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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Sony A7r II - 4K internal want this!!

There's some rumors about the A7r2 sensor being used in a new Vista Vision 8K cinema camera. Holy....
 
What is the dynamic range of Sony A7rii? What is Sony telling?

For the Sony A7s I heard everything from 15.3 stops of dynamic range down to 11.8.

Today I read a that there’s about 12.3 stops of dynamic range on the Sony A7RII and the A7S does about 11.8 in 4K (with an external recorder).
https://www.cinema5d.com/sony-a7rii-a7s-lab/
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Video and still raw DR won't be the same. So there would always be conflicting claims. Plus test criteria vary too.
 
Early footage looks stunning to my eyes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o6olPXUcNU

Not bad considering the low value range of lenses used. Highlight shots could have benefited from some in front of lens filtration to soften the roll-off. Screen grab off a 5K iMac:

http://imageshack.com/a/img538/8199/KKwTTR.png

KKwTTR.png
 
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Not bad considering the low value range of lenses used. Highlight shots could have benefited from some in front of lens filtration to soften the roll-off.
The majority of that footage was not shot in S-Log, where I am guessing highlight rolloff will be stronger. But considering the resolution, the lack of compression artifacts (even over a YouTube clip), the general dynamic range, and the overall look, I'm very impressed. Of course it's no RED, but it's a full-frame 4K sensor that fits in your pocket for $3k. We have come a pretty long way. :)
 
The majority of that footage was not shot in S-Log, where I am guessing highlight rolloff will be stronger. But considering the resolution, the lack of compression artifacts (even over a YouTube clip), the general dynamic range, and the overall look, I'm very impressed. Of course it's no RED, but it's a full-frame 4K sensor that fits in your pocket for $3k. We have come a pretty long way. :)

Yeah, was impressed with the lack of YT garbage in the clip. My screen grab should have banding in the background but is pretty darn smooth. Looks like lens related CA on the :25 road asphalt clip. Now that you say that you can see where the S-log was used and was not. Not sure why you would not used it always. Any reason you can think of?
 
Not sure why you would not used it always. Any reason you can think of?

- When DR covers all/most of the scene, used gamma looks okay for the scene and starting from log adds unnecessary gamma correction step with minor gain
- When you want to see more realistic picture tonality before post and you don't use a LUT device
- When you want to focus more easily
- When there is no time for a typical grading step in post or a client is not willing to pay for it.

:)
 
The majority of that footage was not shot in S-Log, where I am guessing highlight rolloff will be stronger. But considering the resolution, the lack of compression artifacts (even over a YouTube clip), the general dynamic range, and the overall look, I'm very impressed. Of course it's no RED, but it's a full-frame 4K sensor that fits in your pocket for $3k. We have come a pretty long way. :)

4k Vistavision for 3K :)
 
Now that you say that you can see where the S-log was used and was not. Not sure why you would not used it always. Any reason you can think of?
Because grading takes time and many people aren't experienced colorists. A good majority of the FS7 footage I've seen looks absolutely terrible (personal, subjective opinion) not because the camera sucks but because it was shot in Log and graded poorly. Remember, the A7RII is a prosumer camera, a still camera first and foremost, and even if used by experienced shooters, those shooters may not be trained graders. SLog is for more serious productions where there is time to grade, where dynamic range is of utmost importance, and where there are people dealing with the footage who know how to get the most out of it. While this camera CAN be used in that kind of situation (which is what makes it exciting), my guess is the majority of people who purchase this camera will not be using it in that manner. Thank god there are standard profiles in those cases. :)
 
Because grading takes time and many people aren't experienced colorists. A good majority of the FS7 footage I've seen looks absolutely terrible (personal, subjective opinion) not because the camera sucks but because it was shot in Log and graded poorly. Remember, this is a prosumer camera, a still camera first and foremost, and even if used by experienced shooters, those shooters may not be trained graders. SLog is for more serious productions where there is time to grade, where dynamic range is of utmost importance, and where there are people dealing with the footage who know how to get the most out of it. While this camera CAN be used in that kind of situation (which is what makes it exciting), my guess is the majority of people who purchase this camera will not be using it in that manner. Thank god there are standard profiles for them. :)

S-Log is like RAW lite ;-)

I have a GH4 and GoPro H4 and can tell you that if you know how to work the settings for maximum options in grading (and stay within the range of the sensor) they're great little cameras. The things we keep occupied with while waiting for Weapon to ship ;-)

The new tools in the buggy PP CC 2015 include a cool grading gadget, Lumetri, that seems to burrow from SpeedGrade. Very easy to use but still wish Adobe would bring more of the LightRoom Develop tools to motion. As time goes on, the black art of any digital art becomes algorithms.
 
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Received shipping notice from B&H. Here tomorrow. One on the reasons I want to try out this camera is because it will let me use the leica M, and LTM mount lenses that I have for my Dragon with Leica M mount. And it will mount just about any lens out there.
 
andrew reid on eoshd.com just slammed this camera in his review, sort of relieved that i dont have to change up my dslr system!
phew!
 
andrew reid on eoshd.com just slammed this camera in his review, sort of relieved that i dont have to change up my dslr system!
phew!

"This first hands on is with a pre-production model, so no footage for now." Not much of a "hands on" then Mate ;-)
 
It seems to me after reading many reviews that the A7S series will always have more potential for video use..although this already looks very promising, I guess I will wait it out for the A7S II
 
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