As World Cup Fever sweeps across the soccer world, I jumped at the chance to head down to Brazil, to put the new Sony A7S (Amazon | B&H) through the paces for a week. Sony wisely positioned the 12.2mp Sony A7S to meet the demands of photographers who want low noise at extremely high ISOs joining the 24.3mp Sony A7 (Amazon | B&H) and 36.4mp Sony A7R (Amazon | B&H) in Sony’s line-up of fullframe mirrorless cameras.

This seems like a great strategy – just like offering different films for different lighting.

In theory, the A7S would appear to be the perfect choice when shooting in low light, while the A7R would be the perfect choice for maximum detail and resolution (See A7R Field Test).

Would they play together like a great team, each complimenting the others’ strengths? I packed up the A7S along with my A7R and headed to Brazil to find out.

Game On

Cornell Grads hit the beach in Natal, Brazil before the match against Ghana
Sony A7S | FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS at 24mm | 1/500 | F/5 | ISO 200

Turns out that Ghana Fans L-O-V-E Bruce Willis Movies. Who knew?
Sony A7S | SAL 70-400mm F4-5.6 G II at 90mm with LA-EA4 adapter | 1/200 | F/5 | ISO 6400
(CLICK TO SEE 100% CROP)

Sony A7S | SAL 70-400mm F4-5.6 G II at 110mm using LA-EA4 adapter | 1/125 | F/5 | ISO 2500

Team USA celebrates Clint Dempsey’s World Cup goal against Ghana.
Sony A7S | SAL 70-400mm F4-5.6 G II at 210mm using LA-EA4 adapter | 1/320 | F/5 | ISO 3200

Futbol Fever

Kickin’ it in the favela in Natal, Brazil
Sony A7S | FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS at 55mm | 1/640 | F/8 | ISO 800

Futbol on the beach in Natal, Brazil
Sony A7S | FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS at 200mm | 1/1000 | F/5 | ISO 200

Futbol Mural in Rio de Janeiro’s Horto neighborhood
Sony A7S | FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS at 55mm | 1/200 | F/5 | ISO 200

King of Pop and Futbol collide in Favela Santa Marta, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Sony A7S | FE 35mm F2.8 ZA | 1/250 | F/4 | ISO 800

Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro
Sony A7S | FE 35mm F2.8 ZA | 1/800 | F/8 | ISO 400

A7S and A7R Play Well Together

Just as I had hoped, having both the A7S and A7R in my bag proved to be the perfect combination of speed and resolution. The A7S, like the A7, has electronic front curtain shutter so the response time is a beat faster than A7R which is a plus for shooting action. For portraits I love the A7R, so shortly after shooting football on Ipanema Beach with the A7S, I pulled one of the players aside for a quick portrait with with the A7R.

Sony A7R | FE 55mm F1.8 ZA | 1/100 | F/11 | ISO 200

On a rainy morning, I headed out to shoot action of surfers using the Sony A7S and FE 70-400mm F4-5.6


Sony A7S | SAL 70-400mm F4-5.6 G II at 400mm using LA-EA4 adapter | 1/500 | F/6.3 | ISO 800

…and grabbed this shot surfers with the A7R and 35mm hanging around my neck.

Sony A7R | FE 35mm F2.8 ZA | 1/100 | F/9 | ISO 200

When Resolution Counts

It’s fairly likely that 90 percent of the time you’ll be just fine with the resolution of a 12.2mp camera – but for those times you need more detail – no 35mm digital camera beats the resolution of the Sony A7R. This makes it the perfect camera to pair with the A7S when you want more detail in massive 4×6 foot prints

Sony A7R | FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS at 24mm | 1/30 | F/4 | ISO 200

Sony A7R | FE 35mm F2.8 ZA | 1/125 | F/8 | ISO 100

Sony A7R | FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS at 200mm | 1/800 | F/7.1 | ISO 100

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EQUIPMENT LIST:

Sony A7S Camera (Amazon | B&H)
Sony A7R Camera (Amazon | B&H)
Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Lens (Amazon | B&H)
Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Lens (Amazon | B&H)
Sony FE 24-70mm F4 ZA Lens (Amazon | B&H)
Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS Lens (Amazon | B&H)
Sony LA-EA4 Lens Mount Adapter (Amazon | B&H)
Sony SAL 70-400mm F4-5.6 G II Lens (Amazon | B&H)
Sony Sling Bag Carrying Case (Amazon | B&H)
Sony Alpha DSLR Camera/15″ Laptop Backpack (Amazon | B&H)
Sony 32GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Cards (Amazon | B&H)
Processed in Adobe Lightroom 5 (Amazon | B&H)

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SONY A7S FIELD TEST: PART 1 – WORLD CUP FUTBOL FEVER
SONY A7S FIELD TEST: PART 2 – HIGH ISO. LOW NOISE.
SONY A7S FIELD TEST: PART 3 – HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE
SONY A7S FIELD TEST: PART 4 – FAST FOCUS IN LOW LIGHT
SONY A7S FIELD TEST: PART 5 – SILENT SHOOTING MODE

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CONTINUE TO PART 2 – HIGH ISO. LOW NOISE

 

For more tips and tricks about getting the most out of your Sony a7 series camera, check out my book ‘Sony a7-Series: From Snapshots to Great Shots’. It’s your guide to all of the Sony a7 Series I & II cameras. While the camera manual explains what the camera can do, it doesn’t show how to use the camera to create great images! Starting with the Top Ten things users need to know about the cameras, author Brian Smith, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and Sony Artisan of Imagery, carefully guides you through the operating features of Sony a7, a7R, a7S, a7II and a7RII and how to use them. Get practical advice from a pro on which settings to use when, great shooting tips, and assignments at end of chapter to practice what you’ve just learned.
‘Sony A7 Series: From Snapshots to Great Shots’ is available NOW from Amazon

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