FS5: Sony PXW-FX6

Thanks for the review Grug. I am so happy that Sony has taken some large steps foward with the LUT implementation - compared to the FS7.

Curious if the lack of a VF bothered you... or is that part of solving some rigging issues? And if you liked the touch screen of the monitor - or didn't bother using it much? (the a7siii has a wonderful auto tracking feature - that I guess didn't make it on the FX6)
 
Thanks for such a detailed writeup! I'm looking forward to getting my hands on one when they start shipping.

Did you have a chance to get any footage? If so what were your thoughts?

One point about the S&Q function:

Grug said:
[...] So there’s no way to access to access your S&Q frame rates without diving into about three layers of menu. You can turn S&Q mode on and off at the touch of a button, but you can’t adjust it without a deep menu dive (incredibly frustrating) they really need to make the S&Q button give you immediate scroll-access to the frame rate itself. Similarly, the quick menu includes a media page, with detailed info on how much space you have left on each card - but it gives you no ability to format your cards from that dedicated quick-menu page.



Click to expand...

If you long press the S&Q button it *should* bring up the option to change frame rates (at least this is how it works on the Fs5, and the manual for the FX6 seems to suggest it's the same). It'd be really unfortunate if they did away with that feature for some reason.
 
Sony implented long press for SQ menu on the FS7 after some time so even if it is not there now it might appear in the future firmwares.
 
markfpv said:
Thanks for the review Grug. I am so happy that Sony has taken some large steps foward with the LUT implementation - compared to the FS7.

Curious if the lack of a VF bothered you... or is that part of solving some rigging issues? And if you liked the touch screen of the monitor - or didn't bother using it much? (the a7siii has a wonderful auto tracking feature - that I guess didn't make it on the FX6)
Click to expand...

Well I'm glad they haven't put a stupid, useless, low-quality EVF on the back (like they used to). So that's a step in the right direction. Adding a dedicated EVF, or a Loupe to the LCD is just a given, so I'm not too worried about that. I have a Gratical Eye sitting in the cupboard for stuff like that (though I suspect something like the Zacuto Loupe might be a better fit overall for this little guy.

The rigging issues are mostly just compounded by all of the audio inputs being on the handle. If you don't need to worry about audio (as I usually don't), then rigging should be pretty simple and straightforward (assuming someone comes out with a properly rigid way to brace a PL mount on the camera). But with the stock handle in place, it'll be a bit tricker to build around.

The LCD mounts to just a simple 15mm spud, so that'll be easy enough to adjust and reposition using rods.

I didn't realise the LCD was a touchscreen, it wasn't responding to anything when we prodded it, and the Prep Tech didn't think it was touch capable.

My experience with Auto-Focus for video is extremely limited, so I'm not the person to comment on that.

drboffa said:
One point about the S&Q function:

If you long press the S&Q button it *should* bring up the option to change frame rates (at least this is how it works on the Fs5, and the manual for the FX6 seems to suggest it's the same). It'd be really unfortunate if they did away with that feature for some reason.
Click to expand...

Ah! Well that would make sense. Fingers-crossed that's how they've implemented it (and access to the low/high base ISO as well). The rental prep tech I was working with didn't mention anything about that.

If both the S&Q frame rates and the Base ISO can be adjusted using long-presses, then I think that's most of the major features you can adjust without having to go beyond the quick-menus (media formatting excluded) which would solve most of my operational qualms with the camera.
 
"The LCD mounts to just a simple 15mm spud, so that'll be easy enough to adjust and reposition using rods."

Except the cable is too short to get it anywhere near far enough forward .. going to have to use up the one SDI I guess .. even the FX9 on your shoulder its right at the cables limit ..
 
Donny 123 said:
"
Except the cable is too short to get it anywhere near far enough forward .. going to have to use up the one SDI I guess .. even the FX9 on your shoulder its right at the cables limit ..
Click to expand...

