Fx30 or a7IV for Hybrid w/ 1 lens?

[SRV1981]

FX30 is cheaper and Apsc but a7iv has better low light, and ability to take photos.  Can’t seem to find any reason to consider fx30 over a7iv , what am I missing?

 

also - for one travel lens thinking 16-35 in a7iv makes most sense since you can use APSC and extend its range rather than the 24-70 since you’d gain on long end in apsc but not wide. 
 

any missing points ?

[newfoundmass]

What kind of video are you doing? Will you be filming long takes? Do you live in a warmer climate? The A7IV does have some overheating issues. However, if you aren't shooting long takes (say longer than 30-45 minutes at a time) or aren't in a hot climate, you'll probably be fine.

The FX30 eliminates overheating issues like that, which is why you'd want to go that direction if you're primarily a video shooter. It's a video ("cinema" 😏) camera, so it's meant to be a reliable video camera.

[markr041]

Sony a7 iv 4K 60p is inferior to that from the fx30: it is crop mode with oversampling from 4.2K  The fx30 does 4K 60p from the full AOS-C sensor, thus 6K oversampling. 4K 120p on the a7 iv is 8 bit, that from the fx3 is 10bit. The fx30 has a power zoom rocker level on the body, a fan, and the more integrated digital audio adapter.

[SRV1981]

1 hour ago, newfoundmass said:

What kind of video are you doing? Will you be filming long takes? Do you live in a warmer climate? The A7IV does have some overheating issues. However, if you aren't shooting long takes (say longer than 30-45 minutes at a time) or aren't in a hot climate, you'll probably be fine.

The FX30 eliminates overheating issues like that, which is why you'd want to go that direction if you're primarily a video shooter. It's a video ("cinema" 😏) camera, so it's meant to be a reliable video camera.

Great questions. I live in NY and heat isn’t an issue!   Mostly run and gun docs for education and sports. Some sports and travel too personal not professional work.  The biggest concern for fx30 is the ISO performance vS A7iv and poor photo ability in fx30. 

[SRV1981]

1 hour ago, markr041 said:

Sony a7 iv 4K 60p is inferior to that from the fx30: it is crop mode with oversampling from 4.2K  The fx30 does 4K 60p from the full AOS-C sensor, thus 6K oversampling. 4K 120p on the a7 iv is 8 bit, that from the fx3 is 10bit. The fx30 has a power zoom rocker level on the body, a fan, and the more integrated digital audio adapter.

Most video will be 24p some 60p and photos will be jpg. Lowlight won’t be lit by anything but ambient light.   Does this make sense ?

[newfoundmass]

4 hours ago, SRV1981 said:

Great questions. I live in NY and heat isn’t an issue!   Mostly run and gun docs for education and sports. Some sports and travel too personal not professional work.  The biggest concern for fx30 is the ISO performance vS A7iv and poor photo ability in fx30. 

I think the FX30 does pretty well in low light. But I think you'd be fine with the A7IV. 

I'm biased towards the S5 though. 🙂

[bjohn]

15 hours ago, SRV1981 said:

Can’t seem to find any reason to consider fx30 over a7iv , what am I missing?

I thought the A7iv had worse rolling shutter than the FX-30 but I could be mistaken on that.

I grew up in NY, heat would definitely be an issue; reports I've read show that the A7iv can overheat even in moderately warm conditions. If you live in Antarctica or near the summit of Mt. Everest you might not have to worry but otherwise it's a potential issue of concern.

[SRV1981]

RS doesn’t affect me at all. Overheating would but I asked several folks online and they didn’t seem to have that issue?

[bjohn]

29 minutes ago, SRV1981 said:

RS doesn’t affect me at all. Overheating would but I asked several folks online and they didn’t seem to have that issue?

A google search of "Sony Aiv overheating" will give you more information and there's even a thread here on this forum:

 

[SRV1981]

2 hours ago, bjohn said:

A google search of "Sony Aiv overheating" will give you more information and there's even a thread here on this forum:

 

 

[cojocaru27]

hey, i am doing the same type of shoots with my a7IV and have never had a problem with overheating. I think you will be just fine with this camera. Sincerely, the only down size of a74 vs fx30 is the rolling shutter which sometimes can be annoying for panning and camera moves. Other than that, there is no real difference in the work you'll be doing. And with the a74 you'll get full frame and the photo side.

Again, had no problem with overheating and was doing shots in Africa in December last year. Check out my film and if the quality suits you, go for this camera. My film here:

 

[IronFilm]

FX30 still does 28 megapixel photos, and does pretty decent photos if you don't mind the biggest drawback of an electronic shutter (and no EVF). 

