- So just when you thought it wasn't possible for more cameras to come out in 2020,
Sony has unsurprisingly, released another camera.
This is the FX6, the third and final,
I think, camera, that's in their cinema lineup of cameras
that includes the FX9, and the Sony Venice.
And there is a lot of stuff in this box. So let's just take a look at the camera really quickly
before we look at everything else.
Feels really lightweight.
Wow.
This thing is super light. And like, it fits in the palm of my hand.
Like, I mean, not quite the palm of my hand, but it fits in one hand.
It feels kind of like a football, like if a camera was a football,
this camera. (chuckles) So in this first layer, we have,
so this is Sony's 24 to 105 F/4,
which is just a pretty versatile lens. This is the kit lens that comes with the body of the camera.
If you choose to buy it with the lens, you could also just buy the body by itself.
Sony has graciously included a CFexpress type A reader.
So unfortunately this camera, just like the A7S3 requires you to buy a new kind of media.
The nice thing is, you can still use SD cards.
You just won't be able to get the highest data rates in the camera if you don't use CFexpress type A.
The other thing that's weird, this whole CFexpress memory card situation,
this is a type A card, there's also a type B card that's faster.
Sony has opted for type A cards.
Does that mean type B cards don't work? - [Andy] They don't work right now. - You're sure?
- [Andy] Type B is bigger than Type A. - Oh my God. - [Andy] Yeah.
- In typical Sony fashion, they've gone with, essentially proprietary media
because nothing else is currently using CFexpress type A.
So we'll see in the future how that goes, but it is unfortunate that Sony is still
going down this road of memory, because so much about their cameras is so great,
but they stick with essentially proprietary media.
Okay.
We have Sony's standard control grip, which they've had with the FS cameras,
now the FX cameras. I really like this thing, it's really nice to hold.
We have a type C cable.
Ah, the card in question, the CFexpress.
This one's a tough 80 gig, which is sort of a weird capacity as well
because these days, even 64 gigs is not really a card size you'd want to use
in a cinema camera because it's just not big enough. At 80 gigs, you're gonna have to buy a lot of these
to get yourself through a full day of shooting, which again is going to get expensive
and makes a camera like this, and the A7S3 a more expensive barrier to entry.
But the really cool thing is, this card is really small.
So we just ran and quickly grabbed an SD card, and wow, this CFexpress card
is actually smaller than an SD card.
Now let's get into the second layer of this box 'cause there's so much stuff in here.
We have a BPU 35 battery, which is standard on
FS and FX cameras, they've been using this battery forever. The nice thing about it is that it's actually,
it lasts quite a long time in the larger sizes, this is a small one.
But it is a great battery to use in place of something like a V Mount
if you don't want to go on the heavier end of your setup.
We also have the monitor.
So this feels like a very similar setup to
the FS5 Mark 2, and the FS7's monitors.
This one's also touch screen, which is nice.
Oh. A cute little sun hood.
Look at that, that's kind of fun. It's a nice design.
And the final piece, I believe, is the ever important, top handle.
Anyway, let's put this guy together. Look at these two sensors next to each other.
Are they the same? Sony would not confirm this.
The FX6 with the battery on the grip
and the top handle, it weighs four pounds. So the A7S with the battery weighs 1.46 pounds.
Once you add everything on, the body of this thing
does end up weighing quite a bit more than A7S.
But, it has quite a bit more in it.
Okay, let's do the physical tour. On the left of the camera, you have the audio dials,
slow and quick display. I am a little disappointed that when you
hold the camera like this, you can't see the ISO white balance
and shutter buttons at all. 'Cause it would've been nice if it was within
like, the easiest things you touch the most.
The other thing that we have here is the variable ND,
which lets you have complete control of the depth of field
going into your camera. You don't have to change your shutter speed, ISO,
or your F-stop, and you can still affect your exposure.
You have up to one fourth ND, up to one over 128,
which is awesome, and a feature that I think every camera should have.
Sony has done a really good job implementing it in both this camera and the FX9.
On the bottom here, you have the slow, medium, high for ISO,
and white balance, AB, and preset, which is pretty standard.
On the right of the camera, you just have the grip and all the controls on the grip,
which are really nice: record, zoom rocker, that kind of thing.
And then you have a little slider has, that lets you change your time coding from an in to an out,
which is really cool. So on the back you have HTMI, STI, time code, remote,
and then a DC port for wall power.
And then on the left of the back, you have the dual CFexpress, and SD card slots.
So again, just like the A7S3, this camera can use CFexpress and SD cards in either slot,
or at the same time. Okay, why don't we turn it on.
But before we turn it on, a word from our sponsor, Squarespace.
Squarespace is the all-in-one platform that makes it easy to get your website up and running quickly.
They have award-winning templates that you can use as starting points for a wide range of projects,
E-commerce features to help you sell merch or services online, and easily manage your inventory and orders.
If you need support, Squarespace offers webinars as well as 24 hour customer service support
via live chat and email. Check it out at squarespace.com/shortcircuit,
and get a 10% discount in the link in the video description. Okay, now let's turn this guy on and see how long it takes.
