Industry News: Rumored specs for the Sony FX3 are here, it’s an A7S III on steroids

[jam05]

The key component is "Active Cooling". Alas a Fan. We all knew that eventually it (Active Cooling) had to eventually be added. If Canon had not put forth it's clout and added a restrained 8k video, Sony would still be tinkering around the edges and charging a fortune for firmware itterations

 

[Jasonmc89]

Meh. Boring.

 

[vangelismm]

It is just another shell to the A7S 3?

 

[Maps]

Given how long it took for the A7S3 to make it to market, I kind of wonder if the original “masterplan” was to have the S3 out back more towards early 2019ish with lower specs? Then something went wrong? Then, we all know what went wrong; and finally it comes to market deep into 2020? Maybe there was supposed to be a year or two in between the S3 and the FX3? I’m not going to pretend that theory makes much sense, but I haven’t got anything better.

 

[Rocksthaman]

Let’s be objective here guys. It’s a decent camera.

There are mounts built into the camera for drone and handle with XLR connection. (I would love an xlr grip or R Mount 1DC

edit: XLR handle is included in the box

15 stops of DR with expanded iso starting at 40

Dual iso

There is a rocker for power zoom lenses

ibis that doesn’t wobble as bad and catalyst Browse. The active can serve as a 10% crop as well.

menus that are separate for photo vs video

It has a fan for long form shooting

It’s full frame and small(great gimbal cam)

4K 120 with sound / nearly unlimited non line skipped 4K 24/60

full HDMI with options for clean and detail view.

It takes pictures, and very good ones at that(if you put a 12mp vs a 20 or 45mp, the difference is in the details and for any good photographer you can get a great image with 12).

Slog 2-3 , 10bit in all profiles internal even standard and also raw to a recorder.

records redundant to both card slots and even a third if using a recorder.


If you are a 70/30 (video/photo) person at the very least there is nothing holding you back.

I love myself some Canon (boy it feels good to hold), but I really wish I could have my R5/R6’s to have Sony’s flexibility and honestly price.

edit: Also has 12 bit Raw to a recorder

 

[goldenhusky]

If these specs and price are going to be true, I don't understand the point of this camera at this price. If the price includes VAT it sounds like pretty much same as a7s3. Just my wild guess, Sony may be testing the waters with this to replace the a7s3 line with FX3 II.

 

[Rocksthaman]

If these specs and price are going to be true, I don't understand the point of this camera at this price. If the price includes VAT it sounds like pretty much same as a7s3. Just my wild guess, Sony may be testing the waters with this to replace the a7s3 line with FX3 II.

It’s pretty clear there are differences directly related to being a part of their cinema line.

Built in 1/4 in mounts , 4channel Xlr handle (included in the box), power zoom rocker instead of front scroll, fan for long shoots and drone flights ( consider how hot it will get shooting FF 4K in the sky on a sunny day, actually seems thought out) , s-cinetone, no EVF(keep down size, weight & cost).

It really feels like a dedicated crash cam(with drones in mind), very much like what the Red Komodo is supposed to be in their line up, with an actual screen and autofocus that works . It’s pretty clear there is a market for that camera on a set that can match well with the bigger cameras but stay light and have adaptability. It’s really the market the 5dii created.

 

[peters]

I think they're almost competing with the C70 in terms of form factor, although the C70 has way more connectivity and ND-filters. Maybe you can consider the FX3 also competing with box cameras and BMPCCs too. The only tangible way this is better than the A7S III though is just making it fractionally smaller, though.

Though you can add the top handle which gives you XLR and additional inputs if I am not mistaken.
For me the sony would be way more intersting. Its also FF over S35, which I prefer =)
Though I do more photowork than videowork, so the R5 it is right now (though its realy good quality is only in 4k HQ available which sadly still overheats very quickly, even in idle it accumulates heat).

 

[peters]

Let’s be objective here guys. It’s a decent camera.

