Sony have released a minor but important firmware update for the ILME-FX6 camcorder. This update fixes the back-to-front EI values that are used during clip playback in the CineEI mode.
There are a couple of different ways to do the update. The update can be applied to the camera either by placing an update file on an SDXC card or CFExpress Type A card and updating via the camera. Or by downloading updater software for a Mac or PC and connecting the camera to the computer via USB and using the computer to update the camera. If you are a Mac user I have found this method to sometimes be challenging to make work, but easy with a Windows PC.
My preference is to download the SD/CFExpress update file and to put the update file on an SD card and update via the camera as this method has always proven to be easy and reliable for me in the past.
The firmware can be downloaded from here: https://www.sony.com/electronics/support/interchangeable-lens-camcorders-ilme-series/ilme-fx6v/downloads
Tag Archives: FX6
Rigging the FX6 – Shoulder mounts, Rod, Brackets, etc.
In this video I take a look at all sorts of rigging options for the Sony FX6.
Some of the key areas discussed:
0:01:30 Camrade Travel Mate 360 carry-on camera wheelie bag.
0:04:30 Vocas Sliding Plate Basic.
0:06:30 Chrosziel Base Plate and Quick Lock Plate.
0:09:00 Vocas Sliding VCT Base Plate.
0:10:00 Making sure the rod height is correct.
0:12:00 Vocas Matte Boxes.
0:17:00 Using a V-Mount battery to balance the camera.
0:22:30 Paglink V-Mount Batteries and flying with large batteries.
0:30:00 Vocas Flexible Camera Rig.
0:38:30 Arms for the hand grip (Vocas and Chrosziel).
0:40:30 Viewfinder considerations and options.
0:42:00 Gratical Viewfinders with Vocas Nato Rail.
0:44:00 FX6 Screen with FX9 Loupe.
0:46:00 Adding Extra hand grips, other hand grip mounting options.
0:51:00 Using the FX6 with the FX9 viewfinder.
0:52:30 TopTeks and CVP FX6 viewfinder modification.
0:54:30 Notes on the potential for LCD screen sun damage.
0:57:00 Vocas PL Mount adapter – importance of shims.
1:00:00 Why I avoid magic arms, especially for viewfinders.
1:03:00 Atomos Ninja V discussion.
1:07:00 H&Y Variable ND filter.
1:12:00 Summary and wrap up.
How Do You Expose S-Cinetone with the FX6/FX3/A7SIII
Lots of people have been asking about how to expose S-Cinetone, whether with the FX9, FX6, A7SIII or the FX3.
The short answers is: So that it looks nice!
S-Cinetone has a variable toe and knee. So exposing it brighter results in not only a brighter image but also an image with flatter skin tones and less shadow contrast, overall looking more video like.
Exposing a little bit darker results in a more contrasty film like image. Faces and skin tones have more texture. There is no one optimum exposure level. A white card could be anywhere between 78% and 88% depending on the look you want. Typical skin tones will vary from between anywhere between 55% and 75%.
Personally I like the way S-Cinetone looks when it’s exposed with Skin tones at around 63% and white at around 81%.
See the video I on S-Cinetone on the FX9 for more details as it all applies equally to the FX9 and FX6 as well as the A7SIII and FX3. The only small difference is that the base ISO’s are a little different between each camera.
Which Sony ISO RatingS Are Correct?
In the course of my tests with the FX3 and comparing it with the FX6 and FX9 I discovered a strange anomaly with the FX3 and A7SIII ISO ratings when compared to the FX6 and FX9.
The FX3’s default picture profile is PP11 and S-Cinetone. If you have an FX6 or FX9 these cameras also default to S-Cinetone in SDR mode. In the FX6 and FX9 the base ISO for S-Cinetone is 320 ISO. Therefore you would assume that if you also set the A7SIII or the FX3 to 320 ISO and expose all the cameras the same, same aperture, shutter etc that the exposures would match.
BUT THE EXPOSURES DON’T MATCH!!
The FX3 and the A7SIIII are just over 1 stop brighter than the FX6 and FX9 when all the exposure settings are matched. I tested all the cameras with the same lens to ensure this wasn’t a lens issue, but it isn’t the lens.
