Sony has announced the FX3, the latest member of the Cinema Line of cameras that is also the smallest and most compact of the group.

It’s built around the same 12MP full-frame BSI-CMOS sensor as the a7S III and promises the same UHD 4K capabilities, including 60p capture from the full sensor width and 4K/120p with a slight crop. It offers the same choice of bitrates and codecs as the a7S III, meaning 10-bit 4:2:2 in a choice of XAVC HS (H.265) or XAVC S (H.264) with matching bitrates. It can also shoot XAVC S-I, an All-I H.264 format. It doesn’t have the DCI (1.89:1 ratio) options of the FX6.

“From the standpoint of the technology, perhaps,” a Sony representative said. “From the standpoint of the usability, we think they are very different.”

The FX3 includes the S-Cinetone color matrix found on the Venice, FX6, and FX9 to allow it to better match with footage captured on those cameras. It also has eleven selectable picture profiles including S-Gamut3 and S-Gamut3 Cinema.

The FX3 has a compact, dust, and moisture-sealed body with a cooling fan mounted outside the sealed area, immediately next to the sensor and processor, allowing longer recording times than the a7S III. Like the a7S III, it includes both on-sensor phase-detection and an image stabilization mechanism for the sensor, reinforcing its run-and-gun credentials.

The FX3 has a 627-point focal-plane phase-detection autofocus system, the same as the one found on the FX6. It features Eye-AF (in video modes, Eye-AF only supports human eyes) and Real-Time Tracking AF which are available in all video modes. Touch tracking is incorporated into the rear LCD and there are extensive autofocus control parameters that can be customized to change how quickly the camera will rack focus between subjects.

The body features 5-axis on-sensor image stabilization (a first for the Cinema Line) and for an additional 10% crop, Sony says that a digital stabilizer can work in tandem with the on-sensor stabilizer to dramatically improve it. This feature, called Active Mode, is not available in the 120 frames per second and higher framerate shooting modes.

The FX3 is the most compact Cinema Line camera from Sony. The top of the camera is completely flat, as Sony removed the viewfinder and top dials and it weighs 640g without a card and battery, 715g with a card and battery. Unfortunately, unlike its Cinema Line brethren, it does not have the space for SDI connectors and it also was too small to allow for the built-in neutral density filters as well. These were tradeoffs Sony decided to make to keep the camera small.

The result is a camera that is more compact than an A7S III. It is the same width, but shorter. The depth of the camera is slightly less if you count the viewfinder eyecup of the A1 or A7S III.

Included with the camera is a top-mounting handle with a built-in XLR / 1/4″ TRS adapter. This also allows up to four-channel audio to be fed into the camera.
This adapter, the camera’s tally lights, and more video-focused ergonomics set it apart from the a7S III and go towards justifying a $400 premium in its list price, compared to that of the existing camera.

The Sony FX3 will be available from mid-March 2021 with a recommended selling price of $3899.

More info on Sony’s website.