Review of the Sony A7S

[axle01]

I have a A7s modded and because I'm in Nth Queensland Australia where temperatures never get below 10* C in winter more likely around 14* C on average and 25*C in summer.

I've been thinking of removing the LCD screen completely or relocating it on a mount off to one side.

The camera is connected to a 14" monitor for imaging and I never use the LCD.

I was thinking if I could remove or reposition the LCD and glue a Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler and fan on the back of the camera to cool it.

So thoughts please.

Alan

[sharkmelley]

I have a A7s modded and because I'm in Nth Queensland Australia where temperatures never get below 10* C in winter more likely around 14* C on average and 25*C in summer.

I've been thinking of removing the LCD screen completely or relocating it on a mount off to one side.

The camera is connected to a 14" monitor for imaging and I never use the LCD.

I was thinking if I could remove or reposition the LCD and glue a Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler and fan on the back of the camera to cool it.

So thoughts please.

Alan

As far as I can see, the LCD is not required if you are happy to use an external monitor.  The camera works without it, as I found out when I accidently failed to reconnect the LCD ribbon cable last time I took it apart.

But how effective would it be to cool only the plastic rear panel, which is the panel furthest from the sensor? The rest of the camera body would still be at ambient temperature.

Mark

[axle01]

So Mark what part of the camera is closest to the sensor, I really thought it would be the back of the camera.

Alan

[sharkmelley]

So Mark what part of the camera is closest to the sensor, I really thought it would be the back of the camera.

Alan

The sensor is pretty close to the front, where the light can reach it

Take the lens off and the sensor is sitting there, staring back at you. 

The trouble with cooling the rear panel is that all the innards of the camera sit between the rear panel and the sensor so it's difficult to know how effective it would be.

Mark

[Mick J]

I have a A7s modded and because I'm in Nth Queensland Australia where temperatures never get below 10* C in winter more likely around 14* C on average and 25*C in summer.

I've been thinking of removing the LCD screen completely or relocating it on a mount off to one side.

The camera is connected to a 14" monitor for imaging and I never use the LCD.

I was thinking if I could remove or reposition the LCD and glue a Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler and fan on the back of the camera to cool it.

So thoughts please.

Alan

This thread in the DIY forum, may be of interest :  http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/248984-dslr-cooling/

possibly put the camera in the fridge for a bit before .........  may be problems with dew........

[sharkmelley]

One more thing I've just discovered.  The Sony A7S shutter mechanism contains at least one light source (probably infra-red) used for timing the shutter.  This IR leaks out into the internals of the camera.  My clear glass replacement for the internal filters did not have any light shielding and this allowed the IR to reach the sensor causing anomalies.

It is something to be aware of if you mod the camera or have it modded for you.

This shows where the beams of IR light emerge, looking from the rear of the camera:

Here is a resulting dark frame (taken in a dark fridge).  I have applied a very high stretch to the data:

Once I applied some light shielding to the clear glass replacement, here is a dark frame taken in the dark fridge again and stretched the same amount:

Mark

[sharkmelley]

I tried out video recording last night with a fast lens - H-alpha nebulosity was visible in real time i.e. this was not a time lapse.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Ky5pyZvsINUWpobUZEeXVJeWc/view?usp=sharing

I might give it a try through the Tak Epsilon tonight if the clouds keep away.

Mark

[axle01]

Enjoyed that,,,,what f1.8 lens did you use.

Alan

[sharkmelley]

Enjoyed that,,,,what f1.8 lens did you use.

Alan

It was a Nikon 50mm F1.8 lens.

For completeness - I've now taken a real time video through The Takahashi Epsilon - the result is in this thread: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/249751-sony-a7s-on-takahashi-epsilon/

Liveview using this camera on a fast scope is a simply amazing experience.

Mark

[axle01]

Yeah I watched it over at CN, pretty good.

Sharky how do you think it would go on a Tak 106ED f5 x 530

Or a Nikon 300 f2,8

Alan

[sharkmelley]

Yeah I watched it over at CN, pretty good.

Sharky how do you think it would go on a Tak 106ED f5 x 530

Or a Nikon 300 f2,8

Alan

As far as I can see from the published spot diagrams (http://www.takahashi-europe.com/en/FSQ-106ED.optics.spots.htm) the FSQ 106ED looks fine for a 35x24mm sensor camera.  At f5, background sky brightness should be the dominant source of noise for the A7S - if you can tell me your typical imaging sky quality and typical imaging ambient temperature then I can perform an indicative calculation.

I've no idea about lenses so I can't comment on the Nikon i.e. what f-ratio you would need to stop the lens down to deal with potential optical aberrations.

Mark

[axle01]

if you can tell me your typical imaging sky quality and typical imaging ambient temperature then I can perform an indicative calculation.

I've no idea about lenses so I can't comment on the Nikon i.e. what f-ratio you would need to stop the lens down to deal with potential optical aberrations.

Mark

Sharky in winter (now) the sky is very clear and temps are around the 10c to 18c last night was really cold down to 6c,,,,,,,,summer we have around 22c to 28c

Sorry can't help you with the lens question.

Al

[filoubert]

Good evening

I m mylself using a modded Sony A7s

This camera is indeed amazing but difficult to remote it with a Windows PC

Here my research on the subject :

1) Intervallometers, bulb .... you can use PHDmax : http://www.felopaul.com/phdmax.htm

2) For live view : Capture One Pro v8.1 allows you to make live-view on PC !
I just tested the trial version but the licence is quite expensive (around 220 euros) ... I wish that APT or any other software could get this fonction as well (ie Maxim DL) but is SONY ready to share ?

