Sony has unveiled the FX5, a brand new full-frame Cinema Line digicam that slots in between the FX3 and the FX6 and brings options beforehand reserved for the VENICE 2 and BURANO right into a compact physique. Headline specs embrace a newly developed 16.6MP totally stacked sensor, 5K open gate recording, inside 16-bit X-OCN RAW with two new compression flavors, three base ISOs, and 4K at as much as 240 frames per second.

5 years after the unique FX3 redefined what a compact cinema digicam might be, and simply over a 12 months after the quiet FX3a refresh, Sony is lastly giving achieved FX3 shooters someplace to go. Importantly, the corporate stresses that this isn’t an FX3 Mark II. The FX5 is a brand new mannequin with its personal positioning, constructed round what Sony describes as 4 pillars: a renewed imaging system, distinctive picture high quality, skilled operability, and expandability paired with reliability. Below the launch motto “Lighting the Approach Ahead,” practically each main element has been up to date in comparison with the FX3, so let’s dig into what that truly means in observe.

A brand new sensor and processor on the core

On the coronary heart of the FX5 sits (what Sony says is a) newly developed 16.6MP full-frame back-illuminated, totally stacked CMOS sensor, paired with the BIONZ XR2 processor that Sony launched with the lately launched Alpha 7R VI. The BIONZ XR2 integrates the AI processing unit that beforehand lived on a separate chip in earlier Alpha our bodies, which, in keeping with Sony, frees up processing headroom for picture high quality, autofocus, and audio alike.

Earlier than we discuss extra specs – additionally be certain to observe and browse our full overview of the digicam, embedded under:

The stacked structure is important for this class of digicam. The FX3’s sensor was not stacked, so readout velocity, and with it rolling shutter efficiency, ought to see a significant enchancment. Sony didn’t share concrete readout figures through the briefing, so that is one thing we stay up for verifying in our Lab Take a look at (which shall be carried out on a manufacturing digicam as traditional). The pixel depend can also be value pausing on: 16.6MP means we’re getting native 5K from the complete sensor width, prioritizing sensitivity and readout velocity over decision headroom, very a lot within the FX3 custom somewhat than the oversampling strategy of the FX2.

5K open gate involves the compact Cinema Line

For the primary time in a Sony digicam of this manner issue, the FX5 provides open gate recording, a functionality that up to now lived on the VENICE / BURANO finish of the lineup. The total sensor will be captured in 5K at a 3:2 side ratio, which maximizes picture high quality with anamorphic lenses and permits vertical or reframed extractions in put up with out high quality loss. The FX5’s open gate implementation ought to cowl a wider vary of anamorphic squeeze ratios than each the FX3 and the FX2, so present anamorphic glass ought to work with out restrictions.

The total listing of imaging modes is lengthy: open gate 5K 3:2, full-frame 5K in each 17:9 and 16:9, full-frame crop modes at 4.5K (17:9 and 16:9) and three.8K (16:9), and a Tremendous 35 3.2K 16:9 mode. (It’s unlucky we gained’t get a full 4K Tremendous 35 crop!)

Codec protection varies by mode. The X-OCN RAW flavors can be found within the open gate, each full-frame 5K modes, and the three.8K crop, whereas XAVC S-I spans practically the whole vary together with the 4.5K crops and Tremendous 35. Lengthy-GOP XAVC HS and XAVC S choices in 4:2:2 and 4:2:0 spherical out the listing for extra compact deliveries. Sony says an entire format desk shall be communicated alongside the launch, and we’ll embrace it in our upcoming protection.

Inner X-OCN RAW with two new compression flavors

Maybe the largest workflow story right here is inside RAW. To this point, 16-bit X-OCN recording was the area of the VENICE 2 and BURANO; FX3 house owners needed to strap on an exterior recorder to seize RAW in any respect. The FX5 data X-OCN internally, which suggests smaller rigs, much less weight, and fewer overheating issues from stacked equipment.

