Sony FX9 First Impressions, Filmmakers Cinema Camera
Each camera is filled with many amazing features, some of them unique to the model or brand which differentiates them from the competition and that’s how camera manufacturers compete.
So in order to choose a camera wisely, you need to know exactly what will you get out of a camera.
Here, is the point that questions raise. Should I go with Canon, Sony, Nikon or other brands? Do I need a full-frame camera in order to have professional footage or that’s not necessary ?
Today we’ve chosen Sony’s new camera, PXW-FX9, to talk about and see how it can serve us to get our projects done.
FX9 is the new generation of Sony’s full-frame cameras and is intended to wrestle against the other full-frame rivals like Canon C500 mark II.
Many people see FX9 as a very similar camera to the FS7 but with some interesting upgrades of course. let’s see what these merits are and if they worth the usual increase in price we pay for full-frame cameras.
Sensor
As I said Fx9 has a full-frame 6k sensor with the Exmor R technology that has more sensitivity and less noise when filming and enables you to create immersive wide pictures using its full-frame sensor. So the big upgrade from FS7 to FX9 is the size of the sensor. You can see the difference below;
Resolution
This camera records at DCI 4k, -which will be available in future firmware updates-, UHD, and HD. Although there are currently 6k options in the market, experiencing FX9’s 4k resolution would still be tempting.
Dynamic range
Sony FX9 camera offers more than 15 stops of dynamic range which is pretty good. This amount of dynamic range allows you to have better images with more details. Having a higher dynamic range is a noticeable point for full-frame cameras over the crop-frame ones.
FX9 supports internal recording in 4K 4.2.2. 10-bit and external recording in RAW 16-bit, but keep in mind that this requires an external recorder and you also need to wait for the firmware update to come live.
Lens mount
FX9 is also E-mount lens compatible which is Sony’s special mount. Full-frame cameras are usually EF mount but this new one has changed the routine. This change gives you the opportunity to use a variety of E-mount lenses including the new series of cinema lenses produced by Sony.
ND filter
ISO
Color
Stabilization
Shaky footage is something that no videographer likes. The fact is that Sony FX9 doesn’t have a built-in image stabilizer like the Alpha 7 III, but they have created a solution to get rid of it much better than the routine ways. For the first time Sony has created a third-party software that fixes the camera movement while third-party softwares for cameras like ARRI and RED can only fix the footage’s color, lighting and so on.
But FX9 has gyro that records real time metadata of the camera movement into each file to be used later by Sony’s developed software called Catalyst Browse to solve the shaky footage. In terms of fixing the shaky footage, Catalyst Browse reads the information captured by the gyro sensor and recalculates the movement and then gives you a stabilized footage. This way is much better than the classic ways like using Warp Stabilizer in Premiere Pro or After Effects’ feature to fix the movements as it’s a lot more precise.
Frame rate
Sony FX9 lets you choose the frame rate for 4k up to 60 fps and Full-HD up to 120 p and also 180p in future firmware updates. It allows you to capture sharp fast shots like time-lapses and smooth slow-motion sequences.
Autofocus
A huge difference between the FS7 series and FX9 is that FX9 has a very acceptable autofocus that has been added to Sony’s cinematic camera for the first time. Fx9 has a Fast Hybrid AF with 561 focus points covering 94% in the horizontal and 96% in the vertical while in full-frame mode.
FX9 is also able to recognize faces and allows you to follow the subject by setting it with the touchscreen LCD.
FX9 vs FS7
And now let’s have a more detailed comparison between the FX9 and FS7 and check the features that Sony has upgraded in its new product including its price
Audio
In terms of audio capability, FX9 offers 4-channel audio possibilities that can be controlled using independent control dials for each channel. This feature enables you to capture audios in different ways for different purposes like ambient sounds and more. So generally speaking, there is some good stuff included in this Sony PXW-FX9 that makes it a considerable option for many use cases like documentaries, music videos, and short films.
Price
Sony’s new camera is considered average in the case of price comparison. It’s around $11000 for the body only, while the previous product FS7 II cost you less, something like $9000. But FX9 is cheaper than its rival Canon C500 Mark II which is about $16000. But being affordable is only one aspect of a good camera.
Conclusion
That’s why comparing FX9 to FS7 is not going to give you the whole picture and you should also check our next video which is going to compare FX9 to its competitors and then you can make a better decision for buying your next camera. So be sure to subscribe to our channel and also click the bell icon so that you will be notified when that video and our future works go live.
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