I then went on to test other gamma/picture profile settings and I found a just over 1 stop difference between the FX3 and my FX6/FX9 in any similar combination EXCEPT S-LOG3!
When using Picture Profile 2 on the FX3 which is uses Sony’s “Still” gamma and then using the “Still” Profile on the FX6 there is a difference of around 1 stop. If I set the FX3 to PP3 (ITU-709) and the FX6 to ITU-709 then the difference is again around 1 stop, in every case the FX3 is brighter except when you select S-Log3 where the FX3 and the FX6/FX9 match almost perfectly!
I find this very strange. They should not be different. My light meter suggests to me that the FX6/FX9 are correct.
Comparing to my light meter I believe the FX6/FX9 ratings to be correct and the FX3 to be between 1 and 1.3 stops brighter than it should be when using gammas that are not S-Log3. What I really don’t understand is why the FX3/A7SIII match the FX6/FX9 when using S-Log3 but do not match when using the other profiles, normally I would expect to see a consistent offset. This further makes leads me to be sure this is not a problem with my light meter, but something else.
I would love to hear from anyone else that’s able to take a look at the ISO ratings of the A7SIII and compare it with an FX6 or FX9.
The bottom line is – DON’T EXPECT TO PUT THE SAME EXPOSURE SETTINGS INTO BOTH AN FX3 AND AN FX6/FX9 AND GET THE SAME RESULTS, because you won’t, unless you are using S-Log3, then they match.
Also in the clip metadata I found that 0dB for S-Cinetone is 100 ISO, and whether this is a coincidence or not, if I set the FX3 to 100 ISO and the FX6 to 320 ISO and then match shutter speed and aperture then the exposures are very close.
This one has left me confused!!!!
Checking SD Cards Before First Use.
With the new FX6 making use of SD cards to record higher bit rate codecs the number of gigabytes of SD card media that many user will will be getting through is going to be pretty high. The more gigabytes of memory that you use, the more the chance of coming across a duff memory cell somewhere on your media.
Normally solid state media will avoid using any defective memory areas. As a card ages and is used more, more cells will become defective and the card will identify these and it should avoid them next time. This is all normal, until eventually the memory cell failure rate gets too high and the card becomes unusable – typically after hundreds or even thousands of cycles.
However – the card needs to discover where any less than perfect memory cells are and there is a chance that some of the these duff cells could remain undiscovered in a card that’s never been completely filled before. I very much doubt that every SD card sold is tested to its full capacity, the vast volume of cards made and time involved makes this unlikely.
For this reason I recommend that you consider testing any new SD cards using software such as H2Testw for windows machines or SDSpeed for Mac’s. However be warned to fully test a large card can take a very, very long time.
As an alternative you could simply place the card in the camera and record on it until its full. Use the highest frame rate and largest codec the card will support to fill the card as quickly as possible. I would break the recording up into a few chunks. Once the recording has finished check for corruption by playing the clips back using Catalyst Browse or your chosen edit software.
This may seem like a lot of extra work, but I think it’s worth it for piece of mind before you use your new media on an important job.
Atomos Adds Raw Over SDI For The Ninja V via the AtomX.
I know this is something A LOT of people have been asking for. For a long time it has always seemed odd that only the Shogun 7 was capable of recording raw from the FX9 and then the FX6 while the the little Ninja V could record almost exactly the same raw form the A7SIII.
Well the engineers at Atomos have finally figured out how to pass raw via the AtomX SDI adapter to the Ninja V. The big benefit of course being the compact size of the Ninja V.
There are a couple of ways of getting the kit you need to do this.
If you already have a Ninja V (they are GREAT little monitor recorders, I’ve taken mine all over the world, from the arctic to Arabian deserts) you simply need to buy an AtomX SDI adapter and once you have that buy a raw licence from the Atomos website for $99.00.
If you don’t have the Ninja V then you can buy a bundle called the “Pro Kit” that includes everything you need including a Ninja V with the raw licence pre-installed, The AtomX SDI adapter, a D-Tap power adapter cable, a mains power supply and a sun hood. The cost of this kit will be around $950 USD or £850 GBP + tax, which is a great price.
