Sony FX3 review

If you have ever shot a mirrorless or DSLR camera for video, the Sony FX3 is going to feel very familiar. Consider the FX3 as an a7S III with a handle. However, there are some notable differences.

First off, the Sony FX3 doesn’t have an electronic viewfinder. If you are accustomed to using a rear screen for monitoring, it won’t be missed much. The camera offers zoom control for use with a servo zoom or when using Sony’s digital zoom — clear zoom. Connected to the handle are full audio controls and two XLR inputs. The camera features a cage-free design of multiple ¼ 20 mounting points and you’ll never wonder if you are recording with its multiple Talley lights. Lastly, although it uses the same battery as the a7S III, it touts a longer battery life and has active cooling fans to keep the camera from overheating. The biggest shared feature across the a7S II, FX3 and FX6 are that they all offer the same full-frame, back-illuminated 12.1MP Exmor R CMOS sensor with the BIONZ XR processor. 

The key features

The Sony FX3 is flush with features, making the camera well-rounded. Although it might only capture up to UHD 4K, it offers up to 10-bit 4:2:2 internal capture or up to 16-bit RAW externally. It has a top bit-rate of up to 600 Mbps in All-I XAVC S-I in 4K or 1200 Mbps when shooting in S&Q mode. With a top frame rate of 240 frames per second (fps) in HD, it offers a fantastic 120fps in 4K. Along with the XLR inputs, the camera has a total of 4 tracks of audio, depending on what format it’s capturing in.  Connecting via Sony’s multi-interface shoe and two thumbscrews, the handle is a quick connection. Along with the XLR inputs, the camera either captures the stereo audio from its built-in mic or via its 35mm jack. 

The best and worst features

Handle/Grip

The handle is a great addition. It’s functional, expands the usability of the camera and looks cool. Having to adapt a mirrorless camera without XLR inputs leads to a painful workflow. Adapters make it easier, but having tactile control of the input gives faster control. Overall, the grip feels good and because it has a quick-mount for a shotgun mic, you can set up and go in no time. 

No built in ND filter

The biggest feature that might deter you from this camera is its lack of built-in ND filters. As much as we love the electronic variable ND in the FX6 and FX9, the void of an ND filter is just not good. Likely, a built-in ND would make the camera larger and heavier and likely even more money. However, in our opinion, it would be well worth it. 

Dual card slots with two types of media

Just like the a7S III, the Sony FX3 has dual media slots for either SD/SDHC/SDXC cards or the faster, but more costly CFexpress Type A. There is only one setting that you will need the CFexpress card: when recording S&Q 10-bit 4:2:2 Intra 60p, data rates go up to 1200 Mbps, requiring the faster card. Unless you plan on shooting at the highest data rate, the more affordable SD cards work fine.

The top resolution is just UHD 4K

While the rest of the camera world offers higher and higher resolutions, Sony stuck with a top resolution of just UHD 4K in the FX3. This is a minor gripe because most don’t need more than 4K and that they give us high bit-rates in all frame rates at all resolutions. This camera has so much to offer, but higher than 4K resolution isn’t it. 

Full size XLR inputs

This is more of a dig at other manufacturers for offering mini XLR inputs like Blackmagic on the Pocket cinema cameras or the Canon C70. When a camera is for video shooting first, we expect the workflow options we need. We don’t want to use an adapter to plug in a mic to the camera. On top of that, the 35mm audio input on the port side of the camera also functions — in some formats — even when you are using the XLR inputs. Having multiple audio input options makes the camera even more dynamic. 

16-Bit RAW is useless until we have a device that can capture it

Although most situations would do just fine with 10-bit internal capture, the Sony FX3 offers 16-bit RAW via HDMI. With an Atomos Ninja V or a Shogun 7, the FX3 outputs to the recorder for it to capture 12-bit ProRes RAW. That’s fantastic, however, that’s not 16-bit RAW. We hope that something in the future will capture that full data, but at the moment, there isn’t anything. This is a minor gripe, but if you are hoping to use the 16-bit RAW, you are currently out of luck. 

Ergonomics and usability

Weight and size

The FX3 is 640 grams and 3.06 inches x 5.11 inches x 3.33 inches without the handle, battery or media. This is just slightly heavier than the a7S III by 26 grams. Both the a7S III and the FX3 are also close in size, with the FX3 being almost the same width. It’s not as tall because it doesn’t have an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and it’s a bit deeper due to the new cooling space just behind the rear monitor.

