Sony - Alpha a7S Mirrorless Camera (Body Only) - Black

As a professional documentary, corporate, portrait, industrial/manufacturing and sports photographer for nearly a decade, I depend on my camera equipment as a tool to make images for my clients. When my equipment needs adjusting or repairs, I depend on the manufacturer to stand behind their products and give good customer service. I've been a Canon user since my first digital camera and Canon has always stood behind their product, giving good customer service. In January 2015, I purchased a Sony a7S to use in low light situations, as a 3rd body and as a fun camera to always have with me. In my experience, I believe there is so much going for the a7S and the whole a7 series of cameras however, there is one devastating fatal flaw. Let me just be clear, the Sony a7S is a great camera while it's working. In fact, the whole a7 line up is amazing. At issue is the camera's durability and Sony's service. Without going into all the dates, times and names of people I talked to at Sony and Precision Camera, their contracted service provider, I'll just say that the service was awful, far below any standard service I've received over the years from Canon. After several phone calls and promised return calls from Sony that didn't happen, I finally was able to speak with a Sony manager. She stated that my camera would not be repaired because "it would cost too much" and "it is out of warranty". Precision never gave me a quote to repair the camera. Further, in previous conversations, Precision said they wouldn't fix the camera, not that they couldn't...big difference. Sony's manager apologized multiple times but said that Sony would not repair my camera because it would "cost too much" and that "it was out of warranty". Since when does "out of warranty" mean a company should stop servicing their products leaving their customers stuck with expensive equipment that doesn't work? I've sent two generations old camera bodies and lenses back to Canon for their factory service with no issues. My friends who use Nikon have had the same experience with Nikon factory service. Sony and their contracted service provider, Precision's refusal to service equipment out of warranty falls well short of general industry wide customer service practices. I requested that the manager transfer me to her manager but she said that there was no one higher in the company I could talk to. Was she the CEO or a board member? Doubtful because she seemed to be reading off a script...when the customer says X, reply Y and try to move on to the next call. This scheme is common with companies who contract their customer service to other companies #usually in other countries#, hoping their customer complaints go away instead of providing customer service. Sony has created a potentially great line of cameras that could change the entire industry. However, Sony/Precision's customer service is so completely inadequate, it's their Achilles heel and the fatal flaw in the a7 line of cameras. Sony has put itself at the mercy of Precision, a contracted service company who is clearly more concerned with lowering service costs than providing good customer service. Does this mean that Sony has surrendered customer retention in favor of just trying to get a constant stream of new customers? Does the a7S II have better weather resistance? Sony's website doesn't say it was improved over the previous model. I believe that Sony is capable of doing much better and I hope they prove me right. But in the mean time, the a7S is a great camera while it works but an expensive paperweight because of poor to non-existent service from Sony/Precision when it doesn't.

I've used many cameras throughout my career from Canon, Nikon, Fuji and other Sony's like the FS-100. I enjoy using the A7s so much for video it a small footprint with a big punch and opens up new windows in low light situations. We can actually get usable footage and photos in low light and at depth of field that isn't paper thin! I use the A7s with a smart adapter to Canon EOS lenses as well as i own the 16-35 F4 Zeiss and 28-135 F4 cinema lens Sony has. Honestly Between the 16-35 and 28-135 i don't even use my Canon glass much any longer. I find that the quality and coverage i get from those two native lenses give me more than i need for video/photo work. I would recommend this little gem to anyone who wants amazing video quality in low light. The only draw back and for me its really not a issue is the lower resolution of the sensor but... unless your actually printing large prints its more than enough for 90% of the work i do in weddings and events where most of my work is posted online. I sold off my Canon bodies and am not looking back!

The Sony A7 series moves into professional territory. I have owned the NEX 7 for several years and loved it. For those who don/t know, this was the trail blazer into mirrorless. But that had the smaller APS-C sensor. This series are full 35 mm sized. The A7S is a low light specialist. Also a video specialist. The sample below was taken at night with no flash and no tripod. It says almost all i need to say. If you ARE a professional and already own a suite of Canon or Nikon lenses then you probably should stay with your brand. But if not (as I was not) then this is the way to go. Even more so if you are the advance amateur. Again - there are some things the $5000 Canon with a $3000 lens can do that these may not. But there are things this does that the Canon cannot. And if you are looking for just one camera and a stretch purchase, start with this!

As a professional in the media industry and having worked with almost every major camera system on the market I am so impressed with this little camera. I have purchased 4 of these already and will probably add a few more to the system next year. The low light ability of this camera is freakishly good, it virtually sees in the dark. I bough this for its video capability and use adapters for all my canon glass. This seals the deal against Canon for me. Thanks Sony, what a joy to work with your gear. Oh and always buy the Best Buy Geek Squad warranty with items like this, they have the best extended warranty in the business.

I love this camera. I've shot on crop sensor for about 10 years and the majority of that has been with Canon DSLR's and Sony Nex ILC's. This is a huge step up from any of those! Don't be afraid of the 12 megapixels, that's really all you need and the video capability/quality is worlds above any traditional DSLR.

Subway on sharpstown# 213 on gessner Rd, manager Jimmy Whitehead was good and awesome. He was very helpful and respectful. He should be recognized as a best manager. I recommend my all friends to go to him and buy products what ever they need. I bought camera, lense and flesh, it was good result and easy to use with excellent result.

It is the quality of the pixels that counts. Don't get caught in the megapixel race. Bought this camera for the video, buy the still photos rock too. Mostly use it for shooting video in S-Log2. Results can be stunning.

Has amazing quality, advanced features, light weight. I can control the (key features of photography) much more rapidly than my old dslr camera in the past. Many options/accessories you can add...make it one of a kind for yourself