SONY FX3 new camera to be announced

[RWR]

One of the GH5 variants had that, I believe.

[Video Hummus]

26 minutes ago, RWR said:

One of the GH5 variants had that, I believe.

GH5S

[scotchtape]

So the rumor mill says this is basically the a7siii... is everyone still excited?

[Llaasseerr]

So far I've seen a number of comments baffled by the additional active cooling. Following on from my previous speculation, this vlogger agrees that this feature could be tied to a cine-camera only firmware update that I personally think would be something not possible with the passively cooled a7sIII, such as the rumored WDR that was touted as a later v2.x paid update for the FX6. Maybe released at the same time as this camera, or if not around NAB? The rumored upgrade was labeled as a v2.x firmware feature, so if it's real then obviously it was not ready at the time of the FX6 release. I of course reserve the right to be completely wrong.

To clarify, for the end user WDR would be effectively a form of dual gain output. 

 

[Thpriest]

Does the A7SIII have punch in to check autofocus whilst filming? I believe the FX3 does. That'd be a big plus.

Any ergonomics that help the camera work like a cine/video camera instead of a stills camera that shoots video would also be great.

[Trankilstef]

1 hour ago, Thpriest said:

Does the A7SIII have punch in to check autofocus whilst filming? I believe the FX3 does. That'd be a big plus.

Yes the Sony A7sIII does allow to punch in while recording.

[tyger11]

2 hours ago, scotchtape said:

So the rumor mill says this is basically the a7siii... is everyone still excited?

I'm excited, but I would've been much more excited if it had been an A7SIII with eND instead of IBIS. *shrug* Still very interesting depending on the details. I think there's room for an FX4 in the lineup now. Take the guts of the A1 and add e-ND instead of IBIS, add SDI and in-camera raw, and call it a day.

[independent]

The Sony fx3 will definitely justify its existence if it offers:

1. noise reduction control 
2. Pro monitoring tools including false color, which would help avoid needing an external monitor. That would save you the money, preserve the small form factor, and of course, audio on the top handle leaves no room for external monitor.
3. eNDs v. IBIS...I'm guessing IBIS would be more important to counter the jitters on a small body
4. If it has better AF features like touchscreen tracking and an audio input, that would certainly be an advantage over the fx6

 

 

[TomTheDP]

Pretty lame. Only attractive thing is the option to shut off NR if that is there. The A7S3 is damn good at not over heating. 

[MrSMW]

8 hours ago, scotchtape said:

So the rumor mill says this is basically the a7siii... is everyone still excited?

Moved to ‘sitting on the fence’.

I’m less interested in a pure ciné camera and more interested in a video centric hybrid.

The final spec vs cost vs Panasonic S5 will decide for me.

And yes I know the humble S5 is not it’s competitor but it’s the camera that currently ticks more of my boxes than anything else.

Second place is joint Fuji XT4 and Sony A7Siii with Fuji losing points due to lack of lenses that suit my needs and Sony on being ‘only’ 12mp and price.

We are still at least one single component away from my ideal spec, my S5 in two areas: video tracking AF and no internal ND or at least drop in filter.

The FX3 is certainly shaping up to be less of a contender than it was a week ago when it was heading for near dead cert territory.

The lack of any form of ND, internal or drop in is the biggest disappointment. If the speculation/rumors are true... 

[currensheldon]

17 hours ago, scotchtape said:

So the rumor mill says this is basically the a7siii... is everyone still excited?

I am testing the FX6 soon to see if its color and IQ are closer to C300/C70 than FS5II/A7sII before making any decisions (because if it still feels like old Sony image, I'm out).

But this camera still excites me as the ideal B-Cam to something like the FX6 or FX9. Every other cinema camera lacks a true, compact, mirrorless-like b-camera (same mount, some color, same codecs, same sensor size, same lenses, etc). I would get WAY more excited if it has: timecode, a 3.5mm input on the body, S-Cinetone, and touchscreen AF.

Those features plus all of the new Sigma lenses, the move to full-frame cinema, Zeiss Loxia line (which I loved), all make the E-Mount a very exciting possibility. BUT, all the specs, bells, and whistles don't mean much if I'll be wishing I had my old Canon image a year later.

[pixelpreaching]

On 2/12/2021 at 11:07 AM, pixelpreaching said:

Honestly, I know a lot of you are excited about this but.... this should have just been the a7sIII. The only point in having both is to make people want to buy both - I mean how many people are buying the a7sIII for stills? This camera has the same features - 4K120p, same sensor, I assume the same AF system, Cfexpress Type A, etc. But, it has many things that they (now clearly purposefully) left out of the a7sIII - like waveform, timecode, vectorscope, a nicer LCD, superior video ergonomics, 3/8 mounting on top, an XLR adapter in the box which mounts into two of those 3/8 holes, etc etc. Unclear about IBIS, but I assume it will have it but no eND. Some of these are just rumors but I think they're accurate.

It will still be a perfectly good stills camera in the same way the S1H or Sigma Fp is (except better than the Fp). But, significantly better design and features for a video shooter.

Maybe I'm wrong and a ton of people bought the a7sIII largely for photography. But I doubt it.

