The Sony Alpha SLT A77, certainly the hottest hybrid camera currently on the market, class leading resolution in an APS C size sensor, unrivaled full time AF in movie and still mode, in body image stabilization during still and video takes, 1080/60p at 28mbps and 1080/24p at 24mbps , no corresponding frame rate/shutter speed limitations (allows you to shoot at lower shutter speeds then the selected frame rate) makes the A77 a very capable (and creative) video camera in good light. But one basic question remained, can the A77 deliver the goods in extreme low light? more after the break
How does it handle noise, will the image fall apart? A few things to remember when watching this clip, Sony’s crop factor during video mode changes to 1.86, this places the effective sensor size between the M43 Panasonic GH2 (crop factor 2) and the Canon 7D (crop factor 1.6). Now I am comparing it to Canon 5D mark II, a full frame sensor, known for its excellent low light video quality! You might argue this is not a fair test and I totally agree, comparing the latest Sony sensor to the aging Canon sensor, not fair at all, and you might just be as surprised as I was looking at the results :D. Keep in mind this is not a scientific test, I am only interested in real life situations and since I enjoy shooting with the A77 I had to satisfy my own curiosity to see how well this new sensor performs at night. I also compared Canon’s ISO 3200 and ISO 6400 against Sony’s highest ISO setting of 1600 towards the end of this clip. Overall, I never expected it to hold up as well as it did against the 5D2! One thing to keep in mind while watching these clips, you will notice depth of field on the 5D2 is much shallower then on the A77 (you will also notice Sony’s ISO rating appears to be about 1/3 stop higher then Canon’s, ISO 200=250 and so on, which explains the obvious exposure difference). I am a big fan of shallow depth of field and there is no way the A77 can rival the 5D2 recording on a sensor almost half its size, covering a similar field of view, however, shallow depth of field is not everything and I prefer the A77 for landscape/cityscape, documentary work, run&gun type shoots over the 5D2.
Check the following links to see what I have been shooting with the A77, Studio Fashion video, studio fashion editorial (stills), messenger bag video, portraits in Africa.
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Thank you, Bawambi. Tough call, depends what you are shooting, as a rule, always go with the better lens, in this case the 2.8.
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Thanks so much for this. I am in the middle of making the vast upgrade from idiot/phone cameras to a low professional grade camera and this is exceedingly helpful. I am leaning toward the A77 but am now very curious about the lens kit provided. At J&R they offered a 2.8 lens for $600 with the A77 and a 3.5 lens with the 7D for around $300. Would you recommend just buying the body at this point and getting a better lens later or can I get the best deal by taking the lens that comes with the camera I choose?
Hi Wassili, I usually set the sharpness to -3 or 0 on all my cameras for video and I use the unsharp mask in post. However, I did notice sometimes it is better to set the sharpness in camera, esp for city/landscapes. I don’t think there is one general rule that can be applied, it is very subject depend, experiment around. I hope this helps.
Hi Mike, do you have any recommendations on what settings to use when shooting video in auto? I mean settings like sharpness, for example. I’m basically trying to get the videos I’m getting from the A77 to look more crisp. I find them a bit soft and sometimes not looking like HD video at all. It may have to do with the noise reduction the camera is applying. I’m saying this because I also own a Sony Camcorder and when I compare its 1080p 50/60 videos with the ones from the A77 they look more crisp but have slightly more noise or grain. Have you experimented around with trying to get the videos you shoot with the A77 to look more crisp. I don’t mean at night like your test video here but at regular daylight. One guy suggested setting the sharpness to -3 and in editing using an overlay clip with opacity set at 50%.
premierpro
What software did you use for the dolor grading?? Thanks!
thanks Gary, if you get a chance, go to a store and take a look through the viewfinder and see if you like the EVF, I think it is fantastic, but it is not everybody’s cup of tea
Great work, as a keen amateur I am looking to upgrade existing (antique by now) Canon and to be fair had never heared of this model before reading this, many thanks.
yeah man, I was surprised how good it is in low light, doubtful Sony will raise the ISO limit, I am not too concerned about it, ISO 1600 really is the equivalent of ISO 2000 on the Canon, I rarely go beyond 1600, the higher you go the harder it is to color correct/grade.
thanks for reminding me Francisco, I will update the post, I used kit lenses on both, for the Canon, the 24 105mm at F4 and for the Sony, the 16 50mm at f4
Hey Mike, and what about the lens of each system? I think that’s also important to know don’t you think?
The A77 does indeed deliver the goods
I hope they raise the ISO limit to 3200 or 6400 in the future. Can’t wait until I get the chance to order mine!
hey mike, grading just means slight color corrections. in this case, I tried to match the footage of both cameras to get a similar feel, minor curve adjustments
Hi what does graded
an ungraded mean thanks
love your work
thanks Chris, that’s how it started, I had planned to shoot a model and show skin tones at high iso, she got a booking and took off to La….will definitely do a studio comparison once she gets back
Great test, Mike. Personally, I think that the 5D Mk II’s images looked more like actual film and personally, I like that more. While I understand that this was just a quick test, I’d love to see this test redone with off-camera lighting and with a model to judge skin tones.
Thanks again for this.
no preference grading these clips, pretty even match, I would say
I think I like the colors better on A77 before grading? Mike what camera did you find easier to grade?
Thanks for the test.