I tested the Sony fx30 to see if it's Really the best budget camera for Cinema And video because when it comes to video You need very specific features that you Don't really see in regular cameras and Having a good video camera is more than Just 4K resolution and frame rates so Even if a camera looks really good on Paper it still might not be right for Video plus with newer cameras coming out This year could the fx30 be updated Pretty soon so the first thing people Always look at when it comes to their Video camera is the sensor but often Sensor resolution is the least important Thing for video you also have to think About how the camera processes the Sensor data into actual video and not All sensors are made the same you also Have to look at the size of your sensor In the pixel design because you could Have two sensors with the same Resolution and the same size but Depending on the pixel design you can Get very different results by the way I'll leave links in the description down Below for the best pricing on the fx30 And the other cameras We compare it to So the fx30 has a 26 megapixel aps-c Size sensor which is pretty close to 35 Millimeter motion film that was used in Hollywood so great thing about this Camera is that you can use vintage Cinema glass on this camera using a PL
Adapter and the 26 megapixels is a lot Of pixel data to work with now the gold Standard for video especially High Budget video is actually a full frame Sensor which is about twice the size of An aps-c sensor and gives you a much More cinematic field of view and a very Cinematic look the great thing about the Fx30 is that you can actually use a Speed Booster that gives you a cinematic Full-frame look but you will have to use Canon EF lenses with it which isn't Ideal but it's pretty nice to have full Frame like I said earlier what really Matters is how your camera processed the Videos so how exactly does the video From the fx30 looks because of that 26 Megapixel sensor the 4K in the fx30 is Isn't just regular 4K no no no it's Actually super 4K because it's actually Super sampled from the full 6K 26 Megapixel image area and by squeezing a 6K image into a 4K package you actually Get some really interesting benefits for One you actually get this naturally Sharper and more detailed image because You're really working with a 6K image Base and by squeezing additional data Into a smaller container you also get a Cleaner image with less noise speaking Of noise the fx30 also has a dual base ISO of 82500 which means you can easily shoot With this camera in low light conditions
And still get a very clean video one Really unique feature of the fx30 is the Fact that because it's part of Sony Cinema line of cameras it actually gets Pro Cinema line features for example it Has Sony S cynital which gives you a Really cinematic look right in Camera Plus it also has s-log 3 which gives you Enhanced dynamic range range and color Flexibility which means you could Actually make the fx30 look as good as a More expensive camera like the fx3 or Fx6 which costs 4 800 six thousand Dollars it's pretty good deal for that Reason one feature that I don't really Hear people talk about much is Cinema EI Which is the closest thing you can get To raw video in a camera like this it's Not actually raw video but the workflow Is very similar but speaking of raw Video you can actually get raw video in The fx30 if you use an atomis external Recorder which gives you 16 bit prores Raw again you do need an external Recorder and there's a few caveats Around that that I'll talk about later But it's a pretty cool feature to have And as a bonus you also get Sony Spectacular God level autofocus it has Spectacular intelligent face detection And subject detection built right in Plus it also has really good Ibis built Right into the sensors you get really Smooth handheld video so like I said
Earlier sensor resolution is often the Least important thing it's really about How your sensor is built but with that Being said let's actually talk about how Does the video from this camera actually Look and what exactly makes it so Special that it's part of the Sony Cinema line of cameras when it comes to Shooting video on the fx30 it's really Made for cinematic filmmakers in mind You can shoot 4K at 24 and 30 frames per Second which is super sampled from a 6K Image and even if you go into a 4K 60 There is no quality drop I did a quick Comparison and even at 350 percent the 4K at 60 is just as good as the 4K at 24 And 30. so you get super sample 6K at Every frame rate across the board which Is a lot better than the competition for This camera like the Canon R7 which Actually does not super sample the 4K at 60 frames per second and there's a huge Drop in quality and in some cases you Actually might find that the fx30 looks Better than its Big Brother the FX X3 Which costs a lot more but slow motion Features in the fx30 might not be right For everyone slow motion is something Cinematic filmmakers definitely need Especially for music videos and Commercials 4k60 will probably be your Go-to mode for the fx30 but there's also 4K at 120 frames per second but it has a Pretty dramatic crop of 1.6 times so you