This just kind of reeks of the Canon-like cripple now that we know this is basically what the a7sIII easily could have been, with essentially no sacrifice. Even further supported by this coming out AFTER the a7s.

Just bumping this. Seems like I was right about all of it.

Which is sad and unfortunate.

[deezid]

2 hours ago, currensheldon said:

I am testing the FX6 soon to see if its color and IQ are closer to C300/C70 than FS5II/A7sII before making any decisions (because if it still feels like old Sony image, I'm out).

But this camera still excites me as the ideal B-Cam to something like the FX6 or FX9. Every other cinema camera lacks a true, compact, mirrorless-like b-camera (same mount, some color, same codecs, same sensor size, same lenses, etc). I would get WAY more excited if it has: timecode, a 3.5mm input on the body, S-Cinetone, and touchscreen AF.

Those features plus all of the new Sigma lenses, the move to full-frame cinema, Zeiss Loxia line (which I loved), all make the E-Mount a very exciting possibility. BUT, all the specs, bells, and whistles don't mean much if I'll be wishing I had my old Canon image a year later.

Downloaded lots of sample footage lately and it does still feel like Sony, but more like FX9, F5/F55/F65 and Venice than any Sony Alpha garbage.

A great image actually.

[Llaasseerr]

1 hour ago, pixelpreaching said:

Just bumping this. Seems like I was right about all of it.

Which is sad and unfortunate.

Sony isn't like Panasonic where it would put more niche "pro" features into their mainstream cam release. Considering how long they waited before updating to the a7sIII, they put out something great that was probably at the end of the runway for what they could develop at a prosumer price point with passive cooling. They decided to tape it out and release it and it's been a huge success.

Development with this sensor continued with the FX6, and now the FX3. Both of which have more headroom to add features via firmware updates due to active cooling (and in the FX6 case, higher power draw). The fact they have been willing to cannibalise the FX9 and even the Venice with the FX6, and by extension possibly the FX3, is very interesting.

In fact, the a7sIII/FX6/FX3 sensor has slightly better dynamic range than the Venice and with future firmware updates there is room to push that further with the FX cams. In a linear Open EXR image Venice clips at 11.7, which fits Sony's stated max value of 1300% of 90% white (13*.9=11.7). ProRes Raw with the a7sIII has a max linear value of around 13.0, so slightly more. Overall this is still 2 stops less than Alexa, unfortunately.

 

[currensheldon]

4 hours ago, deezid said:

Downloaded lots of sample footage lately and it does still feel like Sony, but more like FX9, F5/F55/F65 and Venice than any Sony Alpha garbage.

A great image actually.

Do you have some links to the footage you've worked with?

[deezid]

1 minute ago, currensheldon said:

Do you have some links to the footage you've worked with?

This here e.g
https://filmplusgear.com/sony-fx6-test-files-for-download/

Apart from the gamut clipping (Sony and BMD issue) it looks fine.

[currensheldon]

1 minute ago, deezid said:

This here e.g
https://filmplusgear.com/sony-fx6-test-files-for-download/

Apart from the gamut clipping (Sony and BMD issue) it looks fine.

Awesome thanks! 

And totally agree that Alpha cameras (A7iii, A7sii, etc) are pretty awful from a video image quality standpoint. But Venice and FX9 have always been way better so if the FX6 is close to that, that's pretty great. 

On that topic, I think that will be a big differentiator between the A7sIII and the FX3. Does the FX3 look more like the FX9, FX6, Venice? Or more like the A7sIII, which, in my opinion, still has that pretty awful zombie-skintones that have plagued all of the Alpha cameras and the FS5. It looks better, but not that great compared to stuff I've seen from FX9/6.

 

[deezid]

Just now, currensheldon said:

Awesome thanks! 

And totally agree that Alpha cameras (A7iii, A7sii, etc) are pretty awful from a video image quality standpoint. But Venice and FX9 have always been way better so if the FX6 is close to that, that's pretty great. 

On that topic, I think that will be a big differentiator between the A7sIII and the FX3. Does the FX3 look more like the FX9, FX6, Venice? Or more like the A7sIII, which, in my opinion, still has that pretty awful zombie-skintones that have plagued all of the Alpha cameras and the FS5. It looks better, but not that great compared to stuff I've seen from FX9/6.

 

If the FX3 has the same image processing, autofocus and eND as any of the other FX cameras it'll be a no-brainer I think especially given its price tag. If it comes with the Sony Alpha processing (strong sharpening and noise reduction) they can keep it. 😉

[currensheldon]

11 minutes ago, deezid said:

If the FX3 has the same image processing, autofocus and eND as any of the other FX cameras it'll be a no-brainer I think especially given its price tag. If it comes with the Sony Alpha processing (strong sharpening and noise reduction) they can keep it. 😉

YEP.

[Llaasseerr]

28 minutes ago, deezid said:

If the FX3 has the same image processing, autofocus and eND as any of the other FX cameras it'll be a no-brainer I think especially given its price tag. If it comes with the Sony Alpha processing (strong sharpening and noise reduction) they can keep it. 😉

Shooting ProRes Raw with the a7sIII bypasses any processing.