Other: FX9 vs FX6 - How different is the 'look'...

As Doug said, doing an actual useful and informative side by side takes a lot of work.

Re benefits of 6K over 4K sensor, I don't care about the resolution difference, I can't stand overly detailed video, its the actual look and feel of the image is what I'm after, and yes its quite possible that the downsampling off the FX9 giving it more info to produce a 4K image is what I'm liking, as opposed to the more interpolated 4k image from the FX6.


drboffa said:
I'd really love to see blinded side-by-side comparisons of the two. I have no doubt the 6K sensor offers benefits, but I'm suspicious of how visible those benefits are to most viewers under normal circumstances (or even extreme circumstances).

That said, I'm happy to proven wrong! There are occasionally rental deals on the FX9 in my area so maybe I'll try this out sometime...
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That's what I was thinking, and how I compared the Fs5 and FX6 a while back: same model lens, side by side, same settings, etc.

That said, I'm more than happy to defer to Doug's greater experience and expertise here. We just need to get an FX9 and the appropriate lens into his hands...

Who's up for splitting the cost of sending him a rental to see if we can settle this, or at least discern—as objectively as possible—what it is people are responding to in the FX9 image that is lacking in the FX6?
 
drboffa said:
That's what I was thinking, and how I compared the Fs5 and FX6 a while back: same model lens, side by side, same settings, etc.

That said, I'm more than happy to defer to Doug's greater experience and expertise here. We just need to get an FX9 and the appropriate lens into his hands...

Who's up for splitting the cost of sending him a rental to see if we can settle this, or at least discern—as objectively as possible—what it is people are responding to in the FX9 image that is lacking in the FX6?
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i'd chip In a few bucks to get a rental into Doug's hands
 
I am serious about donating my time to put the two cameras through a shoot out if someone sends me an FX9 with a return label for FedEx or UPS. I'd probably need it for 3-4 days, just to be safe. Hopefully less. I'll also need a lens that matches one of mine. Here are the FF e-mount lenses that I have at my disposal right now:


Sony 20mm
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...m_f_1_8_g.html

Sony 35mm
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...8_fe_lens.html

Sony 85mm
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._1_8_lens.html

Sony 200-600
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...5_6_6_3_g.html

I've also got the f/4 24-105mm, but it's not worthy of using for testing.

Won't need batteries or memory cards. Just the camera and VF. I've got a two week window right now until May 18th while I'm home in Florida. After that, I'll be on the road th rest of the summer and couldn't to it until November. I'd put together some split screen comparisons for evaluation, as well as making plenty of camera-original raw XAVC-I footage available for downloading.
 
Some quick searching suggests that a 3-day rental (FX9 and lens) would be in the $500 ballpark. If we can get a few people chipping in I'm happy to take on the ordering (unless you have a local rental house that you prefer, Doug).
 
Nope, I don't have any rental houses that I prefer. And the 85mm and/or 35mm lenses would be my first choices. One, or the other, or both would be good.
 
So far only one person (david dominguez) has indicated they'd throw in a few bucks. Maybe people aren't as confident in the FX9 "mojo" when the chips are really down? :happy:

Doug, what's the best to contact you to see if we might make this work?
 
These days not many are buying $11K cameras for themselves without house money, so I don't think anyone cares enough. Especially those where the FX6 is more than enough.
 
Maybe someone else has inside info, but I'd actually bet that a lot of people are buying the FX9 as smaller owner/operators or small production companies. The price and feature list is in the attainable sweet spot for someone working professionally, and it doesn't *require* a huge new investment in accessories (as required for an Arri, e.g.), especially if you're coming from something like an FS7.

But again, this is just speculation. If anyone knows sales figures I'd love to see them, assuming data that granular exists publicly.
 
It would definitely be a top choice if so, but the industry is nothing like it used to be when anyone and everyone was buying $15K-$20K+ cameras 15-20+ years ago because you had no other choice.

