Help me choose: A7S or FS700

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Krimbo

New member
Hey guys, so I have have been borrowing a friends camera for our shoots for a few months. I've been using the A7S or the FS700 and they're both lovely cameras. Myself, I just have a small LX100 which obviously isn't a camera I can use on jobs which is why I've been borrowing until now.


It's come to the point where I want to invest in my own camera. I'm really stuck between the A7S and the FS700, it's a decision that has been going round and round in circles for the past few weeks and I'm now closer to choosing. Budget isn't an issue, I just want to make sure I buy the right camera for me. In terms of what I'd use it for, I mainly focus on weddings and event coverage, although I take on most projects. These are the two areas that I hope to pursue most. The FS700 is extremely popular for event coverage, I'm not sure how common it is for weddings.


So here's what's making my choice hard. I'm worried about the A7Sii coming out, but the same could be said for a new FS700 release. The thing is my friend is doing an internship in Holland for 4 months leaving next week, so I need to get a camera now, I can't wait a few months. I'm really interested in the slow-motion, which the A7S doesn't really have, I mean yeah it shoots 60p but not 240... The 120 720p is no good to me, no matter how nice it is for 720, it's still 720. I need FHD. Then the whole low-light thing, the A7S is a beast. But the FS700 isn't bad either, and since it's popular for event coverage which are fairly low light then it must be acceptable. The A7S has the newer codec, but I'm not too bothered about it unless the A7S is going to shoot more clear footage than the 700. I won't be buying a Shogun/Odyssey if I got the A7S - so take that into account. I want as many frames as I can so even with the Shogun/Odyssey I would shoot 1080 pro res, not 4K so it wouldn't be worth the £1600.


Another notable point, is that I shoot handheld 90% of the time. Rarely use tripods etc. I am considering getting a glidecam with the new camera though. Anyway, people say the FS700 is better for handheld since it has more weight to it which makes it more stable. But my thought is that the A7S would be better because it's lighter and more agile?


So essentially, my question to you guys is: If you didn't have a camera, which would you buy - the A7S or the FS700?


Thanks
 
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I absolutely love my FS700 + 7Q but if I was doing strictly events I'd get a C100 mk i w/ the dual pixel upgrade for cheap and wait until the FS7 works out its quirks and comes down in price or something else more exciting hits the market. But since this is between only the A7s vs FS700, I'd have to go with the FS700 strictly because I don't think I could handle the A7s form factor, battery life, and other quirks for event coverage.

Regardless, the A7s and FS700 are going to be getting upgrades sooner rather later, that is just the way Sony is doing things nowadays. I definitely would think twice about buying a new FS700 since I believe it is getting very close to being discontinued, but used FS700's are coming down in price and if you can snag one with an Odyssey 7Q, then even better.
 
Strouty said:
I absolutely love my FS700 + 7Q but if I was doing strictly events I'd get a C100 mk i w/ the dual pixel upgrade for cheap and wait until the FS7 works out its quirks and comes down in price or something else more exciting hits the market. But since this is between only the A7s vs FS700, I'd have to go with the FS700 strictly because I don't think I could handle the A7s form factor, battery life, and other quirks for event coverage.

Regardless, the A7s and FS700 are going to be getting upgrades sooner rather later, that is just the way Sony is doing things nowadays. I definitely would think twice about buying a new FS700 since I believe it is getting very close to being discontinued, but used FS700's are coming down in price and if you can snag one with an Odyssey 7Q, then even better.
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I'd love to wait and see what the next A7Sii or FS700-type camera is, but I'm currently without a camera so I don't really have a choice to wait.

On the other hand, cameras are always improving so there's never a 'safe' point to buy a camera, you could always wait for the next to release and never ever actually buy one ha.

Thanks for your opinion though. I have thought to myself buying an FS700 in 2015 would be quite strange since it is old... but it's still great.
 
If you do event coverage which you do, you need a primary camera that has built in NDs and will shoot for more than 29 minutes at a time.

The a7S is a fabulous camera (I own one and use it, lots) particularly when you want to record in stealth mode, not to be seen. It also has the low light capability. It also allows you to shoot in S35 mode and full frame. This is highly useful. It also has the ability to hook in either the Sony audio module or hook in a 3rd party on camera mic like the Rode Video Pro mic and there are others. Both the Rode solution and the Sony one sound pretty much as good as their other mid-line cameras like the FS700, F3, F5 and FS7 where you to use the same microphone on any of these cameras.

However, for event shooting including weddings I would have as a first camera one that has built in NDs and will shoot one continuous take for more than 30 minutes. If you do event videography continuous runtime is essential and non-negotiable, in my view.

Lots of wedding videographers and event shooters how use large sensor cameras but I think you should seriously consider a 1/2 sensor, 3/4" or some of the newer 1" chip cameras that have the effective sensor size of 16mm film cameras. There is the Sony x70 that fits the 1" sensor bill and has some very interesting technology built into it. If you have nailing focus as a high priority you should give some serious consideration to smaller sensor cameras.

The next round of camera releases will be during the IBC Convention in late summer. Some new ones should come out. The a7S II should it come out will, in my view, land sometime in the mid to late fall and should feature some of the tech that is in the a7R II but it will almost certainly, in my view, have the 29 minute capture limitation.
 
I never understood why a "heavier" setup is better for handheld. For me the lighter the camera the better for handheld. Maybe I have super steady hands? A7S all the way for me.
 
ectobuilder said:
I never understood why a "heavier" setup is better for handheld. For me the lighter the camera the better for handheld. Maybe I have super steady hands? A7S all the way for me.
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With small cameras like the A7s you often get the "micro shakes" typical of DSLR footage. There's nothing uglier in my opinion.
Even though the image stabilisation in the Sony e lenses is pretty damn good, you still get it. Handheld footage from my FS700 looks better than handheld from my A7s. Now if I would run around a whole day shooting hand held, I wouldn't want to use my FS700.

