5 doesn’t. How can a camera that produces such beautiful images only cost 1/5th of what my F5 costs. But here we are 6 years on and the A7S and A7S II didn’t replace any of the bigger cameras and when the FS5 was launched people snapped up the FS5, often to replace an A7.
Why? Ergonomics.
I don’t ever want to go back to having to carry and use a big box of different ND filters for different light levels. I find the small LCD screen on the back of a DSLR to be of very limited use and while the A7S III does have a very good EVF it’s placement makes it hard to use it on a tripod or in anything other than a simple hand hold with the camera up against your face.
If you want to shoot log then you really want built in LUTs. There are the battery and power questions. How do you power the camera and accessories without needing two or more power systems or a rig to take a big external battery and a bunch of adapters? Then there’s having buttons and switches for all the frequently accessed functions. I could go on but you only have to look at the many franken-rigs that end up built around DSLR type cameras just to make them usable to see the problems. Almost always the first purchase to go with a DSLR is a cage. Why do you need a cage? Because you know your going to have to bolt a ton of stuff to that once small, portable camera to turn it into a professional video making tool.
Sure, I will almost certainly get an A7S III and it will be a great camera to compliment my FX9. And yes, there may even be some projects where I only take the A7S III, just as there have been shoots where I have used just my A7S. But it won’t ever replace my FX9, they are two very different tools, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
The image quality gap between traditional large professional video cameras and handheld stills type cameras will continue to get smaller and smaller as electronics continue to be further miniaturised, that is inevitable, but the cameras form factor will still be important.
The small cars of today often have all the same bells and whistles as a large luxury car of 10 years ago. Let’s say you’ve gone on vacation (remember those?) and it’s a road trip. You get to the car rental office and you have a choice between a large, spacious, stable, less stressed car or a small car that has to work a bit harder to get you to the same place. Both will get you there, but which do you choose? There might be some instances where the small car is preferrable, perhaps you will be in a lot of narrow city streets a lot. But for most road trips I suspect most people will opt for the big comfy cruiser most of the time.
For me the A7S III will be that nippy little car, a camera that I can pop in a pocket to grab beautiful images where I can’t use a bigger camera. But for my main workhorse I don’t want fiddly, I don’t want a ton of accessories hanging off it just to make it workable. I want the luxury cruiser that will just take it all in it’s stride and get on with the job and right now that’s my FX9.
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21 thoughts on “Don’t Panic! The A7S III didn’t just make your big pro camera obsolete.”
I love your posts, as a professional I never think that a7s3 will be replace any other “real” camera like the FX9 or any other camera, not even the FS5. professionals always want a camera with a body like a camera. a7s3 is aimed for independent filmmakers producers with low budget. Sony aim for then otherwise they would turn to Canon. Now Sony have both markets, independent and professionals. Its marketing nothing more.
At the end of the day, a professional will always want a professional body, an independent was never have the money for it so they will buy a little camera.
Its perfect strategy, and Sony will became bigger and bigger.
Thank you Alister for the sanity you provide. I was already going thru a spasm of “oh my God I have to get this…” I own an FS7 which I love to shoot with. Yes, it’s a bit “out-of-date” in a sense, but it still shoots what I think is a beautiful image.
Exactly. Sure the A7S III is a very nice piece of kit and I’m sure we would all LIKE one. But that doesn’t mean you NEED one to make beautiful images. Any of the large sensor camera made in the last 6 years can produce amazing images, so really it comes down to you and how you choose to use it. Viewers don’t care what you use as long as it looks nice.
Agree with everything above. For many, the FS5 also needs some extra rigging (namely, a recorder) to be workable as well. Though not to the same extent as these little mirrorless bodies. I look forward to the next generation of the FS5. Would gladly pay the extra money for the A7siii tech in an FS5 body.
Given that the FS5 is in essence the sensor from an FS7/F5 paired with the processing and codecs of an A7S, now there is a new compact and low power processor and codec chip set it would not surprise me to see an FS5 replacement that. Perhaps it would just be an A7S III in a new body with XLR’s and a variable ND. Now that really would be a very nice camera.
A7s iii internals in an FS5 body (including the subject tracking from the A7s iii and maybe the face priority/only function and LUT support of the FX9), that would be my absolute dream camera for documentary work. Very fast rolling shutter, 10 bit 422 up to 120p, all-I and h265 codec options, reliable autofocus, xlr’s and the auto ND. Although the FX9 sensor in an FS5 body would also not be too bad :-): Oversampled 4k, Super35crop mode (ideally accessible via assignable button) and dual native ISO.
Thanks for the article! Its funny to hear you talking about monster rigs after seeing your video about rigging the fx9 to turn it into a 9 kg monster. A7s iii doesnt need a vmount you can just use a few of the small batteries and maybe the audio adapter. Not even a cage.
