Sony FDR-X3000 4K action cam with Balanced Optical SteadyShot in 4K

Hmm...optical Stabilization, small size, decent picture in 4k and water resistant. Says 600 Euros which should make the list price in the U.S. similar?
 
I wish it wasn't a bright white. The thought of how much it could stand out if you were taking video of someone that has one on.
 
The originals were black. It might be nice if they offered options besides white, but I am glad they are white now. I also use these things for weddings and they get hot and shut down sometimes which is not good. The white helps them not get quite as hot.
 
I had the X3000 camera in the waterproof enclosure and recording 4K 30P. It stopped recording due to high temp in about 20 minutes (room temp was 85 deg F). Took it out of the enclosure and it went to 33 minutes when my memory card became full, so no 29:59 time limit. Looking into the lens and shaking the camera, I can't see the BOSS working like I can on the FDR-AX33. Will need to do my own side x side test with the GoPro Hero 4 Black and AX33. Curious about image quality and effectiveness of the BOSS.
 
Sony needs to get a handle on this overheating thing. They are getting a reputation which is not good for customer confidence. I just can't understand how you can knowingly release a camera that overheats and shuts down unexpectedly. It says " we don't care how important whatever you are recording is, the company just needs to get this to market..."
 
Mark Watson said:
I had the X3000 camera in the waterproof enclosure and recording 4K 30P. It stopped recording due to high temp in about 20 minutes (room temp was 85 deg F). Took it out of the enclosure and it went to 33 minutes when my memory card became full, so no 29:59 time limit. Looking into the lens and shaking the camera, I can't see the BOSS working like I can on the FDR-AX33. Will need to do my own side x side test with the GoPro Hero 4 Black and AX33. Curious about image quality and effectiveness of the BOSS.
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Was it in water when you tested? If not why did you have it in the enclosure as it looks to be splashproof all by itself. The under water housing is for diving up to 60M and in water would cool the camera. Where did you buy it as I would like one.
 
It was not under water. Just doing my usual testing so I know more about the camera first hand. If it didn't overheat in the enclosure, that might be something a few people would like to know. One way I plan to use this is to mount it to the outside of a vehicle and without the added protection of the case, it is a fragile camera. My GoPro has two types of housings; a waterproof one and one with ventilation holes. I use the ventilated case to mount to a drift car. No such option with this Sony that I have yet seen. Easy enough to modify the waterproof case. I will test it underwater as well. Bought it at a Yodobashi Camera store. The wrist-strap remote with LCD is nice to have.
 
They certainly don't allow one to to be very confident. I am always using redundant cameras expecting it not to still be on when I come check it, and often it's shut down. And then you are wondering, how much footage did I get before it shut down?
 
firehawk said:
They certainly don't allow one to to be very confident. I am always using redundant cameras expecting it not to still be on when I come check it, and often it's shut down. And then you are wondering, how much footage did I get before it shut down?
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Your concerns are warranted.

Tested it without the waterproof case. With camera shooting 4K 30P 100Mbps, with Wi-Fi and GPS on, I checked the camera after 15 minutes and the temp warning was on, but still recording. Took temp reading of camera body and got 114 deg. F. At 24 minutes the camera displayed an over-temp indication and stopped recording. Temp was 120 deg. F. The time to over-temp is most likely affected by the recording mode, but may also be affected by what other options you have enabled. Not that the GPS circuit would generate excess heat, but I noticed the battery is hot, so the more demand put on the battery could be a factor.

In the waterproof case, I put it under water and it ran until the battery died, or about 35 minutes with no temp warning and was not warm. I had GPS and Wi-Fi disabled for that test.


Mark
 
Thank you, Mark. That's good real user information.

Anyone know if it can be powered by an external plug in battery pack? If so, perhaps that would help in situations where you could deal with the extra rigging.
I like clamping these things in trees and atop tall poles for wide shots. But with the overheating problems you don't know how long til they will die out in the heat.

Sounds like in 4k, around 35 minutes is the best you can get from the battery if it's kept from getting hot.
 
The manual says it can be powered by the USB. If so the battery is not charge if camera is recording. Not sure if it will work with no battery. Is that the case Mark ? I expect 4K is the power cause and even with the battery removed it may still get hot. 1920x1080 60P is what I would use so I expect it will work with this just fine?
 
Yep, power pack works good. I have a 10,000mAh pack and when it's connected without the camera battery installed, you can turn on the camera, work the menus, but cannot record. I'll need to re-do the 4K 30P 100Mbps battery test, as that last try was not a fresh battery. In 4K 30P 60Mbps, the camera ran longer before over-heating. Shut down at 65 minutes and 121 deg. F.

At 1920x1080 60P, and a fresh battery, it ran for 98 minutes, at which time the battery died. The temp hit 108 deg. Maybe no problem then, as Ron expected. The video files were intact in all cases of camera shut-down, recording stoppages.
 
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1 - A few more battery tests. 4K 30P 100Mbps (underwater, in waterproof housing) with a fresh battery it ran for 65 minutes before the battery died.
2- 4K 30P 60Mbps open air, GPS off, Wi-Fi off, mic off, stabilze off, bluetooth off, with a fresh battery it ran for 57 minutes before the battery died. Temp was 108.
3 - Same as #2, but with Wi-Fi on, and Wi-Fi power set to HI, I got 46 minutes.
The way I plan to use this most of the time will not be tethered to a power pack, so now I'm aware of the battery life limitations and overheat issues.
I need to see how it does in HFR mode. I won't be using the 100Mbps mode when on internal battery and shut off GPS and Wi-Fi when I don't need them.
Later this month I can put it on a 4x4 Hummer H3 and test out the B.O.S.S.

Mark
 
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