Award winning DoP Randolph Sellars put the Sony A7s camera under some test scenarios.

Randolph experimented with the dynamic range and low light capabilities of the Sony A7s camera.

Check out his results…

Sony A7s Dynamic Range & Low Light Test

I shot this test with Lyon Films to evaluate their new Sony A7s camera. Our primary goal was to evaluate the dynamic range and high ISO capabilities in low light situations. We chose challenging but common situations like high contrast day exterior and interior as well as extreme low light with practical sources. In the high ISO tests, we stopped down accordingly so that we could judge noise with a consistent exposure and see if there were any changes in dynamic range. Most of the footage is “raw” and uncorrected. Due to very busy work schedules, we did not have time to grade examples from every test. We simultaneously recorded 1080P to both SD cards and a Pix 240 external recorder (split screen) so we could see the benefits of a higher bit rate and color space recording – especially after grading. Sorry, we did not have access to a 4K recorder – another day in the future! Note: some of the color noise that you may see on the wall in the candle test is the result of compression and is not apparent in the original. This is especially true of the footage that was graded with Neat Video applied. The model’s face was lit entirely by the two candles approximately 1 ft. away. The model’s face in the interior day scene was lit with a 4′ – 4 bank kinoflo. All light readings were taken with a reflective spot meter. With some of the dusk/night bridge shots, the focus on the model’s face is slightly off – and not indicative of the camera’s sharpness. I’m just not that great at pulling focus by myself without a follow focus unit. Lyon Films and I would like to thank Picture This camera rental (Portland, OR) for providing the Zeiss CP 2 cine primes used in the test. Additional thanks to our soon to be famous actress Paige (Sunshine Girl) McKenzie for being an entertaining model.

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