Quality of internal recording compared to external recorders

In this lesson we’ll record a piece of audio directly to the Sony a7S II, and then to the Tascam DR-60D recorder. Here are the results for your comparison*: Recorded to Sony a7S II sample Recorded to Tascam DR-60D sample *No processing has been done. The hiss is from the system itself, probably the microphone … Read more

Recommended ND filters

This lesson is common to the a7R II and a7S II cameras. There are five kinds of ND filters: Threaded Variable ND filters Threaded ND filters 2mm square filters (4×4, for still photography) 4mm rectangular filters (4×4, 4×5.6, 6×6) for matte boxes Specialty filters, like for super-wides, gelatins and drop-in filters, etc. Before I get into recommendations, … Read more

Tackling the problem of IR Pollution

This lesson is equally relevant to both the Sony a7R II and a7S II. Before we can look into ND filters, we’ll need to know what kind of ND filter to buy. The first important classification, one which certainly affects the price, is whether or not we need ‘hot mirror’ or IR ND filters. Every … Read more

Vizelex ND Throttle Review

This is the complete and comprehensive review of the Vizelex ND Throttle (sold by Fotodiox Pro – B&H, Amazon) for the Sony a7R II, a7S II and a7II. I am specifically reviewing the Nikon G to NEX version, and results may be pertinent only to my copy. Your mileage may vary. What is the ND Throttle? The ND … Read more

How to choose ND filters for the Sony a7S II

There are two parts to this question: What ND filters for non-S-Log2/S-Log3 modes? What ND filters for S-Log2/S-Log3 modes? ND Filters for non-Slog-2/S-Log3 modes The Sony a7S II records video normally in a range of 100 ISO and up (except for Cine4, which starts at 200 ISO). Here are some general lighting scenarios from real life (Shutter is at … Read more

How to choose ND filters for the Sony a7R II

There are two parts to this question: What ND filters for non-S-Log2 modes? What ND filters for S-Log2 modes? ND Filters for non-Slog-2 modes The Sony a7R II records video normally in a range of 100 ISO and up (except for Cine4, which starts at 200 ISO). Here are some general lighting scenarios from real life (Shutter is at … Read more

Cine lenses

In this lesson we’ll take a look at cine primes and zooms. For information on the Sony 28-135mm cine zoom, please refer to the lesson on Sony lenses. If you need help in deciding on a cine lens as opposed to a still camera lens, read what is a cine lens and how is it … Read more

Third-party zoom lenses

In this lesson we’ll specifically look at third-party zoom lenses. For Sony lenses or cine zooms, please refer to the other lessons. For the sake of simplicity we can classify zoom ranges into the following: Everything, like a 24-240mm or something. Super wide, like the 14-24mm f/2.8, etc. Wide, like the 16-35mm f/4, etc. Standard … Read more