Maxi mirrorless: Colossal Cinoflex video rig pairs Sony A7S, 600mm Nikkor lens for Chevy commercial

 

 

Snap question: What's the key advantage of a mirrorless camera over a DSLR? If you said "size," you've clearly been paying attention. Mirrorless camera makers regularly tout the trimmer bodies of their creations, as compared to the traditional DSLR. Not everyone is interested in mirrorless for its compact proportions, though, as a new video rig made by the folks at Cinoflex nicely demonstrates.

Made to shoot a Chevrolet TV commercial, the rig pairs a Sony A7S compact system camera -- one of the smallest full-frame mirrorless models on the market -- with a colossal Nikkor 600mm f/4 IF-ED lens, Novoflex adapter, follow-focus system and HDMI to SDI converter, plus a hefty 14.5-volt battery to power the accessories. The result is as spectacular to look at as it is colossal, and from Cinoflex's early impressions as shared in a post on Facebook, it sounds like it's equally awesome to shoot with.

 

 

Proclaiming themselves surprised by the A7S' dynamic range, Cinoflex posted on Facebook that Sony's full-frame beauty is "[truly] a WOW camera for the quality of the sensor and ability to capture lens fall-off, focus cylinder moves, and the full frame quality image." A subsequent post showing a comparison of ungraded and graded frame grabs with the camera deliberately aimed directly at a light was accompanied by a note that "[with] very little effort or manipulation we found good contrast, detail, shadows, highlight control, and sharpness was easily recovered. The lens fall off was also very pronounced and truly magnificent."

For more on the Sony A7S, read our preview with first shots. To get further details on the rig and Cinoflex's thoughts on the A7S, visit their Facebook page. As for the results of the shoot, you'll likely see them in a Chevrolet commercial in the not-too-distant future!

(via DPReview)