Dailycameranews rumor: Internal 4K H265 recording firmware update coming to Sony A7s

How I read the comment from the "Sony rep" is that H.265 MAY be coming to the A7s. Then there is a hypothesis by the person who spoke the rep that it may be computationally possible for this to be recorded internally. Nowhere, does he state the Sony rep said this. It is only his internalization of this: wishful thinking.

I cannot believe I have seen this posted on this forum several times and people just gloss over things and just make stuff up.
 
Most important point from that other thread: the rep said it may be coming to the a7x platform, which probably means future models, not a firmware upgrade for the ones you can buy today
 
Let's be fair, I didn't make anything up, I simply posted a rumor. And I did say that it would be "incredible...if true".

Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but it may not be. Time will tell. Sony did end up adding internal 4K as a $1K paid firmware upgrade to the F5. Granted it's a far more expensive camera starting at $15K, but if 4K H265 we're possible as a paid firmware upgrade to the A7s, a lot of people might pay for it sooner than buy an A7sII just to get internal 4k.
 
It's not going to happen, not with the cooperation Sony started with Atomos for the release of the a7s and Shogun as the 4K option.

And also for this reason, the a7s will take a bit more time to be replaced than the other similar models.

Also, recording 4K now would be a confition they lied when they said it would over heat and not possible

expect internal 4K a7x (with the same a7 II body improvement and IBIS), in around 2016.

That's how I read their marketing approach.
 
The only existing H.265 4K camera is Samsung's NX1

We know from interviews with Samsung engineers that H.265 is highly processor intensive.

H.265 is more a complicated compression format which allows for lower bit rates but that does not mean it is easier to accomplish for the camera. If heat build up was noted as a restricting factor for recording 4K internally on the A7S then H.265 will not solve that problem as the processor will have to work even harder and this create even more heat.

Just my 2 cents
 
I understand. I can't help wondering how the engineers at Panasonic were able to add 4K/100Mbps (H264) in such a small body as the GH4 though without heating issues. I decided to hold off on purchasing the Atomos Shogun for 4K. I know that it's an amazing monitor and will shoot a much higher quality 4K (Apple Pro Res 4K and beyond). But for shooting 4K run and gun style, I'll wait to see what Sony has in store in their next A7 line up.
 
Cameras from the big companies don't use general-purpose processors. They use ASICs and FPGAs, processors whose sole purpose in life is to do, for example, compression.

avc-ultra-chip.jpg

An H.265 chip is about the size of your fingernail and is just as likely to produce less heat than more, than an H.264 chip from years before.

For the same reason, it's unlikely that a camera would receive such a major upgrade through mere firmware. Like Samuel H said, they're probably talking about the next model.
 
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combatentropy said:
An H.265 chip is about the size of your fingernail and is just as likely to produce less heat than more, than an H.264 chip from years before.
Click to expand...
Yes, and there are processors and processors. All a spec such as "H265" defines uniquely is the method for *DECODING* - not coding - and this is true of all the basic coding systems.

Typically a codec will be able to use many "tricks" to achieve it's efficiency, but there is no requirement for any coder to use all of them. It could ignore for simplicity some of the potential features and still produce an H265 compliant file - though obviously it will need a higher bitrate for equivalent quality than a more complex coder which does use all the "tricks".
 
On a processor related note, I was reading somewhere today/yesterday that Samsung (?) dropped the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip because it was producing too much heat for a thin smartphone body. Of course, video itself is processed by different units.
 
A new interview with some Sony exec posted on Sony Alpha Rumors and it states, "No internal 4K on A7s" ... but he says they'll think about some internal 4K on some future camera.
 
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