Sony FX30: an aps-c FX3

ahalpert

ahalpert

Major Contributor
Solid rumors say this new camera is coming late September

https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new...r-same-fx3-interface-and-similar-video-specs/

  • 26MP APS-C sensor
  • similar FX3 body and similar FX3 specs
  • same FX3 interface (from latest firmware)
  • unconfirmed: Price around $2,500
  • announcement in late September
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personally, I'd be interested in it if it could give me 4K recording from a 2x crop factor so I could use it like a teleconverter on my long lenses

There's also a definite benefit from using a S35 sensor if you have S35 cine glass. But in that case, the product may be somewhat mismatched. Cine glass owners may not want a $2500 camera. And if you're interested in aurofocus, nearly all the best AF lenses are full-frame...
 
ahalpert said:
Solid rumors say this new camera is coming late September

https://www.sonyalpharumors.com/new...r-same-fx3-interface-and-similar-video-specs/
[/LIST] personally, I'd be interested in it if it could give me 4K recording from a 2x crop factor so I could use it like a teleconverter on my long lenses

There's also a definite benefit from using a S35 sensor if you have S35 cine glass. But in that case, the product may be somewhat mismatched. Cine glass owners may not want a $2500 camera. And if you're interested in aurofocus, nearly all the best AF lenses are full-frame...
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They’re all just tools. And some people will use any tool that they feel can help them. One of my younger friends has a current FX3. Along with a Komodo, F5, Gemini, Amira, Alexa Mini, set of Canon Primes, 17-120, 25-250 and a set of Angenieux zooms.

For so many things, the majority of things(?), s35 is more than “enough sensor”. If anyone doubts it, they only need to look at Arri and the brand new Alexa 35. They can’t build them fast enough. People are currently on waiting lists that won’t even get them until next year.
 
The Alexa35 is a new tool.

As far as i can tell, it is the only camera with enough latitude to shoot what you see. It defines a new era of image capture.

There is the Alexa35 and everything else.
 
I really wish they would have done this in an FX6-style body, with internal NDs, plenty of physical controls, and XLR inputs...

I love my FX6, but I sometimes wish it were S35 (without having to use CI Zoom or crop mode in HD).
 
drboffa said:
I really wish they would have done this in an FX6-style body, with internal NDs, plenty of physical controls, and XLR inputs...

I love my FX6, but I sometimes wish it were S35 (without having to use CI Zoom or crop mode in HD).
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I suspect that they will. And that they will also release an APS-C A6xxx body with reasonably updated specs. The camera release order is probably designed to maximize sales. So, maybe they're hoping that you will buy an FX30 and then eventually buy an S35 FX6 as well. And maybe they're hoping that would-be A6xxx buyers will spend more money on this instead of an A6xxx. (I was hoping to buy a $1,500 A6xxx with full readout 4k60p and a 4K 2x crop factor mode as a D or E camera.)

Of course, you could always buy an FX9 and use its S35 4K crop mode!
 
The FX9—while a wonderful camera—is way too big for my needs, and lacks some of the features I need (like 4K120 and Sony's best AF).

I was on a shoot a couple weeks ago with an FX9 alongside my FX6, and it was my first time seeing one in person. It's not a *huge* camera, but it does look huge compared to the FX6.

Currently I have an a7s3 to go along with the FX6, but if this FX30 checks all the right boxes maybe I'll consider dropping the a7s3 for it.
 
drboffa said:
The FX9—while a wonderful camera—is way too big for my needs, and lacks some of the features I need (like 4K120 and Sony's best AF).

I was on a shoot a couple weeks ago with an FX9 alongside my FX6, and it was my first time seeing one in person. It's not a *huge* camera, but it does look huge compared to the FX6.