Where do I make the FX9 a 9kg monster? The FX9 is 2Kg, XDCA is 800g, even with a Shogun 7 and V-Mount battery you’re under 5Kg, and it will sit beautifully on your shoulder or work off a tripod. And sure you can use an A7S III bare bones, just like the FX9 can be. But once you try to do anything other than eye level work where you can use the OLED VF you will struggle to see what you are shooting with enough detail to know whether it’s in focus or not or spot small details that might spoil the shot with the tiny LCD. Put heavier lenses on it and it quickly becomes front heavy and challenging to hold out in front of you for extended periods, unless you are happy to hold it a waist height and shoot up everyones noses all the time. This has always been a problem with DSLR’s and the A7S III does nothing new to address this.
Allright. Maybe I was a little too pessimistic. 😉
It just looks enormous, but its a great video – so far the only detailed video about rigging the fx9, great work! 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MltnmdJwy4
After watching I just thought: My back hurts. 😉
But I must say I am mainly working as a one man band and sometimes have to carry my camera for 14 hours plus a day – as I cannot carry a tripod.
So I really got used to use these little sony alphas – on a gimbal ore bare bones.
The newer sony batteries last quite a long time so I dont use my old vmount batteries anymore with the a7 III. I had to use the vmounts with the first a7s, as these batteries were horrible.
You are right: With the 28-135 Lens it gets quite front heavy and I get back and shoulder pain, but with the 16-35 for example its not a problem for me. With this great autofocus I dont think I need too much manual control anymore.
Keep on with your great work alister! 🙂
Codecs aside, in slog 3, how do you think IQ, sharpness color, Dr
do you think there weill be a noticeable difference, is the fx9 still better?
I saw the youtuber potato jet did a comparison, but i think he compared cinetone VS some standard profile in the a7iii and the fx9 looked alot better.
But in slog 3, is the fx9 still better? alot better????
Is there an “official” RAW to s.log3 SGamut3.Cine LUT from sony? I’m preparing my workflow in Premiere Pro to uso the Prores RAW file from the Sony A7sIII (when its available) and while in Final Cut Pro X the luts are built in, I only have a windows machine and would love to have the benefit of that conversion.
No. It is up to the software that you use as to how the raw is converted. At the moment the handling of ProRes Raw in Premiere is very basic and it get converted to Rec-709 which is a terrible starting point for any grading.
Alister,
Would the A7Slll work wit the FX9 as a B cam say on a slider? Right now I’m having to rent another FX9 all the time but would this DSLR match it?
The difference w IQ is out the window bt A7siii vs Fx9. Sony basically put its pro class 300 codec xavc Intra into the A7siii. Thank you Canon R5. Not only that but external 16bit raw without xdca adding. Ninja v is compact and with A7siii xlr k3m 4 audio inputs and a mattebox w vari NDs and a good cage w rods your 99% there.
Fx6 has that 6k down sized to 4k. Locking E mount. And Auto ND which is worth its wait in gold.
At end of the day there all tools for the job, but thought a few years ago that a small mirrorless camera would be on par with IQ of Cine Camera and I can confirm A7siii is there. The rolling shutter is superb and its got 4k120p. 4k60p raw w ninja v.
Ofc Ergonomics play a huge deal but 1st thing you do when you buy any canera is a cage. Those vocas rigs for fx9 are quite nice. For a7siii many options. Tiltas w new rotation top side handle looks impressive.
But after testing basically you can use any fx9 lut on slog3 cine and pop on A7siii and it looks beautiful. And low light ability is best in class. So get the right tool for the job but A7siii is on Fx9 heels and actually surpasses it in many categories at 1/3 cost approx.
Is the meta data on the A7Slll the same as the FX9? I know the dslr records an mp4 wrapper as opposed to mxf on the FX9.
One just needs to change that in Premiere. Otherwise I believe no one can tell the difference?.
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I love your posts, as a professional I never think that a7s3 will be replace any other “real” camera like the FX9 or any other camera, not even the FS5. professionals always want a camera with a body like a camera. a7s3 is aimed for independent filmmakers producers with low budget. Sony aim for then otherwise they would turn to Canon. Now Sony have both markets, independent and professionals. Its marketing nothing more.
At the end of the day, a professional will always want a professional body, an independent was never have the money for it so they will buy a little camera.
Its perfect strategy, and Sony will became bigger and bigger.
Great analogy Alister.
Thank you Alister for the sanity you provide. I was already going thru a spasm of “oh my God I have to get this…” I own an FS7 which I love to shoot with. Yes, it’s a bit “out-of-date” in a sense, but it still shoots what I think is a beautiful image.
Exactly. Sure the A7S III is a very nice piece of kit and I’m sure we would all LIKE one. But that doesn’t mean you NEED one to make beautiful images. Any of the large sensor camera made in the last 6 years can produce amazing images, so really it comes down to you and how you choose to use it. Viewers don’t care what you use as long as it looks nice.
Agree with everything above. For many, the FS5 also needs some extra rigging (namely, a recorder) to be workable as well. Though not to the same extent as these little mirrorless bodies. I look forward to the next generation of the FS5. Would gladly pay the extra money for the A7siii tech in an FS5 body.
Given that the FS5 is in essence the sensor from an FS7/F5 paired with the processing and codecs of an A7S, now there is a new compact and low power processor and codec chip set it would not surprise me to see an FS5 replacement that. Perhaps it would just be an A7S III in a new body with XLR’s and a variable ND. Now that really would be a very nice camera.