Alongside the established X-OCN LT, Sony has developed two new, extra aggressive compression flavors that debut on this digicam: X-OCN C1 and X-OCN C2, with the C standing for Compact. The C1 is available in at roughly 80% of the LT file dimension, whereas the C2 shrinks that additional to about 75% of the C1. To place numbers on it, Sony confirmed us a theoretical bitrate comparability at 4K 24p during which X-OCN LT sits round 389 Mbps, the brand new C1 at roughly 289 Mbps, and the C2 at roughly 232 Mbps, which is definitely under the circa 240 Mbps of XAVC S-I on the FX3. Sony labels these as simulated values, because the FX5 data 4.5K or 5K somewhat than precisely 4K, however the route is obvious: 16-bit RAW at bitrates decrease than the FX3’s intraframe compressed codec. After all, 16-bit X-OCN may even provide better grading flexibility than 10-bit or 12-bit ProRes codecs, which we should always see within the Lab Take a look at outcomes as soon as we get entry to a manufacturing model of the digicam.

If these claims maintain up, this might lastly make an inside RAW workflow sensible for unbiased freelancers and small manufacturing homes with out huge storage infrastructure, at a time when reminiscence and server prices hold climbing.

There’s a catch for early adopters: the brand new C1 and C2 flavors usually are not but supported in modifying functions, so Sony will initially present a beta of its RAW Viewer software program (primarily based on model 5.0) for playback and analysis, with NLE help to observe. Recording occurs to twin CFexpress Sort A card slots, and Sony ensures X-OCN operation solely with the most recent CFexpress Sort A VPG400 playing cards, though recording on different media stays potential.

Dynamic vary, twin achieve, and three base ISOs

Sony claims 15+ stops of latitude for the FX5, conserving info in each highlights and shadows. On prime of that, the digicam inherits the twin achieve perform from the VENICE 2 and BURANO, which additionally lately appeared on the Alpha 7R VI. The function performs a double readout of the sensor and combines each reads to cancel out random noise, leading to cleaner shadows and, in keeping with Sony, expanded usable dynamic vary at nighttime areas of the picture.

Twin achieve comes with an outlined set of limitations. When capturing in Log, the bottom ISO is fastened at 800 with a most Publicity Index of 3200. In Customized mode, base sensitivity is fastened to Low with a most of ISO 2500. The utmost body fee with twin achieve enabled is 30p within the 5K 3:2 open gate mode and 60p in all different modes, and the perform shouldn’t be out there in Full HD or within the 4.5K and three.8K full-frame crop modes. These are affordable trade-offs for what is actually a noise-canceling double publicity on the sensor stage, however they’re value realizing earlier than constructing a workflow round it.

The sensitivity story is equally attention-grabbing. The FX5 provides three base ISOs at 800, 4,000, and 12,800. Sony is cautious to level out that this isn’t a “triple base ISO” in advertising phrases however somewhat three distinct base sensitivities with barely totally different noise ranges, conceptually just like the 2 base ISOs of the FX3 and FX6. The comparability with its siblings is telling: the FX2 provides 800 and 4,000, the FX3a provides 800 and 12,800, and the FX5 combines all three. The brand new center worth of ISO 4,000 fills a niche many filmmakers had been asking for, significantly in combined lighting the place 800 is simply too gradual and 12,800 unnecessarily noisy.

As traditional, we’ll put all of the dynamic vary and latitude claims to the check as soon as we run a manufacturing model of the digicam via our CineD Lab Exams.

Gradual movement as much as 4K 240p

Excessive body charges are one other first for this manner issue. The FX5 data 5K at as much as 120 frames per second, together with in open gate, which at a 23.98 challenge body fee interprets to 5x gradual movement at full high quality. Much more putting is 4K at as much as 240 frames per second for 10x gradual movement, captured within the 3.8K full-frame crop mode. Each headline gradual movement modes are tied to the X-OCN C2 codec, so essentially the most compressed RAW taste can also be the gateway to the digicam’s quickest seize.

