Alister’s FX3 Reminders

I’m putting these notes here for my own reference. I will add to them as I find new things to remember. They may help others too. As I already have a Sony FX9 and an FX6 I thought it would be a good idea to have some notes about some of the difference I need to remember when using an FX3 (and A7SIII) alongside the FX6 or FX9.

BASE ISO:

Gamma/Base ISO S-Cinetone Low Base S-Cinetone Hi Base S-Log3 Low Base S-Log3 High Base
FX3/A7SIII 100 2,000 640 12,800
FX6 320 5,000 800 12,800
FX9 320 1,600 800 4000

ISO RATING:
The FX3/A7SIII ISO ratings are just over 1 stop brighter than the same ratings on the FX6/FX9 except when using S-Log3 which matches correctly. So if using 320ISO for S-Cinetone on the FX6/FX9 use 100ISO on the FX3/A7SIII for the same brightness of recording.

HDMI:
To use both the HDMI out and the camera’s LCD screen at the same time you have to turn off the HDMI Info in the External Output settings.

STABILISATION:

To use post production stabilisation you must turn off Steadyshot in the menu.  

XAVC-S-I Codec has the same bit rates and appears to be the same quality as XAVC-I.

APPLICATION:

FX3 Uses “Imaging Edge” app and FX6/FX9 use “Content Browser Mobile” app.

EXTERNAL POWER:

The FX3 can be powered externally via the USB-C port. With a compatible USB-PD power source the camera can be run continuously.

 

 

16 thoughts on “Alister’s FX3 Reminders”

      1. My bad. Brain fade, thinking the FX9 and FX6 were the same when of course they are not. Thanks for pointing it out. I’ve added a new row to the table to split the FX6 and FX9. Too many cameras with too many different ISO’s.

  1. Hi Alister… do you happen to know… when using an external monitor on the FX3, does the monitor continue to display when you hit record? This could be a reason I would swap from my FS5 which annoyingly drops the feed on my Small HD 7 inch monitor… it’s fine up to the point of nailing the focus but as soon as you hit the record button the the screen cuts out. Thanks in advance.

      1. Thanks Alister… out of interest what is the technical difference between the external monitoring on the FS5 to this new FX3 that makes that possible? Thanks John

  2. More of a question than a comment: Does the A7Riii show the same characteristics as the A7Siii in terms of ISO

  3. Thanks Alister, very helpful.

    Would love to also see the different sensor modes for the FX3, i.e. 4K, HD, APS-C, high frame rate crop, etc (like you demoed with the FX6).

  4. Hi,
    Question – is there a way to record the 16bit RAW in true 16bit linear? I saw a presentation from you back at the 2017 CINE Gear Expo and it mentions thebl R5 and R7 recording true raw.

    I know atomos converts to 12 bit LPG, so just wondering whether there are any options for true 16 bit linear?

    1. The only recorders that can record any flavor of 16 bit Sony raw are the R5 and R7 and there is no way to connect these to anything other than the FS100, F5/F55 and Venice 1.

      So no way to record 16 bit from the FX line. But to be honest no one is ever likely to be able to tell the difference between 12 bit log and 16 bit linear. The sensors, like the vast majority of HD and 4K sensors almost certainly only have 12 bit A to D converters anyway.

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