Currently I have an a7s3 to go along with the FX6, but if this FX30 checks all the right boxes maybe I'll consider dropping the a7s3 for it.
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That makes sense. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that it will have 4k120. I would wager that it won't. I also doubt that it will have a pixel-to-pixel 4K crop mode, but I would be willing to settle for clear image zoom that scales from actual 4K or higher resolution

One thing I like about the fx3, and this new fx30, is the timecode input (which i haven't tested yet). Supposedly the internal time code drifts more than average (a frame per hour or something, according to newsshooter. I can't remember.) But it would still be a useful option for me in certain scenarios. That feature could theoretically bump my fx30 from a D camera up to a B camera in those situations
 
What this means is that Canon won't release another C100 but might produce something in the $8,000-$10,000 range (R5 or R5C x 2). FX-9 is three years old now. Canon likely received a permission to hit that part of the market. Question is whether there's even a need for anything above it.

In the APS-C niche, Canon filled the sub-$2,000 market with R7 and R10, while Sony conveniently hasn't updated its AXXXX lineup in ages. Fuji's got an 8K APS-C model coming out but it will probably be crippled in some very mysterious ways.
 
AXXXX was an aging line and it was time for it to end. They started a new one for the next generation of cam ops (YouTubers and vloggers) with the ZV systems, ZV-1 & ZV-E10, and likely will have more of those.

Besides an EVF, the ZV-E10 has everything and more that all of the AXXXX had (and its digital IS works better than old Sony IBIS).
 
NorBro said:
Besides an EVF, the ZV-E10 has everything and more that all of the AXXXX had (and its digital IS works better than old Sony IBIS).
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Well, the ZV-E10 only records up to 30p 4K and only in 8-bit, and it uses the old NP-FW50 batteries rather than the batteries that my fx3/a7siii/a7iv use. I'd be willing to buy a ZV camera for my D/E body, but that particular model doesn't tick any of those boxes. Sonyalpharumors says that a new ZV camera will come out between October and December, but if the specs of the previous model are any indication, I doubt they will make improvements where I need them
 
ahalpert said:
Well, the ZV-E10 only records up to 30p 4K and only in 8-bit, and it uses the old NP-FW50 batteries rather than the batteries that my fx3/a7siii/a7iv use.
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Yeah, but why are you saying that? Those/your cameras don't have anything to do with that particular DLD comment and my reply to it, they aren't part of the aXXXX line. [a6000, 6300, 6400, 6500, 6600...notice the 4 characters.]

All of the aXXXX recorded 4K/30p/8-bit and only the last two or so in that family around 2019 received the better upgraded battery while all of the other ones used smaller batteries the 7-8 years before.

If you're just sharing you'd like a ZV or an aXXXX to have specs like the a7SIII or FX3 for around $600 then we all agree.
 
NorBro said:
If you're just sharing you'd like a ZV or an aXXXX to have specs like the a7SIII or FX3 for around $600 then we all agree.
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Well, I had been expecting an aXXXX for $1500 that had 10-bit and at least 30p in 4K. That would have been useful to me, and I could buy as many additional angles as I wanted. There's probably zero marginal cost to add 10-bit to those cameras now. The A7IV sort of gets close, just at a higher price point. And it can't get a 2x crop factor with full 4K resolution. If they're killing the A6xxx line it's sort of disappointing
 
Don't you mostly use a tweaked out-of-the-box look and not grade? 8-bit would be the last thing I'd care about. The cameras have so much resolution and look great, no one would notice the difference when mixed. Some more data would be nice, 200, 400mbps.

It's the unreasonable rolling shutter which needs to be fixed (40+ ms is just insane) and 4K/60p needs to be added for those shooting everything in slow-motion. And color requires some reevaluation...but that's for all of them.
 
NorBro said:
Don't you mostly use a tweaked out-of-the-box look and not grade? 8-bit would be the last thing I'd care about. The cameras have so much resolution and look great, no one would notice the difference when mixed. Some more data would be nice, 200, 400mbps.

