FX3, FX30, Review

Sony FX30 Who is it for?

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The new Sony FX30 has been much leaked and much rumoured. I got to see one and briefly play with one at IBC and I actually think this is a rather exciting camera. From the outside it looks just like an FX3 and the overall specs and menu system is pretty much exactly the same. The body of the FX30 does use a bit more plastic than the FX3, but this does make it a bit lighter without it feeling flimsy.

The big difference is the sensor. The FX30 has an APSC sensor, so this means that for video it is the equivalent of a super 35mm sensor. Go back 5 years and Super 35 dominated the large sensor video camera market. But now Full Frame is the flavour of the day, so s35 seems a bit dated, but is it?



Super 35 was/is the most widely used frame size for film production. There is a vast range of lenses available for Super 35. If you want a parfocal zoom lens there are many more options for s35 than FF. s35 lenses tend to be smaller, lighter and more affordable that their direct full frame equivalents. There is a vast range of classic cinema glass out there.

One of the best things about Sony’s Venice and FX9 cameras is the ability to use either full frame or super 35 for 4K.  So, you can pick and chose which to use depending on what you are shooting. For wildlife and natural history super 35 remains very popular. For news and documentary work the range of zoom lenses available for super 35mm means that many will chose s35 over full frame. And sometimes you just don’t want the extra shallow DoF that FF may mean (of course you can always stop down in FF).

An interesting proposition.

I think the FX30 is a very interesting proposition. For a start it’s a fair bit cheaper than an FX3 (half the price). In addition APSC lenses are cheaper than full frame lenses, so for a student or someone starting out it’s an interesting low cost option. It might also be an option for a crash camera or some other hazardous job where the camera may get damaged. APSC lenses are often smaller and lighter than full frame so this may allow you to get the camera into smaller spaces. If you have an FS5 or FS7 you will be able to use all of the same lenses.

Dual Base ISO and Speed Boosters.

Something  I learnt about the FX30 is that the sensor it uses is a true dual base ISO sensor. As a result there is almost no difference in noise or dynamic range between its low base of 800 ISO and it’s higher 2500 ISO base (for S-Log3).  I also feel that this is a more useful split between the two ISO’s. With the FX3 and FX6 the higher base sensitivity of 12,800 ISO  is often a lot more than you really need and it is not a true dual base ISO sensor. Instead the FX3 and FX6 have two base sensitivity modes and this means the higher mode is noticeably more noisy and the dynamic range is very slightly reduced. This might be great for specialist low light work, but it’s not so useful for drama or short films. If you do need to work at very low light levels then you can add a speed booster to the FX30 and use full frame Canon or Nikon lenses. In fact, if you want the so called “full frame look” (something that doesn’t really exist and is a bit of an internet myth) then use a speed booster and full frame lenses.

26MP Sensor = Oversampled 4K.

If your sensor has 4096 x 2160 pixels, that’s only 8.8 megapixels. 26 megapixels on an APSC aspect ratio sensor, with 20MP used for video  suggests that you’ll have around 6.2K x 3.6K of pixels when shooting video, so your 4K recordings will be nicely oversampled. Interestingly the raw output seems to be 4.7K x 2.6K, so I’m not sure quite what goes on when shooting raw (it appears to be oversampled or downconverted).  Potentially the FX30 may deliver higher resolution images than possible from the 4.2K sensor in the FX3 and FX6 (remember a bayer sensor only resolves at around 70% of the pixel count). I need to test this! This oversampling also means that if you want to shoot anamorphic, even after you have made the necessary crops into the image, the resolution will exceed that of a classic open gate Arri camera, although the side crop will mean you will have a reduced field of view. For anamorphic the FX30 may be an interesting choice, don’t forget that most anamorphic lenses are made for 35mm movie film, not full frame. 1.2x anamorphic lenses on the FX30 will look great. Of the lower cost cameras I still feel that the FX9 is the best choice for Anamorphic.

