sonya7s

Astrophotographer Reviews the Google Pixel 4’s Astro Mode

Astrophotographer Ian Norman of Lonely Speck recently got his hands on a Google Pixel 4 XL for testing, so he took it out to Joshua Tree National Park to see how well the "Astrophotography Mode" on this smartphone compares to shooting with a "real" camera.

These Guys Launched a Sony a7S Into the Stratosphere to Shoot the Aurora

The folks at Night Crew Labs just created something awesome. In March, they strapped a Sony a7S and an external recorder to a weather balloon, and launched it up to about 78,000 feet. From there, they captured what they believe to be the "first ever" video of the Aurora Borealis from the stratosphere.

The Star Eater Issue: Why I No Longer Recommend Sony Cameras for Astrophotography

Sony makes excellent cameras. In the last few years, they launched a completely new full frame camera system that has pushed the bounds of digital photography. I switched entirely to Sony gear after first seeing the tremendous low-light capability of their a7S and have enjoyed many outings shooting astrophotography on many different Sony camera bodies since.

Hacking a 19th Century Lens Onto a Sony a7S

When beautiful vintage photographic technology meets state-of-the-art photo equipment, the results are almost always interesting. Case in point, check out this frankencamera created by graphic designer Arber Marra using his Sony a7S and a 19th century lens he found at a flea market.

Exploring a Dark Underwater Cave in Mexico at ISO 50000

Another wonderful example of how technology is helping photographers and videographers capture unexplored beauty on camera. This video might not be possible if it weren't for the Sony A7s and its impressive High ISO capabilities.

I Do Wedding Photography with the Sony a7S

My name is David Weightman, and I do wedding photography as Married to My Camera. As my brand name suggests, I’m rather attached to one camera! Due to the documentary style of wedding photography I practice, I feel it’s more important that I know my camera inside out, rather than upgrade constantly to the latest model on the market.

I put being able to react quickly and “get the shot” above all else. Having said that, last year I decided to add the Sony Alpha a7S to my bag (or should I say hip). I’m still shooting with an SLR, but when I began to research the Sony mirrorless system I found that there were a number of features that would allow me to shoot where I had so far been struggling with the SLR.

These Guys Sent a Sony A7s to 91,000 Feet from SF on a Weather Balloon

A group of 5 friends recently attached 5 cameras to a stratospheric weather balloon and launched it from the Presidio in San Francisco. The rig traveled to 91,470 above Northern California, popped, and then landed over 100 miles away.

The aerial photos and videos it captured are remarkable, showing sweeping views of San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.

This is How Good the Sony a7S is with Low Light and High ISO

The highly-regarded Sony a7S is known to be a monster in low-light situations, a fact demonstrated by a number of short films have used moonlight as the only light source. Those projects are eye-opening, but another way to see just how good the camera's high ISO quality is is to compare it with other well-known cameras.

That's what photographer Tony Northrup does in the short 1-minute comparison above, pitting the a7S against the Nikon D810 and Sony a7 II at various ISOs.

‘Refuge’: The First Narrative Film Shot with Moonlight at ISO 51,200

The short film above, titled 'Refuge,' is the world's first narrative short film that was filmed entirely with moonlight. Director Sam Shapson shot the entire 7-minute story using the powerful little Sony A7s at ISO 51,200.

"On an off-world biosphere, biological researchers suspect their newly developed ecosystems may be adapting in unexpected ways," the tagline says. (Warning: the film contains very strong language and violence.)

Capturing Big Sur Under Moonlight: Testing the Sony A7s with 4K at ISO 40,000

Photographer Justin Majeczky wanted to test the 4K low-light capabilities of the Sony A7s for a short film he's planning to shoot this summer, so he took the camera and an Atomos Shogun out to the Big Sur coastline of California in the dead of night to see what the camera could do under moonlight. The video above was captured at ISO 40,000.

Watch the Northern Lights Dance Over Norway in Real-Time for 5 Breathtaking Minutes

If you're like us, seeing the Aurora Borealis in person is high on your bucket list... quite possibly right at the top. The idea of watching this spectacular natural light show in real-time is thrilling, and while you don't get there sitting on your couch reading this, the video above by Ole C. Salomonsen of Arctic Light Photo is about as close as you're likely to get without being there in person.

Captured over the course of several months in Norway, Salomonsen has compiled the best of the best real-time footage he was able to capture with the Sony a7S into 5 minutes of northern lights bliss.

Sony A7s Video Shot Using Only Moonlight Looks Like it Was Captured at Dawn

It's no mystery that the Sony A7s kicks every other camera's butt handily when it comes to low-light shooting, but just how capable is it? And what's the creative potential of this sort of capability? Both of those questions are answered quite impressively in the aptly-titled 'Moonlight,' shot with the A7s using only moonlight.

Sony a7S Astrophotography Review

As soon as the Sony a7S was announced, I knew I had to try it for astrophotography. With a full frame sensor and ISO 409600, is it the best low light camera out there?

Sony’s A7s Takes on Canon’s 5D Mark III in Side-by-Side Low-Light Test

So far, all of the Sony A7s high-ISO tests we've seen -- from your standard static test to some beautiful production-level footage -- have only shown the A7s. There have been no side-by-side comparisons to show if this really is outperforming the competition substantially, or if it only seems like it is.

Sony’s A7s Put Through a Production Level Low Light Test, Continues to Impress

We’ve shown you the incredible low-light capabilities of Sony’s 4K-capable A7s camera before. But for the most part, the previously-released tests were fairly static and didn't offer much in way of production-level footage.

EOS HD's Yosh Enatsu took note of this fact, and decided to put together an impressive production-level comparison to show you just how well this mirrorless beast can handle the dark.

Sony Reveals Insane A7s Low-Light Demo, But How Much Will Night Vision Cost?

With only a 12-megapixel sensor and ISO expandable all the way up to 409,600 for both stills and video, everybody knew that that the Sony A7s was going to be a low-light beast... and yet the performance is still taking us by surprise.

Yesterday a short demo video shot at NAB was shared online to a plethora of "oohs" and "aahs," and today, the Sony How To YouTube channel released yet another mind-blowing demonstration of the camera's night-vision capabilities.

Live Stream: Watch Sony Announce the 4K Full-Frame 12MP A7s Live at NAB

Normally, when a camera announcement is about to drop, we wait for the official word and then summarize the good parts for you in a post. But since it's Sunday evening and rumor has it this is a fairly video-specific announcement, we thought we'd do something a bit different.

In 30 minutes, Sony's NAB presentation is set to go live, and instead of watching that ourselves and then telling you about the Sony A7s that will supposedly be announced, we thought we'd just let you watch it for yourself. And if you're checking this late, don't worry: the embed will have a link to the replay so you can watch the presentation, too.