With the release of Sony's latest Video Series Camera the Sony FX2, we've been seeing a lot of people trying to find which is best for them. As a video first shop, TMS is here to help you pick the best option for filmmakers.
Sony FX2
The FX2 is the best photo first camera in the FX line. It's clear that the point of this camera was to make a great photo camera that can keep up with the video capabilities of the FX3. 33MP stills with 14-bit RAW color makes for a great photo sensor. The keen eyed will notice that 33MP is much larger than the roughly 12 MP of most 4K video sensors. To take advantage of this the FX2 shoots 4K super sampled 7K video at up to 30p. This creates incredibly sharp images. For filmmakers who need the sharpest images you can get this can be a great option.
The trade off here is that the FX2 has a lower 2nd base ISO. At base 4,000 you're losing a lot of the detail in darker images, the thing Sony cameras are known for. You are also only able to shoot 4K up to 60p. So any slowmo shooting is out of the picture.
Sony FX3
The FX3, while originally designed to be a budget option for the FX line, has be come one of the TV, and film industry's favorite cameras. It features the best low light of any video camera on the market, 4K 120p internal recording, timecode sync, tally lights, anamorphic de-squeeze, and some unintentional sensor quirks that make it unexpectedly powerful. The camera hits way above it's price range even having films shot on it nominated for Best Cinematography.
The trade offs here are that, while the FX3 can take photos, it really does not do it very well. Videographers will often carry a 2nd camera to take their photos on because of this. So, if you really need to take amazing photos I would not even consider the FX3 an option.
Our Thoughts
With all of this considered, we recommended the Sony FX2 as a great choice for Wedding Photographers looking to expand into video, and for nature videographers/photographers who shoot primarily during the day. The Sony FX3 remains the choice for video first shooters. The additional compatibility with other video departments, the higher-framerates, and the industry leading low late still make this one of the best cameras on the market even 4 years later.