But if someone still has enough confidence to start an independent video production company in today's world then they probably will have enough confidence to purchase a camera like that with their own money.
 
drboffa said:
So far only one person (david dominguez) has indicated they'd throw in a few bucks. Maybe people aren't as confident in the FX9 "mojo" when the chips are really down? :happy: Doug, what's the best to contact you to see if we might make this work?
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If the FX6/FX9 shootout actually happens, you could send me a private message and we'll work out the details. But to be honest, time is getting very short. I would have to have the shooting completely finished by May 18th. I've got an important rocket launch to shoot on the 19th and then I am on the road for the next six months teaching workshops and working on other projects. I own't be back home for more than a couple of days until late October.

BTW, I've spent the weekend building a custom scene file for the Z280 that matches the FX6's S-Cinetone mode. I thihk I've got it pretty well nailed down. A better match than I had expected. Here's some photos of the rig I built to shoot the test footage. This rig would also work very well for the FX9 vs. FX6 shoot out if it happens.
 
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I'd definitely consider chipping in to the side by side test, but it would come down to how much we'd each have to pay. Has anyone calculated the total cost for the rental? Do you definitely need to shoot for three days with the kit to make it a worthwhile test Doug? Surely you could cover a reasonably varied selection of scenes in a single day out and about, no? I'm super curious to get to the bottom of this one.

Another thought that might be worth considering would be getting in touch with CVP or similar, and asking if they would be up for doing some side by side tests with all the kit they have lying around in their showrooms etc. They do some pretty decent test with individual cameras when they're released, and I think they'd see the promotional value in a shootout style video too.

Hmmmmmm. J
 
Jason, you are correct that one day of testing ought to be more than sufficient, but I don't know where I could rent a FX9 for just one day around here.

drboffa and I have been communicating about this via private message today and I don't think it's going to be possible for me to do the testing before I hit the road next week. I priced out a rental at LensRental for the FX9, XDCA (needed for timecode), 85mm lens, shipping, insurance coverage, etc. was going to be around $1100. Also, there isn't an FX9 available until May 16th which makes it impossible to fit the testing into my schedule. However all may not be lost, I'll be in the Boston area during most of June and July and there's a good chance I might be able to borrow a camera for a day. I can't make any promises that will happen, but I think there is a good chance. In anticipation of that possibility, I've decided to bring the necessary scopes, charts, side-by-side rig, etc. with me just in case. So even though this won't happen today, it could happen in June.
 
Hey!! I think I have an idea that won't cost anything. I should have thought of this sooner.
I'm going to be teaching a workshop at a military base the week of May 23-27th. They have at least one FX9 and I'll be bringing my own FX6 (they want some FX6's but just like eveyone else, can't get them right now) so I'll bet I can find time to do some shooting with the two cameras in the evenings, or maybe even work it into the schedule. They might be wondering the same thing we are. No promises, but let's see what happens. At least it won't cost any of us a dime if I can make it happen.
 
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Does the FX9 have a port for TC out (or in) without the XDCA? I haven't handled an FX9 for almost three years. On the FS7 you had to have the XDCA for TC.
 
Doug Jensen said:
Hey!! I think I have an idea that won't cost anything. I should have thought of this sooner.
I'm going to be teaching a workshop at a military base the week of May 23-27th. They have at least one FX9 and I'll be bringing my own FX6 (they want some FX6's but just like eveyone else, can't get them right now) so I'll bet I can find time to do some shooting with the two cameras in the evenings, or maybe even work it into the schedule. They might be wondering the same thing we are. No promises, but let's see what happens. At least it won't cost any of us a dime if I can make it happen.
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This is great news Doug. I love the lateral thinking, fingers crossed. :-) J
 
Doug Jensen said:
Hey!! I think I have an idea that won't cost anything. I should have thought of this sooner.
I'm going to be teaching a workshop at a military base the week of May 23-27th. They have at least one FX9 and I'll be bringing my own FX6 (they want some FX6's but just like eveyone else, can't get them right now) so I'll bet I can find time to do some shooting with the two cameras in the evenings, or maybe even work it into the schedule. They might be wondering the same thing we are. No promises, but let's see what happens. At least it won't cost any of us a dime if I can make it happen.
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awesome! Well, I'll still "chip in" by sending you a few bucks for lunch. Thanks for doing the test for us, Doug. Hope it works out :)
 
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