The dynamic range is specified at around 14 stops, so perhaps a little lower than the FX3/FX6/FX9 etc. Perhaps given the smaller pixels this isn’t really much of a surprise. But again this needs to be tested and in most applications I doubt anyone will really notice.

Rolling Shutter?

Typically Sony’s APSC sensors have exhibited more rolling shutter than the full frame sensors in cameras like the FX3 and FX6. And this remains the case with the FX30. It does exhibit more rolling shutter than these two cameras. But it isn’t terrible, I’ve seen much worse. I didn’t get a chance to do any side by side tests so it’s is difficult to be precise, but I don’t thing the rolling shutter is any worse than an FS5 or FS7.

CineEI Mode.

With the same CineEI mode as the FX3 the FX30 will be a great camera for shooting Log.  Like the FX3 it can shoot at up to 120fps in 4K. There isn’t much not to like about the FX30, especially for those on a tight budget or those that need a super 35 sensor.

Ultimate Webcam!

Another exciting feature is the ability to use the FX30 as a webcam. The FX30 supports the UVC and UVA standards allowing it to be plugged into a computer via USB to use it as a high quality web camera or streaming device.  My brain is already thinking about things like using one to stream the Northern Lights from Norway next January.


Workflow

Adobe to drop colour managament by default.

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I had an interesting chat with Adobe about how they implemented the colour management of footage in Adobe Premiere at IBC. They seem to realise that the way it is implemented by default isn’t very popular, that it isn’t  well documented and not particularly well implemented.  So things will revert back to everything being handled as Rec-709 in a Rec-709 project by default in the near future. This will come very soon (it may already be in the public Beta but I haven’t checked). This does of course mean that once again your Log footage will look flat, which is actually incorrect, Log is not flat, you are just viewing it incorrectly. Those delivering in HDR will have to figure out how to best manage their footage so it isn’t unnecssarily restricted by passing through a Rec-709 project/timeline and most will end up using LUTs with all the restrictions that they impose once again. Perhaps Adobe will return to colour management in the future once they have figured out how to implement it in a more user friendly way.

FX3

Notes on the FX3 version 2 update.

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I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the new FX3 firmware update. So, I thought I would put my answers to the questions here in one place. But before I get to my notes on what the firmware does, I will just say that if you are a Mac user, I recommend trying to borrow a PC to do the update. It is much much easier to do the update with a PC than a Mac! The firmware update is well worth doing. At first it might appear that the update makes it impossible to do some things the camera did before, but, if you follow my notes you will see that this is not actually the case.

What is the base ISO for S-Log3 in version 2? In the CineEI and CineEI Quick modes the base ISO defaults to 800/12800 ISO. This is different to before, but brings the FX3 in line with the other Sony Cinema line cameras and most other current digital cinema cameras. When not using the dedicated CineEI modes the base ISO for S-Log3 seems to revert back to 640 ISO as indicated by the way the camera adds a pair of bars, above and below the ISO indication from 500 ISO and down, to warn that you are below the native ISO. 

Help, I can’t output 4K/UHD and record 4K/UHD internally while using the CineEI modes! It takes a lot of extra processing power to apply the LUT’s  to the preview image while recording S-Log3. Unfortunately this seems to mean that there is no longer enough processing power to both record internal 4k/UHD and output 4K/UHD and have LUT’s at the same time. You can record internal 4K and 4K output raw, that’s one option. And you can record 4K and output HD. But if you need to record 4K/UHD internally and output 4K/UHD S-log3 you will need to come out of the cameras log mode.

How do you shoot S-Log3 when not using the Log modes? When you are not using the Log modes you will find that the old S-Log3 and S-Log2 picture profiles (7,8 and 9) are missing. However you can still go into any of the other picture profiles and change the gamma to S-Log3 and the color mode to S-Gamut3.cine or S-Gamut3. S-Log2 has been removed and is no longer available, but as S-Log2 is incapable of recording the full dynamic range of the FX3 this isn’t a big deal. Shooting S-Log3 this way allows you to record 4K/UHD internally and output 4K/UHD over the HDMI as in the previous version 1 firmware. I suspect that PP7/8/9 were removed simply to encourage users to use the dedicated log modes where everything is fully optimised for log rather than using a picture profile where any ISO can be used or other settings changed that may degrade the log.

