Released to much fanfare (and a bit of confusion), the Sony FX3 is basically an a7S III but with a few tweaks to make it more cine-friendly. But even with those tweaks, a few necessary features were missing.
With the new Version 2.00 Firmware update, Sony hopes to change that and elevate the tiniest camera in the FX line to greater heights. So what do you get?
Display Info Setting
We’ll start with the least sexy update—the new Display Info Settings has a mode that clears out metadata from the actual frame, leaving it in the black areas of the screen. It’s a nice quality-of-life upgrade and keeps you from not seeing small things in your frame like cable. A clean frame is a must when every shot counts.
Clean screen, clean footageCredit: SONY Cine
LOG Shooting Mode
This is the feature most creatives wanted. The new LOG Shooting Mode comes in three flavors for shooting in S-Log3—Flexible ISO, Cine El, and Cine El Quick. Flexible ISO offers the ability to quickly change your ISO much like an alpha camera, while the latter two act like the FX6 and only have the base ISO of 800 or 12800 to choose from.
The regular Cine EI mode will keep you locked into the base ISOs, while the Quick mode will let you bounce within the range of each base. All of these modes will also let you monitor with LUTs, which is the next big update.
LOG Shooting ModeCredit: SONY Cine
Look Up Tables
Up until now, LUTs weren’t usable within the FX3. Thankfully, Sony listened to their creatives. The process of uploading LUTs into the camera is a bit clunky, but once they’re in there, you won’t really care.
When shooting in LOG Shoot Mode, LUTs will act as a monitoring assist, but for creatives who want to bake them into their footage, all you have to do is turn off the new LOG mode.
16 slots for LUTsCredit: Sony Cine
Sync Me Up, Scotty
Maybe the second feature that creatives wanted most, the FX3 now features support for timecode via an adapter. Using the Sony VMC-AVM1 A/V R Adapter Cable, creatives can pump out timecode from their Multi-Terminal port. While it’s one more cable to hang from your camera, the addition of timecode is another quality-of-life feature that creatives will appreciate.
When and Where?
Now, and download it here. Although we do have to mention our rule of thumb—if your FX3 is the only camera you have, and you need it for work in the short term, consider waiting a few weeks to see if any issues pop up. You don’t want to be on set and have your only kit get bricked by a faulty line of code.
Sony FX3 Cinema Camera
- 12.1MP Full-Frame Sensor
- UHD 4K up to 120
- 1080p up to 240
- Compact and Cage-Free Operation
- 10-Bit 4:2:2 XAVC S-I
- 16-Bit Raw Output
- S-Cinetone/S-Log3/HLG
- 15+ Stops DR
- Phase Detection AF
- Face Tracking/Eye AF
- 409,600 Expanded ISO Range
Apart from that, Sony is also including a new list-style main menu screen, an autofocus assist function, and a few other odds and ends to make your life easier on set.
What feature have you been waiting for the most? Let us know in the comments!
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Source: Sony Cine
