Sony FX5

[MrSMW]

Let the chat commence…

 

[pat]

nostalgic for the ergonomics of camcorders ;-)

[ND64]

It's the best compact cine camera in the market, for NOW. But I'm not sure it can hold that position for long. Maybe they know this and keeping some features unavailable today to be unlocked at 2027. Firmware update these days are more a marketing policy (our product still competes) than an engineering challenge. I mean 4k240 is not some issue in the code you want to resolve. Its a switch. 

[Benjamin Hilton]

This is a beast of a camera for sure, but man, almost $5K??? I mean, I get it, it's almost a cinema camera, but no internal ND, SDI etc....

I guess I'm just grateful you can pick up a used A7SIII for around 2K and get basically the same image at the end of the pipeline. Or even an old F5 at $1k for that matter... It's funny because I'm at the stage in my career where I can kind of choose to shoot with whatever cameras we want within reason. More often than not though, I end up going with older cameras because we get basically the same image at end of the pipeline, and they are like 10x cheaper. The budget saved can be invested into cooler on camera stuff. Spoiled for choice I guess

[Trankilstef]

I've been away from the camera world and stuff for quite some time, I have dabbled a bit with AI and making a good living out of it directing hybrid and 100% AI commercials but I want to own a small cinema camera again, for some projects I have in mind. This may be one of the strongest contenders and it comes right when I enter the market again to find which one I may be interested in.

[MrSMW]

I dip in from time to time what is happening in e Mount land because I am envious of the lens line up.

L Mount is decent, but it’s got holes for me that I want filling and I am always doing a slight workaround, but with e Mount, it’s easy.

Easy albeit, at a higher price point.

The FX5 from what I can see is an ‘FX3.2’ isn’t it? At twice the price you can score a brand new, UK stock, FX3a, the one with the better rear LCD.

What has the FX5 got that would tempt me over that?

Nothing that I can see and I could pick up an FX3a AND a pair of FX30’s for the same price as a single shiny new FX5.

Not that it’s all about the money, but also is.

I need 3 video units and a single photo (assuming zoom for the latter) so chuck an A7RV (that I used to own) into the pot regarding the latter. Also used.

But that has nothing to do with the FX5.

Not really sure if it’s a 5k camera…

[mtol]

I'm thinking of getting one in part because of how the FX3 has held its value and how long this may be an 'industry standard' for, whereas other cameras from that era now sell for a third of the MSRP.

There are some minor annoyances - like the inability to use the EVF and XLR handle simultaneously (c'mon), and like the 32 bit audio requiring the handle. 

But there are also some standout features... Shooting raw footage that is similarly sized to H.265 seems amazing. 5k is a sweet spot for resolution and the image quality of the FX3 never really impressed me. The form factor is a proven work horse and ergonomics are worth a premium.

But compared to the competition, it looks a little less sweet. For slightly more money there's the Pyxis 12k... An S1ii is really similarly featured for way less money, though its unclear if Panasonic will ever produce a S1Hii that resolves some of the S1ii issues. The Nikon zR, file sizes aside, is a way more compelling camera for its price. What Sony has working for it is adoption by industry, many accessories, lens options. 

It's a tough call.

[Emanuel]

4 hours ago, pat said:

nostalgic for the ergonomics of camcorders 😉

Not at all! Love my FX30, a bargain to say it simple ;- )

[EduPortas]

I'm sure it's a great camera, but what the REAL difference between it and the FX3 or A7S line, other than AF algos?

Can anyone notice the 2.3% better highlight control at midday with no ND?

Camera and videomakers have entered the "bore zone".

[newfoundmass]

Great camera, $5k these days is a lot though. Like big picture it's not, but these days there's so many options out there in every price range new and used that it's hard to justify dropping that much money.

Happy with my Lumix set up.

[kye]

I'm already shooting 2x anamorphic open-gate on my $30 Charmera keychain camera, so nothing new for me here.

Nice to see that Sony has finally caught up though!