What does “Embed LUT LUT File” do? When Embed LUT File is enabled the camera stores the LUT used in the “Private”, “M4ROOT”, “General” metadata folder on the recording card. In addition metadata about the LUT and the chosen exposure index is saved in the clip file. The LUT is NOT BAKED IN to the file, the recording remains as S-Log3. When you import the clip into the latest version of Sony’s Catalyst Browse software the LUT you used when shooting is automatically applied to the clip as well as the correct exposure offset for the Exposure Index used. The end result is the clip looks exactly the same in Catalyst Browse as it did on the cameras LCD when you were shooting. But because it is still an S-Log3 recording, you can still manipulate it as much as before and if you want you could use a different LUT in post. Hopefully in the future other edit and grading software will also read this metadata and apply the LUT automatically, this is really how this should all work (hope the FX6/FX9 get the same functionality). 

How do I load a custom LUT into the FX3 camera? Start with an empty SD card and format the card in the camera. This will create the necessary folders needed for the LUT on the card. The FX3 accepts 33x 3D cube LUTS, this is the most commonly found LUT format. Next copy your chosen LUT to the “PRIVATE”, “SONY”, “PRO”, “LUT” folder. Then put the card into the camera and go to the menu “Exposure/Color”, “Color/Tone”, “Manage User LUTs” option. From here you will first chose a User memory slot to load the LUT into. You will then be prompted to choose the SD card that you saved the LUTs to, and then LUT you wish to load from the card. The LUT will be saved to the slot chosen – the original LUT name is kept, but if the name is too long it will be abbreviated. Once the LUT has been loaded into the camera you can then select it from the new Home Menu – page 1. You can save up to 16 user LUTs.

How do I bake in a LUT? To bake in a LUT you have to come out of the cameras dedicated Log shooting mode. In the normal shooting mode if you go to the menu’s “Exposure/Color”, “Color/Tone”, “Picture Profile” page you will see that as well as the picture profiles, a little lower down you will find 4 “PPLUT” settings. These initially correspond to the first 4 user LUT memories and allow you to select those LUTs as a baked in look. But if you have saved more than 4 user LUTs do not despair. You can go into the “PPLUT” setting and if you select “Basic Look” you can select any of your saved user LUTs.

What do the Zebras or histogram measure in the CineEI mode? The Histogram and zebras measure the brightness of the LUT when using the CineEI mode. Do note that when correctly exposed the s709 LUT will be a touch darker than S-Cinetone or normal Rec-709.

  Middle Grey Average Skin Tones 90% Reflectivity white card (add 2-3% for white paper).
S-Log3 41% 48-52% 61%
s709 44-45% 57-62% 77-78%
709(800) 44-45% 65-70% 89%

Will the A7S3 get the same firmware? As far as I know, no it will not. It is my understanding that this firmware is specifically for the FX3 as the FX3 is sold as a part of the Cinema Line and primarily as a video camera. The A7S3 is not part of the cinema line and is sold primarily as a photo camera that also shoots great video.

FX3

Sony FX3 gets CineEI and LUTs

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The smallest camera in Sony’s Cinema Line, the FX3 has a new, massive firmware update. Firmware version 2 adds  a conventional CineEI mode as well as a “quick” CineEI mode (automatically switches the base ISO depending on the chosen EI value) for shooting S-Log3 and raw with the ability to monitor using custom LUTs. Additionally, if you wish you can also bake in you favourite LUT to your recordings. The firmware update also makes it possible to input timecode by using an special adapter cable that plugs into the cameras usb/multifunction port.

In the movie shooting mode the cameras on screen overlays are now moved above and below the main image area so that the images you are shooting are not obstructed by text or icons. This is really nice touch.

This update brings the FX3 into much closer functional alignment with the rest of the cinema line. Two make it all work the menu system has also been overhauled and a function menu can be quickly accessed by swiping the cameras touch screen.