The cable length was for me on the FS7 the one mega huge design FAIL. The short cable meant the camera would not balance on the shoulder in a position where one could eye the VF - no arguments - it would not.*

This meant spending $1000 on a small monitor and iplementing power for it.

The simple cable length fail set one on the road of pinping the camera - spending hundreds on batteries and monitors and cables and adding on huge amounts of mass

Cable tradgedy.



*maybe with a pancake lens and a Vmount
 
Grug said:
I got my hands on a FX6 rental unit yesterday. And the camera's about what I expected it to be - simultaneously really exciting, and really frustrating in a few key areas.

The first thing you'll notice is the sheer speed of it all. The new processors are obviously a huge upgrade, as you can boot up and be recording in about three seconds. Literally in the time it takes your finger to move from the power switch to the record button, the camera's ready to record - which is amazing.

You'll also see the speed in the menus, which are super responsive, and have none of the lag of the older Sony cameras, so it's a much more precise and painless process to change settings (as you're not overshooting things all the time).

The sheer size of camera is a thing to behold. It's just crazy tiny, and so lightweight.

The lack of a locking lens mount is hugely frustrating though, and all the more painful for the fact that it seems to have come through the requests of overly vocal youtubers who were complaining about not being able to change lenses one handed. This will be a hugely frustrating decision for a lot of people - especially for anyone using lenses longer or heavier than the kit stills zooms, or electronic primes. It'll particularly jeopardise those of us interested in Sony's upcoming hybrid cine/af zooms, and anyone using cinema lenses.

Having two video outputs (one SDI, one HDMI) does give it a significant advantage over the other mini-cam contenders (the Red Komodo and C70).

There are eight assignable buttons, which is very handy, but of those seven/eight buttons, two are on the top handle, and two are on the side handle. So if you're wanting to strip the camera down into a more conventional "cine" build, you'll lose half of those buttons.

I don't record audio in-camera often at all, so having the scratch mic on the body is fantastic. But it's a real shame that there are zero audio inputs on the body (it makes swapping out the top-handle a no-go for any jobs that do require sound in-camera - which might require a lot of people to have two different builds for the camera that they'll have to swap between depending on the job).

The use of fractions to describe the density of internal ND of you're using is a literal nightmare, and isn't currently able to be changed to a more conventional Optical Density Value readout (0.6, 0.9, 1.2 etc.), or even a simple description of the level of ND (2.0 stops, 3.4 stops etc.). I really hope they fix this with firmware, it's a massive headache, and will require a printout stuck to the camera body for a lot of people in order to decipher the densities (if they're calling stops or lighting by meter).

LUTs are painless and work at all framerates, and (in Cine EI mode at least) don't interfere with the exposure displayed on your waveform, which is great (and precisely how they should work). The LUTs also scale seamlessly with your EI exposure, so you get a proper, corrected picture to monitor from (whether you're under or overexposing by choice). Sony get full marks for this. It's precisely how LUTs should be implemented, and it'll make everyone's life easier.

The menus though… the deep menus are Sony’s usual trash, but they’ve fortunately created a quick-menu system that lets you avoid having to use the deep menus… except it doesn’t, or at least not for a few important settings. So there’s no way to access to access your S&Q frame rates without diving into about three layers of menu. You can turn S&Q mode on and off at the touch of a button, but you can’t adjust it without a deep menu dive (incredibly frustrating) they really need to make the S&Q button give you immediate scroll-access to the frame rate itself. Similarly, the quick menu includes a media page, with detailed info on how much space you have left on each card - but it gives you no ability to format your cards from that dedicated quick-menu page.



Similarly on the main quick-menu page, you can see the base ISO mode you’re in (800 or 12,800) but you can’t access and change that mode from the page. So you can see all of the settings you want to get at, but you can only actually access and modify about half of them from that quick-menu.



It’s a massive cocktease and really frustrating. If Sony can simply activate adjustment for all of the settings that they show you in the quick-menu, the camera would almost instantly become an operational delight (as everything you need to get to, would only be a couple of button touches away).



