FX6: The Sony ILME-FX6V Owners Club

ahalpert said:
I couldn't care less what Sony or anyone else calls a cinema camera. I was just applying the standard you endorsed. I doubt that most bigtime DPs would deem the FX6 fit for their production either, although the a7sii was used to shoot a major motion picture, so anything is possible.

The fact is that the a7siii and particularly the fx3 are better fit for the purposes I use them for - single-grip gimbal shooting. There's no farting around because there are no workarounds necessary. The only thing it's missing from the FX6 is ND, but there are numerous aspects in which they're preferable to the FX6 for this application. And when I have different needs/wants, I use my FS7.

You may have no use for the a7siii or fx3, but other people do. And their codecs exist, simple as that.

And just in general, I've known so many owner/ops who had a c300/5d or fs7/a7s combo for A cam/B cam.
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Hmm, someone seems to have gotten their panties in a twist because of which cameras I personally take an interest in. I never said anything about the capabilities of the FX3 or any other camera or the people who use them. You are reading things that I never wrote. You seem to have taken something I said as a personal insult, when nothing of the kind was intended. There are a million products I have no interest in, the FX3 and A7 series cameras are just a few of them. Use whatever you want. Makes no difference to me, but I think I have the right to voice an opinion whether you agree or not.
 
...but that is not quite accurate as the FX3 runs the same SW platform as the A7SIII not the SW platform from the FX6.
 
jmone said:
He means, that The only thing the "FX3" is missing from the FX6 is ND
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Yes, I know that. And I am saying he needs to take a closer look at the two cameras because, I don't know squat about the FX3, but I know there are more differences than just ND.
 
Doug Jensen said:
Hmm, someone seems to have gotten their panties in a twist because of which cameras I personally take an interest in. I never said anything about the capabilities of the FX3 or any other camera or the people who use them. You are reading things that I never wrote. You seem to have taken something I said as a personal insult, when nothing of the kind was intended. There are a million products I have no interest in, the FX3 and A7 series cameras are just a few of them. Use whatever you want. Makes no difference to me, but I think I have the right to voice an opinion whether you agree or not.
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Yes, panties in a twist... I can't imagine why you ever rub some people the wrong way...

You said "why fart around with" the a7siii or fx3. I told you why.
 
Doug Jensen said:
I think you need to take a closer look.
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I was speaking about the purpose for which I use the a7siii/fx3. I don't need xlr inputs, I don't need SDI or timecode, etc, etc... But eND would be great

There are numerous differences between the FX3 or A7SIII and the FX6. I'm just saying that I wouldn't be making use of many of them for my gimbal shooting anyway. But I like having the more compact body, the IBIS, the subject touch tracking (or whatever it's called)

For lots of other shooting - interviews, ENG, etc - those ENG-type features are much more useful to me and I don't typically use the a7siii/fx3 as an A camera for those applications

BTW, the FX6 is really an ENG camera. And many of the features it has by which we deem it a "Cinema" camera are ENG features. Just sayin... (Not ENG like small sensor, huge zoom. But - historically, having internal ND and XLR inputs is not a prerequisite for a Cinema camera.)

But this is why the codecs/processing on the A7SIII and mirrorless cameras of its generation are such a significant development. People were using pixel-binned slow-readout 8-bit 4:2:0 on previous generations for their B/gimbal-camera because of the form factor advantages. But now we can have full readout, fast-readout, 10-bit 4:2:2 4K 120fps internal with bitrates that match the FX6/FX9. So, the qualitative differences of the footage have really diminished. You still have weird limitations like not being able to completely turn off sharpening and NR in-camera. Which I find irksome. But for the applications that I use these cameras, it's a non-issue.

Also, don't you own an S1H? Obviously there are differences in processing and design/operation between the S1H and A7S, but I regard them identically in terms of form/function.
 
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I think the definition of a "cinema camera" varies greatly. Here is a quote from Chris Chomyn ASC: "I think there are common assumptions about what makes a camera a cinema camera. For some, a cinema camera must have a minimum resolution and minimum data rate. Some expect a certain color gamut. Some consider a cinema camera to have a specific form or shape. Some require specific functionality. Some require manual controls. But cameras are tools, and not every tool is a screwdriver or a hammer. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention and tools are designed to serve a purpose for which pre-existing options were inadequate."

https://nofilmschool.com/what-defines-a-cinema-camera

I think of my a7siii as a Honda with a Ferrari engine. It's every bit the cinema camera INSIDE which is what I love about it when I'm a). Trying to be inconspicuous and b). Packing light (my shoots often take me on public transit). I do not, however, like the mirrorless form factor -- its lack of NDs, XLRs and not being able to re-position the LCD. And then there's the perception problem. I was shooting the other day in a bar and the patrons kept holding their pose as if I was going to take their picture with my a7siii :laugh: Just some of the reason why I love my a7siii and also have ordered an FX6.
 
scorsesefan said:
I was shooting the other day in a bar and the patrons kept holding their pose as if I was going to take their picture with my a7siii :laugh: Just some of the reason why I love my a7siii and also have ordered an FX6.
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I've always rather liked that about shooting with an undercover video camera. More than once the weird, silent group shot has ended up in the final edit.
 
