Sony has launched the brand new FX3, a compact full-frame digital camera that’s now probably the most inexpensive mannequin within the firm’s cinema lineup. Based mostly on the A7S III, the FX3 incorporates some options discovered on the dearer cinema cameras in a smaller and lighter physique.
To say the FX3 is just like the A7S III can be an understatement. As such, it might be simpler to only record issues which are totally different between the 2 cameras, and simply acknowledge that every little thing else is mainly similar.
One of many main variations is within the design. The FX3 has the identical stills camera-style physique of the A7S III however is barely thicker and shorter. The thickness is because of the inclusion of a fan that now actively cools the internals throughout recording, which ought to enable for the digital camera to shoot indefinitely even in hotter environments. The shorter peak is because of the removing of the digital viewfinder.
The FX3 is designed to be a part of a rig and as such has 5 1/4-20 threaded mounts, with three of them on prime. These enable the digital camera to be mounted inside a cage, on a gimbal, or a drone. Sony has made a number of modifications to the design in comparison with the A7S III, together with having a devoted backlit document button on prime, a top-mounted joystick, a zoom management across the shutter button, tally lights on the back and front, sliding energy change, and shortcut buttons optimized for video workflow.
The FX3 comes with a prime deal with as a part of the bundle. The highest deal with consists of an audio interface just like the Sony XLR-K3M minus a built-in microphone. The audio interface has three mic inputs, together with two full-size XLR and a single 3.5mm, together with controls for adjusting mic inputs. The highest deal with makes use of two of the three prime 1/4-20 thread mounts however provides three of its personal, which lets you mount different equipment similar to an exterior monitor on prime.
On the software program facet, the one main change on the FX3 from the A7S III is the inclusion of S-Cinetone. This video preset is similar to that discovered on Sony’s different cinema cameras and designed to provide a comfortable, filmic look to out-of-camera footage with out having to take care of the problems of grading log video.
That is just about the extent of the variations between the FX3 and the A7S III, with every little thing else being similar. As for the value, the FX3 is priced at $3900, $400 greater than the A7S III. Contemplating the A7S III is already lots video centered, the FX3 looks like a little bit of an odd product in Sony’s digital camera lineup. But when video goes to be your solely use case, and if you happen to worth options like S-Cinetone and the provided audio interface then the FX3 may be a greater choice.
