Sony comes with full-frame camera with 4k video recording update

Sony has for the first time presented a camera with a full-frame sensor in the Alpha series that seems made for recording videos in 4k. The Alpha A7s comes alongside the Alpha A7 and A7r in the range and has a 12.2-megapixel Exmor R sensor.

The Alpha 7s has a Bionz X-image processor that has to process the images. You can shoot videos at a maximum resolution of 3840×2180 pixels and at 30p, with Sony according to which the camera can use all 12.2 megapixels of the sensor to reduce noise when shooting videos. As a result, he should also make better videos in lower light. The ISO can be set in video mode from 200 to 409,600. However, the camera itself cannot store the input; this requires a separate recorder, which is not supplied.

At lower resolutions, the camera can shoot images at 100-200fps using only part of the sensor, a function that is useful for slow-motion video, for example. The sensor has a maximum resolution of 12.2 megapixels, much less than the 24 megapixels and 36 megapixels of the Alpha A7 and A7R. The camera’s screen is a 3″ LCD with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, which means the screen has around 490 pixels per inch.

The camera is 127x94x48mm in size and weighs 489 grams including battery and memory card. The camera has an Alpha E-mount for lenses and will be released this summer for an unknown retail price.

Update 11:05: The camera cannot record in 4k without a separately purchased recorder, as several readers pointed out. That is now also in the article.