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Why get so worked up about it then? You clearly deflected the question as well; what other camera is there that offers 4K120 at that price? I can't think of any. Which means you're expecting Sony to solve a problem that nobody else has even attempted to (4K120p 10-bit in a very compact body at a very affordable price). The next cheapest (mirrorless) option I know of is the GH6, and to pull that off they had to have a smaller sensor, much larger body, and charge twice as much. Looking at the videos so far it looks like overheating issues are limited to 4K120. So, if you ignore that mode entirely, you've still got a camera that is on par with the competition at that price, but with better AF. You just also have the option to occasionally get some shots at 4K120p. And all this comes in a consumer photo camera. You can't be upset that a company won't blow their entire R'n'D budget trying to satisfy a few people who expect to be able to use it beyond what it is designed and advertised as (yet who won't buy it anyway).

So, you don't know what the limits are? You suggest a shooting scenario that is reasonable, but then you just assume the worst. and then complain about it, as if it were true! I shot this 4K 120p video with the Sony ZV E1, which has the same "overheating" issue (no fan, compact body) and the same codecs as the a6700 (different sensor) but like the a6700 in 120p 4K, there is no oversampling. Shot all clips in 4K 120p, successive clips averaging 10 seconds (obviously trimmed in post) in an hours worth of shooting in 80+ temperature. Just like your scenario. Never got a warning. Camera was always on, no long intervals between shots. Now, I would not recommend the a6700 or the ZV E1 if you do not want to think about overheating, given you can get the same quality (fx3 or fx30), at greater expense and bulk, without overheating. But given the above scenarios, the chance of overheating is small. But, why be limited to those scenarios? Why worry? Move on. There are options. It is too bad you cannot yet have big sensors, high bitrates, high resolution, high frame frame rates from a tiny camera with no fan and not have heat issues. I am not a Sony fan, apologist, influencer or paid shill. Right now, I like the Nikon Z8 and RAW video, even for 4K 120p. And, it can overheat too, but has not so far for me with plenty of 8K 60P RAW shooting (not long interviews of course, but who needs a static 8K 60P interview video?). And that camera has an alternative also with the exact same quality that does not overheat; and, again, at greater cost and with increased bulk (Z9). Your choice.

Same here. 60% of the YouTube camera space has become a giant ad.

Agreed. Reliability, regardless of whether or not it's a pro camera, should be the top priority of every camera company. Because not everyone is trying to undercut the competition at the expense of releasing a functional, stable camera. There is literally nothing stopping them from putting in a recording limit so it performs consistently, which they used to do it with their cameras before recording limits were removed. The Lumix S5 had a recording limit for 10-bit 4K 60p. They made that clear from the get go. They could've let it go until it overheated, but their intention was to provide a stable, predictable experience. They shouldn't be applauded for this though, because it SHOULD be what every company does. Asking for a camera not to overheat shouldn't be a pro feature. A Dad deciding to buy this camera to take family pictures and maybe film their kid's play or recital should probably be given the simple courtesy of knowing it's limitations right on the box or in the product description, like they used to when recording limits were enforced, so he's not surprised mid-play to find the camera shut down because of overheating. They shouldn't have to watch a YouTube video where influencers briefly mention it in-between shilling it so you'll click on their affiliate link to find out that, hey, this camera might shut down after 20 minutes. I find myself less passionate about the camera industry more and more every day, because while people's expectations re: specs are higher than ever, people's expectations for functionality and truth in advertising have never been lower. Like it's insane to me that I even have to explain to people why it's unacceptable to release a camera that overheats without explicitly informing the consumer (and no, burying it in the documentation doesn't count. Companies know most people don't read that stuff).

I’m not really sure about some folks expectations here with this or many other camera releases. It’s an ‘enthusiast’ camera with a few ‘pro’ bits but is not intended to be, priced as, or sold as a pro level or cine camera. So what’s the issue?! The ZV Wotsit was probably a bit over-priced, but otherwise is another example of it is what it is, but isn’t a rival for a Red because it’s not intended to be.

