12 May (Relatively) New in Studio B: the Sony FS7 and a7S
New Rentals, Sony a7S, Sony FS7 | Rentals
The last couple months have been so busy at Studio B that we’ve neglected to post about our newest Sony cameras, the Sony PXW-FS7 and the Sony a7S. Both are amazing cameras, especially when compared with their low prices. The FS7 rivals the Sony F5 or the Red Epic with its 4k internal recording, 14 stops of latitude, and high frame rate options– all for a much lower rental day-rate. It records up to 180p in HD and up to 60p in UHD (3840×2160), all in 10-bit 4:2:2 with the option of S-Gamut3Cine/S-Log 3 encoding. What’s more, the Studio B FS7 rental comes with your choice of an EF or PL lens mount adapter, in addition to the basic Sony E-mount on the camera.
Above: The FS7 with a Metabones Speed Booster EF-mount Adapter, and the Canon L-series 16-35mm EF zoom lens.
Below: Flying the FS7 on the Porta-Jib Traveller, with a Panasonic 17″ Director’s Monitor in the background.
We’ve used the FS7 as the main camera, or as the B-cam to the F5 on several of our most recent shoots, including the Tesla spec spot, Tencue Netsuite event video, and the Adobe Creative Cloud & Photography and Adobe Warriors spots. Here is the test shoot we did on the first day we had with the FS7.
Below: Shooting on the FS7 with the Canon CN-E 30-105mm Lightweight Cinema Zoom Lens.
The Sony a7S is a much smaller, lightweight DSLR option for the more independent videographer. It rivals the Canon 5Dmk.III in price, but blows it out of the water in low light shooting and with its 4k output capability. The a7S records in 50mbps XAVC 4:2:2 in camera to SD cards, and outputs 4k to be captured with an external recorder such as the Atomos Shogun. The main selling point is the low-light capability, which allows this camera to shoot in near complete darkness with an ISO range of up to 409,600.
Below: Low-light comparison between the A7S and Panasonic GH4, by TJ Donegan (seen here).
Both cameras are available today for rent and come with all of the necessary accessories (media, lens mounts, batteries) to pick up and shoot. Just mount a lens and you’re ready to go. Check out Studio B Camera Rentals for these cameras and more.