We believe that at Kinetik we do some really interesting things and we want to share them with the world. Thus, our goal has always been to produce photos and videos that are not just informative but can also make the viewers feel as if they are part of our team. In our opinion, the only way one can achieve this and produce quality content consistently is by doing it in-house, as no external contractor will ever have the same knowledge or insight as someone who is involved in the process on a daily basis.
If you are reading this post then chances are you are into camera gear. If that’s the case then you already know there is a huge array of options when it comes to choosing equipment for photo and video work. When we first started we had the chance to experiment with a variety of brands, amongst which Canon, Nikon and even RED. They were all perfectly capable to produce either great stills or amazing videos, though none was fulfilling the role of a hybrid, run and gun, all in one package that would suit our style of shooting.
That is until we got introduced to the Sony A7 series of cameras. Initially, we got our hands on an А7R2 and we were blown away by the quality of the images it was producing. Whether it was for social media, website content or obscurely large prints, the RAW uncompressed files could handle absolutely anything. The colour science was also amazing, as pictures often needed little to no adjustments in post. Later on, we found out that this happens to be a trademark quality of all Alpha full-frame camera bodies since the initial Sony A7 back in 2013. The dynamic range and low light performance were also impressive, considering the fact that the R2 had a huge 42 megapixel sensor. Apart from the slower and sometimes inaccurate autofocus, especially while shooting videos, the R2 was borderline perfect for our needs.
The next big step came in the face of the A7S3. As soon as it got introduced we wasted no time and placed a pre-order for a unit. Once it arrived it was love at first sight. The new and improved ergonomics and the extremely high-resolution electronic viewfinder were the two things that immediately stооd out. The video quality is outstanding, the low light performance is unmatched and we finally got access to 120fps footage in 4K.
But probably the biggest gamechanger is the speed and accuracy of the focus, especially while shooting video. No more hunting for focus or struggling with manual focus pulling. The camera just locks on to the subject and tracks it, no matter which direction it is moving in. Combining that with the excellent in-body image stabilisation and you get a run-and-gun setup like no other. And to show you how good it actually is, just take a look at that video of the go-kart, which we have shot on the A7S3 with no external stabilization!
Lenses-wise we have used a variety of native Sony lenses, amongst which a 16-35, 24, 35, 55, 85 and 70-200. As you could expect they work flawlessly with the camera bodies and produce great results every time. The sharpness is very high, the colour rendering is beautiful and the focus motors are extremely silent.
Unfortunately, we lost everything in the fire that destroyed our headquarters in April 2021. Having to start all over again, we had the possibility to once again choose between the various systems on the market. Naturally, we decided to trust Sony, as we’ve had such a good experience with them and their gear. A decision that we could not have been happier with!
