Sony | Stray Angel Films

Summer Deals Dropping at Stray Angel

Stray Angel Films — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 06:13:19 +0000

With the rising heat of the summer, multiple union strikes continuing, and the release of Christopher Nolan’s summer film, Oppenheimer, we put our creative brains together to get filmmakers back on the testing ground. Tapping into our inner Robert Oppenheimer, we’re igniting some Atomic Deals to empower hardworking creatives grinding to make it happen.

For a limited time, we’re making an offer that will undoubtedly set off creative explosions: the chance to rent our top-of-the-range equipment for a week at the cost of just ONE day’s rental!

That’s right – starting this week, you can get your hands on our wide range of premium cameras, lenses, lighting equipment, and more, for seven days of uninterrupted use, while only paying for a single day. This deal offers creatives colossal savings, allowing you to channel more of your budget into other crucial areas of your film project.

Whether you’re shooting a suspenseful drama, an action-packed blockbuster, or a poignant documentary, our Oppenheimer Deal provides you with the means to realize your most ambitious visions without having to worry about high equipment costs.

With Stray Angel Films, we are more than just a production rental house; we’re a partner in your journey of storytelling, and we can’t wait to see the amazing projects you’ll create with the help of our Oppenheimer Deals! Shoot us an email at rentals@strayangel.com with your rental dates and we’ll make this Summer Deal happen for your production.

Here’s to a week up to a whopping six months of creative explosions and cinematic breakthroughs!

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Want To Know How To Shoot With The Sony A7s At Night?

Stray Angel Films — Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

When director Alec Ernest approached us seeking help with a low-light project, we were eager to hear more about it. He was going to shoot a short documentary about Eric Merrell, an LA artist who paints in the desert under the moonlight. We knew right away that this would be a great opportunity for the Sony A7s to shine.

If you’re not familiar, the Sony A7s maxes out at ISO 409,600. But how far can you push ISO and still have a reasonably good-looking end-result? Far enough to get a decent exposure using moonlight? Alec did a number of camera tests with the A7s to try and figure out exactly that. You can see more details in the BTS video below, but he and his crew settled on ISO 24,000 – 32,000 as the sweet spot.

In the behind-the-scenes video, Alec covers several tips for shooting with A7s at night. He also talks a little about the post-process, including color grading and noise reduction.

Tips For Shooting With The Sony A7s At Night:

Plan around a full moon
Record at the highest bit depth possible
Don’t have on-camera subjects wear black
Don’t whip pan/don’t move the camera too fast
Don’t go overboard with noise reduction

For more information on how to rent the Sony Alpha A7s, email rentals@strayangel.com, give us a call or stop in for a demo. We’d love to see you!

Watch the full Nocturnes Behind The Scenes video:

And check out the final Nocturnes production right here:

The post Want To Know How To Shoot With The Sony A7s At Night? appeared first on Stray Angel Films.

Why Do Filmmakers Love The Sony a7S?

Stray Angel Films — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Sony jumped into the 4K DSLR video market this year with its a7S mirrorless camera. It has become a sleeper hit among low-budget filmmakers looking for a killer image and nice dynamic range out of a camera that costs just under $2500 at the time of writing. We wanted to take an in-depth look at the Sony a7S and identify the reasons filmmakers love it.

4K Capabilities & Image Quality

The Sony a7S does have a 4K sensor, but be aware that you will need an external recorder to capture the full 4K image. Internally, the a7S can record a beautifully sharp 1080p image.

The a7S features:

12.2MP Full-Frame Exmor CMOS Sensor
Sony E-mount
Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 24, 30, 60 FPS
Capable of 120 FPS at 720p
Records to AVCHD, XAVC S and MP4 to SD, SDXC, SDHC, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO HG-Duo
4K (4240 x 2832) full-frame sensor is cropped to UHD 3840 x 2160 for recording via HDMI to external recorder only (8 bit, 4:2:2)

Dynamic Range

The a7S has an absolutely killer dynamic range for the price point and small body. This little guy will give you over 14 stops of dynamic range, up there with cameras like the ALEXA. Cinema5D did a dynamic range comparison between the Sony a7S and other popular cameras such as ARRI’s ALEXA and the Canon 5D. The only camera that beat out the a7S was the ALEXA and it will probably surprise you how close the results were between the two cameras.

Cinema5D Says:

“Here we tested usable dynamic range of the given cameras. With 14.1 stops the usable dynamic range of the A7S comes surprisingly close to the Arri Amira with its legendary Alexa sensor (see our full review here).

This is an extremely good dynamic range rating and is fascinating considering that the A7S is available at a fraction of the Amira’s price and is also in a completely different weight and size class. While the Amira will outperform the A7S in other tests, the dynamic range is a very important attribute to consider when working with a camera.

The Canon cameras come in at 11-12 stops of usable dynamic range. This is still a very strong dynamic range rating, but in comparison to the A7S the Canon’s are way behind.

The Panasonic GH4 had the worst dynamic range in our test. This is in line with the rather video’ish look and contrasty colors we can subjectively observe.”

James Drake did some testing of the a7S high ISO capabilities. Check out this frame that was shot in sLog at 409,600 ISO

Low Light Performance

The a7S also offers filmmakers amazing low light performance. This little camera can shoot all the way up to ISO 409,600!

Affordable Price in a Small Package

The a7S is small, even smaller than a Canon 5D, and that makes its features all the more impressive. This is advantageous to filmmakers in situations where there isn’t room for a big camera set-up, traveling shows/documentaries, and times when you want your camera set-up to be low-key and discreet.

Combine the size of the a7S, it’s exceptional image quality, and the low price of under $2500 for the body, and you’ve got a camera that is a hit.

To prove it, Sony put out a video demonstrating the camera’s ISO settings: we’re impressed!

For more information on how to rent the latest Sony Cameras, email rentals@strayangel.com, give us a call or stop in for a demo. We’d love to see you!

The post Why Do Filmmakers Love The Sony a7S? appeared first on Stray Angel Films.

Sony’s A7s 4K DSLR Gets Price & Release Date

Stray Angel Films — Tue, 20 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Sony debuted the A7s, a new 4K DSLR, this year at a NAB. The camera received a lot of buzz, mostly because of it’s ridiculous ISO range: 50 to 409,600! While it’s top ISO figures are previously unheard of, it remains unclear how high the ISO can be increased while maintaining a reasonable quality image.

Over the weekend, Sony released the A7s release date and price. At the time of writing, the Sony A7s has a ship date of July 2014 with a price of $2499.99. This figure comes in slightly under the Panasonic GH4, and it’s comparable to other cameras like Blackmagic’s latest.

*With the camera officially released, if you’re interested in more information on how to rent the latest Sony Camera, email rentals@strayangel.com, give us a call or stop in for a demo. We’d love to see you!

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