In spite of the frustrations though, it’s a really appealing little camera - and the dual-base ISO offers some really exciting possibilities. So I’m mulling over putting in an order for one now. It’ll need some very specific accessories to be developed (particularly a PL-mount with proper bracing, sort of like what Wooden Camera developed for the FS5). But with a few rigging problems solved, I think it could be really nice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the sum-up! I'm still waiting for the Vocas PL>E mount adapter with top plate mounting (just like the FX9 or FS5). It's very similar to the Wooden Camera.
 
Vik Kamenicky said:
Thanks for the sum-up! I'm still waiting for the Vocas PL>E mount adapter with top plate mounting (just like the FX9 or FS5). It's very similar to the Wooden Camera.
Click to expand...

Have they announced that anywhere? I've been hoping they'd release something similar to their Komodo PL mount for the FX6 - as that's something the camera really needs.
 
Donny 123 said:
"The LCD mounts to just a simple 15mm spud, so that'll be easy enough to adjust and reposition using rods."

Except the cable is too short to get it anywhere near far enough forward .. going to have to use up the one SDI I guess .. even the FX9 on your shoulder its right at the cables limit ..
Click to expand...

That's a bugger. I hadn't considered that. May be another feature to petition Sony for - a longer cable.
 
Grug said:
Have they announced that anywhere? I've been hoping they'd release something similar to their Komodo PL mount for the FX6 - as that's something the camera really needs.
Click to expand...



Not yet, but it is in the works. I exchanged a couple of emails with them, but SONY was a bit hesitant to send proper CAS files to all the manufacturers for a seamless announcement with proper accessories for people who are not 90 percent on a gimbal but on pair of sticks, dollies or handheld. Vocas rep said that their timeline is around mid January.

It will be something similar like this but you should have their top late.

https://www.vocas.com/vocas-pl-support-for-cheese-plate-pxw-fs5.html
 
Last edited:
Grug said:
I got my hands on a FX6 rental unit yesterday. And the camera's about what I expected it to be - simultaneously really exciting, and really frustrating in a few key areas.

The first thing you'll notice is the sheer speed of it all. The new processors are obviously a huge upgrade, as you can boot up and be recording in about three seconds. Literally in the time it takes your finger to move from the power switch to the record button, the camera's ready to record - which is amazing.

You'll also see the speed in the menus, which are super responsive, and have none of the lag of the older Sony cameras, so it's a much more precise and painless process to change settings (as you're not overshooting things all the time).

The sheer size of camera is a thing to behold. It's just crazy tiny, and so lightweight.

The lack of a locking lens mount is hugely frustrating though, and all the more painful for the fact that it seems to have come through the requests of overly vocal youtubers who were complaining about not being able to change lenses one handed. This will be a hugely frustrating decision for a lot of people - especially for anyone using lenses longer or heavier than the kit stills zooms, or electronic primes. It'll particularly jeopardise those of us interested in Sony's upcoming hybrid cine/af zooms, and anyone using cinema lenses.

Having two video outputs (one SDI, one HDMI) does give it a significant advantage over the other mini-cam contenders (the Red Komodo and C70).

There are eight assignable buttons, which is very handy, but of those seven/eight buttons, two are on the top handle, and two are on the side handle. So if you're wanting to strip the camera down into a more conventional "cine" build, you'll lose half of those buttons.

I don't record audio in-camera often at all, so having the scratch mic on the body is fantastic. But it's a real shame that there are zero audio inputs on the body (it makes swapping out the top-handle a no-go for any jobs that do require sound in-camera - which might require a lot of people to have two different builds for the camera that they'll have to swap between depending on the job).

The use of fractions to describe the density of internal ND of you're using is a literal nightmare, and isn't currently able to be changed to a more conventional Optical Density Value readout (0.6, 0.9, 1.2 etc.), or even a simple description of the level of ND (2.0 stops, 3.4 stops etc.). I really hope they fix this with firmware, it's a massive headache, and will require a printout stuck to the camera body for a lot of people in order to decipher the densities (if they're calling stops or lighting by meter).

