A7S II matched to C300 II

jcs

Veteran
Sony A7S II matched to C300 II (details in YouTube description, prior edit posted here (A7S II edit was bit too soft): http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?341727-C300-Mark-II-side-by-side-A7S-II):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ulmgc_a39Q


For the new edit the A7S II was sharpened in post (Sharpen filter @ 64) and color/brightness was matched a little better to the C300 II. There's still more detail in the C300 II, though that's to be expected at 4x the data rate and initial compression methods (410 Mbps ALL-I vs. 100Mbps IPB). The Sony 24-240 is a decently sharp lens, and the only lens I have on hand that can autofocus in fullframe 4K (the Sony 18-200 is crop mode only). We have two Canon 24-105 F4L's, however the Sony can't autofocus it and it's not a super sharp lens.

Sony has really improved the color on the A7S II vs. the A7S. The red/magenta around my eyes is from some kind of allergy after our air-conditioning was worked on in my day-job's office (dust/chemicals or both).

The C300 II's color is excellent, and the extra detail and low rolling shutter will come in handy. Built-in 24-bit pro audio is also helpful for fast shooting (A7S II has an add-on for XLR+Phantom power, might take a look at it, though we'll probably use wireless lavs with the A7S II location shoots). The C300 II's autofocus is on another level- a truly groundbreaking new feature: the killer app for this camera. This level of autofocus will be standard someday (and even better). For now, no one else has it.

Why compare these two cameras? I work with cameras in my day job (artificial intelligence camera systems), and comparisons are always fun and can be helpful in understanding quality. We can confidently use the A7S II as a B-cam and cut between the two cameras without having to spend too much time in post matching them. With only evenings and weekends to shoot, we're looking to speed up production and these two cameras will allow us to shoot and edit fast.
 
I see that the C300 II has a bit more sublte color variations in the skin tones (slightly more yellow/reddish ares) whereas the A7S II is a bit more flat pinkish.Probably due to the better codec on the C300 II as you said. As for autofocus the C300 II seems to be at a whole different level. It tracked well except in the end when you rotated your head.
 
I watched it first with no audio. It's not a huge difference by any means, but the C300 II wins for me: skin is slightly better and AF is a lot better and DR should be better too. Then again, it's 5 times the cost and a lot bigger and heavier too!
 
Hmm I wonder if the AF is better in the A7RII vs the A7SII or if it's just the lens but face tracking on the A7RII is much better in my experience than what is shown in this video. I've used the 28mm f2 and 28-70mm f3.5-5.6 FE lenses and they track a lot more like the C300II. The A7SII AF setup shown here looks pretty unusable whereas I use the A7RII AF on jobs and have been very impressed with the results when it has a face to track.

Also it seems quite strange to compare the EOS Standard matrix to S-gamut3.cine considering EOS standard is designed to be looked at and S-gamut is designed for storage and correction before viewing...
 
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Hi jcs,

Sorry, I started a thread about your test elsewhere in this forum not realizing you had already done so here. Would it be possible for you to do another side by side test? But this time with an external recorder hooked up to the A7s2 recording in Pro Res to see if the skin texture is then as detailed as the C300M2.

Thanks very much for sharing that footage. I'm amazed at how natural the skin tones look on the A7s2 in your test, nearly as good as on the C300M2. All the more amazing for a camera that's less than 1/5 of the price.
 
Noah- the camera settings were chosen by eye to get the best skin tones while looking at a full-sized HDTV. Surprisingly they matched pretty well when shot side-by-side. The A7RII's AF is much better than the A7SII's.

Nicholas- I don't have a 4K external recorder, however I'm sure the A7SII will have more detail if recorded externally. The image will also be sharper with a sharper lens- for example the Canon 24-70 F2.8 II looks great on the A7SII with a MB IV adapter, however there is no autofocus available.
 
Thanks jcs. I happen to have that lens and speedbooster. So I'll try to rent an external recorder to test this and will post in this thread later.
 
Thanks jcs. I happen to have that lens and speedbooster. So I'll try to rent an external recorder to test this and will post in this thread later.

Why would you need a speedbooster on a7Sii? Unless there's one that lets you use medium format lenses...
 
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