There are mounts built into the camera for drone and handle with XLR connection. (I would love an xlr grip or R Mount 1DC

15 stops of DR with expanded iso starting at 40

Dual iso

There is a rocker for power zoom lenses

ibis that doesn’t wobble as bad and catalyst Browse. The active can serve as a 10% crop as well.

menus that are separate for photo vs video

It has a fan for long form shooting

It’s full frame and small(great gimbal cam)

4K 120 with sound / nearly unlimited non line skipped 4K 24/60

full HDMI with options for clean and detail view.

It takes pictures, and very good ones at that(if you put a 12mp vs a 20 or 45mp, the difference is in the details and for any good photographer you can get a great image with 12).

Slog 2-3 , 10bit in all profiles internal even standard and also raw to a recorder.

records redundant to both card slots and even a third if using a recorder.


If you are a 70/30 (video/photo) person at the very least there is nothing holding you back.

I love myself some Canon (boy it feels good to hold), but I really wish I could have my R5/R6’s to have Sony’s flexibility and honestly price.

Yep, I totally agree. It would be realy unrealistic to try to bash the current Sony Cameras. They offer the most advanced technology in many segments at a fair price point. If I wouldn't be so invested in canon lenses, I would consider the a1 for photo and video or maybe this camera for video. Its amazin how much new tech Sony produces and it always feels like the put everything they can into a new camera. Its keeping the pressure up on all brands to produce more stellar products

 

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Good specs - but is Sony over expanding too much in its line up ?- especially in declining market. If I was hybrid shooter with Sony would probably stick to main A7s III as backup / main (main 4K video camera) and twin this with flagship A1 (with 8 K) as main / backup depending on the job - coupled with good FE glass

Canon superb R5 and R6; they will give an answer to A1 (R1) and this FX6 (R5s)- don't worry punters on Nikon they will bring out some good hybrids this year - Z8, Z9, etc

 

[AccipiterQ]

No raw? How is this anything 'on steroids'? I thought it would be ~$2000, it's almost double that....

 

[stochasticmotions]

It seems to me that this is likely just a A7SIII with a body that is set up for video first and is meant to be used on gimbals and drones. I doubt it is going to have anything more than maybe S-cinetone added. Sadly it looks like the rumors are suggesting it won't have the variable ND filter that the other FX camera have which would have been a reason for me to get it over the A7SIII. I'm not even sure it will be trying to compete with the C70 but that might be the closest thing canon has at the moment, still seems like a different customer for the C70. I do see it as a better BM pocket mostly due to the autofocus. Hopefully it will work well with remote applications if it is intended to be the camera used on Sony's upcoming drone.

 

[Millymar]

Can always tell the difference from amateurs and professionals.
Amateurs talk about gear vs techniques with professionals.
This site should not be about which company has the biggest dick!!!!

 

[shawn]

Let’s be objective here guys. It’s a decent camera.

There are mounts built into the camera for drone and handle with XLR connection. (I would love an xlr grip or R Mount 1DC

edit: XLR handle is included in the box

15 stops of DR with expanded iso starting at 40

Dual iso

There is a rocker for power zoom lenses

ibis that doesn’t wobble as bad and catalyst Browse. The active can serve as a 10% crop as well.

menus that are separate for photo vs video

It has a fan for long form shooting

It’s full frame and small(great gimbal cam)

4K 120 with sound / nearly unlimited non line skipped 4K 24/60

full HDMI with options for clean and detail view.

It takes pictures, and very good ones at that(if you put a 12mp vs a 20 or 45mp, the difference is in the details and for any good photographer you can get a great image with 12).

Slog 2-3 , 10bit in all profiles internal even standard and also raw to a recorder.

records redundant to both card slots and even a third if using a recorder.


If you are a 70/30 (video/photo) person at the very least there is nothing holding you back.

I love myself some Canon (boy it feels good to hold), but I really wish I could have my R5/R6’s to have Sony’s flexibility and honestly price.

edit: Also has 12 bit Raw to a recorder

The C70 is cooler IMO and it has unlimited shooting, built in ND filters, 16+ stops of DR. One thing I love about the R5 is the crop mode 4k and you have that with the C70’s Super 35 sensor plus you can essentially shoot FF with a speed-booster that turns an f/4 lens into f/2.8. Who REALLY needs RAW video? Most people are wasting their time shooting RAW. And Canon’s big hitter for this year will be the new C200 mkII for all the RAW shooters...

