Sony A7S Low Light, High ISO Test

Sony A7S Low Light, High ISO Test

Sony hired Director of Photography Den Lennie several months ago to put a prototype Sony A7S through its paces in Mid March, and to make an amazing demonstration film of just what this incredible A7S Low Light new camera was capable of. Mr. Lennie was a wise choice for Sony to make, as his work is meticulous as was his production technique with the A7S Low Light capability. While this A7S low light video has certainly stirred quite a bit of controversy, Mr. Lennie assures the skeptics in this follow up video that his prior effort is indeed real, and further that the new Sony A7S low light shooting ability makes it more camera than the venerable Canon 5D Mark III. A tall order, and a big claim!

Claims such as this are a dime a dozen online. This media is, after all, accessible to anyone with a small budget and the desire to post content. So who is this Den Lennie, and why should we trust his judgement on the A7S Low Light capability? At the last count, Den Lennie has shot over 3500 interviews in 50 countries. He has shot A List celebrities, The British Royal Family, drama, short films, Live Tv, Music videos, commercials, travel, sport, documentaries, news, current affairs, and politics, to name but a few. Mr. Lennie has far more than the requisite 10,000 hours of hands on practice it takes to master any of the arts.

Den has worked in the industry for over 20 years and in every major TV genre conceivable, including Music,Documentary, Travel, Sport, Factual & Entertainment. He has worked as an Lighting Cameraman, Director of Photography, Producer, Director, Editor and Colourist and has first-hand experience of every part of the industry and how to create stand – out work. Den is a Sony Independent Certified Expert, A Tiffen Image Maker, and in 2012, was the first official global ambassador for Carl Zeiss Lenses. I’d also call him an A7S low light expert as well, given that he has spent quite a bit more time with the A7S than anybody else alive shooting it in a production environment for pay. Den has this camera down, and is very open and willing to share that information with anyone interested in listening to him speak about it. I was fortunate to be at the product launch at NAB, so got the chance to meet and hear Den speak about the camera. At this point, I’d be safe in saying that Den knows even more about using the A7S than Sony’s own technical support and marketing information people do. They don’t have one yet!

In light of all of this, I guess it is safe to say that if Den Lennie says this new Sony A7S is a better camera than my 5D Mark III, the opinion is coming from a credible source. I like the form factor of the A7S better myself. I confirmed also for myself at the NAB show the truth of the excellent high ISO images, as I got to shoot one of the prototypes and have a look at the files. That is the first time I have ever shot an image at an ISO over 50,000, and with amazingly reasonable quality! The revolution is ready to start. Now Sony just needs to get the price set and decide when they are going to get this new wonder cam in the hands of egger filmmakers.

Here is the film Den Lennie made for the A7S launch event.