This is the Sony A7 four.
This is the Sony A7 S3.
And if you film weddings or documentaries or other videos like that,
you're probably wondering which one of these two cameras should you buy?
Hey, my name is Matt Johnson.
And today I want to break down the differences between these two cameras
and help you figure out which one you should purchase for your filmmaking.
And also, before you get started, if you have bought either of these cameras
and you're wanting to get it set up as fast as possible
with the best settings for video, I have set up guides
for both of these cameras
as well as set up preset files that you can download and immediately
install to get your cameras set up and working properly.
I willing to those videos up in the corner and down in the video description
jumping right into it.
Then the first thing that you're going to notice when you look at these two cameras
is that their size, weight and body style are both incredibly similar.
Heck, looking at the front of these cameras,
you can't even tell really which one is which other than the label.
You have to look at the top
to find the new mode, dial and locking exposure wheel on the A7 four.
Or you can take the lens off
and see that the A7 four will actually close the shutter.
Now, when the camera's turned off to prevent dust
from getting on the sensor, these are all great improvements,
especially that closed shutter, but they aren't dramatically different.
And this is a good thing because Sony did a really great job with the A7 s three
and I think that it has a great body style for the A7 four to emulate.
The similarity between these two cameras continues when you turn them
on where you're presented with nearly the exact same menu system and interface.
To be clear, Sony has added a few new features, which we're going to talk about.
But for the most part it's all very similar.
So what are the big differences then?
Well, by far the most noticeable difference
is going to come with everyone's favorite word, mega pixels.
Yes. While the A7 S3 only
has a 12 megapixel full frame sensor,
the A7 four has a much higher three megapixel full frame sensor.
While people typically think of megapixels really only applying to photo,
not video.
And we are focusing on video features in this video.
There are two things that I would keep in mind in regards to megapixels.
First, and most obvious is that if you're a photographer
that dabbles in video and you typically find yourself printing out
very large resolution images, in that case, I would definitely recommend
the A7 four as those megapixels are definitely going to help you.
Second and lesser known though is that these extra megapixels
on the A7 four even help filmmakers because whenever you film in 4K at 24
or 30 frames per second, the A7 four will actually use those extra megapixels
to internally sample the video from seven K to 4K resolution,
which means the A7 four is actually going to be sharper
and look a bit better than footage filmed with the A7 s three.
Likewise, if you film in 4K at 60 frames per second,
this will be oversampled from 4.8 K, which is still a slight bump in quality.
To be clear, you're not going to see a huge difference in image quality
between these two cameras. They're both very good.
So I would not base your purchase decision around this, but it is a nice bonus
that I want you to be aware of sticking on this resolution tray now.
And speaking of frame rates, we do need to talk about another area
where the A7 four and A7 SE three are quite different
and that is in regards to high frame rate video.
If you're filming at 24 or 30 frames per second,
these two cameras are basically the same.
But once you decide you want to film in higher frame rates,
they diverge quickly, with the biggest difference being that
whenever you switch to 60 frames per second, the A7
S3 will keep right on truckin with its full frame sensor.
But the A7 four, on the other hand, is going to add
a 1.5 times crop to your footage.
This is definitely significantly tighter and you're going to need to use wider
lenses to compensate if you oftentimes find yourself filming in 4K at 60 apps.
As for why Sony did this, there are multiple theories out there,
including that Sony wanted to weaken the video capabilities of the A7
for a little bit so filmmakers would spend more money on the A7 s three.
But I really think that it all came down to Sony
wanting to put those extra megapixels in the A7 four,
and then they were possibly not able to hit the heat
levels and price that they wanted to hit to include 4K 60.
Wrapping up things in regards to frame rate,
one of the biggest differences between the A7 S three and A7 four
is that the A7 four maxes out at 4K at 60 frames per second while the A7 has three
can go even higher and record 4K at up to 120 frames per second.
If you're someone that loves filming in super slow motion,
going with the A7 s three is a great choice over the A7 four.
In addition, the A7 S3 is also capable of recording in ten ADP at up to 240
frames per second, while the A7 four is limited to ten AP and up to 120 FP.
So you're going to get extra slow motion in ten HP with the A7 s three.
And lastly, the A7 four does have worse rolling shutter than the A7 S3
most likely due to that much higher Resolution 33 megapixel sensor.
So if you're someone that films super shaky handheld
all the time, the A7 S3 is the better choice.
These frame rate and resolution.
Differences aside, though,
I do want to make it very clear that from a video quality standpoint,
the A7 four and A7 S3 are still quite similar
with both having the capability of recording very high quality ten bit
video with the same exact bitrates formats
and picture profiles like a slug three.
The video quality is similar enough between these two cameras
that it will be virtually impossible for anyone to tell
which of the two of them you filmed with, especially if you mix your footage.
I've done it and to my eye they look the same.
