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I’ve been waiting it out for a Z9 to buy as my forever camera ever since it was launched. Two things were holding me back, namely there being an actual supply of them and then me being able to go to Japan to buy a used one. I’ve been in no rush and as I’m going to Tokyo at the beginning of June and there are plenty of used ones available at MapCamera now, the time has actually come to get one. Which has coincided on me going cool on the idea. Bear in mind that I haven’t been inside a real camera shop since COVID so I’ve never actually seen a Z9 in real life but yesterday I met someone in Berlin who has one and let me have a go with it. And well… If the Z8 does indeed turn out to be a form factor reduced Z9 with a 25-30% price reduction too then I’m probably in. The Z9 form factor doesn’t bother me in the slightest coming from my heritage of D3/D4/D5 use but maybe it would be nicer to have the option of a Z8 with a battery grip to pick and choose sizes depending on what I’m doing with it. Ironically, it was the lenses that were leading me to and then away from the Z9. I have a large collection of high end F mount lenses from my pro days gathering dust so the Z9 with the FTZ was the logical way to bring them into the modern era. But I then didn’t fancy buying into the native Z lenses for when I want to have something smaller and lighter as I found them a bit expensive and not much 3rd party stuff to write home about made it worse. So in the end I decided it was time to cut the losses with the F mount and go in with L or even E mount cameras. However… The man who let me use his Z9 (you might know him, not an Uber League Swingball player or anything but knows about cameras) had something interesting on it. You have to look closely but it’s that waffa theeen Megadap E mount to Z AF adapter and it changes a lot for me. The adapter more or less gives native lens performance of E mount lenses on the Z cameras. I have a couple of E mount lenses so that is good but more importantly it opens up affordable and interesting 3rd party lenses like the Sigma’s contemporary series or primes and zooms and Tamron’s 35-150 f2/f2.8 which are now effectively available in Z mount using this adapter. This means that the Z8 can not only be viewed as baby Z9 but also as a baby Alpha 1, particularly for anyone with a decent collection of E mount lenses already.

Slog3. I do like the full-frame look and the spotless 4K 120p of the fx3. But, the fx3 4K is oversampled, so it visibly has more resolution, and the zoom lenses are much smaller for the same range. The difference in low light is also not as large as one might think given the sensor size and pixel size differences.

hey hey i love my 24 fps just fine and i have one of the smoothest brains in the business!

And I agreed with you that YOUR camera takes better pictures than the fx30. It is a better hybrid camera. Read my post again. I was "simply pointing out" that the fx30 is not a hybrid camera. My cell phone has better built-in GPS than the fx30. My toaster makes better toast. My TV has a better LCD screen. I prefer apples to oranges. Get it? Let's stop with the ownership bias already - I have access to an unlimited number of cameras (not IMAX or the ARRI LF). I have shot with scores of cameras that are currently available. Let's get back to the cameras. Enjoy YOUR camera. It is a great camera.

OK. This is the type of comment that downgrades this whole forum. Just think about what you posted. Are you proud of your post? Should you reflect on what made you do it? Do you think it is clever? Do you think it impresses your friends and family?

FX30 has no physical shutter and is a single shot only camera. If you need to take photos, it's probably the worst new camera option you can find today. Since its ES only and lacks a stacked sensor like the a9's or a1, it will also be a major PITA indoors when it comes to banding from the light cycles. I'd go a7IV without hesitation. I have one, it's a really great hybrid. Chris

I like smaller sensor cameras for the super-zoom capability they typically offer. Also camcorders with built-in ND filers are nice.

Chris - do you think there’s a better body and lens system for the quality features and price/size? a7iv is not an option for me or any similar size camera for travel and walking around etc. photo is secondary thought - I’d grab an x100f or something for fun photos or just use and iPhone and VSCO for photos small prints

Give it up. The fx30 and is not a hybrid. It is a "cinema" camera by Sony's own definition. By eliminating the totally unnecessary mechanical shutter (for video), money is saved, which is why the camera is much cheaper than the fx3. It is not suitable for stills; it is on the cutting-edge for video. That is the definition of non-hybrid. The fx30 has timecode, 4K DCI, 24.0 fps, tally lights, and special lcd viewing configurations for video. Same features as the fx3, which is approved by Netflix for cinema. And none of the a7 cameras are, because they lack essential features for video. Note that the fx3 does not have shutter angle or ND's - shutter angle is hardly an essential cinema feature unless one is incapable of dividing by 2; it seems that built-in ND's and IBIS do not work together - I prefer IBIS. I would love to have the electronic ND. Hybrid is another word for compromise. The a7 cameras are crippled for video; the fx30 is crippled for stills. So, guess which one I choose for video? I do not understand why you have the need to dump on the fx30. The a7 cameras are crippled for video, no doubt. I feel your pain you did not get video-centric upgrades. So you take out your disappointment and envy and just plain meanness on the fx30 and those who use it? It is just plain nuts to define the fx30 as a hybrid camera and not a cinema camera. I agree completely that your camera not getting video upgrades is maddening and results from pure selfish greed on the part of Sony. I hate Sony. But that is not going to stop me from pointing out silly logic based on obvious ownership bias, or to stop me from using Sony cameras if they suit my needs better than other cameras (and I have made clear why the fx30 is right for my purpose right now).

That is precisely why I have been trying out the fx3 and the fx30 - I am about to travel to China and I need a compact camera and lens. The fx3, with its full frame, really requires big lenses to have range and wide aperture. I am settling on the fx30 with the Sony Zeiss 16-70, which is a compromise, but gives me a small rig, with decent versatility and quality. 10bit and Slog3 are essential. The fx30 and the Zeiss lens and the Sony 15mm f1.4 for low light and night is where I am going. And, yes, my Samsung phone gives me the ability to take stills with no fuss, and I need a phone. This 4K video is likely my final test run with the fx30 and Zeiss lens. I use all of the special features here - CIZ, gyro stabilization in post (Catalyst Browse) for walking-with-camera shots, and 4K 120p slow motion:

You are correct, the a7iv is a better hybrid camera than the fx30. That is because the fx30 is not a hybrid camera, it is a video camera. It therefore has many features that aid in shooting video that the a7iv does not and never will. The fx30 and fx30 are perhaps the worst hybrid cameras. So are the ARRI LF, the RED Komodo, the Sony Venice II, the Sony fx9, etc. And, so you don't get all riled up, the a7iv can take great video, unless of course you want to shoot 4K DCI 24.0P or shoot a Netflix film.

You can download the ungraded version from here (you download "Original"): Note: this video was rendered from the original 300 Mbps All-I 10bit 422 clips to HEVC 10bit 422 with a lower bitrate. But no grading, so still Slog3. Ignore the Vimeo streaming version. above.

I have had a used one in and out of my shopping basket several times but backed out each time. I’m really just waiting to see what Panasonic do with the S1 line replacement because ideally I’d stay within the L Mount ecosystem but not 100% committed to doing so.

So I used both R7 and R8 on a music festival, again R7 1 battery last whole night (4k25p), R8 I used pd powerbank so I don't have to swap battery. Though I do see the overheating warning bar appearing on R8 but again only up to 1 bar, on R7 I didn't see the bar at all. The R7 with Sigma 18-35mm 1.8 is a killer combo, the 4k crop mode is really handy for zoom in (make the 35mm end into a 100mm equivalent zoom), and IS is tripod like stability even in a crowded space, just the 4k60p and lowlight noise is not as good as the R8.

He loves watching smooth 60 fps playback, and studies have shown that this also smooths your brain. There's no folds left in his brain