Sony’s new FX3 puts a cinema-quality camera in your pocket

For a while he It seemed like Sony’s high-end digital cameras were on a collision course with its Alpha mirrorless cameras as these shooters became more capable of capturing video. Today, the inevitable has been confirmed: Sony has officially unveiled its FX3 with features from the company’s digital cinema and Alpha lines, giving creators a more affordable way to capture Hollywoodcaliber content.

An image of the FX3 leaked a few weeks There has been speculation that Sony’s compact cinematography tool would be able to capture video at resolutions of 8K, but the back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor used by the camera is limited to resolutions up to 4K, or 16: 9 QFHD at up to 120 frames per second. Although even with a cooling fan and vent design that encourages natural heat dissipation, the FX3 can only record continuously at 4K, 60P. Shooting at a higher frame rate is limited so that the camera does not overheat. Skipping 8K is a choice Sony made to lower the price of the FX3 or to ensure that it won’t compete with the company’s higher price tag. digital cinema cameras-or both.

When shooting video, The FX3’s ISO settings can be pushed to an impressive 409,600, which could come in handy the next time you find yourself filming on the dark side of the moon and can’t see the sun. TThe camera’s 627-point autofocus system includes features like AF transition speed, which ensures that the autofocus changes occur smoothly so as not to disturb the audience, and the touch tracking, which allows Operators simply need to touch an object on the FX3’s flip-up touchscreen to tell the camera what to keep focused in the frame, even when the subject is moving.

With the battery and memory cards installed (both CFexpress Type A and SDXC cards are supported), the FX3 weighs only 1.58 pounds and includes a handle mounted on a hot shoe, making it easier to grip, use and maneuver the camera at low angles. Keeping a lightweight camera steady while handheld shooting is a real challenge, so the FX3 uses built-in five-axis image stabilization for smooth videos, even when shooting with a lens devoid of any lens. stabilization. The applied stabilization is also captured as metadata during filming, allowing it to be adjusted during post-production.

Most filmmakers will want to keep the optional grip attached, as he does not only offer quick access to several controls, including ISO, iris, white balance and zoom, it also has 15 custom buttons that can be programmed as shortcuts to 140 different functions normally buried in a software menu. The handle also has a stand for a microphone, a pair of balanced XLR / TRS audio inputs and a two-channel 3.5-millimeter stereo jack while the camera can capture four-channel 24-bit audio when multiple microphones are connected.

The FX3 will be officially available from March with a price tag of around $ 3,900. It’s not a pocket change, but it’s also $ 2,600 cheaper than the new one $ 6,500 Sony Alpha 1, that many people will consider to be their next video shooter game. It costs $ 1,400 more than the recently announced $ 2,500, however. Blackmagic Design BMPCC 6K Pro, which offers 6K shooting and an HDR rear screen, although high speed recording at 120 fps is limited to 2K. But for video content creators who already have a bag full of Sony E-mount lenses or already have a workflow involving high-end digital cinema cameras from Sony, the FX3 seems like an easy choice.