Today I'm taking a look at the Sony fx30, recently announced camera!
Fully opinion based I have not had any Hands-on time with camera.
Okay here's the main Sony page. It looks just like the fx3 which
is the full frame version of this camera. Very focused on video but it does take photos.
You know they're just saving a few bucks here and there...
Obviously the smaller sensor is what you need to keep in mind.
Currently recording this with the a6000 from Sony and the standard kit lens that comes with it.
Looks pretty decent it's going through HDMI and a really cheap HDMI capture device.
If I had the fx30 I could do full USB power plus the webcam. I've seen
some of the videos, very consistent... Even back in the a6000 days autofocus
is very good on the Sony cameras, so you would expect the fx30 to be even better.
It does have the in-body stabilization which is very nice.
Sony's stabilization with the sensor isn't amazing, but it's there it's functional...
With video focused Cinema type cameras sometimes they do not include stabilization with the sensor,
but in this case they do. I think it's a good thing!
It does have the dual card slots. I think this is a very important feature
for video these days. Especially if you're doing some type of professional video work.
Having an instant backup in the camera is very very nice.
So similar to another camera that was relatively recently out is the Canon R7.
It has the dual card slots and as far as I understand it that camera also does backup
video recording to the two card slots, very important feature in my opinion!
Good to have backup. This one you can buy
it with this XLR audio adapter. Does have a fan in the camera
Potato Jet's video specifically he does a test with heating the camera
up in this device and it didn't have any issues. When talking video price is generally going to be
more expensive than photo cameras. In this case that is true.
Body only price $1799.99 but considering a cinema camera quote unquote...
You know there's a cinema camera tax. I think it's reasonable but I would
have liked to seen it closer to the Canon R7, even though that is a photo
camera it has a lot of similar features.. functionality.. and it has a viewfinder.
So that adds some cost on Canon's side. Now maybe the fan and the back side illuminated
sensor of the Sony cost a little bit more for them. They do make their own sensors like Canon...
Pure speculation but I feel like Sony could have potentially gone cheaper with this camera.
But with their target market they're used to more expensive prices.
I would have preferred $1500 or lower, but yeah. Maybe eventually, who knows, and then if
you want the XLR included with it that's a few extra hundred dollars.
Go into what I do with my video stuff. Are the Canon M6 Mark II. I have two of these now, so
I've got the silver one. In the back here this.. uhh.. one in a cage with the Atomos Ninja V.
So these cameras are not ideal for video, in some situations,
but they're definitely the best in this mount. They do 4K and I think it looks decent.
Another big negative of older photo focus cameras is that they have a cap of 30
minutes per video clip, internal recording. I get around it with this Ninja V recorder.
In this case it does support h.265. It's hard to like understand all of this information
at the moment, but at the very least it's in there. I don't know how low you can go with the
bitrates and still get a decent picture out of it. But in my case with the Ninja V in the background.
It does h.265 with an add-on $100 for the codec and I bought that. It works well,
it's very efficient and it looks fine to me. In that case I think this could replace both
the Ninja V and one of my cameras. The fx30 is significantly better for
video obviously, but it is a lot more expensive than something like this.
But if you factor in the cost of the Ninja V plus one camera and then also this has the smallest
most damage prone HDMI port on the camera compared to the full-size port in the fx30.
You know.. little features like that are a very nice quality of life improvement with video work.
The lenses that I currently use, I did sell a lot of my equipment recently...
I have the 22 millimeter f/2. I think that would be a nice
option for video work. This specific lens isn't
the most amazing for video based on how the autofocus functions, but it works well enough.
So it's a good talking to the camera type lens. Also the 56 millimeter f/1.4 from Sigma. This is
available in the e-mount. If I need a close-up second angle for video,
I'll potentially use this because that camera is going to be further away from where I am.
If I want to do macro work I just use some extension tubes currently.
11 to 22 millimeter, in this case it's a variable aperture. It does have stabilization in the lens.
Sony has, I think, it's the 10 to 20 millimeter or 10 to 18 millimeter which
we'll look at but more expensive by quite a bit. This is a 33 millimeter Viltrox. Focal length a
little bit closer. Again, if I don't use the 56 I might use this instead.
Another Sigma this is 16mm f/1.4. This is available for e-mount. I
use this a lot for Hands-on stuff. One of the big benefits for the
e-mount in mirrorless there are a lot of lens options available in aps-c and
full frame. It'll work just fine on the fx30. Obviously third-party options even though Sony
is a relatively open mount you should expect Sony lenses to work the best on these cameras.
