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Sony a7s Newbie Questions

WienerRoast

By WienerRoast,
in Sony Alpha Video Discussion

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WienerRoast Newbie

WienerRoast

Posted
Posted

Hello!

 

I'm a brand new owner of the a7s. I'm by no means a professional photographer (I'm using this mainly for video) but I'm excited to get to know this camera. I'm coming from using a Nikon d5100 so the transition is a little rocky for me.

 

Along with the a7s body, I have the Sony Sonnar 35mm lens. I seem to be getting a lot of noise with this lens even though all the reviews for it have been great. I'm thinking I just don't know how to use it correctly, so can someone please help me figure out why I'm getting so much noise? What camera settings are best for minimal noise?

 

Also any general info you can provide to this a7s newb would be much appreciated! I still have no idea how to use the Picture Profiles...

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Snowfun Collaborator

Snowfun

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Posted

If you're starting out with the A7S and video I would recommend you watch Philip Bloom's review & set-up guide (available in YouTube). Find his Brighton beach video too (linked from his website) as an example of what the camera is capable of. Bloom knows what he is talking about and is always worth hearing.

 

Picture profiles - PP7 is slog2 and should be avoided unless

1. You have the skill to grade it

Or

2. You have the time to play in post...

Min ISO in slog2 is 3200 so can be difficult to use without ND. You'll need experience using FCX or Resolve or similar (or, again, lots of time to experiment and gain experience).

The other PPs are out of the box so you can try them and see.

As above, to address the noise issue, more info is required.

I'd think about getting a Samyang manual focus video lens (not the expensive new ones) to really get into the cinematic film look if that's something you want to experiment with.

Have fun!

Tim

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  • Posts

    • Cameratose
      Bokeh?

      By Cameratose · Posted

      Shooting a cactus flower is probably where you do want to have nice bokeh. I can't recall which camera you're shooting, or maybe you haven't said, but using live view you can see what the shot will look like before you press the button. Try setting up on a flower or something stationary where you can control the background and see the changes different settings make. 
    • Pieter
      Bokeh?

      By Pieter · Posted

      That's what I got from your post here: When shooting at f/11, bokeh is indeed not something you should be concerned with, unless when shooting closeup. Nearly all lenses have a polygonal iris shape at f/11 which naturally gives a more edgy rendering of out of focus areas. @Cameratose's example is perfect for demonstrating the relevance of bokeh. To some extent you can influence the backdrop of a shot, but if it is busy foliage relatively close by, it'd better not be distracting from your subject. Some lenses are able to create a more pleasing background than others, even at the same aperture setting and focal length. For the impact of the entire image one might even argue that the smoothness of the background is as relevant as the sharpness of the subject.
    • Mr. Lips
      Bokeh?

      By Mr. Lips · Posted

      Like Cameratose, I usually go for as much depth of field as I can, but sometimes there is no getting around out of focus areas, such as a closeup of a cactus flower.  I guess, everything else being equal, I might be concerned about a lenses bokeh, but everything else is seldom equal.  At this point in my photography I think I have bigger problems than unattractive bokeh.

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