Test ISO A7S vs A7S II – compressed and uncompressed raw

Versiunea in limba romana este aici.


 

Since I got my hands on the new A7S II I was very curious if there is any difference between the new and the old model from the a7s series and hence this test: ISO A7S vs A7S II.

Added to that, I wanted to see if there is any difference between Uncompressed and Compressed RAW files at various ISO levels.

I really don’t like these comparisons tests and the proof to that is that I’m not an expert in doing them. Maybe I should have tried it at the interior, with controlled light, but since I was outside the moment it hit me to do this test (and somehow I had the tripod with me which I rarely carry anymore), here are the results.

I won’t repeat the test because is very time consuming, and to prepare such a file like the one below, it eats even more time :). Take it as it is.

Sun appeared out of nowhere in a stormy day, and kinda unbalanced my exposure, but if you look closely, the “Atheneul Roman” lettering have almost the same exposure everywhere. Lens used was the Sony Sonnar T* 35mm f/2.8 FE.

ISO A7s vs a7s II

I bet no one could tell the difference or to exactly identify which shot is which if I wouldn’t have put the ISO information near the samples.

To check even more the “difference” between compressed/uncompressed raw file, I put below some other examples.

 

    1. Uncompressed (left – before) vs Compressed (right – after) converted from RAW files

 

    1. Uncompressed (left – before) vs Compressed (right – after) JPEG out of the camera (if it makes any sense, since the jpeg goes compressed already in-camera). In here I’ve changed the RAW setting in the menu, and shot RAW+Jpeg, so the files below are the jpegs out of the camera.

 

    1. Heavy process in LR on files of ISO 3200

 

    1. Heavy process in LR on files of ISO 100 for grass and foliage details check

So conclusions for this battle of ISO A7S vs A7S II ?

Call me an idiot, but I can’t see any difference or to be more correct any noticeable difference between the “old” model and the new. Don’t get me wrong, both are beyond everything you should expect from a camera that bites from the dark as I called the A7s in my review (read it here).

Letting the ISO wars aside, a new battle emerged on the internet over compressed and uncompressed RAW files. I’ve never screamed for uncompressed RAW and now I made myself even more clear that I don’t need uncompressed RAW at all.

So there is no difference between the two cameras? Oh hell it is!

But I’ll tell you my points in a new article. Until then just this: new focus rules and LUT assist on s-log video is so helpful.

Author: Alin Popescu

Inginer ca formare, grafician ca meserie, fotograf ca mod de viata, Alin este pasionat de tot ce inseamna tehnologie si scrie articole detaliate pe intelesul tuturor.

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2 Comments

  1. Dear Alin

    Please make your ISO pictures downloadable.
    Many thanks

    Post a Reply
  2. Hello and thanks for your opinion. But I can not see the furthermore comparison (under the nice chart you’ve made and over your conclusion). I closed the ad blocker but still cant see anything. Thanks again.

    Post a Reply

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