They'll have some features like focus breathing, a way to counter it, it is in this camera.
I don't know exactly how it works. It might be just for the Sony lenses so if you want Focus
breathing correction make sure to get a Sony lens. This one, a 50 millimeter not something I would
normally get but it would work in a pinch especially
it's relatively cheap. Does have autofocus. Same thing with the Tamrons. I think these do
have a lot of focus breathing... So 24 f/2.8, that can be a potentially interesting one for video.
Obviously no stabilization in there. So this is going to be similar to my 22 millimeter
f/2 about the cheapest option you can find. I have used the Sony FE 50 millimeter f/1.8. I was
not a fan. It's very cheap feeling. The focus ring is not great. I would avoid this lens personally.
Not a.. not a big fan of it. The 16mm f/2.8, this is
another really old Sony lens. Maybe if you could find it used
it might be an interesting option, 16 millimeter it's pretty nice on aps-c.
That could be a potential replacement for the 22 that I use.
This is one of the trio of Sigma lenses that they have for all their aps-c cameras.
In this case I got the two here. I don't have the 30... a friend does have this lens,
does have a bit of aberrations and such but it's just a decent option.
You've got 35.. 33.. this is basically the one that I have here, but in silver for EF-M mount.
55 to 210 with stabilization, apertures are not great. If you really wanted some distance for your
video work you could try that out as an option. 30 millimeter f/3.5 that's another older lens.
It has macro capability. When I'm doing product videography something like that would probably be
pretty nice because it would focus closer. I could see that as a potential option for
Hands-on videos if you do that type of thing. This is the lens I'm using with my webcam right
now the 16 to 50. Not a great lens, but you can see even in this situation it's
not the worst thing ever it works. So here's the sigma 16 millimeter
that I have for EF-M mount. I think this is a great option.
It's not the smallest lens ever but it's nice, I like it. Autofocus is quiet.
12 millimeter f/2, I think this could be an interesting option for vlogging.
Yeah, there is a lot of options with e-mount which is nice.
Here's the 56 that I have. This looks interesting,
Viltrox 13 millimeter f/1.4.. ohh.. so many third parties are filling out the lower end.
Sony 28 millimeter f/2. This is looking a little bit more interesting.
Not sure how old this one is, but you could potentially buy use and save quite a bit of money.
Price wise we're starting to get into the Sony lenses.
You should expect autofocus to generally be more consistent.
The Sony 11 millimeter f/1.8 that is the newer lens.
Potentially be an interesting option for vlogging. It doesn't have stabilization
in the lens but this camera does have the stabilization on the sensor plus digital.
So here's an interesting one, 11 to 18 millimeter. Does not have stabilization
but you do get 11 millimeters on the wide end. Here's an interesting option for video work,
18 to 105 f/4 with stabilization and it also has the power zoom functionality.
So on gimbals if you want to zoom and use the gimbal at the
same time you need one of those power zoom lenses.
There's another interesting option for vlogging or such, 11 to 20 millimeter
f/2.8. I've seen some comparisons .I think it was Christopher Frost that did it and he
performed referred this one over the Tokina. This is probably the lens that I would get
to replace my 11 to 22 millimeter. Has the stabilization in the lens.
There are other options for video work... All the Panasonic cameras if you're into
those I have not personally used any of them... but gh5, gh6, gh5 ii, gh5s...
I don't know about the G9 that's more photography focused, but the gh5, gh6 series.
R7 does have the stabilization with the sensor. Does have the dual card slots
and as far as I understand it you can also record video to both cards at the same time.
Then Fujifilm with the x-h2s, this is the most impressive aps-c sensor
out currently. It is stacked so you're getting a lot of data readout quickly.
Rolling shutter is probably the lowest of any aps-c camera, but you can see it's very expensive.
But they also have the x-h2 now which is going to be more rolling shutter but you can do 8K video.
Personally I'd consider the R7 for video work, but there might
be some issues with overheating and such. Oh, there is the 10 to 20 millimeter f/4.
It does not have stabilization in but it is a power zoom type lens so that would be good on
gimbals for you are into that. Anyways, interesting option!
It's nice that Sony is releasing more aps-c cameras.
In this case very video focused but still cool camera.
Umm, personally I would potentially get into Sony if I had $1800 times two plus
lenses but currently not not gonna happen. Hope you enjoyed this opinion based talk
on the fx30 and Sony e-mount lenses. Scott of Photography Banzai, thanks!