a7SII or a7S with Shogun?

G

goodgoings

Well-known member
If you had to choose between these two for a short film which one would you pick? Need to decide on one for rental.
 
A7s II. The cost difference as a rental is minimal. You could save some cash and not use the external recorder making the rig nice and small. Are you shooting in HD or UHD?
 
Yes, UHD. The a7SII is internal 4K and a7S is external 4K with Shogun. The price difference is around $35 since with the a7SII we will have to rent another monitor.

Is there any test footage with these setups? I had initial thoughts the a7S with Shogun would have cleaner usable 4:2:2 8bit 4K since the a7SII will only have 4:2:0 8bit. One thing I hear is going for the a7SII is the improved colors.
 
I would definitely go with the external recorder for a superior bit rate (assuming it's within the budget, etc.)

I'd also prefer A7RII to A7S/II, unless there is a lot of night time shooting.
 
Depends on your needs. I wasn't a huge fan of shooting the a7r2 internal 4k on a week long interior shoot due to overheating (I know you're talking about the s2, but I'd still have some reservations). 422 vs 420 is also a benefit. If you're shooting in a way that could utilize the sensor stabilizer the mark 2 makes sense, if you won't be run and gunning, then if it costs extra, probably not worth it.
I'm also one of the few that really like slog2/sgamut but if you think you need slog3 or sgamut3 then you need the mark 2.
Personally I'd take the extra color depth and superior monitor of using the shogun.
 
Director doesn't have the budget for the Shogun if we take the A7SII. On this particular shoot won't be using IBIS so that consideration is moot. I'm just curious how much of an advantage the A7S + Shogun 4K has over A7SII internal 4K. It's not an action film so high bit-rate is not necessary, but I am concerned about the 4:2:0 8bit internal recording on the A7SII. I would think this is one of the first comparisons someone would make because it seems like many people like the idea of ditching the recorder for a small form factor.

Ok, I guess here's what cinema5d says:
"In 4K the images look almost identical. The a7S II has a more accurate representation of Slog2 and less noise at the base ISOs (ISO 1600 & 3200)."

https://www.cinema5d.com/ultimate-sony-a7s-ii-vs-a7s-test-difference/
 
Last edited:
In the same thread, James C. says:
"...420 has color info for 1 pixel spread over 4 pixels (bad) . 422 spreads it over just 2 pixels – (and for reference 4:4:4 is each pixel has its own data) – 420 isn’t really a problem for most – but if you want to do some heavy grading or greenscreen for pro film purposes 420 doesn’t cut it"

No greenscreen, so if doing heavy grading then maybe the 4:2:2 is an advantage. Otherwise may be more convenient to record internally on the A7SII.
 
A7S I and II have only 8.8 MPX 4K sensor, so it's 4:2:0 any way you slice it.

Higher recording bit rate has nothing to do with the "action" (that would/could/might be a higher frame rate or better still a global shutter, which none of these Sony cameras has) but you do get fewer compression related (low bit rate) artifacts.
 
if you can - go for 4:2:2. squeeze all you can out of it. you can't see it untill you start to grade and go to secondaries.
if it's an important shoot - always use en ext. monitor. judging sharpnes in 4k on a small screen can came back and bite you in the ass.
 
This depends entirely on *what* you are shooting? Movement? Rigging to what? Hand held?

If you are hand holding in any way shape or form the A7sII with IBIS on. If you're on sticks then either. If you're on a gimbal then internal 4K recording wins.

If you're shooting deep DOF with landscapes, movement and detail then an external recorder better than internal.

So, as always, it depends :)

cheers
Paul
 
paulcurtis said:
This depends entirely on *what* you are shooting? Movement? Rigging to what? Hand held?

If you are hand holding in any way shape or form the A7sII with IBIS on. If you're on sticks then either. If you're on a gimbal then internal 4K recording wins.

If you're shooting deep DOF with landscapes, movement and detail then an external recorder better than internal.

So, as always, it depends :)

cheers
Paul
Click to expand...

The only thing I'd disagree with is the gimbal... Having a monitor on the handles of the gimbal can be extremely useful, which the shogun could do. But I suppose that could be a preference thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top