 

[dirtyvu]

Let’s be objective here guys. It’s a decent camera.

There are mounts built into the camera for drone and handle with XLR connection. (I would love an xlr grip or R Mount 1DC

edit: XLR handle is included in the box

15 stops of DR with expanded iso starting at 40

Dual iso

There is a rocker for power zoom lenses

ibis that doesn’t wobble as bad and catalyst Browse. The active can serve as a 10% crop as well.

menus that are separate for photo vs video

It has a fan for long form shooting

It’s full frame and small(great gimbal cam)

4K 120 with sound / nearly unlimited non line skipped 4K 24/60

full HDMI with options for clean and detail view.

It takes pictures, and very good ones at that(if you put a 12mp vs a 20 or 45mp, the difference is in the details and for any good photographer you can get a great image with 12).

Slog 2-3 , 10bit in all profiles internal even standard and also raw to a recorder.

records redundant to both card slots and even a third if using a recorder.


If you are a 70/30 (video/photo) person at the very least there is nothing holding you back.

I love myself some Canon (boy it feels good to hold), but I really wish I could have my R5/R6’s to have Sony’s flexibility and honestly price.

edit: Also has 12 bit Raw to a recorder

Dan Watson found that if you do 4k cropped on the r5 it completely fixes the 4k lq mode and essentially makes it super sampled and rivaling the 4k hq mode but completely free of overheating problems.

 

[Rocksthaman]

The C70 is cooler IMO and it has unlimited shooting, built in ND filters, 16+ stops of DR. One thing I love about the R5 is the crop mode 4k and you have that with the C70’s Super 35 sensor plus you can essentially shoot FF with a speed-booster that turns an f/4 lens into f/2.8. Who REALLY needs RAW video? Most people are wasting their time shooting RAW. And Canon’s big hitter for this year will be the new C200 mkII for all the RAW shooters...

Interesting response

I’ll start with saying I would rather have two cameras that can do everything I would creatively interested in doing without having to compromise given the hardware is there. I thoroughly enjoy using R5&R6 (WB differences aside).

Adding a C70 to have what the R5 really can probably already do is just frustrating honestly.

But the real draw to the fx3 for me is that in all honesty, there is legitimate cinema function in it and the A7siii with no real limitation (maybe ND), be FF AND it can be a B camera for photo.

And don’t give me the 12mp talk, because i could just as easily grab a 5D and feel right at home. Frame your shot well, and post. Most online work is compressed to 2-3mp any way. If I need to print big or crop, R5 is never far from me. I can’t say enough about how good that camera is as a stills camera.

 

[Rocksthaman]

Dan Watson found that if you do 4k cropped on the r5 it completely fixes the 4k lq mode and essentially makes it super sampled and rivaling the 4k hq mode but completely free of overheating problems.

I love it. I completely agree and get the heat issu. Love it, now remove the 29:59 record limit, add 10 bit to all profiles and unlock c-log 2-3. I’d pay for really.

Im no huge video guy but I would love to add the skills as most are wanting some kind of hybrid function. I can’t think of a better way to sell me on a cinema camera than to give me the some function in the capable $4000 camera I’ve already purchased.

 

[dirtyvu]

I'm loving instantly switching between photos and videos on the r5. I put both favorite settings to c3 for both photo and video. Take photos, then hit record to get right into video. Then c2 is my 4k 120 settings. C1 is 8k. For photos, c2 is av. C1 is for flash photography settings

 

[bandido]

I keep hearing “What is the point of this camera when the A7SIII already exists” but I think for me the question is more “Why did they even bother releasing an A7SIII in the first place if this was in the pipeline?”. I’m sure there are good reasons for it, I just genuinely don’t know what they are.

Hopefully it wont be another FS5 II. That was barely an upgrade from the original FS5.

 

[bandido]

It does have XLR ports (on a handle?) which to me as a film maker is _very_ important. Although, with Sony's hot shoe adapter all their cameras could be seen as having XLR-ports already. This is what I miss the most on Canon's mirrorless cameras.

I would have much preferred ND-filters over IBIS on a video camera though.

I believe it is the same XLR adapter with a relocator.