 

[stephen]

Sony FX5 has the same or slightly modified sensor from Sony A7R VI. Interesting. 
FX5 would be a tempting proposition if you buy a new camera for commercial work from a local shop. Difference with FX3A is about 1000 $/E. 
As others already mentioned same FX3 sensor is available in the form of A7S III and Sony ZV-E1 for much less in the second hand market.
Difference in picture quality between the FX3 sensor and FX5 one in real world shoots will be minimal. Not to mention that I can monitor and control current Sony cameras from a quality monitor like Portkey LH5P or a smartphone or use cheap external EVF and have all the tools for comfortable and quality work. 
Thanks but no thanks, not for me at this price.

[Django]

Hey gang, been a while. At first glance this FX5 felt a bit underwhelming but looking closer its a pretty substantial update. On paper the frame rate/resolution bump over FX3 looks small, 4K to 5K isn't a leap that sells itself, and I get why some are skeptical. But I don't think the gains are actually small once you look past resolution.

Also want to bring the A7R VI into the conversation, since it was announced just recently and shares the same sensor, and does some clever things of its own. It varies its subsampling by mode: 8K comes from an 8.2K region (1.22x crop), while 4K is read from the full sensor width but subsampled from a 5K portion, roughly 2:1 binning, and rolling shutter scales almost exactly with that ratio between modes. That's actually smart sensor use for a hybrid body, flexible readout depending on what you need, high-res stills and video modes both on tap from one chip without a fixed binning scheme. Arguably a more versatile use of this sensor than the FX5's fixed video-only binning, if you need both stills and video from a single body.

But for video-only work, FX5 still pulls ahead in what actually matters day to day. The RAW is the real story, 16-bit X-OCN, same bit depth as Burano/Venice 2, and the C1/C2 compression tiers are genuinely efficient, undercutting even the FX3's own compressed 10-bit codec at 4K24p. Triple base ISO and the selective dual-gain shadow cleanup add up to real, usable gains, albeit slower readout speeds a la S5ii. Oh and open gate, Sony finally caught up.

On price, worth noting Sony's being smart splitting the handle and EVF out separately rather than bundling, it softens the sticker shock even though fully kitted you're still at a whopping €6,800 here, FX6 money for a mirrorless body with no NDs, SDI etc. That's the one thing hard to swallow.

Went Canon with the C50 myself a couple months back, still very happy with it, dual OS is best of both worlds and the various crop modes and digi zoom punch-in flexibility over the 7K spec I rarely touch. For about 3K with the awesome XLR top handle included, it fit my wallet and needs, no regrets.

Bottom line: For Sony hybrid users that need stills over RAW, do take a look at the A7R VI, smart camera with impressive specs. For video only, no real flaws on the FX5 and some serious upgrades: RAW, open gate, triple ISO, dual gain, tilt EVF option..all genuinely exciting if you can swing the price. Personally I wish they would have left a stills option (even 16MP e-shutter mode) but I have no doubts the FX5 will become industry standard for years to come. But I also don't think FX3 is going obsolete anytime soon either.

[newfoundmass]

7 hours ago, stephen said:

Sony FX5 has the same or slightly modified sensor from Sony A7R VI. Interesting. 
FX5 would be a tempting proposition if you buy a new camera for commercial work from a local shop. Difference with FX3A is about 1000 $/E. 
As others already mentioned same FX3 sensor is available in the form of A7S III and Sony ZV-E1 for much less in the second hand market.
Difference in picture quality between the FX3 sensor and FX5 one in real world shoots will be minimal. Not to mention that I can monitor and control current Sony cameras from a quality monitor like Portkey LH5P or a smartphone or use cheap external EVF and have all the tools for comfortable and quality work. 
Thanks but no thanks, not for me at this price.

That's kind of the thing: today you can get as good of an image now from a sub $2000 camera, and that's not even including the used market. 

It's not a bad camera at all. It's just, $5000 is a lot right now in this economy. Outside of the Sony hardcores who are constantly upgrading to the latest Sony camera, this is a hard sell I think. Honestly, if I'm already shelling out over $5k, I'd probably go all the way and get the Sony FX6 for the more professional body and features, like internal ND, even if it is missing some of the other things the FX5 has. Plus I think you'll still get hired more having an FX6 than you will having an FX5.

I will say, it's funny seeing all the YouTubers who jumped to Lumix with the S1II all the sudden jumping back. Guessing Sony cut a bigger check?