The Sony FX3 camera was announced back on February 23, 2021. It was a full-frame mirrorless consumer cinema camera. It was made to make cinema cameras within the reach of more and more professionals—those who love to have a compact body with all the possible features of a professional cinema camera. The FX3, at the time of the announcement, had a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor that was used in the Sony A7S Mark III camera and featured 4K Ultra HD video recording up to 120 frames per second and 10-bit 4:2:2 XAVC S-I internal recording.
Limitations of Sony FX3
But at the time of the announcement, the camera was lacking an internal RAW video recording mode, and of course, the FX9 also does. But with the FX3, we do have an option to get 16-bit RAW video by the HDMI port, but again, no option to record RAW internally.
The other option that was missing inside the FX3 is open-gate recording, which is now available in almost all Panasonic and Fuji cameras. Even cameras like the Panasonic S9, S5 II, Fuji X-S20, and Panasonic S1R Mark II now offer open-gate recording.
What Rumor Mills Are Saying This Time
A lot of rumors indicate potential upgrades to the sensor, including a global shutter sensor, which is coming from SAR.com
What We Know So Far about Sony FX3 II
New features are coming inside the FX3 Mark II camera, which will fill the gaps of the first version of this camera.
- The first feature that we are about to receive in the FX3 Mark II is an open-gate recording in a 3:2 format, which is almost confirmed. After a very long wait, Sony professional users will be getting open-gate recording in their upcoming professional camera.
- The other confirmed set of features includes 12-bit internal RAW internal video recording, which is about to arrive inside this camera. It’s really a kind of exciting moment to see these new features that we have never witnessed or seen in Sony’s professional consumer-grade cameras coming along with the FX3 Mark II announcement.
- The Next Cinema Camera from Sony is FX3 II, Arriving before Q3 of 2025.
Why Do Internal 12-bit RAW and Open Gate Actually Matter to Professionals?
A RAW video that a camera records is uncompressed or minimally compressed data, which is directly coming from the sensor without passing through different algorithms, providing the maximum latitude possible for color grading and other post-production adjustments. 12-bit video offers color depth, allowing users to have smooth gradients as well as better dynamic range handling compared to other lower bit-depth or compressed video codecs. So, having these capabilities internally means filmmakers can enjoy filmmaking and can get the maximum possible advantage of the sensor being used inside the camera, which other camera makers are also giving right now.
Another important aspect, professional content creators nowadays use open-gate recording to handle the content for multiple platforms simultaneously. These content creators need to adapt footage for various platforms recording at the same time, and by recording the full sensor, they can crop out aspect ratios required for post-production without losing the video quality of the camera.
It’s a Time for Upgrade
Sony’s higher-end cameras like the FX9 and FX6 do not support internal RAW recording and require an external recorder to capture 16-bit RAW via SDI output, and that’s the most frustrating thing for many professionals out there. That’s why, possibly, they are migrating to different brands such as Panasonic Lumix at this moment. So, the market pressure from the competitors for having internal RAW video recording as well as the open gate has led Sony to innovate these features in the FX3 Mark II (based on the information we have ). If they fail to innovate, they will not remain competitive with others, and that will be a big mess for the brand’s consumer base. Given the success of the FX3 and the growing market demand for hybrid cameras as well as advanced video features, this is the best time for Sony to release the FX3 Mark II camera with extended capabilities.
The article “Sony FX3 Mark II to Feature Open-Gate and 12-Bit Internal RAW” was first published on TheNewCamera.com by TheNewCamera Team. Follow us on our social pages FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM, If you have time –>see more Sony Alpha Rumor
