Is the A7SII HD 4:2:2 10bit for HD?

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david_p

Veteran
I'm trying to find what this camera offers while shooting 1080p HD. i know 4k is only 4:2:0 8 bit but what is HD.

thanks
david
 
If you record 4K 8-bit 420 and downsample, it does get close to 422 10-bit when downsampled to 1080p (it's not exactly the same in some ways, but it's definitely better than 8-bit 420).
 
With 10-bit color you get 1,024 shades of each primary color.

With 8-bit color you get 256 shades of each primary color.

Downsampling UHD to HD doesn't magically give you 1,024 shades of color. It will preserve detail better depending on the codec settings used when downconverting.

The a7s II looks really good when shooting in HD. If your computer or storage isn't up to par shooting in HD is a good option
 
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The average of four 0-255 values can take 1024 different values. In that sense, it's a bit like 10-bit color.
Of course, it's not exactly the same: the usual scenarios regarding banding will still show banding after this downsampling (you can just test it going from 1080p to 540p).
What's for sure is that your color information is 1080p 8-bit 444, which is pretty good.
It's all better than 1080p 8-bit 420, just not quite as much as we would want.

And yes: my RX100 IV shoots 4K, but apart from a couple of test shots I have never used it, and won't do so often at all. With 1080p this good, there's not that much need for 4K. Only for specific projects.
 
thanks too all for this info. what improvements would i get recording to an external device? would either 4k or 1080 go beyond 4:2:0?

thanks!
david
 
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