Sony FX30 Long-Term Review - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Thanks for watching and I hope this long-term review covering the pros and cons of the Sony FX30 is helpful. This video is not sponsored. If you have any questions please let me know and you can check out the FX30 using these affiliate links. 🎥😎 🛒 B&H USA - bhpho.to/3ZIR2d1 🛒 Amazon AU - amzn.to/40jRI8U 🛒 Amazon Canada - amzn.to/3FvrsjW 🛒 Amazon.de - amzn.to/3FBXRW2 🛒 Amazon UK - amzn.to/3FzGrci

[@davegoldsmith2588]

I just bought the fx30. I was so close to getting the A6700 for its AI focus and burst mode in photos, but I decided to forgo those for the cooling fax. I live and work in the tropics and didn't want overheating to be an issue. Great video. Just subscribed.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The fan puts your mind at ease you won’t even think about it now, good choice and thanks for the sub!

[@PeterGregg]

Fantastic video Shane, so much excellent information all in one video!!! Great samples and comparisons, you above and beyond. A must watch for potential buyers with no fluff. Big thumbs up 👍👍👍

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Thanks Peter! I hope you enjoy the camera. It’s a powerhouse of a camera considering the price to performance ratio. I’ll keep an eye out for your video. 😊👍

[@timschooler]

One of the best gear reviews period, and certainly one of the best of the FX30. Jam packed with usual information, well done!

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Thanks so much for the kind words!

[@apsaravideo]

Thumb up Shane! I love watching your reviews on the FX3 vs FX30. Thank you !

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Many thanks 🙏

[@frankluo230]

You deserve 10x more views and subs. Great content. Thoroughly enjoyed watching. Thank you.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Thanks for the kind words, Frank. 2024 will be the year we finally get this channel moving forward more :). Cheers.

[@OutofPocket005]

I got an a7iv and the FX30 (which i love a lot more btw) full frame has a more noticeable d.o.f. but i prefer the fx30's and the color science. Is the color science different from each other?

[@RewDowns]

I loved the colors in this video, did you just use the no color, default profile? Did you make any changes?

[@rghgamer5368]

I watched a couple of your videos that were shot on lumix. And then this started playing. The color difference was huge. I was like: why the colors look like that? And then I realised it was shot on sony...

[@elmono3939]

Great review. 100% agree. S-Cinetone is just another over-hyped preset. A bit to grayish / bleached out for my taste. I also don't use any in-camera PP's and I am happy with results

[@DutchUltra]

holy crap: I can now confirm that NO picture profile looks much better color wise. tested it outside. Next I will have to test it inside the studio. Good call! Thanks for the video. One question please: any tips on framing myself outside for talking head on the 15mm 1.4? I have a sigma 18-50 as well, which one is better for simple, solid talking head? Thanks from florida!

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The 15mm is quite wide so you'll need to have the camera pretty close to you where as the 18-50 will work better if you need to have the camera further back. Glad you like the No PP, it's always looked the best to my eye.

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

I noticed how this Sony is (to my knowledge) the smallest camera form factor with a zoom rocker built in to the body of the camera. Which powered zoom lenses do you recommend?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

I don't use those sort of lenses sorry. I know Sony makes a few powered lenses, but I haven't tried them. I prefer the smaller primes and you can use the clear image zoom if you need to.

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

@@GeekyNerdyTechy OK Thanks

[@Wildridefilms]

Great review Shane! One question. Are you sure it shoots 300fps in FHD?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Excellent find mate! Apologies, the max frame rate is 240p in HD. Total Brain Fart moment here. Thanks for the kind words!.

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

How does the FX30 compare to the GH5 II in terms of low light?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The FX30 is quite a lot better. Usable to around 6400 where as the GH5II is good to about 1200 or so.

[@asafblasbergvideographer]

@@GeekyNerdyTechy OK thanks for letting me know! That's very important.

[@Imdangriffiths]

I know it’s hard to say but if you had to choose.. as the better all rounder for video.. s5 ii / x or fx30? I’ve got the s5 currently and it’s class but at some point will be upgrading to one of them.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

If you're already invested with Sony lenses go for the Sony. The S5II and X are my two favorite cameras which is why I have now quite a few of them for multi-camera work. While there's crops on the S5II in 4K60, it still looks great. The FX30 is great if you want to stick to the E Mount or want to get a mix of Sony FF and APSC cameras. For handheld work, the S5II is way ahead of this one but the Sony has 4K120p. It's all about what you need. My favorite between this and the S5II goes to the Panasonic - but both are nice.

