Sony A7s

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 1:14 pm

Hello,

Reading the last available info, it appears the A7s is equipped with a real electronic shutter, a huge sensor and impressive sensibility capabilities.

Is n't it a quite nice candidate for photomacrography shooters ?
- No vibration induced.
- Small body for a low weight setup.
- Infinite shutter life for the crazy stackers

- Continuous lighting real capabilities.

Even if the pixel count is quite low, it seems worthy for some attention.

Has someone already test it >20x without flash?

(sorry for the translation)

Chris S. · Post by **Chris S.** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 1:47 pm

Pierre, a deal-breaker for me would be the lack of tethering software, unless something new has come out that I haven't heard of.

--Chris

Blame · Post by **Blame** » Sun Aug 24, 2014 12:39 am

Lots of questions before going for that one. Not just tethering.

I worry about the the output. Is the RAW and JPG formats up to delivering the full dynamic range that such big pixels deliver? For that one I would like to see a 16 bit format.

Also heat bothers me. That range of lightweight cameras with their high powered electronic view finders tend to warm up and add heat noise to the sensor. Probably no biggie if the EVF can be switched off with tethering. External powering should help too.

Thing is that the perfect bios (for stacking) would make a fair selection of cameras exciting. An electronic shutter should be possible through a bios upgrade with many. I would expect it to be possible at least for cameras with a video mode. Not that it would be much use outside photomacrography. Any light entering during what would probably be a rather slow close in a non-dedicated camera would smear the picture so it needs flash and relatively low ambient light levels.

What is exciting is that the a7 series is designed to be used with app's. If Sony or a 3'rd party should offer a dedicated stacking app then we are talking. Can't be long before apps become the norm on digital cameras.

At some point I would expect to see a full stacking package with a stacker like Zerene, bundled camera apps and the ability to control both the lens focus motor or any of a range of stepper motor systems.

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 4:28 am

Well,

I have to agree: Sony is still young on this.
Not allowing Liveview with tethering (Wifi or Cable) is disapointing.

fergus · Post by **fergus** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 6:07 am

I have a Sony NEX camera, the A7 (series) is more recent so it might have the same apps.

With my NEX-5R there's an app in it called 'Smart Remote Control' and this talks via the camera's wifi to any smartphone or tablet via the free app 'Sony Playmemories Mobile'.

Usually the phone/tablet app is used to transfer photos from the camera, but if you run the camera remote app first they connect as a full remote control over WIFI with live view and touch control etc., I have used mine with both my iPad and my Android phone.

I would think the A7 cameras would have similar apps but I have not tried one.

Cheers...
Fergus

Blame · Post by **Blame** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:29 am

Would you want to trust a long stack to WIFI? Better a cable.

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:31 am

Thanks for those good news Fergus.

Have you try using your camera with USB ?

fergus · Post by **fergus** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:10 pm

I haven't used the camera for stacking (yet) but I'll try to answer.

I agree a cable would be preferable to WIFI. The remote app is handy as a vibration-free way of operating the camera, however there are drawbacks...

When using the remote app the WIFI acts as a remote control and sends a copy of the image once taken. The original image is stored on the camera's SD card so there's no risk of losing the files. If there were many shots in a sequence then battery life could be an issue? The camera screen is on for the entire time that the remote is functioning. I need to see if this can be turned off.

Connecting the USB doesn't function as 'tethering' although there may well be a feature or app that I am unaware of. With the USB connected and the camera 'off', the camera charges, assuming it's connected to a sufficiently high-powered USB cable/voltage. Turning the camera 'on' with the USB connected puts the camera into file sharing mode. The camera only charges through the USB port.

Perhaps there is a hack possible with a replacement dummy battery that can be connected separately to a power source / 'charger'?

Re tethering there may be apps or a way to do it that I haven't realised. There's also a HDMI output which I have never used, not sure if that would help re battery life if the screen stays on.

The A7 cameras are more recent and may well have better features.

Cheers...
Fergus

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 10:56 pm

HI Fergus,

Thanks again for sharing your experience on this

Herewith a link on the subject but it seems not to have the liveview available.
This point needs to be confirmed.

http://briansmith.com/how-to-tether-sony-a7-a7r-a7s/

fergus · Post by **fergus** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:10 am

Pierre, thanks for the link. I need to have a look and see if the same remote app will work via USB on my NEX. I don't recall ever setting a USB mode but who knows?

I followed one of the links from the page you linked to, the firmware updates include the following:

'Provides support for additional PlayMemories Camera Apps and adds additional features... Supports the “Liveview Grading”...'

So the A7 cameras may well have tethered liveview. I wonder if the same USB cable supplies power for the camera?

Cheers...
Fergus

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:35 pm

Bulleyes Fergus!

Chris S. · Post by **Chris S.** » Mon Sep 01, 2014 7:21 pm

Here is a video that shows Sony's Remote Camera Control software in action: "How to tether your Sony camera to your computer" by John Sison. As in the article by Brian Smith that Pierre linked to, no indication is shown that this software supports live view--or even immediate image review after capture, without resorting to an outside image browser.

For me, tethering needs to robustly support both live view and immediate review of a captured image. I use live view for framing and focus--usually zooming way in to determine focus points for the beginning and end of my stacks. I also use a real-time histogram live view to rough in exposure adjustments. I then capture a frame and look at the actual histogram to more finely adjust exposure (the actual histogram usually differing a bit from the live view one). All this comes after having used both live view and image review dozens of images to determine the lighting approach. It is much, much easier to do this on a computer monitor than on a small camera screen.

So unless this Sony software has significantly more functionality than has been shown so far, I would call it "remote control" software--as Sony in fact does--rather than "robust tethering" software.

--Chris