Even better, use a shoulder harness from someone like Holdfast also and you can use that kind of set up virtually hands free as the harness provides stability each side and the bulk of the weight goes down the monopod into the belt/your chiseled 6 pack.

OK, quite a few dabs… I made the over-enthusiastic approach of fixing the adapter wobble before investigating the slow start up issue. It’s actually more like 10-12 seconds which is far too long for my needs and I can’t find any solution to it or the continual request each time if I am happy with the IBIS setting. I could switch the IBIS off and assign it to a function button but then that is another step to contend with. It’s game over before I ever got going with it. Shame because the combo of baked in Phantom LUT, 6k 30p 3:2 and how that lens renders wide open at f3.5 is…was, pretty much bang on. The potential or actual aesthetic output however cannot compromise my real world wedding day workflow and sadly it does. It’s a bit weird though that I can’t find any reference to the slow start up time in any written or watched L Mount camera topic. I am sure there is a way to kill that IBIS question on start up though as I am 99% sure I found away when I used a Meike cine lens for a couple of jobs. But for now and this wedding, until I can…or even if I can, answer these 2 issues, it’s back my previous method of working. Maybe I should investigate the DZO 35-80mm T2.9 because although it’s a bit of a lump…and not cheap, it is available in L Mount…I think, so I would not have the issues I am currently having. Only one other thing I can think of is updating The Fotodiox adapter to see if that makes any difference but something, somewhere is causing this ridiculously long start up time. But I’m out of time for this next job 😏

Why do you assume it's intentional crippling? If it's such an easy barrier to overcome, why has no other company done it yet? Maybe it's actually just beyond the current engineering and technological limitations, or not financially viable - but they want to give us the option to use it in some form anyway. Intentional crippling would be if they took the FX30 sensor, put it in the a6700 body and then DIDN'T include 4K120p. Then the same people screaming bloody murder about overheating issues would jump on here and complain about Sony intentionally withholding capabilities that they know the sensor has. You just can't win with some people. As for making the limitations clear - who do you think writes the brief for all those Youtubers? That's how they make the limitations clear in 2023. It's not a camera that interests me at all - It's not at all a professional cinema camera, so it's not for me. If other people can't afford a better alternative, then they'll have to learn to compromise. But to write off a camera that is not intended for your desired uses, because it's not capable of doing something no other competing camera can, is a little silly.

Overheating is a big issue because you might be doing a set of 120p short takes (let say up to 30 seconds or so) and that heat won't dissipate quick enough. Same goes for 60p. You might be doing 5 minutes per clip only, but you might do them in quick succession and the heat isn't going anywhere. This camera is a very disappointing release. Makes me wonder if Sony is truly unable to come up with something better or are they just trying to protect their FF and Cine lines.

4k60p record times seem decent for this kind of body considering past Sony track record. And to complain about overheating when recording 4k120p for long periods of time...I really cannot think of any common shooting scenario where one would need to be doing that reliably. I also can understand the philosophy of urging manufacturers to sell cameras that just don't overheat at all. My older iPhone overheats and slows to a crawl in these record-breaking summer temps. I don't cut Apple slack for that so I guess its only fair to give my professional camera tools the same treatment. Still though. Yeah, don't make excuses for engineers cutting corners in heat-dissipation (for whatever reasons they do it for), but also, SIR, really, why are you recording 4k120 for that long? 60p sure...

They already released the version that doesn't.

Yeah, you can easily tell when Canon does everyone and their dogs bark about it, but when Sony does it you see plenty of people try to work around the shortcoming or said who does 30min+ boring videos 🤭

Find someone that loves you the way Sony loves releasing cameras that overheat. I'm sure there will be people that defend it (there always are) but it's unacceptable that it still happens, regardless of the price.

Pretty good value for $1400. Basically FX30 specs in an Alpha body with added A7RV/ZV-E1 AI chip/specs plus mechanical shutter & EVF. Thermals seem pretty decent too. For pro video I'd still probably spend the $400 extra for the pro FX body, I/O, dual card slots and fan but this is a solid APS-C hybrid. Sony's on a roll with all these camera releases!

