Last Updated on 04/06/2014 by Kevin Lee
We’re still falling over ourselves about how good the Sony A7 and A7r are as full-frame mirrorless cameras and now there’s a Sony A7s. At the video centric NAB conference in Las Vegas press event, the Japanese electronics firm announced a new model Sony A7s model that brings 4K video to the popular camera line (sort of). The “s” in the new designation stands for sensitivity, which in this case has extended the ISO range of this particular camera to a whopping 409,600—matching the Nikon D4s’ maximum ISO limit.
As a trade off the Sony A7s’ to 12.2MP sensor has seen a downgrade when compared to the Sony A7r’s 36.4MP full-frame sensor and 24.3MP on the Sony A7. Ultimately though the larger pixels on the Sony A7s allow it to take in much more light in achieving the higher ISO sensitivity.
What’s more the new sensor allows the camera to record 3,840 x 2,160 (QFHD) 4K resolution video…when using an external recorder to capture the footage, that is. Unlike the Panasonic GH4, the Sony A7 must be connected to an external third-party 4K recorder via HDMI to capture quadruple HD quality video. The camera, however, can still record 1920×1080 resolution video at 60p by itself, and 120 fps capture is also possible by knocking quality down to 720p.
The camera otherwise is basically identical to its siblings when it comes to looks. The new Sony A7s still comes with Wi-Fi and NFC built in, as well as the Multi Interface Shoe up top, to which users can attach Sony’s XLR mic adapter kit, the XLR-K1M. Sony hasn’t spilled the beans on pricing yet, but Sony expects the camera to start shipping this summer.
Check past the break for more images and specs in the meantime.
Sony A7s
- Lens mount: Alpha E-mount
- Image sensor: 12.2MP 35mm full frame (35.6 x 23.8mm), Exmor CMOS sensor
- BIONZ X image processor,
- 14 bit RAW output
- Autofocus: 25 point Contrast-detection AF
- Exposure control metering type 1200-zone evaluative metering
- ISO sensitivity range: ISO 100-102400 (50-409600 expandable)
- Shutter speed: 1/8000 to 30 seconds
- 1.3cm XGA 2,359,296 dots OLED EVF
- 7.5cm 921,600 dots LCD screen
- Recording format: XAVC S / AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant / MP4
- Video compression: XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
- Image size (pixels): XAVC S: 1920 x 1080 (60p/50Mbps, 30p/50Mbps, 24p/50Mbps), 1280 x 720 (120p/50Mbps)
- Clean HDMI output signal: 3840 × 2160(30p/24p) / 1920 × 1080(60p/60i/24p)
- Media formats: Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick XC-HG Duo, SDXC memory card (UHS-I compliant)
- Connectivity: IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, NFC
- Dimensions: 5 x 3 3/4 x 1 15/16 in.(126.9 x 94.4 x 48.2mm)
- Weight: 446g or 15.7 oz (body only)