LUTs are painless and work at all framerates, and (in Cine EI mode at least) don't interfere with the exposure displayed on your waveform, which is great (and precisely how they should work). The LUTs also scale seamlessly with your EI exposure, so you get a proper, corrected picture to monitor from (whether you're under or overexposing by choice). Sony get full marks for this. It's precisely how LUTs should be implemented, and it'll make everyone's life easier.

The menus though… the deep menus are Sony’s usual trash, but they’ve fortunately created a quick-menu system that lets you avoid having to use the deep menus… except it doesn’t, or at least not for a few important settings. So there’s no way to access to access your S&Q frame rates without diving into about three layers of menu. You can turn S&Q mode on and off at the touch of a button, but you can’t adjust it without a deep menu dive (incredibly frustrating) they really need to make the S&Q button give you immediate scroll-access to the frame rate itself. Similarly, the quick menu includes a media page, with detailed info on how much space you have left on each card - but it gives you no ability to format your cards from that dedicated quick-menu page.



Similarly on the main quick-menu page, you can see the base ISO mode you’re in (800 or 12,800) but you can’t access and change that mode from the page. So you can see all of the settings you want to get at, but you can only actually access and modify about half of them from that quick-menu.



It’s a massive cocktease and really frustrating. If Sony can simply activate adjustment for all of the settings that they show you in the quick-menu, the camera would almost instantly become an operational delight (as everything you need to get to, would only be a couple of button touches away).



In spite of the frustrations though, it’s a really appealing little camera - and the dual-base ISO offers some really exciting possibilities. So I’m mulling over putting in an order for one now. It’ll need some very specific accessories to be developed (particularly a PL-mount with proper bracing, sort of like what Wooden Camera developed for the FS5). But with a few rigging problems solved, I think it could be really nice.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed write-up Grug, it is appreciated. Did you get to shoot anything with the camera yet? I'm curious about your early opinion on the camera's image.
 
Vik Kamenicky said:
Not yet, but it is in the works. I exchanged a couple of emails with them, but SONY was a bit hesitant to send proper CAS files to all the manufacturers for a seamless announcement with proper accessories for people who are not 90 percent on a gimbal but on pair of sticks, dollies or handheld. Vocas rep said that their timeline is around mid January.

It will be something similar like this but you should have their top late.

https://www.vocas.com/vocas-pl-support-for-cheese-plate-pxw-fs5.html
Click to expand...

Cool, I think that's a sensible approach to take with it.

Teddy_Dem said:
Thanks for the detailed write-up Grug, it is appreciated. Did you get to shoot anything with the camera yet? I'm curious about your early opinion on the camera's image.
Click to expand...

No, haven't shot anything with it. And there's not a lot of sample footage out there to play with. But the few clips I've been able to get my hands on, do seem to grade up nicely.
 
Grug said:
Cool, I think that's a sensible approach to take with it.



No, haven't shot anything with it. And there's not a lot of sample footage out there to play with. But the few clips I've been able to get my hands on, do seem to grade up nicely.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. Yeah, understandably there isn't much footage available to download for now. I have both the Mark Bone footage using the internal codecs and the ProRes RAW files that CVP posted, and both grade very well.
 
I've watched almost no footage from the FX6 and just placed an order for it. I know it's gonna be a good workhorse and be at least as good as my FS7.
 
One can hope that someone ... Wooden Camera ... will make a retrofit cable with XLR inputs for those who
need to drop the handle ... similar to their A-box.
 
what is the consensus on whether Sony will include touch tracking auto focus in a firmware update? It seems like a glaring omission given it is in the AS7 iii.
 
I'd take animal-eye AF over touch tracking... That's at the top of my list, along with an XAVC-S codec option so we can get sound with video when shooting at high frame rates.
 
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