[@Imdangriffiths]

@@GeekyNerdyTechy thanks 🙏🏻 I love my s5 and it still hold up specs wise with raw external and probably the best colours I’ve seen so far. so I’ll keep it for a while longer . and then probably go s5 ii x . Cheers 👍🏻

[@AmirDSLRFunction]

very good video quality

[@dannyblake3368]

Thanks for the videos mate, like that youre local to me too 😂 Curious if youve used an oss lense while using stabilising and how well you think that performs. No PP for the win

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Thanks mate. I had the 24-105 for a few months and it was okay, but it was way too big. While the stabilisation isn't the best, I still prefer to match this with smaller lenses personally.

[@dannyblake3368]

Yeah that's fair enough, I film dirtbikes requiring more zoom, I am considering the 70-200gm ii. I shoot only hand held

[@pauuuuul87]

Great and honest review, thank you for your hard work 🎉 We the rest of Europe envy your hot sunny days😂when u say that the AF is 8.5/10 what camera from Sony would you rate it higher. Cheers from Bulgaria

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

None of them are perfect. You’ll find a lot of KZbinrs think it’s perfect because all they do is sit at a desk. In the real world, you’ll find flaws with all of them. I haven’t tested the latest generation of cameras but once you work out it’s limitations, it work fine.

[@kiwimike2330]

A6700 has even better autofocus, any of the new Sony cameras with the AI autofocus chip have much improved autofocus, especially in low light or heavily backlit situations.

[@pauuuuul87]

@kiwimike2330 I have the A6700 and the ZV E1...trust me they're not perfect. I tried the animal detect on a big black bug against white-gray pavement...nothing😅 Also I did some portrait with the 50mm F1.8, with human detect, with the A6700 in AFS, during the day...6 out of 10 were in focus. I have no idea why

[@nakaopiano2021]

Shane for someone starting in the photography and videography world living in melbourne , which camera do you recommend for hybrid ecosystem, gh5ii , gh6 , g9 , lumix sii , sony fx30 , a6700 , a7iv?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The S5II is pretty impressive value. As much as I like the FX30, I don't like it more than my S5II. :)

[@nakaopiano2021]

@GeekyNerdyTechy I was thinking about buying the fx30 over the lumix s5ii just because of the autofocus . Is the lumix s5ii autofocus reliable?

[@nakaopiano2021]

@GeekyNerdyTechy and also, thanks for replying. Do you think it is worth starting with the s5ii, or is it better to buy the s5iix ?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The Autofocus on the S5II is arguably better depending on what you need. The LUMIX has better body detection at a distance but the Sony locks on the eye better if you move your hands near your face. The LUMIX finds and tracks you faster than the Sony. Check out my original S5II review, it outperformed the FX3.

[@andersistbesser]

Where i live fx30 and s5x are the same price so i chose the panasonic obiously as it can do more for the money.

[@junglisttt]

I am upgrading from iphone 14 pro, and i feel drawn got this camera. I started with photography back in the day, but i am only interested in video now. I started a IG account this year that has reached 32k followers where i do moody street photo reels mostly in the city after dark and subway stations. Will that be too much of a challenge in low light or do you mean low light as in allost no light at all? I do get a lot of business offers now so i want to be able to make all kinds of video with my camera. But the low light thing keeps getting mentioned. I really like the Idea of this camera but maybe i will miss out in the night?

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

In most situations it'll be fine, but if there's next to no lighting, it'll be pretty bad. I showcased some low light samples at 11:40. That's about as good as it gets with minimal lighting. If there's some ambient lighting, you're good to go but it's not amazing. You can see the difference between the shot with the Exit sign that looks great, vs the train station shot.

[@junglisttt]

@@GeekyNerdyTechy Yes i saw those, very good video:) So maybe zve1 or a7iv, around the same price but better low light? Thank you so much for the swift answer 🙏💯

[@ETFootprints]

Turn off all kinds of stabilizations and start using Gyroflow, not Sony software. Gyroflow has OpenFx version that can be used internally with Resolve. No need to waste time converting video with gyro.

[@bernard2016]

Do you need to change any settings on the fx30 to use this software? Dont know how this gyro data works. Thanks

[@undergrounddroneleague]

@@bernard2016yes and no. I’d guess it is always recording gyro but in order for gyro stabilization to work, you need the movement of the image to match the movement of the camera. So turn off all stabilization. And you also don’t want to stabilize motion blur. So you’ll want to raise the shutter speed as well and add motion blur back in post.