Wow. What was that like, one second, Andy?
That's honestly impressive. Our reds take like over a minute to turn on sometimes.
And the Black Magic took maybe about eight seconds. So let's take a gander through the menu here.
It feels like this menu is inspired by the way that the Venice and the ARRI Alexa is laid out,
but I'm not a hundred percent sure
that I'm all for it, because everything on here,
while it displays everything nicely, you can see your ISO, your shutter, your frame rate,
and like what image size you're using and what Kodak you're using,
you can't access everything at all times.
Sony, please allow access to all settings
in all of your menus. Like, I understand that certain things
might not be available in certain modes, but if you're in that mode just don't display it,
don't gray it out. The most frustrating thing with most Sony cameras that I've ever experienced
is trying to touch a setting that just says, cannot proceed.
And then I have to figure out while potentially on set how to change something about it in a specific mode.
At least give like a help menu, or a tutorial of some kind.
With enough time, anyone can get through learning how to use the Sony menu.
They're not rocket science, but they're very annoying and not that intuitive.
And this one, even though I think it's trying to be intuitive, it is not doing the best job.
You do have dedicated pages to everything, which is nice.
So if you long press the menu button on the side of the camera, you actually get the text full menu.
This kind of reads to me more like the A7S3 does.
It's not quite the same, but I do like the way that this is
laid out quite a bit more. Things like shutter angle are really easy to change.
Everyone gives Sony crap for their menus. If you take enough time, they're easy enough to learn.
But they are not intuitively laid out. I will still say that
if you have never used a Sony camera, you will take some time to get used to this.
In terms of frame rates, this camera can do up to 120 FPS in 4K, and up to 240 FPS in 10 ADP,
which sounds pretty similar to the A7S3.
It probably is the same sensor. But I don't know for sure.
You could also do raw out of the SDI, but unfortunately you can't do raw
in the slow motion frame rates. You can only get up to 60 FPS in those frame rates.
The thing that I do like is that you can still record scratch audio while shooting 120 FPS,
or 240 FPS, just like they did in the A7S3.
So you have a number of brands this year
releasing cameras that are much higher than 4K.
You've got the 12K in the Black Magic, the 6K in the RED Komodo, and you might be asking, okay,
why would Sony stick to the lower resolution?
And my take on that is, a lot of people aren't asking
for higher resolution cameras. What they're asking for is cameras that are
more fully featured and that are easier to use in the field.
And it really does feel like Sony has done their best
to focus on those aspects by making a built-in variable ND filter,
audio that's easily accessible, a camera body that is really small
and can be rigged in many different ways and places.
Are higher resolution cameras cool? Yes. Are they useful in some instances?
Yes. But do you need them to be significantly more than 4K?
Sony says no, and I don't necessarily disagree with them.
Now you might be asking why someone might buy the FX6
over the A7S3. So what this gives you is built-in NDs, built-in audio,
and a camera that out of the box, you could use for basically any kind of run and gun shoot,
or even a short film. Because it's very capable,
especially when you have the built-in S-Cinetone that allows you to match it with an FX9, or even a Venice.
So the only thing that you'd be missing once you have media and a battery is a lens.
And Sony sent over their brand new
16 to 35 Cine lens as well.
Let's see what this guy is like
mounted on the FX6.
Holy! This lens is huge.
It does have a built-in servo or built-in-ish, 'cause you can technically remove it.
But that also allows you to use the zoom rocker
on the control grip of the camera. So Sony has rehoused their standard stills 16 to 35,
and made a Cine version of it just like they've done with the 28 to 135.
Oh my God. Andy, does that look as big as I, like,
it almost makes, it dwarfs the camera itself.
But the nice thing that you can do, is you have full servo control
on the grip. No configuration, no settings,
just put the camera on, and then you have zoom control.
Pretty fricking sweet. The base size ISO of this camera is 800 ISO,
which is pretty standard. And the dynamic range is about 15 stops.
Now, more actual testing has to be done before we can confirm those 15 stops,
but it really does look like, considering that you could match the colors of an FX9
and a Venice to this camera really easily,
this seems like a pretty compelling package. We're gonna put in some autofocus tests
and a little bit of footage here at the end of the video, but I have to hand it to Sony.
They've clearly had a very good year for cameras. That's honestly impressive.
Like, I couldn't pull focus better than this. Sony has not at all confirmed this,
but I think what they've done is taken the full-frame sensor performance
out of their mirrorless lineup of cameras. And just like the FX9, put it into a body
that's even smaller, and has all those features
that you'd want in a run and gun package, a camera that you can buy,
and right out of the box just start using, and not be concerned about buying a million accessories for.
Like you even have a top hand, you don't even need to buy a top handle, which is an essential part of the cinema camera.
So good job, Sony. This does feel like a pretty good package,
and anyone who buys this I'm sure would be quite happy with it.
So thank you guys for watching. Subscribe to shortcircuit. And if you want to see any more camera videos,
maybe watch the FX9 video that I did, or the Sony Venice video.
Sony really has done a very good job rounding out this cinema camera lineup.
(upbeat music)