Concert photography - A7 or A7s?

[dreamspy]

I do allot of concert photography, and was wondering how much better the A7s is compared to the A7 for this kind of use?

 

I know that the A7s should be better because of it's low light capabilites. But I'm just wondering about "how much better". 

 

I'm asking this because there is quite allot of price difference between these two cameras

 

Regards

Frímann

[mopswerk]

I can't really help here, because I am not doing any concert stuff, but possibly some support on your decision:

* Just check what your own ISO settings were with your past photos

* Check some photos on flickr https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=concertand their ISO/Aperture settings ... or for the A7s https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=relevance&text=concert%20a7s (for example here's one taken at ISO8000 https://www.flickr.com/photos/baldheretic/15612802665 > brilliant considering that the ISO 6400 IQ on my A7 is already rather poor ... )

* Also worth to consider 12MP vs 24MP if this is an issue for you (when you want to crop later on)

* Depending how loud your concerts are: The A7 has a loud shutter noise, the A7s has a silent shutter mode.

Just my thoughts, but possibly it's best some A7s owners will reply !

Possibly it's best clenching teeth together and wait, until A7s becomes affordable for you

 

... Currently I am "locked in" with the A7 ... the price drop was immense after the announcement of the A7 II ... and rethinking, possibly I'd be myself better off with the A7s, since In any case my pics will hit the web at reduced resolution (and it can also be a benefit not to store huge GBs of raw files )...

[torontovideoguy]

Atleast 2stops better then a7 in terms of low light..

[SteveGJ]

As far as how much better the A7S is in low light (at common output size) depends on what ISO you are talking about. Up until about 1600 ISO, then the A7S is really not any better. However once you get to about 6400 and above, the A7S starts to really pull ahead. and certainly the usable ISO on an A7S (depending on your standards) is up to 2 stops better than the A7. However, that doesn't mean the A7S at 1600 is equal to the A7 at 400 ISO. It's simply not (at common output size). It's at those much higher ISOs where you see the difference (and photography at gigs with low light yet extremes of dynamic range it's always going to be tricky).

However, there are another couple iof issues which may be as important. The A7S AF is better at low light levels than the A7 and, on a different theme, the A7S has a silent shutter option. For many circumstances, that makes it much more acceptable than a noisy physical shutter, especially for things like accoustic sets or, indeed, any sort of performance where sound is intrusive. True the silent shutter has its limitations (some of them with impact on IQ), but it can make a camera acceptable in places where others are not.

[SteveGJ]

Oh, I ought to add that this is a guy I know who does a lot of gig photography using an A7S (previously he's used A99s and various other Sony gear). He might well be able to help.

https://www.facebook.com/tomodophotography

 

[dreamspy]

Thank you all for your tips. Based on the factors you guys mentioned I think the A7s is a way way better choice.  Silent shutter, better low light AF performance, better ISO performance. Sounds like a winner. 

 

Now it's just a matter of finding the money!

 

On another note, and I actually have a another thread for this, but since noone has answered there then I might just as well pitch this here. Should I be expecting a price drop on the A7s anytime soon? I wouldn't be so surprised since Sony is expected to be announcing some new cameras in the next weeks.

 

Regards

Frímann

[LeButler]

The forthcoming cameras are (rumoured to be) aimed more towards A6000 / A7R buyers.

 

The A7S still has no competition in its low-light niche. The A7 and A7R, released six months earlier both have significant competitors yet still haven't been (fully) replaced yet. So an A7S II, which is the only thing that would massively drive down A7S price, is unlikely anytime soon.

 

Sorry for the bad news but it's one highly desirable bit of kit! Just check you're happy with its focussing - if "concerts" means fast-moving rock performers it might struggle sometimes.

[philbaum]

The forthcoming cameras are (rumoured to be) aimed more towards A6000 / A7R buyers.

 

The A7S still has no competition in its low-light niche. The A7 and A7R, released six months earlier both have significant competitors yet still haven't been (fully) replaced yet. So an A7S II, which is the only thing that would massively drive down A7S price, is unlikely anytime soon.

 

Sorry for the bad news but it's one highly desirable bit of kit! Just check you're happy with its focussing - if "concerts" means fast-moving rock performers it might struggle sometimes.

I've done a lot of playhouse type shooting.  If you can get one good focus shot, no matter how slow, than zone focusing/shooting is your friend.  So i'm waiting for the drop in price of the A7S as well.  That silent shutter, even with the occasional rolling shutter is worth gold to me.  Inside shooting at events can sometimes annoy those close by.

[Golem]

Sort of a question and sort of edumacated guess  .... 

 

As a decades experienced low light shooter I'm

perficklee comfortable with MF. Most of my lenses

have no AF anywho.

 

The low light glitche, overcomeable but quite an

annoyance, is the crazy vido gain level when MF  

assist is engaged. So it seems to me that higher

output from a sensor such as in the 7S means the

gain is not cranked as badly, making MF assist a

lot more eyeball friendly.

 

Assuming the above is true, then advice-wise it's

one more reason to choose the 7S for concert or

similar high ISO situations. If my assumption is

true, then add it to the advice side of the equation

and get a 7S.

 

Acoarst the question aspect of this post is: I've

never even held a 7S. What say you users out

there, concerning the idea that the MF assist is

gonna suffer much less electric dancing confetti

at high ISO in low light as compared to focusing

a more typical camera such as an A7 ? 

  

`

[dreamspy]

I'm also quite interested in knowing how well focus peaking works when doing manual focus with legacy lenses. To me it sounds like a sweet technique, but then again it might be unreliable due to noise being picked up as a "in focus" dot, something I've heard might be a problem. Anyone have experience with that?