Sony A7siii Codec Comparison | Prores Raw vs. XAVC SI & XAVC S

This video is a deep dive into the Sony a7siii's codecs. I take a look at ProRes Raw and compare it some of the a7siii's internal codecs. ProRes Raw is a fantastic codec that you can record when you pair the a7siii with an Atomos Ninja V, so I was excited to see how it would compare to some of the other codecs. The results definitely surprised me!
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[temuerasamuel]

Not many youtubers are educating us on this.. Thank You!!

[GlenReed]

I use ProRes RAW on my Panasonic S1 for most things. It’s definitely helpful for real estate videos that have a lot of mixed lighting. That gives me the option to correct things in post without introducing artifacts or other unwanted issues. Great video man!

[Whaever_]

Great vid, thx! A note on the XAVC HS format. The new Apple laptops with in-house M1 processors can actually handle these H265 well. Compared to my Intel Macbook pro from 2019, the difference is not small but huge. So worth taking into account.

[bjoernfischer]

cool video bro, but next time, upload it in 4k. we can't see anything in 1080p :D

[DanielSensual]

I have the Ninja V+ and A7Siii the ProRes raw is definitely the best best by far. But when I’m doing run and gun or just for fun content I shoot for the All Intra in S Cinetone. I used the HS codec for a music video shoot biggest mistake ever lol 😆

[DavidMota]

awesome review man. very useful and informative info!

[Filmchip]

Great comparison. I stopped using pro res raw because of its massive files. I was using Xavc S on my sony a7iv for awhile but I did some comparisons myself and can see that the pro res is definitely worth it.

[kidcoma]

90% of comments under such videos: "yeah shooting RAW is so nice it really helps with capturing the perfect image"
And then you look at what that person has filmed with his 6000$ gear and it usually is some crap like a shaky VLog or a badly graded music video with shitty lighting.

[fullstack_artist]

@RileyEndicott Your explanation is really good. Other YouTubers just favoured one or the other codec based on their personal preference. A person educating shouldn't give statements and instead explain the true reason behind what they are saying which is nicely done in your video. Thank you for explaining the differences between these codecs and then sharing your personal preference. Just a suggestion, it'd be more helpful for us if you could share a link for the unedited footage in the description which is not part of any of your project. This will help some of us in editing and testing the files ourselves for better understanding, as the YouTube's compression adds some arifacts and banding to the uploaded video.

[fabiobreccia]

the first comparison on Sony codec that does not limit itself to showing the footage. it is clear that file sizes affect post production, freedom in color correction, and not how you see the native image.

[MarkOfWA]

A BlackMagic Video Assistant 7" 12G monitor recording to ProRes has been a remarkable improvement over internal Sony recording in 100Mbps XAVC-S. Getting ultra-pure balanced audio in the ProRes video up front has also been a huge improvement.

Would love to see a video like this one compare working with different CODECs in Resolve Studio. After making the change from Premier to Resolve Studio, most editing tasks seem easier, none of the CODEC problems that has plagued Premier for both H.265 and ProRes. Only XAVC-S and H.264 always worked in Premier.

[thervof]

Love the Yosemite B-roll. Any secret filming spots to share? We’re going back in 2023.

[XX]

Just learning the a7Siii now. My Mac with OS Big Sur did not work. Went to my Alienware Aurora R7 w 32 gb and the 1070 gpu. I rendered my first XAVC S-I at 150 mbps with only a one minute clip and it was a little over 1 gb. So, 1 minute = 1 gb approx. Tonight shooting night video of skyscrapers downtown Waikiki. Am excited. Huge learning curve for me. Thanks for the help!

[Matti]

Hmmm so hard to choose, Some ppl say SI, but now i read quite some topics where HS has less macroblocking then both S, and SI, and they say it's because S/SI are H264, while HS is 265. My schooting will be walking around in mountains and panning, zooming. Sony A7RV.

[harpalmukesh]

I have done 2 short films using ProRes raw and definitely it’s pain in few ways and low light but gave organic looks whenever my exposure was right.

[AdemVessell]

Great video! Excited to see that RAW myself too :)

[ryan]

Awesome video! I assume your SI/S recordings were all 4:2:2? I'd be curious to see another comparison with 4:2:0 versions too, which I've heard edit even easier on a lot of laptops

[jvanpraag]

Thank you, Riley! Really helpful. In came to take a look at this vid as I'm in the midst of a feature doc. We've been shooting Prores Raw on the Ninja V with the A7siii, and I want to do a little bit of high speed work. The ninja V won't do 120fps. I'm out on location without access to CF express cards so I'm limited to the Anglebird SD 280mb write 300 read v90. It's still not fast enough to shoot the S-i codec so I guess the takeaway is to go with the 'S'. Wondering also if you've had a chance to do any projection tests with graded ProRes Raw footage. Looking forward to that opportunity. As we intend this film to be released first in theaters I feel very confident about the decision to go with ProRes Raw and make use of those extra 2 bits!

[NickSavino]

Great info as always Riley. What are your thoughts on shooting just Prores 422? I think thats what i might do for efficiency, at the expense of a mid sized file size. Also, how have you determined how much recording time you have left on the atomos? I've read it isnt accurate like an internal SD card would be. Thanks!

[gurugamer]

I’m A7S III shooter and just ordered Ninja V+