Sony A7s specs and price

Sony has announced the world’s first “affordable” 4K camera with a full frame sensor, the Sony A7s. As you can see in the specs below the mirrorless shooter will capture 1080p at 50mbps, making the A7s a broadcast spec camera. Full HD (1920×1080) video can be recorded at a 60p frame rate; for the ultra-high, 120fps shooting mode, you’ll have to lower the resolution to 1280×720. As far as codecs are concerned, in addition to AVCHD and MP4, Sony has adopted the XAVC S format, which allows for full HD recording at a 50 mbps data rate with lower compression. If you want to capture 4K you’ll need an external recorder. Atomos have built a device specifically for the Sony A7s, the Atomos Shogun, for $2,000. If you want to purchase the Shogun and the A7s together the price is $5,000 (making the A7s, around $3,000 alone).

The A7s’ 12.2 megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor is paired with Sony’s BIONZ X image processor, giving the camera an enormous sensitivity range of ISO 50 – 409600, meaning the camera can shoot 4K video in almost complete darkness (although we question how good this will look at the top end of that ISO).

A7s Spec Highlights:

Still resolution: 12.2 megapixels
Video resolution in-camera: 1080p60 and 720p120 (120 fps in 720p but only in APS-C crop mode) 8-bit 4:2:0
Video resolution using an external recorder via HDMI: UHDp30 (That’s 3840×2160); Clean HDMI 8-bit 4:2:2
Incredible ISO range: 50-409,600 (200-102400 for video)
Codec: XAVC-S at 50 Mbps (AVCHD 28 Mbps, MP4 too); Audio LPCM and AC-3
Gamma: S-Log2 gamma
Create your own picture profiles: Yes!
Synchronous recording: Yes!!
XLR: Possible with an adapter
Timecode: Yes!
Cropping or line skipping: No! The entire sensor is used. Full pixel read-out without pixel binning
Other important features: Audio Level Display, Audio Rec Level, Dual video recording, video levels, etc.
Media: SDHC, SDXC and Memory Stick
One important difference in the construction compared to the Sony A7 and A7r:The A7s has a stainless steel E-mount, specifically designed to withstand the load of heavier lenses.

Here’s the official launch video:

Here’s the official reel:

And some more detail on the $2,000 Shogun external recorder for the Sony A7s:

The Shogun is currently the only 4K HDMI recording solution that can take full advantage of the new A7S’s full 35mm ultra-sensitive 12 mega pixel ?video sensor, clean HDMI out, 120 fps HD and custom HDMI timecode and start/stop trigger. The Atomos Shogun is the world’s first 4K HDMI and 12G SDI monitor recorder and deck. With clean HDMI out direct to 4K ProRes onto single SSDs or RAIDed HDDs … this combination at under $5K is the most compelling video solution on the market today. Like the Samurai and Ninja Blade, Shogun allows the recording of pristine, 422 10-bit images straight from the camera sensor captured using 4K/HD ProRes, Uncompressed RAW Cinema DNG or Avid DNxHD codecs. Waveform and monitor assist tools such as luma parade, vectorscope and tri-level focus peaking offer a very comprehensive test and shot setup tool kit.

Sony A7s specs and price