To say that the Sony A7s series has stunning low-light capabilities is hardly news anymore but the truth is that these cameras continue to impress us every time something new is published about them. It is also a fact that despite its great still performance, they are more succesful in the film-making industry. We have seen many professional cinematographers and directors integrate the A7s or A7s mark II into their gear because of the stunning image quality you get at low and high ISOs especially.
There are many reviews and video tests on the internet that show how good these cameras are but perhaps the best examples are those shot in difficult conditions. Many filmmakers challenged the camera by using only natural moonlight for outdoor shooting at night. While it is true that a full moon can be quite powerful in terms of light intensity, it is still a challenge for most cameras to get decent results in these conditions. The A7s and A7s II are the exception, allowing you to record images that weren’t possible before. So, in honour of these cameras, we’ve compiled a list below of the best videos shot with the Sony A7s and A7s mark II at night with natural moonlight as the only lights source. Enjoy!
Refuge – A Moonlit Short Film
Refuge is a science fiction short film directed by Sam Shapson and filmed by Barry Elmore. It was recorded entirely at 51200 ISO in a location in the mountains. It is well directed with excellent actors. Shooting with natural light gives this film an interesting and realistic look. It is definitely one the best examples of how the low-light capabilities of the A7s can be used for a concrete and artistic project.
Project Moonlight – Downhill skateboarding under the full moon
Flying Focus is a video production company based in Genève, Switzerland that is specialised in aerial photography. This year they filmed 7 riders coming down a mountain road on their skateboards at night using only the available moonlight. The only artificial light used was placed underneath the skateboards to give the riders are stronger presence on the screen.
Moonriders
Moonriders is a project started by Photographer and Videographer Christian Mülhauser in March 2015. The location is Switzerland once again, this time at the bottom of the Matterhorn mountain in the alps. Christian used several gimbal stabilizer systems and a drone to record these moonlit shots of two mountain bikers coming down a ski track. All the shots were recorded between 40000 and 51200 ISO with Canon lenses at a f/2.8 aperture.
Night Terrors of 1927 – Live in the Moonlight
Live in the Moonlight features 3 live acoustic songs performed by the band Night Terrors of 1927. The videos were recorded with available moonlight in the Joshua Tree national park. The clips were directed by photographer Tony Corella and filmed by Bryant Jansen. The latter has been working on many music videos including one by Ed Sheeran and the Black Eyed Peas.
Tony Corella – Bryant Jansen – Night Terrors of 1927
MOONLIT – Kiting from Dusk till Dawn
Another video showing a sports practice at night under moonlight but this time it is about Kite surfers. The video is a night time creative project made by Flysurfer Kiteboarding and Woop Productions. It was shot with the A7s, Canon lenses, Metabones adapter and the Defy Gimbal Systems.
Norway by Moonlight
This is the most recent video we found, thanks to SonyAlphaRumors (who also shared many other videos in this article in previous posts). Mario Marez is a landscape photographer and this is his first video in five years. He shot this 4K footage with the A7s Mark II while participating in a photography workshop in Norway organized by Lofoten Tours. While there are also a few daylight shots, most images were taken at night and the details are impressive, especially the shots with the northern lights. There is certainly noise in the images but the amount of detail is impressive.
Mario’s Flickr page – Website
LUNA – SEE WHAT YOU CAN’T SEE
Luna is a short film that is part of the “See What You Can’t See” series produced by Sony Asia Pacific to promote the Sony A7s mark II. While it is purely a commercial video, it is another example of the capabilities of these cameras under these particular light conditions. The short video shows a dancer moving under moonlight. It was shot hand-held to show the capabilities of the 5-axis stabilization as well.
