Sony A99 roll call

Betsy Moore · December 3rd, 2012, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Clark

Does this mean that the "camera" will compensate the exposure automatically if the ISO is set to Auto?

If so, does it do this by adjusting the Shutter Speed or Aperture or both?

Well, if the ISO is set to auto the camera will try to adjust that way but because I want the creamiest image I can get I don't feel comfortable going above 800 ISO and even at 800 there's a small but measurable amount of noise in the shadows--maybe because of that damn exposure compensation (mm) that won't turn off.

I find if I'm testing with auto focus, I can choose to keep the ISO at one setting and then the the shutter speed is the first to fluctuate in changing light, followed by the f stop.

Not sure if the above is very clear--did that help?

Andrew Clark · December 3rd, 2012, 11:19 PM

Thanks for the reply Betsy.

Have you tried setting everything in Manual Mode (in the Menu's as well) and setting the "Silent Wheel" to a setting other than an exposure related function?

Maybe just try setting the ISO to 400 ... or something below your 800 limit .... and see if either the Aperture and / or Shutter speed settings fluctuate. Theoretically, all settings should stay put.

Chris Joy · December 4th, 2012, 01:19 PM

Betsy, my second camera just arrived and when I put it into movie mode, move ISO to a manual setting from AUTO and then switch it to "M" - I get no exposure compensation. I adjusted exposure for medium lighting, then turned the camera toward a bright window and a dark room and nothing changed other than the image getting completely overexposed and then underexposed. Nothing in terms of exposure settings moved. Might be drastic, but have you tried to reset the camera so it reverts back to all factory settings?

Betsy Moore · December 4th, 2012, 08:24 PM

I think I might have to do that Chris:( I just hope I remember all the little refinements I was supposed to make.

How's the new camera doing? Better?

Andrew Clark · December 4th, 2012, 11:48 PM

Chris -

How does the footage look from your second camera? Any improvement .... hopefully?!

$3-4K seems like a lot of money for a camera that produces a "soft" video image. Of course I realize that these types of cams are first and foremost geared for stills.

Chris Joy · December 5th, 2012, 12:47 PM

The new camera is just as bad as the old one, not sure what's happening, but I just can't get it to resolve any detail. Hopefully the attachments work. The image labeled "a99 outside 1 photo" is a still from the scene, everything else is just a series of exported frames with detail crops from the middle.

Chris Joy · December 5th, 2012, 12:50 PM

More images. Again "A99 outside 3 photo" is a still to demonstrate focus, the rest are frames from the actual video. This one and the previous post were shot at f8, about 30mm and base iso of 100 for the a99 and 200 for the em5.

Chris Joy · December 5th, 2012, 01:00 PM

Lastly an indoor shot at a moderate high iso - 1600, again at f8, just to see what happens with the iso bumps up a bit. FYI, on all the sequences steadyshot and the EM5's IBIS is turned off, exposure was full manual outside of WB (forgot, doh!) and I used focus magnify in stills mode to get critical focus. The A99 footage sharpens up a bit and the better DR compared to the EM5 is visible, but compared to one another the A99 is just mush. Shallow DOF shots look great, but wide shots just lack detail. It looks o-k on a computer monitor, but who doesn;t want to show off a fancy HD camera on their 42" HDTV. I know I do and when I watch the video, the A99 looks real bad on a moderately "big" screen.

Robert Wall · December 5th, 2012, 03:27 PM

Unfortunately, because the A99 and the VG900 share the same sensor, this isn't surprising at all, the VG900 footage is complete junk. The A99 video quality has been panned by every review I've read, even non-pro ones. I understand your disappointment, because on paper the A99 is really impressive and has a lot of nice features for video. But until Sony can sort out the (video) IQ, it's going to be a pass for most pro video people - couple that with the limited alpha glass and difficult to adapt mount and it's not probably going to end up in any quality video productions.

The NEX stuff is far more interesting because of the mount and arguably better sensor for video applications.

Chris Joy · December 5th, 2012, 03:36 PM

Here's the actual video, took a while to get it uploaded. The results aren't pretty. Bland subjects, but I jsut want a wide shot or a deep DOF shot that's not soft.

Sony A99 vs Olympus OMD EM5 video comparison - YouTube

Betsy Moore · December 6th, 2012, 01:35 AM

Ok, I rebooted the entire camera, including rebooting the custom settings--even had to re-enter date region and time, turned the top switch to movie mode, took it off auto focus, went to manual exposure movie, adjusted the iso, the shutter, the f stop, adjusted the iso to the silent front switch of the camera and...