Not all of that is out there on day one, although. Sony has confirmed a staged rollout: at launch, firmware model 1 covers the core recording modes, whereas firmware model 2 provides 5K open gate at 120p, open gate recording in XAVC, full-frame 5K RAW at as much as 120p, and the 4K 240p mode. Sony says it’ll talk the model 2 timing at a later date. Judging by how persistently the corporate has delivered on its BURANO and FX6 firmware roadmaps, we’d anticipate these options to reach as promised, however consumers planning productions round 240p ought to issue the wait into their choice.

A well-recognized physique working a VENICE-style workflow

Put the FX5 subsequent to an FX3 and you’ll wrestle to inform them aside at a distance. The physique measures 132.3 x 79.0 x 86.95mm / 5.21 x 3.11 x 3.42in, which works out to simply 2.6mm extra width, 2mm extra thickness, and about 1.2mm extra peak than the FX3a, with a barely deeper and extra snug grip. Weight is provisionally listed at 750 grams / 1.65lb together with battery and card, roughly 35 grams greater than the FX3a. The tally lamp stays on board.

Beneath, nevertheless, the working idea has modified essentially, and that is the clearest signal of who this digicam is for. The rear management wheel of the FX3 is gone, changed by a multifunction dial inherited from the VENICE 2 that may be rotated and clicked to drive the digicam. New clips, again, house, and consumer buttons be part of as much as six customizable buttons on the physique. Most significantly, Sony has deserted the Alpha-derived menu system fully. The FX5 runs the skilled menu construction acquainted from the FX6, VENICE 2, and BURANO, together with the BIG6 house display that lately got here to the FX6 by way of firmware model 6.00. Urgent house brings up the BIG6 overview from wherever, the menu button toggles between capturing and menu screens, and holding it opens the complete menu with each setting uncovered. For crews already working Sony’s higher-end cinema cameras, or utilizing the FX5 as a secondary physique subsequent to a VENICE 2, the interface ought to really feel instantly acquainted, although FX3 upgraders will face a real studying curve.

The LCD has grown as effectively: a wider, brighter 3.5-inch 16:9 panel on Sony’s four-axis multi-angle mechanism, changing the three.0-inch 4:3 vari-angle display of the FX3a. An OSD black mode pushes all settings into slim black bars on the edges of the body for an unobstructed view of the picture whereas monitoring. Publicity instruments lastly get a correct cinema digicam therapy on a physique of this dimension. False coloration is offered natively and mapped to the C4 button out of the field, joined by newly added waveform, vectorscope, and focus map shows alongside the present histogram, zebras, and peaking.

Autofocus, stabilization, and stamina

The autofocus advantages from the BIONZ XR2’s built-in AI unit and now acknowledges birds along with people and animals, which documentary and wildlife shooters will recognize. In line with Sony, developments within the imager have particularly enhanced autofocus efficiency in low-light situations, for instance when capturing at ISO 12,800, and within the demonstration footage proven through the briefing, the FX5 acquired and held topics noticeably quicker than the FX3 beside it.

In-body stabilization has been up to date as effectively. A precision stabilization unit and gyro sensors present optical 5-axis stabilization, and Sony states that the rotational working vary of the unit has been doubled, bringing efficiency to the extent of the Alpha 7R VI. Each the usual energetic mode and the dynamic energetic mode are on board, the latter buying and selling a small crop for significantly smoother handheld footage. Sony intentionally avoids quoting a stops determine for video stabilization, however the side-by-side clips in opposition to the FX3 confirmed a clearly steadier picture.

Energy comes from the brand new NP-SA100 battery launched with the Alpha 7R VI, which Sony says delivers a stamina increase of roughly 30% over the earlier technology. In sensible phrases, the corporate quotes round 170 minutes of steady 5K 30p recording on a single cost.

Connectivity, media, and streaming

Bodily connectivity covers the skilled bases: microphone enter, headphone output, two USB-C ports which are quicker than the FX3’s, a full-size HDMI Sort A output, and an Ethernet port for high-volume information switch and distant recording workflows. Reside streaming is supported at as much as 4K 60p.

