Sadly, there are compromises on both sides, but it leaves me very excited about the direction Sony is heading.

Kudos to Sony for getting this right (Nikon’s been drifting towards getting this wrong with their DSLRs). There is nothing wrong with a camera that is a specialist, whether it is high-end, high megapixel stills camera like Phase One or Hasselblad medium formats, or a video-oriented cameras like the Sony a7S and the Panasonic GH4.Shoot up to 10fps continuously in AF-C and AF-S and capture at speed of up to 1/8000s with the camera's mechanical shutter. While it’s not camera handling per se, note that not all video software has been updated to deal with XAVC S codecs. Funny reply but as someone who owns an A7s I fail to see why 10fps should not be possible from hardware that, in other Sony cameras with far greater pixels to record, manages up to 12fps. That’s because if you all remember from my Sony a7R II review I mentioned I wasn’t a fan of the larger bodied cameras and favor the 1st generation ones, so that’s why I got the 7S for this wedding.

While I could go on and list the numerous reasons I believed valid to switch to this camera as my stills camera of choice, the video capabilities have found favor by professional videographers. MP back-illuminated Exmor R sensor and BIONZ XR image processor for incredible image quality and speed. I wonder if Cinema 5D's results are from video that's had some level of noise reduction applied to it?

The higher exposure latitude or dynamic range possible will be available while utilizing the image sensors at their native base setting. Sony's latest addition to the a7S range, the a7S III is a full-frame mirrorless still and video camera featuring a new 12. The Fujifilm XF 23mm F2 R WR delivers a 35mm full-frame equivalent field of view and stands out due to its small size and weather-resistant build.

I’m sure I could do better with other noise reduction workflows, but I know that a lot of you think that Lightroom or ACR is all you need. Tones well above this floor, though, can be pushed 3, 4, 5, 6 or however many stops without showing much difference compared to a camera with a low (downstream) read noise floor. Silent Shutter - This was the first Sony camera to incorporate this feature and it was certainly a welcomed one at that!

While touted as a GH4 rival, the A7s actually is a bit more limited internally than the GH4 for video. In your test of the A7R vs the A7s you made one huge mistake that renders your test conclusions mute.

From there it gets really complicated really fast (as you say), as this behavior changes based on if the setting is 'on' or 'off'.However, just because they go to unusual lengths to accommodate the videographer, this doesn't mean any compromises have been made to the feature sets they offer the stills shooter. If you want more specific advice, then you'll need to either narrow down your interests to be more specific, or tell us which focal lengths you're most interested in shooting. DxO tested the A7s at every ISO and it never matched the A7R for DR at ISO 100, nor did it come close to the the Sony statement. I invite you to read my review of the A7/A7r first, then come back here to read about what’s different with the A7s model.