[@bernard2016]

@@undergrounddroneleague thank you

[@kristersvensson1653]

I like the FX30 but I hate that Sony didn’t include continuous shooting. I shouldn’t have to buy a new camera just to take photos when it’s possible with the one I have.

[@shueibdahir]

Photo features on a cine line camera? You know you could've just bought a6700?

[@kristersvensson1653]

Yes, like the FX3 has. The A6700 was released afterwards and it’s overheating.

[@CritterElectronics]

I’m a fellow camera nerd. But I also run a small pedal company. Would love to send you a pedal.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

My contact details are on the other channel's home page.

[@SouravDas-vi1jh]

I hate sony a7siii s skin color for brown people. Too much yellow in slog8 and very weird in other profiles. I hope they addressed the issue in this series

[@ParsclickTV]

lol log and cinetone need color gading cant just compare straight with natural pp

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

You can when you're talking about efficiency.

[@ParsclickTV]

@@GeekyNerdyTechy you compared the look tho. 👀

[@JeffBourke]

Why bother with picture profiles at all when you can shoot 10 bit 150 Mbps. It’s literally zero effort to use color management in resolve…. Zero. Then you can apply a whole Library of looks inside resolve.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

Efficiency.

[@Directorvhim]

You are slowly running away from m4/3 😂

[@Directorvhim]

I am lookin to upgrade but not having open gate is a downside, I think s5/s5ii will be ideal from my GH5ii

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

I have more full frame cameras than anything else but I just purchased another GH5II which is a great value M43 camera. The FX30 is a great middle ground between the overpriced cameras while still getting all the good stuff without overheating. 😊👍

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

The S5II is my favourite camera. You can’t go too far wrong with that one. 😊

[@JeffBourke]

Honestly, it’s god but the button layout is not good. No mode dial. Menu/back button is not in a good place. The custom white balance doesn’t work in your custom setting modes 1 2 and 3 so they are basically useless for me anyway. It’s annoying as shit BUT all this is worth it for 4k60 10 bit which is what I shit 90% of the time.

[@DroneStories]

In my country (Greece). Body only : 1. Sony fx30 = 2.399 euros 2. Lumix s5iix = 2.499 euros. 3. Lumix s5ii = 2.199. Apsc vs FF. I got the s5iix, and I didn't regret it. Much better option.

[@frankluo230]

Body only fx30 is 2/3 of s5 ii x where I live.

[@DroneStories]

@@frankluo230 I guess the difference in money will be for the ability to record on an external ssd, for prores codecs, for open gate ability, for ibis, for shutter angle, for evf, for mechanical shutter, etc. Oh, and not to forget. For the feature firmware updates FOR FREE. Are you sure that when Sony DECIDES to release a new firmware, that it will be free??

[@frankluo230]

@@DroneStories But Pany boy still doesn't hold its resale value as well as Sony boy. S5II second hand price has fallen a cliff why is that you think

[@DroneStories]

@frankluo230 Yes Sony boy, that's true. Unfortunately it takes time for people to discover the truth. Unfortunately Sony lately seems to have turned into a "recycling company". This with aftermarket, should concern owners of a7iv, (vs A7cii, and paid firmware) or a7siii (vs zv-e1 same engine, but cheaper) or fx30 owners (vs a6700 or zv-e1). Merry Christmas!

[@frankluo230]

@@DroneStories if Panasonic could charge more money and sell more units of s5 II it would. It is like saying a Kia medium sized SUV rides better, drives better, more HP and torque, more economic in fuel, has better sound system and less NVH level than Landrover equivalent sized SUV, but the Landrover sells for 50% more. So be it.

[@2424rocket]

Shooting in 8 bit should be made Illegal! Yeah let’s see how crummy we can make video look. Last week I got to shoot in 16 bit… From there you can take it anywhere.

[@GeekyNerdyTechy]

If you dial your camera in correctly, 8-bit is fine for indoor studio work. If you are unable to make it work, that's on you. I didn't say shoot everything in 8-bit - but there's times when it's fine, and if you dial it in correctly, it'll look fine.

[@finnharvor6773]

8 bit is fine in a lot of circumstances; you can create festival-caliber work with it. I wouldn’t recommend it for dramatic shorts or features, but for experimental work and documentaries, it’s fine.