Wi-fi help steps as much as 6GHz Wi-Fi, which Sony says transfers information significantly quicker and maintains a stronger, lower-latency connection to its Monitor & Management app. That issues in observe as a result of the app permits contact focus pulling and publicity checking with waveform, false coloration, zebra, and histogram instruments immediately from a smartphone or pill, and any latency or dropout in that hyperlink is felt instantly on set. Sony additionally lists enhanced community safety features for the digicam, an more and more related checkbox for broadcast and company environments.

Rigging customers ought to notice one sensible consequence of the brand new physique: the accent screw holes are positioned in a different way than on the FX3, so present FX3 cages and rigs won’t match and accent makers might want to device up for the brand new mannequin. On the optimistic facet, the FX5 adopts two 1/4-20 tripod sockets on the underside, as on the FX2, for a safer and twist-free connection to plates and baseplates.

Three new equipment and a everlasting sensor lock service

The FX5 launches alongside three devoted equipment. First, an optionally available OLED digital viewfinder attaches and detaches freely, in contrast to the fastened EVF of the FX2, and tilts from 0 to 90 levels. It homes a roughly 3.7-million-dot 10-bit OLED panel that Sony says is vivid and color-accurate sufficient for crucial focus and publicity judgment, with a newly designed eyecup to isolate the operator’s eye even in harsh daylight. It’s priced at €750.

Second, a newly developed XLR deal with unit brings 96kHz sampling for greater sound constancy and, arguably the star function, 32-bit float audio recording, taking achieve nervousness out of run-and-gun sound work and letting operators focus on the picture. It is available in at €900 when bought individually. One compatibility notice: as a result of totally different screw positions, the present XLR-H1 deal with from the FX3 can’t be hooked up to the FX5. Third, a brand new TC cable, priced at €100, allows timecode synchronization throughout multi-camera setups, for instance alongside FX6 items in broadcast or documentary fleets, saving appreciable alignment time in put up.

One announcement stands out as genuinely uncommon: Sony will provide a paid service to completely lock the FX5’s sensor. Excessive-end productions rigging cameras to automobiles or drones generally discover that in-body stabilization interacts badly with high-frequency exterior vibration, producing unnatural shaking within the footage. By way of the service, customers ship their digicam to a Sony service heart the place the stabilization unit is fastened in place. The process is irreversible; as soon as locked, the digicam receives a label on the underside and all stabilization choices are completely grayed out within the menu. Sony says the launch timing and goal areas for this service are nonetheless to be decided. It’s a area of interest providing, nevertheless it speaks volumes in regards to the crash cam and B-camera roles Sony envisions for this physique.

The place the FX5 sits within the Cinema Line

Sony positions the FX5 squarely between the FX3 and the FX6, and explicitly not as a substitute for both. The FX6 retains its distinctive promoting factors, particularly the built-in digital variable ND filter, SDI connectivity, and a box-style physique that’s simpler to function as a part of a crew, making it, in Sony’s framing, the most suitable choice for crew work, media, and dwell manufacturing. The FX3 shifts towards what the corporate calls the right creator digicam and the entry door to the Cinema Line.

The FX5’s personal promoting factors are the open gate, inside X-OCN, three base ISOs, and the 5K 120p and 4K 240p body charges. Sony’s main goal is filmmakers and manufacturing homes working in business, music, occasion, and on-line leisure manufacturing who’ve outgrown the FX3, with a transparent improve path for superior FX3 operators. The secondary targets are simply as revealing: the cinema trade, the place the FX5 can function a B or C digicam subsequent to a BURANO or VENICE, or as a crash cam on autos and drones that doesn’t compromise picture high quality; documentary crews for whom a BURANO is simply too cumbersome to hold via mountains and jungles; and broadcasters who worth portability and, with the brand new TC cable, painless multi-camera sync.

The Sony FX5 is priced at $4,898 / €4,600 (internet) for the physique solely, or $5,500 / €5,132 in a equipment with the XLR deal with unit. In line with Sony, gross sales are deliberate to start out in August 2026. Extra info is offered on the Sony Cinema Line web site.

Is the FX5 the step up from the FX3 you might have been ready for, or does the FX6 nonetheless maintain its floor in your equipment? Don’t hesitate to tell us within the feedback under!