Sony FX30 Mini test
Mini test
If you’ve dipped your toes in the videomaking water and liked what you found, Sony’s latest model may be just what you need Tested by Adam Duckworth
SPECS › Price £2100 body only, £2500 with top handle › Sensor type/size 26-megapixel Exmor R CMOS, APS-C › Image stabiliser Sensor-shift with five-axis compensation, 5.5-stop compensation › ISO range 100-32,000 (expandable 50-102,400) › Autofocus modes Single, continuous. multi-area, tracking, face/eye detection, touch AF › Autofocus points 759 on-sensor phase detection (stills), 495 (movies) › Shutter speeds 30-1/8000sec › Shutter type Electronic › Metering Multi zone, average, spot, centre-weighted, highlight- weighted › LCD Articulating 7.5cm touchscreen, approx 2.36m dots › Formats XACX S, HS and S-I, H.264, H.265. 4K up to 120p, FHD to 240p (with 38% crop), 10-bit 4:2:2 internal capture up to 600Mbps. Raw 16-bit external via HDMI › Storage 2x CFexpress Type A or SD/SDHC/SDXC card slots › Connectivity USB 3.2, HDMI, mic port, headphone port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth › Dimensions (wxhxd)
TOP MARKS The handle comes with twin XLR inputs as well as professional audio controls
THE TERM ‘HYBRID’ has become common parlance in recent years. Used to identify models with strong videomaking credentials that are equally handy as stills machines, it may well be thrown around about Panasonic’s GH6 or Fujifilm’s X-H2S, among others. Stills cameras inform the design style of many of these models, but there’s a crop that look at the hybrid conundrum from the video side of the fence – and that’s where we find the Sony FX30. At first glance, the FX30 seems familiar, but look closer and you’ll see 1/4in sockets on the top-plate for accessories and a very different
button layout, both pointing to its intended use. Inside, there’s an all-new APS-C sensor giving you the capability to capture 26-megapixel stills, but which is really designed for 20.1-megapixel video with a 17:9 crop of the sensor. The video focus is underlined by some aspects of the stills spec – or lack thereof. There’s no AF tracking or continuous burst shooting, for example, nor is there an electronic viewfinder, external flash compatibility, uncompressed Raw file capability or AF illuminator. But five different stills modes remain, along with many parameters familiar to conventional Sony mirrorless users. you’re looking at a Panasonic GH6 or Fujifilm X-H2S. But if any future creative endeavours will be centred around videography, it should make Let’s be honest, the FX30 is unlikely to be on your radar if your shortlist. Why? Because it’s an excellent camera with great filmmaking spec, holding its own against much pricier opposition. Let’s start with the sensor, a back- side illuminated CMOS affair that records 4K oversampled from 6K.
The FX30 is capable
of recording files in very similar codecs and frame rates to
both the Sony A7S III and A1 flagship mirrorless models, yet it costs significantly less. Video can be recorded at 10-bit internally for the best quality, but can also output 16-bit Raw to an external recorder via the full-size HDMI
socket. Internal recordings are written to a pair of CFexpress Type A slots, which also accept SD cards. As you know, smaller sensors struggle to match full-frames for high ISO performance,
130x78x85mm › Weight 646g › Contact sony.co.uk
SPEC-TACULAR The FX30 has tons of video features you’d typically find on higher-end models
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