Get a really zoomed in image it's not Really ideal it's really only meant for Close-up details that you want to get in Slow motion it doesn't really work for Wide shots you can still shoot uncropped Full HD at 120 frames per second with 10 Bit color but something that you should Know is that there's cameras that are Pretty close to the price point of the Fx30 that do way better when it comes to Slow motion video so later in this video I will be talking about those cameras And how they stack up to the fx30 now a Camera can have really high resolution Video but if the camera doesn't process The video in the right way you're still Going to end up with a that video camera But the coolest thing about the fx30 is That while you still have the same Colors and dynamic range from Sony Cinema line of cameras you also get the Same data rates and recording codecs Because the fx30 has the ability to Record Xavchs and xavc standard which is the Sony video Codec which allows you to Shoot anywhere from 200 megabits per Second up to 600 megabits per second This has the same internal codecs as a Pro camera and that at this price point Is truly impressive like I said earlier The fx30 also has the ability to record Raw video using an external recorder now The ninja 5 plus which is the recorder
You need is only about 5.99 but with Hard drives which is like another two to Three hundred dollars plus batteries it Can get a little bit expensive but for Under a thousand dollars you can Definitely get prores raw out of your Fx3 and if you're a young Cinematographer a professional that is Regularly doing High and video work that Is a feature you will be very very happy To have speaking of professional work This is a camera that was made from not Only professionals but enthusiasts as Well there's a few things about this Camera that not only make it a tank but It actually could make you a better Video shooter the fx30 is super solidly Made it looks like plastic but it feels Like metal it can literally handle any Kind of shooting environment and it also Has a fan built in so this camera will Never ever overheat on you and it also Comes with a top handle that has XLR Input for audio so if you're a Professional you definitely want to get The XLR audio handle to get the best Audio possible the thing that I think Makes people a better video shooter with This camera is that it has a record Button specifically for video it has Major buttons for all the major Functions that you would want on your Camera the menu system is super simple There is simply less room to be slowed
Down on set and there's simply less room To make mistakes because everything is Labeled out so well when I was early in My career I would make mistakes with Like chain thank you little video dslrs All the time but this is a camera that's Honestly going to catch a lot of your Mistakes and it's going to help you Shoot video faster and more efficiently And one thing that I love about the body In the fx30 is that it actually has Quarter 20 holes all over the body so You don't need to get a cage for it you Can simply Mount your top handle right On here side handles right onto the Camera it's going to make your camera Way more Nimble way better for on-the-go Shooting so is the fx30 really the best Budget camera for Cinema and video well As the fx30 is right now it's really Only meant for one specific type of user And if you're a scrappy cinematographer That's young or a content creator you Could technically get a camera with Better specs for just about the same Price the main appeal of the fx30 is the Cinema style Body this will make you a Better shooter it's going to help you Shoot more efficiently it's much more Reliable tool it's never going to Overheat on you and if you're doing High-end paid work you definitely want To pick up this camera simply because It's a tool for the job and it's
Reliable but if you're not a Professional there's two other cameras That I do recommend for you guys there's A brand new Sony camera known as the Sony zve E1 now this camera actually has The same specs as the five thousand Dollar Sony fx3 the only difference is Is that it does not come with the same Heat management and professional style Body that the fx3 comes in but if you're An amateur and you really don't need a Cinema style Body Sony zve E1 is a much Better deal because it's also only a few Hundred dollars more than the fx30 Another camera that I've been Recommending to a lot of people is the Canon R6 Mark II this camera is full Frame 24 megapixel sensor and when it Comes to video it also over samples a 6K Image area into 4K again the one Downside is that it does not have a Cinema style Body the big highlight for Both the Sony zva1 and the Canon R6 Mark II is that they both have a full frame Sensor and the Sony zve E1 should get a Frame rate update in June that allows You to shoot 4 okay at 120 frames per Second which is way better for slow Motion and the Canon R6 Mark II out of The box does 4K 60 in full frame mode But also does full HD at 180 frames per Second I absolutely love the fx30 I love The sensor I love the over sampling I Love the autofocus and I love the cinema
Style Body but the truth is you could Kind of get a better camera for a little Bit more money and if you do want a Cinema style Body because you're a Professional I do highly recommend Picking up the fx30 and as always I'm Going to leave links down below for the Fx30 and the other cameras we talked About today I will see you guys in the Next video peace