Do not that this firmware does remove S-Log2 and that the camera will be reset to it’s factory defaults when the upgrade is performed. As far as I know the A7S3 will not get a similar update as this is not part of the Cinema Line. The firmware update is available for download from the Sony website. https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/interchangeable-lens-camcorders-ilme-series/ilme-fx3/downloads

Venice, Workshops and Events

Virtual Production With Venice 2. Dubai Workshop

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I have a crazy few weeks coming up. This week I will be filming at the Glastonbury festival, then next week I will be in Dubai for a workshop on virtual production with Sony’s Venice 2 camera. This will be a great opportunity for those that have never been to a virtual studio to have a look at how it all works and what’s involved – nad to see how Venice 2 is an excellent camera for VR thanks to it’s very fast sensor readout speed, frame size flexibility and wide range of frame rates. To join one of the sessions please RSVP to Omar.Abuaisha@sony.com 

Venice

CineD Venice 2 Dynamic Range Tests

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The recent publication of CineD’s Venice 2 lab tests has created quite a stir and many have asked what my view on this is. You can see the entire test here:  https://www.cined.com/sony-venice-2-lab-test-rolling-shutter-dynamic-range-and-latitude/

I have not done any formal dynamic range testing with Venice 2 myself, but I have shot with it several times. I have also shot with most of Sony’s recent cameras including the original Venice, many different Red cameras and Arri ALexa’s. 

Whenever I shot with Venice 2 the dynamic range has always impressed me. I have been able to pull lots of detail out of the deepest shadows without any issue, no nasty noise artefacts, no coloured blotches.  When I shot the “London Vistas” video in London at night using available light I found the cameras noise floor to be very low, allowing me to get deep shadow textures without issue. The cameras highlight handling has also always impressed me and every time I’ve used Venice 2 I have been delighted with the dynamic range it delivers, it is up there with the Arri Alexa. From my real world shooting experience Venice 2 delivers more DR than my FX9 or FX6 and it delivers it in a very pleasing way. The way the far highlights and deep shadows behave is beautiful.

I would also point out that there are many great examples of deep shadow details and textures that are colour blotch free in Rob Hardy’s “Venizia” short film.

I would point out that CineD noted that the Venice 2 as the delivered the second highest dynamic range result they have seen in their lab when they recorded using the internal 4K ProRes recordings.  Venice 2 comes in just 0.3 stops behind the Alexa in this mode in the CineD tests. CineD have put this down to downsampling from 8K plus the use of additional internal noise reduction. While DCT codecs like ProRes do normally incorporate some degree of NR, I doubt that Sony are doing any significant NR in camera as this tends to degrade the image in other areas. So I find the discrepancy between the results they are seeing between the 16 it X-OCN and the 10 bit ProResHQ very intriguing and it makes me wonder if something else is going on. Downsampling from 8K will certainly help lower the noise a little, but I feel that there is something odd with the X-OCN results, one thing I note is a very raised pedestal on the waveform of the X-OCN, which is somewhat odd, the bit depth should help separate the noise from the useable signal. A camera either has a dynamic range or it doesn’t, only rarely does NR make a significant difference as the sensor analog to digital converters tend to be the one of the main limiting factors. My own real world experience is that Venice 2 when shooting X-OCN has more useable DR than almost every other camera I have used.

Bottom line is – don’t go by the test, try the camera for yourself as I am quite sure you will find, like me, that one thing Venice 2 does not lack is dynamic range. I will try to do my own formal tests as soon as possible.

FX6

Sony FX6 Intermittent Audio – Is Your Handle Secure?

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There have been a few people popping up on various user groups and forums complaining of a sudden loss of audio or intermittent audio on their Sony FX6 cameras. A common cause of the loss of audio on the FX6 is a slightly loose top handle. The XLR inputs, MI Shoe and the cameras built in microphones are all part of the top handle, so if the handle is a little loose and the connection between the camera and handle isn’t perfect you can suddenly lose all your audio inputs.