Meanwhile for video, the FX30 is massively massively better for filming with than any of the a7/a7C/a7R/a7S series cameras. It's not even close. 

[IronFilm]

On 1/1/2023 at 1:35 PM, SRV1981 said:

The biggest concern for fx30 is the ISO performance

Equalize for the artistic choice in DoF, and consider which has the more practical 2nd ISO, then you'll realize the FX30 is the better choice in low light.

  

On 1/2/2023 at 12:29 AM, bjohn said:

I thought the A7iv had worse rolling shutter than the FX-30

That's correct. The hatred for the FX30's rolling shutter is a red herring just because they can't come up with anything better to criticize the FX30 over! As the FX30 is too perfect. 

Meanwhile many of the other popular recommendations (such as the a7mk4) which have just as bad or even worse rolling shutter you'll never hear a peep out of them object to their rolling shutter performance, it's just ignored as "acceptable". It's a double standard. 

[SRV1981]

47 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Equalize for the artistic choice in DoF, and consider which has the more practical 2nd ISO, then you'll realize the FX30 is the better choice in low light.

  

That's correct. The hatred for the FX30's rolling shutter is a red herring just because they can't come up with anything better to criticize the FX30 over! As the FX30 is too perfect. 

Meanwhile many of the other popular recommendations (such as the a7mk4) which have just as bad or even worse rolling shutter you'll never hear a peep out of them object to their rolling shutter performance, it's just ignored as "acceptable". It's a double standard. 

Thanks! The videos I’ve seen def produce better noise/less noise from a7iv. But my bigger concern is being able to take photos from fx30.  Seems limited severely?

 

but today Panasonic announces the s52 and that may blow both out of the water…

[Trek of Joy]

If you only need 60p, I would go a7IV or a used a7sIII over the FX30. I have both, love them. Not impressed by the low light of the FX30. I shoot the a7IV alongside my a7sIII and its been great. I have a copy that has no overheating issues. I posted my tests in the thread linked above. Some have copies that are much worse. If I were buying new, I'd stress test it and exchange if it overheats quickly. You can mix and match FF and crop lenses too, the small f/1.4 Sigma primes sell for about $200 used for a ton of light gathering when shooting 60p.

The one downside in comparison is audio, but the FX XLR handle can be mounted on the a7's cage with an adapter from Smallrig if you can't find the other XLR adapters.

But for me, if you're more video focused, a7sIII used prices are not far above $2000. For the cash its an unbeatable value - better RS and DR than the others. Get a cheap a6000 if you want higher mp stills. I keep an a6300 for stills when shooting video.

Cheers

Chris

 

[Amazeballs]

Well, now I think going Pana S5m2 would be a very viable option, hehe 😁 If you dont mind the lenses ofc.

[MrSMW]

32 minutes ago, Amazeballs said:

Well, now I think going Pana S5m2 would be a very viable option, hehe 😁 If you dont mind the lenses ofc.

Me also. With compact Sigma 28-70mm f2.8

[SRV1981]

1 hour ago, Amazeballs said:

Well, now I think going Pana S5m2 would be a very viable option, hehe 😁 If you dont mind the lenses ofc.

 

1 hour ago, MrSMW said:

Me also. With compact Sigma 28-70mm f2.8

I’m so frazzled. I was almost dead set on an a7iv and think the s52 may be better! I want to see more regarding color etc.  I much prefer the magenta look of canon and Fuji but the AF ISO and DR of SONY got me. Now the Panny!? 🤤 

[Amazeballs]

I would go either being used A7S3 as it is still the best for video work or S5mk2 if you wanna be able to shoot hand held withoud the need for a gimbal. S5mk2 + Sigma 28-70 would be just 2800$ but I would wait for a review of how exactly Sigma lenses behave on a new Panasonic body. In theory it all should be fine as they have exactly the same AF motor design as their e-mount varience which works great on a Sony. 

[Trek of Joy]

1 hour ago, Amazeballs said:

I would go either being used A7S3 as it is still the best for video work or S5mk2 if you wanna be able to shoot hand held withoud the need for a gimbal. S5mk2 + Sigma 28-70 would be just 2800$ but I would wait for a review of how exactly Sigma lenses behave on a new Panasonic body. In theory it all should be fine as they have exactly the same AF motor design as their e-mount varience which works great on a Sony. 

Then linear focus motors on the recent Sony's still outperform Sigma (less stepping/hunting, smoother focus pulls) and they work better with active stabilization. The S5II looks really good, but lenses are still lacking in the L-mount. Its a major advantage with Sony, pretty much everything is a native lens from Sony or 3rd parties.

But I'd still go a7sIII over all of the other video centric options right now. Its just so good.

Cheers

Chris