That said, though, there is a bit of a difference
between these two cameras in how they handle low light.
I say a bit because the A7 S3 is still very clearly the low light king,
but the A7 S3 doesn't really begin to outperform the A7 for
until you get above ISO 25,600 or so,
meaning that if you don't commonly find yourself going above that ISO,
you can feel confident filming
with either one of these cameras in darker conditions.
There's also a difference in how these cameras handle memory cards,
which will affect you.
If you're someone that likes to duel, record your videos to multiple
memory cards so you do not lose your video in the event of a card failure.
I always recommend dual recording.
The difference is that while the A7 s three has two memory card slots that work
with both SD cards and Cfexpress type cards, the A7 four,
on the other hand, has one slot that can take SD and CFEXPRESS
and another slot that is only capable of taking SD cards.
This means that if you want to dual record two
two memory cards, which, as I said, I highly recommend
you are going to need to use two SD cards not to see if express cards.
Thankfully,
the majority of bitrates and resolutions are all going to be recordable.
Two SD cards on the A7 four.
So you don't really need to worry about using CFEXPRESS,
but if you're interested in knowing exactly what memory cards you should buy
and which memory cards will work with every setting of the camera,
I have memory card guide videos for both the A7 four and A7 s three
that I will link to in the corner and down in the video description for you
to watch.
Talking Pro of the A7 four over the A7 s three here for a second,
Sony did add four cool new features to the A7 four
that aren't on the A7 s three these being animal I detect autofocus
for video focus breathing compensation four lenses
a focus map to help with manual focus and a variable anti flicker mode.
So if you film animals often you're going to love the animal I detect.
And if you use Sony lenses
that have a lot of focus breathing like the 35 millimeter GM,
the focus breathing compensation feature on the A7 four
is going to be something that you're going to want to have turned on all the time.
It's pretty magical.
Also, if you use manual focus, you may get some use out of the focus map.
Lastly, if you find yourself filming in a lot of low light conditions
where there are a lot of flickering lights,
that anti flicker feature is really nice to have.
So these are four great features that I'm hoping and dreaming.
One day Sony may add the A7 has three, but I don't necessarily think
that they make the A7 for a must buy over the S three.
That is, unless you exclusively film animals, at which point
go for the animal I detect.
Now there is one big difference that we need to talk about
in regards to these two cameras, and that is in regards to overheating.
While both the A7 s three
and A7 four both have the same passive cooling system inside
because the A7 four has a higher megapixel sensor that requires more processing,
it is more susceptible to overheating than the A7 s three.
When I tested the A7 s three,
I was able to leave it outside in the blazing 100 plus degree Texas heat,
and it would record in 4K at 60 frames per second indefinitely with the A7 four.
On the other hand,
while I personally have not been able to make it overheat when filming with it,
I've heard reports from other filmmakers that they have experienced overheating
with the camera.
So if that's a concern for you, I would definitely look into buying an A7 s three
or if you really want to guarantee that you won't overheat even in 4K at 120
fabs, go for the S three wrapping of this comparison.
Then let's talk about the price between these two cameras,
which is definitely something important to consider
at the time of making this video.
The A7 s three is selling for 3500 bucks,
while the A7 four is significantly cheaper at 2500.
As we've just talked about in this entire video,
there are definitely some differences between these two cameras,
but they also have a ton in common as well,
which means that the question that it all comes down to is,
is the Sony A7 S3 worth $1,000 more than the A7 for
that decision is going to be ultimately up to you and your budget.
But if it was me having used both these cameras and loved them,
here's what I would do.
If you are just getting started as a filmmaker
and you are building out your kit
and you still have a lot to buy like lenses, tripods, gimbals, etc.
In that case, I think saving 1000 bucks and going for the A7 four
is a great choice, especially whenever you consider that you're getting
very similar picture quality between these two cameras.
Likewise, if you find yourself doing a mix of photo
and video, in that case, I think that the A7 four is a fantastic
all around photo and video camera that I would go with as well.
But if you focus primarily on filmmaking and you want to record
high frame rate videos with amazing low light performance,
I still think that the A7 s three is completely worth it.
And this is personally the camera that I use day to day with that.
Thank you so much for watching.
If you want to learn more about Sony cameras,
I have a lot of videos about Sony, which I will link to down
in the video description.
In addition, if you use your camera to film weddings, which I know
that I've touched on a bit in this video, I would love to help you out even more
so I've created a free guide called Level Up Your Wedding Films.
If you want to improve the quality of your films
and get more bookings, regardless of which camera you are using,
this guide is going to show you some of the biggest
and most important things you can do when recreating wedding films.
You can download it for free at the link down below.
Also down below I will link to my color presets,
which work amazingly with both the A7 three and A7 four.
I've tested them extensively and they look great and as a plus they work.
Regardless of whether you are filming
in a standard picture profile or in Slug three.
Thanks so much for watching and have a great day.