Cage-free mounting 

The Sony FX3 adapts easily to different setups because of the mounting points all over the camera. It has ¼ 20 mounts on all sides except the port side. With three on top, one if you are using the handle, one on the grip side and then the obvious one on the bottom. When the handle is attached, there are three additional mounts — two on top and one on the rear of the handle. 

The new handle

The handle feels really good and keeps you from holding on to the camera by the lens. Shooting from a low-angle handheld is a breeze. It attaches by two screws that adjust without tools. They are spring-loaded, so you can get the handle off without having to put it down. The audio connections are made via the multi-interface shoe and then secured to ¼ 20 mounts on either side of it.

One drawback is if you need a cold shoe for a wireless microphone receiver pack, the camera does not have another when the handle is installed. However, there are three mounting spots on the grip where a cold shoe could be installed. They are affordable with lots of options for under $10. If it matters to you, the handle makes the Sony FX3 much cooler looking. It definitely says “This isn’t a camera made for photos, it’s a video camera.” 

Button location

The camera has 6 custom function buttons and is labeled to their defaults. Although marked, the buttons can be reassigned to 140 menu different controls. A new type of control for the FX series — also not found in Sony’s alpha cameras — is a new zoom control. A toggle control found on a ring around the shutter button gives zoom control at your fingertip.

This is a similar switch that some cameras use for the on and off function of a mirrorless camera. Instead of being a switch, it’s a zoom rocker. The lens needs a servo-controlled zoom, like the amazing but expensive Sony FE C 16-35mm T3.1 G for $5,500. Using Sony’s clear image zoom, you can add a small zoom to any lens. Although not a huge change in the field of view, clear image zoom works pretty well and is not like the digital zooms of the past. It retains detail, so it looks like optical zoom. Lastly, the on/off switch is more in line with the FX6 and FX9, although smaller.

Fully articulating rear screen

Since the camera doesn’t have an EVF, the rear screen is your only way to monitor what you shoot — that is if you aren’t using an external screen. Its a 3 inch 1,440,000-dot LCD. Its touch-sensitive, offering menu control and touch auto-focus (AF).

It’s fully articulating, and there are a vent and fan between the screen, the sensor and the processor. The screen can get a bit brighter, and it’s enough to help when brightness is needed, but not bright enough for proper HDR monitoring. However, because it is fully articulating, it adjusts to a more viewable angle.  

Tally light

Sony gave us video shooters a bunch of tally lights so we know when we are recording. The record button illuminates red, there is a red tally light above the screen and the frame of the monitor is red when recording. It has a forward tally for the subject to know when you are capturing. 

Menu function

Many cameras that require deep menu control can be frustrating to use or just not fast enough to operate for some shooting situations. Sony continually evolves their menu and featured some stinkers in the past. We are happy to say that the FX3’s menu is great. The main menu is laid out so you can see all of the levels as you go. If any control is deep in the menu, you can find it quickly. Make sure when you get a new camera to learn how that manufacture refers to some operations. This will keep you from endlessly scrolling past the control you need. 

The Sony FX3 also has a quick function menu label Fn. It gives you a menu to quickly change the things you need to access quickly like picture profiles, frame rates, S&Q, peaking stabilization and you can customize it. 

Shoot assists

The camera has peeking and focus assist, zebras, audio meters and histogram. These are the standards we expect from mirrorless cameras. However, the camera does not have waveform, vectorscope or false color. This is unfortunate, but they are not common on cameras of this size. However, they are common amongst cinema cameras. We would have liked to see a waveform monitor at a minimum. 

Media

The camera takes two different media; CFexpress type A and SD. The camera can use one of each, both the same or just one card at a time. There is only one shooting setting that isn’t supported on SD because it has a data rate up to 1600 Mbps. The camera can be set to fill one card, then move on to the next — so they can be hot-swapped while shooting. If you need proxies made, it can create those on one card and put the native files on the other. So capture 10-bit on one card and 8-bit on the other. You can set them to put stills on one card and video to the other or capture the same thing on both at the same time so there are always two copies of what is being shot. 

The image (the sensor stuff)

Dynamic range

Sony states the camera has 15+ stops of dynamic range on the Sony FX3 and our tests did not confirm that. We saw 14+ stops, but the 14th stop was hard to see, and would likely not be of any use when needing to capture a dynamic setting. The best setting for the most dynamic range is S-Log3 gamma and S-Gammut3.Cine color mode. Is either the 14th or 15th stop in dynamic range a big deal? We don’t think so. These are the stops that would have very little detail in them anyway.