Body design wise both the cameras are completely different, the one is a Hybrid Mirrorless camera and the other one is a Cinema camera with excessive mount threads over it. So, they are very different from each other specifically if we talk about the design difference of both cameras.
But, does the Price difference: We have a good price difference between the two cameras. the Sony FX30 is more affordable, but the big question us does the Sony A7S 3 camera deserve the high price we are paying off
Perspective: Our perspective is to find out the Bets video | Cinema camera OR camera for content creators. We are not considering the photographic features of any of these two cameras.
| Sony FX30 | Sony A7S III | |
| Sensor Resolution | Actual: 27 Megapixel Effective: 26 Megapixel (6192 x 4128) |
Actual: 12.9 Megapixel Effective: 12.1 Megapixel (4240 x 2832) |
| Sensor Type | 23.3 x 15.5 mm (APS-C) CMOS | 35.6 x 23.8 mm (Full-Frame) CMOS |
| Image Stabilization | Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis | Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis |
1. Sensor
The Sony A7S 3 camera features a full-size sensor made to record 4k high-quality videos. During the time time of the A7S series camera development, the only intention of the Sony R&D team member was to create such a camera that neither goes into sub-sampling nor oversampling so the heat dissipation will be very less and users will get a high-quality 4k video.
The Sony FX30 camera features a newly developed 26 MP BSI CMOS sensor., the sensor does oversample to create 4K files and of course, due to its APS-C size we have to face some limited low -Light performance
2. Video Resolution
| Sony FX30 | Sony A7S 3 |
| 4k 120fps [1.6x crop] | 4k 120 fps [1.1 X crop] |
| 4k 60 FPS [1.04x crop] | 4k 60 FPS |
| Full HD 240 FPS | Full HD 240 FPS |
| 16-BIT RAW OUPUT VIA HDMI | 16-BIT RAW OUPUT VIA HDMI |
As you can see the video resolution of the Sony A7s3 camera is more than perfect compared to the video resolution of the Sony FX30 camera. The FX30 camera does have a significant amount of crop when ur recording videos at the 4K 60dfps mode. The Sony A7S 3 also has a 1.1 X crop factor that remains mostly unnoticeable.
Sony FX3 will capture more details in Studio Light
While working with the base ISO range in FX3, we will surely have the extra resolution advantage of the FX3 camera. So, if you are working with lights u will have more details in the 26 MP oversampled 4k file compared to a 12MP 4k file. At the same time, the advantage is limited to its base ISO range.
3. Low-Light Performance
| Sony FX30 | Sony A7S 3 |
| Dual Native ISO Range [Log3] | Dual Native ISO Range [Log3] |
| 800-2500 | 640-12800 |
| Standard and expandable ISO range | 80 to 102,400 (Extended: 40 to 409,600) |
| 100 to 32,000 (Extended: 50 to 102,400) | 80 to 102,400 (Extended: 40 to 409,600) |
Sony A7s3 with its massive DUal Native ISO range (as well std and expandable) will give you more clean and more neat video output in a low-light situation compared to the Sony FX30 camera.
Frame Rates
| Recording Modes | XAVC HS 4:2:2 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p XAVC S-I 4:2:2 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/119.88p XAVC S UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/119.88p XAVC Proxy Full HD (1920 x 1080) HD (1280 x 720) |
H.265/XAVC HS 4:2:2 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [50 to 280 Mb/s] H.265/XAVC HS 4:2:0 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [30 to 200 Mb/s] H.264/XAVC S-I 4:2:2 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [240 to 600 Mb/s] Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p [89 to 222 Mb/s] H.264/XAVC S 4:2:2 10-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [100 to 280 Mb/s] Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [50 Mb/s] H.264/XAVC S 4:2:0 8-Bit UHD 4K (3840 x 2160) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p [60 to 200 Mb/s] Full HD (1920 x 1080) at 23.98p/25p/29.97p/50p/59.94p/100p/119.88p/200p/239.76p [16 to 100 Mb/s] |
| Variable Frame Rates | UHD: Up to 119.88 fps 1080p: Up to 240 fps |
UHD: Up to 119.88 fps 1080p: Up to 240 fps |
| Gamma Curve | HDR-HLG, S Cinetone, Sony S-Log 3 | HDR-HLG, S Cinetone, Sony S-Log 3 |
| LIMIT | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Audio Recording | 2-Channel 24-Bit LPCM Audio 4-Channel 24-Bit LPCM Audio |
XAVC: 2-Channel 16-Bit 48 kHz LPCM Audio XAVC: 2-Channel 24-Bit 48 kHz LPCM Audio XAVC: 4-Channel 24-Bit 48 kHz LPCM Audio MP4: 2-Channel AAC Audio |
4. Image Stabilization
Both of these Sony cameras feature a 5.5-stop effective 5-axis SteadyShot INSIDE image stabilization system. Additionally, we also have gyro-based image stabilization.
5. Video Codecs
Video codecs are similar, the good thing is being a Sony camera we are allowed to record videos in IPB format and ALL-I Intra format [XAVC-S, XAVC-HS, and XAVC S-I]. Both of them record 10 BIT 4:2:2 videos internally either you are recording it in 4K 120fps mode or in 4K 24fps mode.
When You should buy Sony FX30 camera
We can clearly see the Sony A7S 3 camera’s low-light performance is better, but it is not a cinema camera hence missing our features like the Timecode functionality, Custom user LUT upload function, Focus MAP, and Breathing compensation. These are the extra set of features we have in our FX30 camera. If ur looking for a true cinema camera under budget then FX30 is the best option in front of you.
When You should buy Sony A7S3 camera
If budget isn’t an issue neither is the type of device or use, undoubtedly the Sony A7S3 will give you cleaner output in low light. If you want to have an excellent low-light performing cinema camera like Sony A7S 3 then you have to invest in Sony FX3.
Get Sony FX30 camera from B&H Store