3) To do some pinpoint under maxim DL, I only found the solution to shoot in jpeg mode, send the jpeg to a folder, ask MaximDL to load that jpeg so it can analyse it. This is a boring procedure : any other solution ?

but unfortunatelly Maxim DL can not read the ARW files ( I guess neither The Sky X neither PRISM  can read  ARW files ... I may be wrong) 

4) Last point is how to make some automatical Focus (using Robotfocus or usbfoc.us) with the A7s .... I do not have the solution yet 

Let's share with you all informations on that Camera  because that it really desearves it  

[filoubert]

I also forgot to mention the tethering with Lightroom 5

Here is a tutorial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eIgzpNv1zs

[axle01]

I also forgot to mention the tethering with Lightroom 5

Here is a tutorial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eIgzpNv1zs

Just got LR6 and watched the video, big help thank you.

Al

[DaveS]

Looks like Sony have come to their senses and added uncompressed 14 bit raw to the A7s mk II, with roll-out to other A7 models later.

Whether the Bulb setting still eats stars remains to be seen

[AnakChan]

Looks like Sony have come to their senses and added uncompressed 14 bit raw to the A7s mk II, with roll-out to other A7 models later.

Whether the Bulb setting still eats stars remains to be seen

It was quoted that A7R II would get the new firmware later too but I'm somewhat skeptical if they would roll out to the older "I"I series of A7's.

[Zhao]

It was quoted that A7R II would get the new firmware later too but I'm somewhat skeptical if they would roll out to the older "I"I series of A7's.

Hi Chan, start a new topic, and say something about your experience with your new toy AXD?

[AnakChan]

Hi Chan, start a new topic, and say something about your experience with your new toy AXD?

Have you been following me ? OK, here it is: http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/252790-vixen-axd-unboxing-and-setup/

Don't wanna go OT on the A7s thread.

[sharkmelley]

To be honest, I've never seen any artifacts of the Sony compressed raw format in my images.  However, many daylight photographers have complained and it seems that Sony may be listening. But I suspect they will never fix the bulb mode "star eater" issue because comparatively few people are affected. 

In my case, I have more or less decided to always use 30sec exposures from now on because I'm still never completely happy with star shapes even after stacking many dithered images.  Maybe I'm just a bit more critical than other folk.  It does mean that I'll have to stack hundreds of images though, for a typical image 

I've written some software to interface to both PHD Guiding2 (for dithering) and the Sony Remote Camera Control application to reduce, as far as possible, the lost time between each sub.  Tonight will be the first time I try it out for real.

Mark

[AnakChan]

To be honest, I've never seen any artifacts of the Sony compressed raw format in my images.  However, many daylight photographers have complained and it seems that Sony may be listening. But I suspect they will never fix the bulb mode "star eater" issue because comparatively few people are affected. 

In my case, I have more or less decided to always use 30sec exposures from now on because I'm still never completely happy with star shapes even after stacking many dithered images.  Maybe I'm just a bit more critical than other folk.  It does mean that I'll have to stack hundreds of images though, for a typical image 

I've written some software to interface to both PHD Guiding2 (for dithering) and the Sony Remote Camera Control application to reduce, as far as possible, the lost time between each sub.  Tonight will be the first time I try it out for real.

Mark

DPReview seems to have trialed the Sony uncompressed raw and put an article up yesterday :-

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/6144418951/what-difference-does-it-make-sony-uncompressed-raw

Maybe it'll give hints on what to look out for in improvement with the upcoming firmware. However I'm still cautious if it'll be offered to existing A7s owners.

[Stu]

I tried out video recording last night with a fast lens - H-alpha nebulosity was visible in real time i.e. this was not a time lapse.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Ky5pyZvsINUWpobUZEeXVJeWc/view?usp=sharing

I might give it a try through the Tak Epsilon tonight if the clouds keep away.

Mark

Only just seen this Mark. Fantastic review and that video is incredible. Even as a visual observer I might be tempted by this kind of camera! Seeing Ha like that is amazing. Thanks very much

[sharkmelley]

I've finally got to the bottom of a continuing problem I have found with horizontal coloured bands in deep-sky images containing many hours of stacked data. 

I've started a new thread here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/260522-sony-a7s-split-sensor-and-banding/

The low light capabilities of the Sony A7S still make it an amazing camera for real time imaging of nebulae, clusters, meteors and Northern lights. 

However, the bulb-mode "star-eater" issue and this recently discovered problem with coloured banding mean you should think very carefully before using full-frame Sony cameras for serious deep-sky astrophotography e.g. trying to image very faint stuff such as dust clouds around the Orion or Horsehead Nebulae, dust clouds around Cepheus, Integrated Flux Nebula etc.

Since deep-sky astrophotography is my passion, I intend to buy myself a more suitable camera.

Mark

[sharkmelley]

After 2.5 years of extensive astro-imaging with the Sony A7S, I finally got around to putting an updated review on my website:

http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/SonyA7S/sonya7s.html

Mark

[Craig123]

On 14/11/2017 at 06:15, sharkmelley said:

After 2.5 years of extensive astro-imaging with the Sony A7S, I finally got around to putting an updated review on my website:

http://www.markshelley.co.uk/Astronomy/SonyA7S/sonya7s.html

Mark

Really interesting Mark.Ive been using one for a couple of years for night landscape photography and love it but i got it originally for use on Ed80.I more or less gave up recently as I couldn't find an adaptor with the right spacing to work with the 0.85 reducer.I tried 10 min subs and it looked ok apart from the distortion on the edges and I thought the stars looked clipped in the centre but not sure as I'm pretty new to astro.I just started using  a s/h Atik but would love  to get the A7s working if you have any ideas on adaptors etc.Many thanks.Craig