I have both, and if I could only have one it would be the FS700 for reasons given by others (NDs, XLR, unlimited rec time etc).
Internally the A7s have a somewhat lovelier colour science at it's best it beats the FS700 when it comes to looks. But I find it a bit more inconsistent and with less predictable results than the FS700, which is more solid in its results somehow.
 
"So here's what's making my choice hard. I'm worried about the A7Sii coming out, but the same could be said for a new FS700 release."

I have never understood this... It's almost impossible to shoot with a camera that isn't out yet. I still have a couple FS100s that I shoot a weekly TV show with and the picture is just the same (awesome) after the FS700 (and FS7) came out.

Buy the camera that fits your needs and is currently available when you're ready to buy. I bet you a dollar that when the A7Sii comes out, there will be an even newer model in a little while.
 
Chris Johnston said:
"So here's what's making my choice hard. I'm worried about the A7Sii coming out, but the same could be said for a new FS700 release."

I have never understood this... It's almost impossible to shoot with a camera that isn't out yet. I still have a couple FS100s that I shoot a weekly TV show with and the picture is just the same (awesome) after the FS700 (and FS7) came out.
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Who said anything about the picture quality? Did I say I'm worried about the A7Sii or FS700 next model coming out because they will have better picture? No... what I'm anxious about is called, wait for it, features...

Filming a TV show, you more than likely don't need the features in a camera that I need for what I will use it for. Super slow motion - rarely used in television or film, internal 4K to have a smaller and more portable setup - filming a TV show it's likely on a big rig or tripod setup of some sort, great low light for dim events - TV show will have a lighting team if it's any good or at least a lighting kit.
 
Bern Caughey said:
My guess is the FS700 won't be updated as the FS7 fills that niche, but with much better ergonomics, & codec(s).
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People are saying there could be another remodel to the FS700 because it is a different price point to the FS7, by quite a lot.

It makes sense, the FS7 seems to be a different kind of beast. Where as the FS700 is a very widely used camera in event filming especially and a newer version would definitely sell to that market.
 
FS700 all the way. It's a proper video camera and for your A-cam, gives all those very useful features such as XLR's (Not having to use a Zoom has made life so much easier for me), ND's and long record times. Shooting events, it also helps give you the access that a bigger camera tends to afford (with an A7s/DSLR people tend to ignore you and stand infront of you - whereas they'll often make way for you with a bigger camera).

A7S fills the holes as a useful B-cam - light, portable, etc - but FS700 will give you way more features as your primary rig.

They're also dirt cheap if you're buying them used - possibly the best bang for your buck on the market right now.
 
You probably could use both - The FS7 might be your best choice for weddings, the FS700R is likely to be your best choice for events.

I do events that run 2-3 hours - no way I would want a primary video cam that has a 29 minute limit. I know less about weddings than a pig knows about ice skating.

The two models you are looking at are very different cameras.

It will be interesting to see upcoming comments.
 
Quite definitely there will be an A7SmkII (since both A7 and A7R got mkII models). However, the A7RmkII was just announced and won't ship until July (?). Which probably it won't be in readily available supply until September-October if it's popular. Let's say they announce the A7SmkII in November, then it won't be shipping til January-February 2016.

I don't think there will be a FS700mkII. That was pretty much the FS7.
My guess is that we will see an FS video camera in the $5000 (+/- 1k) range that is full frame. But it will top out at 60p (maybe HD 120p?). And might have limitations to codec (8bit internal/10bit external?) etc. this would make the FS700 still desirable and the FS7 would remain king of the FS series.
 
Thanks for all the comments guys, it has helped but I still haven't decided.

Yes, the A7Sii is inevitable, but I can't wait around for it - I wish I could.

My budget also isn't big enough for an FS7 much to my dismay.

It's looking like it will potentially be the FS700 for me. It really has some key features the A7S is lacking. However for smaller venues it will be too big. I sometimes shoot club videos late on weekends and as you can imagine they are NOT places for an FS700. The A7S would be best for those without a doubt. But not sure I want to sacrifice the FS700 and it's features just for those types of jobs. Hmm...
 
Andrew Stone said:
As a second stealth cam, budget permitting, you may wish to consider the Sony a6000 which has a lot of the qualities of the a7S for a fraction of the price.
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I assume you missed a little bit of the OP. But I already have an LX100 which is essentially a A6000 or possibly better.

I will definitely keep that as a second camera, it's a lovely camera with a beautiful Leica lens and internal 4K - but it isn't a camera I'd use on jobs, at least certainly not as my main camera.

So having that as my B cam is sort of like having a smaller, cheaper, less low-light capable A7S in a way, then I'd have the FS700.
 
IMHO

FS700 + O7Q RAW if that's possible.

I have and love the A7s but the above is still better

- A7s jello is quite bad for handheld, in fact i would never hand hold it without a gimbal
- The image from the FS700 in RAW is much better, both colours and sharper 4K
- FS700 has build in NDs, don't underestimate this outdoors
- FS700 slow mo is better - 100fps 4K RAW, what else does that?!

If the O7Q isn't an option then perhaps the A7s

I would go for FS700+O7Q over an FS7 too, the white balance in the FS7 RAW is baked in and IMHO the resulting colour depth out of the FS700 is as good, if not better. But FS7 is better as a stock camera (Slog3 etc,.)

So bearing in mind people are knocking out the FS700 quite cheaply, it seems a no brainer.

If you wait then i would imagine the A7s II could be a good choice, whatever that turns out to be.

cheers
Paul
 
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