As the connection between the handle and camera is a digital one you often won’t get any warning and if you are not wearing headphones you might not notice that you no longer have audio. Hint – wear headphones and monitor your audio when doing anything where the audio is even the slightest bit important 😉

So it is advisable to regularly check that the thumb screws that secure the handle are tight as if done up finger tight they do have a tendency to work lose over time. The thumbscrews have sockets for an allen key and I strongly suggest you use an allen key to tighten them up, done up this way they rarely come loose.

Review

Sony Second Generation Dual Channel UWP-D Radio Mic Receiver.

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Sony URX-P41D UWP-D Dual Channel Radio Mic Receiver

 

I’ve been using Sony’s UWP-D series radio mics for more years than I can remember. In those years they have proved to be absolute workhorses and they have never let me down. The audio quality is very high, the transmission range very good thanks to the use of a diversity receiver and you have the added benefit of being able to attach the receiver to most of Sony’s more recent cameras via the MI Shoe.

When you use the MI Shoe the mic receiver is powered by the cameras battery and the audio passes into the camera via the shoe. If the camera has XLR connectors then these can be used to connect additional microphones allowing you to record from up to 4 audio sources without needing a mixer.  

 


If you want to get 2 channels of wireless audio into the camera you can either use 2 receivers and connect them via the XLR inputs or put a single channel receiver on the MI Shoe and then connect a second receiver via XLR. But an even neater way is to use one of Sony Dual Channel receivers.  I already have the previous dual channel receiver, the URX-P03D and I really wanted to see how this new version compares.

 

The URX-P41D a new dual channel receiver that replaces the previous model, the URX-P03D. It is slightly shorter but a little fatter than the previous receiver so overall similar in size and weight, but features some really nice new features. You will also be pleased to know that it is completely compatible with the previous generation of UWP-D transmitters including the UTX-B03 belt pack lavalier mics. It even includes an Infra Red port for wireless pairing. You can even bypass Sony’s digital compander, allowing it to be used with microphones from other brands. However to get the very best out of this receiver you want to use it with second generation UWP-D transmitters such as the UTX-B40 belt packs or UTX-P40 plugin transmitter.

URX-P41D on an FX6 using the MI Shoe

 

The UTX-B40 belt pack transmitters are smaller than the previous generation and have a couple of new features that are quite handy. The first is the ability to set the audio gain to auto. Auto gain set the audio to a high gain level and then uses a limiter to ensure the the audio doesn’t clip or distort. This mode can be useful for presenters that talk quietly but may become much louder if they get excited. Another nice feature is the use of NFC for pairing rather than infrared. 

You can see the pairing IR port for backwards compatibility on the side of the receiver

 

Pairing a transmitter to the receiver is very easy. You simply press and hold the NFC Sync button, the receiver will then scan for a clear channel. Once it has found a suitable clear frequency a message pops up on the nice clear OLED display to pair the RX and TX. This is done simply by holding the transmitter and receiver together so the NFC logo on each are facing each other. The receiver will then vibrate to confirm the pairing process has finished.



The dual channel receiver has 2 on and off switches, one for each channel. So if only using one channel the other can be switched off to save power. There are separate 3.5mm sockets with locking rings  for each channel and the receiver is supplied with two locking 3.5mm to XLR cables. In addition there is a Y cable that connects both 3.5mm outputs to a single stereo 3.5mm plug. this is handy for cameras or other devices that only have a 3.5mm jack plug input. As well as the outputs there is a 3.5mm headphone socket.

In addition to the outputs, rather curiously there is also a 3.5mm microphone input socket, the previous P03D also has this extra input. This additional input allows you to connect a 3rd microphone to the receiver. This third microphone is then mixed with the other 2 channels. This might be handy for some applications where you absolutely must have 5 sources feeding the camera but don’t have a mixer, but because this extra input is mixed with the wireless channels I think it has only limited usefulness. 



