I am beginning a journey in pursuit of the perfect DSLR and whilst on this journey I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel around the world testing out numerous different cameras before I decide which one is for me. With a passion for travel it is only right that I have developed a strong interest in photography, working in the broadcasting industry has fed my curiosity and desire to capture all the wonderful places I’ve travelled to. As a ‘newbie’ in the world of using professional DSLR’s in terms of finding the camera that’s right for my needs, and myself I really am starting this journey from the very beginning.
The NAB show is the essential place to visit for me, being held in Las Vegas, well that is a bonus, it is an exciting time in the industry to see all the new kit being released and also lends itself to being a sort of ‘get together’ where almost everyone from the industry can be found in one place. For me this was the ideal time and place to get my hands on the A7s and really try it out.
If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas then you’ll know that there is an endless list of things to do, so what could be better than a road trip into, well basically, the middle of nowhere? And so we found ourselves at Rhyolite Ghost Town in Nevada.
The journey begins with a classic convertible Mustang, unfortunately for me this isn’t as glamorous as it sounds as I drew the short straw with sitting in the back for over 4 hours, it’s pretty small in the back, and that’s a generous way to describe it.
So we left behind the bright lights, busy streets and themed hotels and began our journey to Rhyolite.
I have heard a lot of talk about the A7s as it has been so popular in the industry, and have come across a lot of customers collecting theirs from CVP or visiting for demos. So for me I have always wondered if this camera really does deserve this attention, I couldn’t wait to find out if I would feel the same about the camera.
With the Sony A7s being the ‘go-to’ camera for low light filmmakers, I wanted to see if it could actually hold its own as a stills camera. So I got ahold of one and teamed it up with the Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm F4 ZA K lens. I was aware that the battery would last around 380 shots, so I was fine with just one battery for the day, and this really was sufficient. The 16-35 F4 is great all around lens and is weather sealed to protect against moisture and dust, making it an ideal companion to take into the desert.
I had to think about composition with my images due to the 12.2 MP, leaving little room to crop and correct with, compared to larger megapixel cameras like the a7R. The Electric View finder with its 2.4million dot OLED is impressive and having the overlays such as focus peaking and waveforms is a bit of a game changer for me, making sure I my get my exposure correct in my travel photography meant I wouldn’t have to try and correct my images back at home.
At 16mm the lens produces barrel distortion, as you would expect of any wide-angle lens on a full frame camera, this can easily be corrected in Photoshop or DXO. The above image has been left uncorrected as an example. The distortion becomes barely noticeable at around 35mm, you can see this in the image below;
So as the day draws to an end the sun begins to set creating shadows over the derelict structures creating shadows and leaving me with some fantastic pictures. I have more than enjoyed using the A7s and I am looking forward to getting to grips with this camera in other places and really utilizing all of their capabilities.
Summary
– Great lightweight camera, ideal for travel and social photography
– Impressive dynamic range
– Unbelievable in lowlight, it’s better than my eyes can see
– Nothing beats the Full frame look
– USB charging, I can charge it up in my car with a USB lead or a UBS Battery pack
– NFC is fantastic to view and upload photos from my phone
– The autofocus features a -4EV center point, this is shocking good at locking onto subjects in lowlight
– 25 AF System is fantasist tracking wildlife and street photography
– 5 frame per second more than adequate for photographing people running or tracking a moving vehicle
– Silent shutter mode, ideal for press conferences
Interested in the Sony A7s? Find out more about it here & if you’d like to see it for yourself then book in for a demo with us by calling 0208 380 7400