A treat for cinematographers- The Sony Alpha 7S iii

A well-established cinematographer, director and producer, Sujith Vasudev has donned several hats in the Malayalam movie industry. In 2012, he received the Kerala State Television Awards for Best Cinematographer for Nizhakum Nilaavum Parayunnathu. Recognising his work, in 2013, he was awarded the Kerala Film Awards for Best Cinematographer for Ayaal and Memories. This extremely talented cinematographer has been nominated as the Best Cinematographer at the 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards for James and Alice. Sujith tried using the Sony Alpha 7S III camera. Read along to know why he fell in love with the new camera.

A perfect tool for visual trailblazers

Talking candidly about his love for movie making, Sujith shares, “My main profession is movie-making. Whenever there is a need for a second camera for guerrilla shoots, inside a city or a bus, I found the Sony Alpha 7S III to be the most convenient. While shooting, we can’t use more lights everywhere. Apt for shooting in dark situations, the Sony Alpha 7S III offers perfect picture quality even in extreme low light conditions.” Calling the Sony Alpha 7S III a perfect tool for videographers and cinematographers, Sujith shares, “The best part about this camera is its focus speed. While shooting, I realised that even if our focus is 30 to 40 meters away and suddenly somebody has to enter at 3 feet, within no time, the focus is easily captured.”

Appreciating the wide AF coverage offered by the Sony Alpha 7S III, Sujith said, “The camera offers fast hybrid AutoFocus for dependable focus during shooting. This camera has inherited technology and performance standards from Sony's large-format FX9 pro camcorder. Its fast Hybrid AF combines focal-plane phase-detection AF with contrast-detection AF. This results in highly precise, smooth tracking of fast-moving subjects even over a wide range with a shallow depth of field, taking full advantage of Sony E-mount lenses' smooth linear-motor focusing and power-zoom operations.” A great camera for the cinematographers and videographers who “want to update and work fast”, Sony Alpha 7S III is an excellent choice, said Sujith.

Features of Sony Alpha 7S III that won his heart

Elaborating on the features of the Sony Alpha 7S III which won his heart, Sujith said, “The camera gives 4K recording up to 120p with full pixel readout without binning. This allows for clear post-produced slow motion (up to 5x slower than real-time), as well as bokeh effects typical of full-frame cameras, all with smooth, high-precision autofocus. Despite the camera’s compact size, it provides impressive scope for your creativity. In 240fps, we can shoot in full HD with no sound and sharp focus and in slow motion, the very sharp and fast focus is possible.” Another feature of the Sony Alpha 7S III camera is its proxy recording promises to give a more efficient editing workflow. He said, “When shooting movies, low bit-rate HD proxy files can be recorded simultaneously with higher bit-rate formats such as XAVC S-I 4K, and these smaller proxy files can then be used for editing and previewing before final product delivery. This reduces computer to load and allows faster and more efficient workflows. Proxy files can be captured in either 10-bit XAVC HS (1920 x 1080) or 8-bit XAVC S (1280 x 720) 22.”

The Sony Alpha 7S III provides high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range. Sujith shares that “the camera’s full-frame 12.1-megapixel configuration enables high sensitivity with low noise throughout the camera's sensitivity range by optimising the output signal from the sensor. The standard ISO range is 80–102400, which is further expandable to 40–409600 (80–409600 for movies). The dynamic range is an impressively wide 15 stops, for beautiful, true-to-life images without blown highlights. Together, the camera's high sensitivity and wide dynamic range expand your creative freedom during shoots.”

Appreciating how Sony is always ahead when it comes to colours, Sujith said that the new camera provides enhanced movie image quality. He elaborates, “Thanks to the improved capabilities of the Sony Alpha 7S III’s new image-processing engine, colours, and textures of foliage and human skin can be more consistently reproduced without over-dependence on light sources. Gradation rendering has also been refined, for better-looking skin tones and highlight roll-off in portraits. When shooting 4K, the new image sensor and processing engine reduce rolling shutter distortion to as little as one-third that of the Sony Alpha 7S II.”

He further adds that “the camera is capable of performing 4K internal recording with 10-bit depth and 4:2:2 colour sampling when using either Long GOP or All Intra compression. This makes it possible to push your colour grades further, stretching video out for ultimate HDR realism while still retaining natural gradation, for true editing freedom. No other camera or equipment has the colour flexibility of Sony. In Post-editing, you can manipulate the colours the way you want.”

Perks of having Sony lenses

The humongous benefit of Sony is its lenses. Now the lens which I am using can be used in any Sony camera of their series. Be it FX9, FX6, FX3 or FX7, in any camera, the same lens can be used. Owning a Sony gear is a big advantage. We don’t have to buy other lenses.

Concluding from his experience with the Sony Alpha 7S III, we are certain that Sujith had a marvelous time with the new S series camera. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors and hope our bond with Sujith continues to flourish.