When you want to connect the receiver directly to a Sony camera via the MI Shoe you have to use an adapter called the SMAD-P5 (Sony accessories have such easy names to remember, apparently it stands for Sony Multishoe ADapter). The SMAD adapter for the new second generation receivers is neater and more compact than the one used by the first generation.  It connects to a socket hidden under a rubber cover on the underside of the receiver. If you are using the URX-P41D with an FX6 as well as the MI-Shoe powering the receiver and providing the audio connection you get the added benefit of the receive signal strength of both channels being displayed on the cameras LCD screen.



The UWP-D radio mic system is a hybrid Analog/Digital system. The transmitters and receivers use a digital compander system to process the audio to ensure as little loss of quality as possible during the transmission process. The companded signal is then transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver using analog FM. The frequencies these radio mics use offer greater range and are much less affected by obstructions or reflections than the 2.5Ghz band commonly used by many lower cost all digital radio mics.  I typically get over 100m(300ft) range. The digital compander is particularly good at preserving the sibilance in human speech. Often “S” sounds and other sharpe notes can become muted with lower quality radio mics, but the digital compander in the UWP-D series does a very good job of maintaining a wide frequency response. 

One particular advantage the new UWP-D  receivers bring over the previous generation is the ability to output the audio either conventionally as analog audio or digitally. To take advantage of the digital output you have to use the MI Shoe and your camera must support the digital output. There isn’t a huge boost in audio quality when you use the digital out, but you do get a little less background hiss and the audio is less likely to suffer from other electrical noise from the camera. It’s certainly a nice feature to have, but if your camera only has an analog input the audio quality is still very good. 

You can see the W1 and W2 signal strength indications from the attached URX-P41D towards the top left of the FX6 LCD. In this example on one channel was in use.

 

These second generation UWP-D radio mics are fully compatible with the previous generation, so you can upgrade just your receivers or add new transmitters if you wish. I think these are great and I would recommend anyone looking for a good quality professional radio mic system to at the very least have a close look at the Sony UWP-D series.

cinematography, Workshops and Events

Cinegear Expo LA 2022

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Cinegear expo will soon be upon us, it’s June 9th to June 11th at the LA Convention Center.  I will be attending the show and helping out Bright Tangerine on booth 480. So do drop by to see their latest products, but also come by for a chat or to ask any questions you have about using Sony cameras in the field or anything else you might need some help with. Sony will also of course have a booth and they will have their own experts on hand, but it is always good to catch up with friends and readers of the blog.

FX6

FX6 Fan Noise and Fan Modes.

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Cooling fans (or perhaps more accurately temperature regulating fans) are an unfortunate necessity on modern high resolution cameras. As we try to read more and more pixels, process them and then encode them at ever greater resolutions more and more heat is generated. Throw in higher frame rates and the need to do that processing even faster and heat becomes an issue, especially in smaller camera bodies. So forced air cooling becomes necessary if you wish to shoot uninterrupted for extended periods..

Many camcorder users complain about fan noise. Not just with the FX6 but with many modern cameras. But fans are something we need, so we need to learn to live with the noise they make. And the fan isn’t just cooling the electronics, it is carefully regulating the temperature of the camera trying to keep it within a narrow temperature range.

The fan regulates the temperature of the sensor by taking warm air from the processing electronics and passing it over fins attached to the back of the sensor. I am led to believe that at start up the fan runs for around 30 seconds to quickly warm up the sensor. From there the camera tries to hold the sensor and electronics at a constant warm temperature, not too cold, not too hot, so that the sensor noise levels and black levels remain constant. The sensor is calibrated for this slightly warm temperature.

As well as running in the default auto mode there are  “minimum” and “off in record” modes for the fan in the technical section of the FX6’s main menu. Minimum forces the fan to run all the time at a low level so it doesn’t cycle on and off, possibly at higher levels. Off in record turns the fan off when recording – however the fan will still come on if there is a risk of damage due to overheating. Off in record can result in minor changes to noise as black levels during longer takes as the camera’s internal temperature rises, but you’ll likely only see this if you look carefully for it.