On top of that you will need to buy suitable fast SSD’s.
Like the Shogun 7 the Ninja V can’t record the 16 bit raw from the FX6 or FX9 directly, so Atomos take the 16 bit linear raw and convert it using a visually lossless process to 12 bit log raw. 12 bit log raw is a really nice raw format and the ProResRaw codec helps keep the files sizes nice and manageable.
This is a really great solution for recording raw from the FX6 and FX9. Plus if you already have an A7SIII you can use the Ninja V to record via HDMI from that too.
Here’s the press release from Atomos:
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FX6 Guide to Cine EI – Update To Include StRange PlayBack EI Levels.
I’ve added some updates to my guide to using the Cine EI Mode in the FX6 (towards the bottom) to cover the strange playback behavior where the EI levels are reversed. This can result in some very misleading brightness levels during playback that might make you think you exposed incorrectly.
https://www.xdcam-user.com/2020/12/a-guide-the-the-fx6s-cineei-mode/
Rugged, Lightweight Mic Mount for the Sony FX6.
I have designed a custom, robust, yet lightweight microphone mount for the Sony ILME-FX6 camcorder (it will also fit the FS5). It’s low cost and it replaces the existing microphone mount and provides a strong and flexible mounting solution for a wide range of microphones with very good vibration and handling noise isolation properties. It is fitted to the camera by unscrewing the two screws that attach the factory supplied mic mount and using the same screws to attach this mount in the same place (do not over tighten the screws).
This mount will take heavier microphones than the standard mount which is prone to becoming floppy and breaking over time.
There are two sets of mounting holes so you can have the microphone at two different distances from the carry handle to suit your individual needs. The microphone mount will not obstruct or block the MI Shoe as many other 3rd party mic mounts will.
You can order the mount from Shapeways where they are made to order in a wide range of colours out of a very tough plastic material with a textured finish. https://www.shapeways.com/product/JKWA72Y6T/fx6-rugged-mic-holder-fit-sony-ilme-fx6-camcorder?optionId=193365147&li=marketplace
This mount will take any microphone up to approx 32mm in diameter. You will need 4 “O” rings to loop over the slots in the mic holder to act as the suspension for the microphone. these should be 2 or 3mm thick with an inside diameter of between 28mm and 32mm (30mm recommended). The O rings will not be supplied by Shapeways, you must source these for yourself. These are very cheap and are normally available on ebay, from car spares stores, plumbing suppliers and DIY stores. If you can’t find the right O rings it is also possible to use elastic bands, but these don’t tend to support the microphone as well as O rings.
Yes, You Can Use The FX9 Viewfinder With The FX6
Good news, you can use the FX9’s viewfinder assembly on the FX6. Not just the loupe/magnifier, but the entire viewfinder including the LCD. It all fits straight on to the FX6 and is full functional. Overlays, menus and the touch screen are all good. The only small thing is the display is initially upside down, but that is easily resolved using the “rotate” switch that is at the bottom of the FX9’s LCD screen.
So – if you have an FX9 and an FX6 you can swap viewfinders between both cameras. We already know that if you simply add the loupe/magnifier from the FX9 to the FX6’s LCD that it fits, but tends to be a bit “droopy” because of the weak hinges on the FX6 LCD. You can buy the FX9 LCD as a spare part along with the loupe if you want, but it won’t be cheap!
FX6 ISO rating Confirmation Test
I have already done this a few times, but having seen some other tests suggesting the FX6’s ISO ratings were incorrect. So I decided to re-confirm my previous findings, which is that the ratings Sony give their cameras is correct. For the test I used a DSC labs exposure calibration chart which is an extremely accurate 18%/90% reflectivity chart and my trusty Sekonic light meter. As you can see at both 800 ISO and 12,800 ISO the light meters indicated exposure settings perfectly match the camera’s ISO ratings, shutter speed and aperture. For the 12,800 ISO test, as my light meter doesn’t go up to 12,800 ISO I set the light meter to 6400 ISO which is one stop lower than the cameras 12,800. The light meter indicated f11 which is one stop below the f16 required by the camera – confirming that the ISO rating is correct.
