So extreme amatuer photo enthusiast here. Been shooting on Pentax cameras for a while now but want to make a move to full frame. I have decided to make an account here to join this loverly community and to learn more about Sony cameras. I have researched endless amounts of info from communities around the interwebz and I am interested in getting an A7s because it seems good for what I do. I do some video work with my DSLRs every now and again and a lot of the time in the dark.
However, every camera has a weakness that you want altered slightly and this thread is just for fun. It is not an attempt to start a rumour or revolution. It's plainly something for the community to put out brains together and do some wishful thinking.
This is what I envision Sony should implement in a new camera. I don't know whether anyone from Sony actually sees any of this but I don't care. I'm not pushing this idea to their R&D or anything. If it happens to get implemented then I'll be happy and it will be an instabuy from me regardless of price. All the key specs will be highlighted in bold.
The camera I am after must have a good ISO performance and decent megapixel count and do 4K video internally. Obviously there is a balancing act to be had here so:
Full frame 25 MP sensor 6144 x 4096
There are two reasons I chose this megapixel count. It has larger photosites than the 36 MP sensor on the A7r giving the potential for more light absobtion at lower ISOs for better noise. Second is the APS-C or Super35mm crop mode. At 1.5x crop, a sensor of this size is reduced to:
APS-C/Super35mm mode: 4096 x 2730 (4:3 aspect ratio)
Note the horizontal resolution. This allows for 1:1 DCI 4K recording at 4096 x 2160 or UHD 3840 x 2160. Many readers will already see where this is going. For this camera, lets call it the A7x, someone can snap top quality 25MP stills and then switch down to APS-C mode and record 4K video without pixel-binning or line-skipping. The benefits here are the ability to also use unadapted E-mount APS-C lenses or adapted APS-C lenses like the amazing Sigma 18-35 f1.8. Even better, with the Metabones SpeedBooster, one can adapt all of Canon's full frame lenses to the APS-C size for video with an extra stop of light. In addition most Arri PL mount as well as Canon Cine lenses are Super35 and thus cover the 4K recording area so with the appropriate adapter, the possibilities are endless.
1080p in both FF and APS-C modes 24/25/30/50/60 (all the usuals, region permitting)
Finally, with some tweaks to the body and changes to the heatsink, I hope there would be a possibility of:
Internal 4K recording 8 bit 4:2:2 in XAVC-S
I am being realistic here, 10 bit 4:4:4 in ProRes would obviously be much better but I don't think internally that is a possibility at the moment on any DSLR/mirrorless. And to be honest, if I needed the Atomos Shogun for the 4K, so be it. I would be content with just having 4K Super35.
The rest of the specs I'm not too bothered about. Obviously a decent ISO range and effective autofocus when using native lenses. Perhaps a full tilt and swivel screen with touch.
To summarise, if this camera existed, I could see my kit bag being:
Sony A7x
Vario Tessar 24-70 f4 + 70-200 f4 and (If I wanted to go the native route)
or
Tamron EF 24-70 f2.8 + Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS ii both adapted with a regular Metabones adapter plus the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 also on the same adapter when the camera is in APS-C mode, and then get the SpeedBooster for when shooting video using FF lenses.
If I wanted to go hardcore cinema I could slap the SpeedBooster on a Canon Cine Prime (because they have FF coverage) and use a regular adapter for Arri PL lenses or Canon Cine Zooms (because they have Super35 coverage). Like I said possibilities are endless!
Sorry about this long first post. Please let me know your thoughts, whether this is too good to be true etc. I'm open to any input good or bad. Or even just letting me know that this camera exists somewhere and I have just missed it!