Just got a reply from the local vendor, my X-S20 should arrive only in July 25th. 😐 Fuji AF got better in this last generation - not on par with Sony, Canon or even PDAF Panasonic - but could be enough for me. But not having a Wide / Tracking mode in video is inexcusable. Even OM Digital have a (poor) one. Even Fuji have it for stills, but not for video.

I took a look at that camera and got scared off by the overheating. I'm hoping to do 1-1.5 hrs uninterrupted filming outside during my walking tours, and I saw a bunch of youtube videos about overheating after 30-40 min (not even outside). I can't tell if it's overblown or not as a newbie consumer though. The sales guy at the camera shop was surprised to hear about it when I brought it up. He showed me the ZV-E1 first.

Well, the last piece of the puzzle turned up today and so I gave it a whirl. The CY-EF adapter is waaaaay too loose so I gave it a few dabs of the old superglue and sorted that. No resale of that lens now unless someone wants it in EF mount 🤪 I had already tested the image quality and the IBIS at both 40 and 80 mil and it works fine. IQ very nice on the single outdoor test I gave it coupled with baked in Phantom LUT. It gets a pass for at least this weekends 1.5 day wedding as my main filming camera. The other S5ii as above will be doing longer static and AF duty. The S1H exclusively stills. Should be good…or maybe I will come back cursing the thing Monday… 2 ‘issues’, one of which I believe I can sort: 1: Takes an age to start up now as in black screen for like 5-10 seconds. Anyone know if there is a way round this? 2: It then asks if you want the set focal length. I managed to delete that question previously, though that may have been with the S1H, but it anyone knows the answer to that one…

I don’t seem to be able to link it, but I Googled Sony FX30 vs Komodo and there is at least one video on YouTube. I haven’t watched it but I suspect the Red is a much bigger unit to start with and then needs rigging out. Possibly not one for a day out with the fam but the FX30 with a small zoom such as the excellent Sigma 18-50 f2.8 might be. For personal, I’d go 30 but for work, the 3 just for the full frame.

For hobby/amateur/travel use I’d forget both those pro options and just go with the new ZV-E1: you get the same great A7S3/FX3/FX6 full frame sensor and image quality plus easy framing and AF thanks to AI chip.. for half the price of an FX3. With the money saved you can invest in quality lenses. If you like Carl Zeiss, I recommend the Batis range.

Compared to what you are used to from all those years ago (or compared to your iPhone) then the the Sony FX30 has spectacularly amazingly jaw dropping incredibly gorgeous low light capabilities! People who complain about the low light of the FX30 being "bad" are just spoiled brats who 1) don't realize what we had to struggle with just a few years ago 2) have never touched a light in their life 3) have never used a cinema camera before. (which are often rated at a much lower ISO than what a FX30 can do, even though they cost many times more $$$$$) Also, because you do a lot of filming while walking / hiking, then you'll really appreciate the lower weight of the Super 35 / APS-C lenses vs the heavier weight of the so called "full frame" lenses.

H265 looks worse than ProRes HQ or N-RAW but only in terms of texture, the dynamic range should be the same. I haven't done any side by side tests but it looks like the DR in N-log is the same as on Z9 or Z6II. Are you shooting in N-log? What are you using to transform the footage to REC709? The official LUTs are pretty harsh, even the updated ones for Z8. That might be your problem.

Prores HQ looks way better, especially in nlog on the Z8 and the Z9. When you shoot in h265 there's a disgusting amount of internal noise reduction going on no matter what profile you're in and it's not possible to switch it off.

Interesting. I'm curious, how are you converting to rec709? Are you using Nikon's 3d LUT? I shoot in NLOG frequently on my Nikon Z6, and i find that Nikon's 3D LUT has pretty bad highlight rolloff. I get significantly better results if I use Davinci Resolve's Color Space Transform to go from Rec2020/NLOG to Rec709/Rec709. Seriously, looks wayyy better than the LUT. You should be able to get great results from NLOG; give Davinci's CST a try.