A7s iii internals in an FS5 body (including the subject tracking from the A7s iii and maybe the face priority/only function and LUT support of the FX9), that would be my absolute dream camera for documentary work. Very fast rolling shutter, 10 bit 422 up to 120p, all-I and h265 codec options, reliable autofocus, xlr’s and the auto ND. Although the FX9 sensor in an FS5 body would also not be too bad :-): Oversampled 4k, Super35crop mode (ideally accessible via assignable button) and dual native ISO.
Thanks for the article! Its funny to hear you talking about monster rigs after seeing your video about rigging the fx9 to turn it into a 9 kg monster. A7s iii doesnt need a vmount you can just use a few of the small batteries and maybe the audio adapter. Not even a cage.
Where do I make the FX9 a 9kg monster? The FX9 is 2Kg, XDCA is 800g, even with a Shogun 7 and V-Mount battery you’re under 5Kg, and it will sit beautifully on your shoulder or work off a tripod. And sure you can use an A7S III bare bones, just like the FX9 can be. But once you try to do anything other than eye level work where you can use the OLED VF you will struggle to see what you are shooting with enough detail to know whether it’s in focus or not or spot small details that might spoil the shot with the tiny LCD. Put heavier lenses on it and it quickly becomes front heavy and challenging to hold out in front of you for extended periods, unless you are happy to hold it a waist height and shoot up everyones noses all the time. This has always been a problem with DSLR’s and the A7S III does nothing new to address this.
Allright. Maybe I was a little too pessimistic. 😉
It just looks enormous, but its a great video – so far the only detailed video about rigging the fx9, great work! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MltnmdJwy4
After watching I just thought: My back hurts. 😉
But I must say I am mainly working as a one man band and sometimes have to carry my camera for 14 hours plus a day – as I cannot carry a tripod.
So I really got used to use these little sony alphas – on a gimbal ore bare bones.
The newer sony batteries last quite a long time so I dont use my old vmount batteries anymore with the a7 III. I had to use the vmounts with the first a7s, as these batteries were horrible.
You are right: With the 28-135 Lens it gets quite front heavy and I get back and shoulder pain, but with the 16-35 for example its not a problem for me. With this great autofocus I dont think I need too much manual control anymore.
Keep on with your great work alister! 🙂
Codecs aside, in slog 3, how do you think IQ, sharpness color, Dr
do you think there weill be a noticeable difference, is the fx9 still better?
I saw the youtuber potato jet did a comparison, but i think he compared cinetone VS some standard profile in the a7iii and the fx9 looked alot better.
But in slog 3, is the fx9 still better? alot better????
Why do you ask me if you don’t publish my reply?
If your IP address or email changes your replies go into a moderation queue and are not automatically posted.
Hi Alister,
Is there an “official” RAW to s.log3 SGamut3.Cine LUT from sony? I’m preparing my workflow in Premiere Pro to uso the Prores RAW file from the Sony A7sIII (when its available) and while in Final Cut Pro X the luts are built in, I only have a windows machine and would love to have the benefit of that conversion.
I love your work and dedication to the community.
Thanks for everything
No. It is up to the software that you use as to how the raw is converted. At the moment the handling of ProRes Raw in Premiere is very basic and it get converted to Rec-709 which is a terrible starting point for any grading.
Alister,
Would the A7Slll work wit the FX9 as a B cam say on a slider? Right now I’m having to rent another FX9 all the time but would this DSLR match it?
If you don’t mind a little bit of colour matching in post then sure.
How do I match time code with the A7Slll and the FX9?
The difference w IQ is out the window bt A7siii vs Fx9. Sony basically put its pro class 300 codec xavc Intra into the A7siii. Thank you Canon R5. Not only that but external 16bit raw without xdca adding. Ninja v is compact and with A7siii xlr k3m 4 audio inputs and a mattebox w vari NDs and a good cage w rods your 99% there.
Fx6 has that 6k down sized to 4k. Locking E mount. And Auto ND which is worth its wait in gold.
At end of the day there all tools for the job, but thought a few years ago that a small mirrorless camera would be on par with IQ of Cine Camera and I can confirm A7siii is there. The rolling shutter is superb and its got 4k120p. 4k60p raw w ninja v.
Ofc Ergonomics play a huge deal but 1st thing you do when you buy any canera is a cage. Those vocas rigs for fx9 are quite nice. For a7siii many options. Tiltas w new rotation top side handle looks impressive.
But after testing basically you can use any fx9 lut on slog3 cine and pop on A7siii and it looks beautiful. And low light ability is best in class. So get the right tool for the job but A7siii is on Fx9 heels and actually surpasses it in many categories at 1/3 cost approx.
Is the meta data on the A7Slll the same as the FX9? I know the dslr records an mp4 wrapper as opposed to mxf on the FX9.
One just needs to change that in Premiere. Otherwise I believe no one can tell the difference?.
No the metadata is quite different as are the codecs, not just the wrapper.