It's the unreasonable rolling shutter which needs to be fixed (40+ ms is just insane) and 4K/60p needs to be added for those shooting everything in slow-motion. And color requires some reevaluation...but that's for all of them.
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No, you still have to grade the profiles I like, just not very much and basically not the color at all, just the contrast. You're right, I could probably get by with 8-bit in those circumstances. But I am required to shoot slog3 regularly, and usually required to shoot 4k60 then as well

Mostly, I'd rather buy a camera that I won't want to replace in its role. Better to spend $2500 and get that than $1500 now and more later.

Yes, the rolling shutter of their aps-c cameras looks like its pretty bad. Looks like the zve10 has slightly worse RS than the a6600. This will probably be another reason to buy an FX30 instead.

The nice thing about the a7iv is that I can get full-frame 4k24p shots as well as aps-c 4k60p. That is useful, and gives it an advantage over an aps-c camera
 
You're a good example of how much money Canon lost from one customer because of overheating a camera. All of those bodies, lenses could have gone to R5...nickels and dimes in the grand scheme, but a couple dozen of you is suddenly half a million USD.
 
The cartel is repurposing its APS-C lineup as the new entry level (and bringing the Medium Format way down in price on the high end). Sony's ZV's are probably the best bang-for-the-buck offerings now. They may not be "pro quality" but they're good enough for basic photography and video.

FX-30 may turn out to be a great "entry level pro" camera - let's wait for the specs/reviews though - given the abundance of the Sony licensed glass. Just to ponder, C100 was announced almost exactly a decade ago, a 1080p unit, with the auto focus to be added later, and selling for $8,000.
 
NorBro said:
You're a good example of how much money Canon lost from one customer because of overheating a camera. All of those bodies, lenses could have gone to R5...nickels and dimes in the grand scheme, but a couple dozen of you is suddenly half a million USD.
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Indeed. I think I'm in over $18k on sony mirrorless bodies and G/GM lenses since buying the a7siii. The upcoming 85 GM f/1.2 will undoubtedly push it over $20k before talking about another body. And when I'm ready to upgrade my FS7, it will almost certainly be to an FX-line camera since I own so much glass for it. But I would have bought an R5 if it had launched with the current firmware
 
i see people switching back and forth every 8years or so. I don’t think Japanese companies are hurt when everyone switches platforms. It costs us a lot more to switch platforms, than to keep our glass and incrementally upgrade the bodies. Even with selling off the old gear.

If you know video camera history, Sony has been the dominant figure in that up until the 5DMkii, and then it was this weird Canon era. But with the Venice and A7S3 it is pretty safe to say the ball is back in Sony’s court for video.

With Canon vs Nikon we also saw some of that platform switching as one got better autofocus or something.

There used to be some loyalty to brands, and people would wait out the cycle, but these days it seems like platforms are cheap enough for people to jump ship real quick. $18K is what a lens used to cost. or the tape budget for x amount of time. now you get a lens package and a couple bodies.
 
I do like the idea that something like this is cheap enough, to simply leave mounted on a gimbal at all times - you could even have one rigged up permanently for autofocus work, and the other with a PL-mount and attachements, so you don't have to go through the pain of de-rigging and re-rigging every time you have a different style of job.
 
JimGao said:
i see people switching back and forth every 8years or so. I don’t think Japanese companies are hurt when everyone switches platforms. It costs us a lot more to switch platforms, than to keep our glass and incrementally upgrade the bodies. Even with selling off the old gear.

If you know video camera history, Sony has been the dominant figure in that up until the 5DMkii, and then it was this weird Canon era. But with the Venice and A7S3 it is pretty safe to say the ball is back in Sony’s court for video.
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Really depends on which years and type of system and price bracket and people you're speaking about...

Panasonic dominated the tape video cameras with their Varicams in those years, or Sony dominated with the FS7 way before the a7SIII - and the a7S I and II were also mega successful as well - or there was the RED and Blackmagic world where many from there wouldn't use a Japanese camera again after experience with those systems, or Canon is still today untouchable in the photography world (a lot of pros use other systems, but overall it's a Canon world for stills).

If we're just talking about Japan then I would agree that Sony has an edge over Canon and Panasonic right now.

In Hollywood, they would be option #3 for most.
 
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