... the exposure compensation mode is still on!

December 3rd, 2012, 11:19 PM	#32
Andrew Clark Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 477	Re: Sony A99 roll call Thanks for the reply Betsy. Have you tried setting everything in Manual Mode (in the Menu's as well) and setting the "Silent Wheel" to a setting other than an exposure related function? Maybe just try setting the ISO to 400 ... or something below your 800 limit .... and see if either the Aperture and / or Shutter speed settings fluctuate. Theoretically, all settings should stay put.

December 4th, 2012, 01:19 PM	#33
Chris Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 220	Re: Sony A99 roll call Betsy, my second camera just arrived and when I put it into movie mode, move ISO to a manual setting from AUTO and then switch it to "M" - I get no exposure compensation. I adjusted exposure for medium lighting, then turned the camera toward a bright window and a dark room and nothing changed other than the image getting completely overexposed and then underexposed. Nothing in terms of exposure settings moved. Might be drastic, but have you tried to reset the camera so it reverts back to all factory settings?

December 4th, 2012, 08:24 PM	#34
Betsy Moore Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 444	Re: Sony A99 roll call I think I might have to do that Chris:( I just hope I remember all the little refinements I was supposed to make. How's the new camera doing? Better?

December 4th, 2012, 11:48 PM	#35
Andrew Clark Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 477	Re: Sony A99 roll call Chris - How does the footage look from your second camera? Any improvement .... hopefully?! $3-4K seems like a lot of money for a camera that produces a "soft" video image. Of course I realize that these types of cams are first and foremost geared for stills.

December 5th, 2012, 12:47 PM	#36
Chris Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 220	Re: Sony A99 roll call The new camera is just as bad as the old one, not sure what's happening, but I just can't get it to resolve any detail. Hopefully the attachments work. The image labeled "a99 outside 1 photo" is a still from the scene, everything else is just a series of exported frames with detail crops from the middle. Attached Thumbnails

December 5th, 2012, 12:50 PM	#37
Chris Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 220	Re: Sony A99 roll call More images. Again "A99 outside 3 photo" is a still to demonstrate focus, the rest are frames from the actual video. This one and the previous post were shot at f8, about 30mm and base iso of 100 for the a99 and 200 for the em5. Attached Thumbnails

December 5th, 2012, 01:00 PM	#38
Chris Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 220	Re: Sony A99 roll call Lastly an indoor shot at a moderate high iso - 1600, again at f8, just to see what happens with the iso bumps up a bit. FYI, on all the sequences steadyshot and the EM5's IBIS is turned off, exposure was full manual outside of WB (forgot, doh!) and I used focus magnify in stills mode to get critical focus. The A99 footage sharpens up a bit and the better DR compared to the EM5 is visible, but compared to one another the A99 is just mush. Shallow DOF shots look great, but wide shots just lack detail. It looks o-k on a computer monitor, but who doesn;t want to show off a fancy HD camera on their 42" HDTV. I know I do and when I watch the video, the A99 looks real bad on a moderately "big" screen. Attached Thumbnails

December 5th, 2012, 03:27 PM	#39
Robert Wall Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 39	Re: Sony A99 roll call Unfortunately, because the A99 and the VG900 share the same sensor, this isn't surprising at all, the VG900 footage is complete junk. The A99 video quality has been panned by every review I've read, even non-pro ones. I understand your disappointment, because on paper the A99 is really impressive and has a lot of nice features for video. But until Sony can sort out the (video) IQ, it's going to be a pass for most pro video people - couple that with the limited alpha glass and difficult to adapt mount and it's not probably going to end up in any quality video productions. The NEX stuff is far more interesting because of the mount and arguably better sensor for video applications.

December 5th, 2012, 03:36 PM	#40
Chris Joy Major Player Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tampa Posts: 220	Re: Sony A99 roll call Here's the actual video, took a while to get it uploaded. The results aren't pretty. Bland subjects, but I jsut want a wide shot or a deep DOF shot that's not soft. Sony A99 vs Olympus OMD EM5 video comparison - YouTube

December 6th, 2012, 01:35 AM	#41
Betsy Moore Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 444	Re: Sony A99 roll call Ok, I rebooted the entire camera, including rebooting the custom settings--even had to re-enter date region and time, turned the top switch to movie mode, took it off auto focus, went to manual exposure movie, adjusted the iso, the shutter, the f stop, adjusted the iso to the silent front switch of the camera and... ... the exposure compensation mode is still on!