Hi guys, the other day I had a shoot with two FX6s for a explenatory mocumentary series for a grocery chain in my country. Must say... FX6 exceeded every expectation I had. Everything worked flawlessly... minor issues with AF but nothing dealbraker-ish. The added TC was awesome and the soundguys where pleased that for a lowbudget shoot we had a capable camera with industry standard connectors. The Dual ISOs are awesome... eND awesome... I'm sounding like a fanboy, but It is really hard to find a more capable, flexible and operator friendly camera. The only nitpicking is, that you need a proper top plate to rig everything. Mine FX6 has the woodencamera top plate a it is miles better than the Tilta offering on the second camera. Also a proper V-mount plate, I have the Tilta Universal Battery plate with 5 D-taps and two lemos + a sdi splitter, the second camera had the SmallRig V-mount plate and I must say... its horrible.

Wireless systems were SWIT FLOW500 and Hollyland Cosmos 600. The Cosmos had couple of issues with dropouts and syncs... Really impressed with the Flow 500 for the money. So if you are looking for a relatively affordable wireless system, look at the FLOW500.

Picture attached, me realising we are going to have a 15h shooting day... but it was nice to have a shoot with hassle less cameras.
 

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Doug Jensen said:
Not only are the V90 cards fast enough, almost all of my 120 fps footage is shot on V60 TOUGH cards. And I shoot a lot of 120 fps footage.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...gh_uhs_ii.html
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So, I have a followup to my post from a couple of weeks ago when I said I'd had no trouble shooting 4K XAVC-I @ 120 fps with the Sony TOUGH V60 card. I did have this card fail on me this week. I had been rolling for almost two minutes on a hawk circling overhead when an error message popped up to say that recording had halted. I let the camera run the Restore function and the clip is perfectly fine up to the point the camera stopped -- and all of the clips that came before it on the card are also fine. I continued to go ahead and use the card for other 120 fps clips with no difficulty. In the card's defense, that was after almost 2 full minutes of recording (unusual for slow-mo a clip), and the clip itself runs nearly 10 minutes long.

So, not a big deal to me, but I thought I should circle back around to this thread and at least mention the failure.
 
Has anyone been able to get the Rycote Lyre mic holder adaptor by jmone printed here in the US? I recently picked up a Sanken CS-M1 and want a better mic mount for it and feel like that could work well, but I'm not sure where or how to go about getting one made.
 
Doug Jensen said:
So, I have a followup to my post from a couple of weeks ago when I said I'd had no trouble shooting 4K XAVC-I @ 120 fps with the Sony TOUGH V60 card. I did have this card fail on me this week. I had been rolling for almost two minutes on a hawk circling overhead when an error message popped up to say that recording had halted. I let the camera run the Restore function and the clip is perfectly fine up to the point the camera stopped -- and all of the clips that came before it on the card are also fine. I continued to go ahead and use the card for other 120 fps clips with no difficulty. In the card's defense, that was after almost 2 full minutes of recording (unusual for slow-mo a clip), and the clip itself runs nearly 10 minutes long.

So, not a big deal to me, but I thought I should circle back around to this thread and at least mention the failure.
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Thanks for the update, Doug. Just to be on the safe side I'm going to pick up some v90 cards. If my FX6 ever arrives....
 
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Just received my fx6. Can you shoot slog3 in custom mode or do you have to use Cine EI mode/workflow a la the fs7? I read somewhere that slog3 can be used in custom mode... Also, anyone having any issues charging the older bpu batteries (bpu30) in the fx6 charger? I bought one used and it won't charge...
 
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Congrats on the camera arriving!

Yes, you can use slog3 in custom mode now (though I haven't done so yet).

As for batteries: I've found that older Sony batteries charge just fine, but anything non-Sony won't charge at all. The only difference with older Sony batteries has to do with the lights (i.e., I think they don't light up during charging the same way as newer batteries).
 
drboffa said:
Congrats on the camera arriving!

Yes, you can use slog3 in custom mode now (though I haven't done so yet).

As for batteries: I've found that older Sony batteries charge just fine, but anything non-Sony won't charge at all. The only difference with older Sony batteries has to do with the lights (i.e., I think they don't light up during charging the same way as newer batteries).
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Thanks. Re: the battery the orange light on the charger blinks quickly, but the battery never charges AFAIK.. Zero green lights on the battery status indicator. Back to Lensauthority for another one so we'll see.... One other thing; the power switch is a little "sticky". Hard to describe, but it requires a little more horizontal pressure than I remember the fs5 or fs7 needing and only sort of clicks. No issues powering on or off though. NBD - just in tire kicking mode...
 
scorsesefan said:
One other thing; the power switch is a little "sticky". Hard to describe, but it requires a little more horizontal pressure than I remember the fs5 or fs7 needing and only sort of clicks. No issues powering on or off though. NBD - just in tire kicking mode...
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Better than switching off as your hand accidentally brushes past it...
 
One remark about the Power Switch.
I left by accident the switch in 'ON' position (was thinking it was OFF) at the end of a cession, and put the camera in its bag.
One hour later, I had the good idea to use the camera. When I took it out of the bag it was still ON, and extremely hot (maybe 50°C) despite the fan. I was very afraid to have damaged something.

I think it could be a good idea to implement in the FW something to shut down the power if no action after some delay. At least, provide this option.
 
did said:
One remark about the Power Switch.
I left by accident the switch in 'ON' position (was thinking it was OFF) at the end of a cession, and put the camera in its bag.
One hour later, I had the good idea to use the camera. When I took it out of the bag it was still ON, and extremely hot (maybe 50°C) despite the fan. I was very afraid to have damaged something.

I think it could be a good idea to implement in the FW something to shut down the power if no action after some delay. At least, provide this option.
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The switch doesn't really "click" on my unit, it just slides... That would be a good idea. The a7siii powers off (or at least sleeps) after a period of inactivity so it probably could be implemented in the FX6...
 
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