How to use Sony Exposure Tools for Video - FX3 / FX30 / A7SIII

How to use the exposure tools on Sony mirrorless cameras when shooting video. I demonstrate all of the exposure metering tools including the multi meter, zebras and Histogram on my Sony FX3. I then show how I set my exposure when shooting in different picture profiles including Rec709 and S-log3 and how to use ETTR when using the Leeming Lut.
The following are affiliate links, if you use these and go on to purchase something then I make a small commission. Thanks for supporting my channel.
Products Links Mentioned
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X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Video - geni.us/AQSI
Budget Grey Card Set - geni.us/Hqoa
Sony FX3 - geni.us/Mc4njM
Sony A7S III - geni.us/9bBgq3
Aputure LS300X - geni.us/wyZgjP
Aputure LS60X - geni.us/b2QnCci
Kit used making the video...
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Sony FX3 - geni.us/Mc4njM
Sony 50mm GM Lens - geni.us/NRL7d
Sony 35mm f/1.8 - geni.us/4q4LaB
Tilta Mirage VND Kit - geni.us/CTR6rBO
Vaxis 95mm 1.2 (4 Stop) IRND - geni.us/BbChV
Rode NTG-3 Mic - geni.us/rYH3
My FX3 Rig
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Sony FX3 - geni.us/Mc4njM
Sony 50mm GM Lens - geni.us/NRL7d
Sony 16-35 GM Lens - geni.us/uTyE0W
SmallRig half cage - geni.us/No7EPwh
SmallRig Top Handle - geni.us/w1ZB
SmallRig 4" carbon rod - geni.us/tnQgRS2
Nitze monitor mount - geni.us/VIGVG9
Atomos Ninja V - geni.us/EuxLa
AndyCINE SSD Caddy - geni.us/RxCBmxq
AngelBird 128GB V90 Cards - geni.us/z0p6
Video Links
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How I set up my FX3 - • Sony FX3 / FX30 Custom...
Table of Contents:
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00:00 - Intro
01:57 - Multi Meter
07:22 - Zebras
12:15 - Histogram
13:40 - Using All of the Tools
14:11 - Using S-Log3
17:17 - Exposing for a dark background
17:46 - Using ETTR with the Leeming LUT
19:22 - Comparing Rec709
Links
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Blog Post - TBC
HashTags
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#SonyFX3
#FX3
#A7S3

[@line_prod_]

This is by far the best demonstration of the exposure tools ! Great job keep going !

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks, will do!

[@RECESSIM]

Love your channel since I also use a FX3! Was just struggling with the metering on my face so this was super helpful as I work on my next video. Really appreciate how informative your videos are with some fun yet static guests! :)

[@PaulJoy]

Really pleased it helped, good luck with the video.

[@McDoogMedia]

Great information!! Going to rewatch a few times - you packed so much useful information into this video….lol

[@PaulJoy]

Ha, yes maybe I should have put a break in the middle for some coffee :)

[@etchd_]

Awesome work, mate! As a teacher, i can easily tell the difference between someone who can explain concepts well and those who might understand themselves what is happening, but fail to articulate it properly. You've nailed it.

[@screenboiler]

This video is pure gold! 🎥👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🥳

[@thegrailpod]

This is so powerful and super helpful

[@apurimedia]

Great tutorial. Nicely done mate! Provided specific examples without any fluff. Teaching is an art and you nailed it!!! Perhaps you could do one for exposing Slog-2 and HLG-3 one day? - I can't wait for that video!

[@PaulJoy]

Thank you! I generally don't use Slog-2 or HLG so that might be an interesting thing to take a look at in the future. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@jellekop5404]

Thanks for the great explanation! This is going to help me a lot on set!

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was useful

[@vaneickelen]

Thanks Paul! Great Explanation!

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful Sebastian.

[@FlingerFilms]

Paul, This video is by far one of the best sony exposure videos I have seen. Many lean on the IRE or just talk about ETTR. Your explanation of all the together and especially the usually forgotten or ignored histogram was very helpful. When you pointed the narrower histogram.... everything clicked. Liked subscribed and thanked.

[@PaulJoy]

Really pleased it helps, thanks loads for letting me know.

[@PeterYacono]

So much good content in this 20 minutes. Thank you so much

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks for letting me know Peter.

[@Trevellian]

Great tutorial. Will have to watch this again to adsorb it all.

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful Michael, theres a lot to take in i know! I was pleased to get that all out of my brain and in to the video! :)

[@datamedicpr]

Thanks this was very helpful 🤙🤙

[@nath_media]

All these numbers I heard of in other videos finally make sense. Thank you!

[@PaulJoy]

You’re welcome, glad it helped.

[@Niklondon]

Brilliant video super useful 👍🏽

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mikedidmyloan]

Amazing video, very helpful!!

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thermicdig3013]

Excellent tips, specially the settings for skin tones in dark situations. Pretty useful!

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful, thanks for letting me know.

[@StarAccount-km1rt]

Awesome info thanks

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks for letting me know.

[@cuttingcorny]

It’s the first video here that works properly.. Thanks Paul… had a lot of issues.. hope that will help me!

[@PaulJoy]

Hope it worked out for you.

[@SergioPellico]

Thanks a lot Paul!!!

[@PaulJoy]

My pleasure!

[@makharacinesy]

Thank you very much for this great video which is very useful for a new Sony alpha user. It demonstrates very clearly how to work with the existing exposure tools when no waveform is available...

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks so much for letting me know Makha

[@familyjunk3989]

thank you, love the tip for dual setup for exposing subject & background! Liked & Subscribed.

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks for letting me know and for the sub.

[@diwa9751]

As a novice, I've watched countless tutorials online and find most to be overly technical and/or geared more to self/product promotion. Not so with this guy. Nice work.

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks for the nice comment, glad it helped.

[@erikpreston2393]

Man this was good.

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it helped Erik.

[@giftedafricanfilms4148]

Treat video and well organised

[@PaulJoy]

Glad you liked it, thanks for letting me know.

[@DBKW.cinema]

You are Appreciated

[@PaulJoy]

And you too! :)

[@chr1staki]

Just swapped my a6600 for the FX30… this is very helpful 🫡

[@PaulJoy]

Really pleased it helped.

[@jesse_berger]

Great video! It would be amazing to have a work flow video like this for the new CINE EI on the FX3 🙏🤝🙏

[@PaulJoy]

I’m planning another Cine EI video in the coming weeks but you might find this one helps… How to use Cine EI on the Sony FX3 / FX30 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aqC0YnuJZs6gZ6c

[@FlingerFilms]

Thanks!

[@PaulJoy]

You’re welcome

[@handwoundpickups6555]

Brilliant video thanks. It’s a very clear explanation. I wonder why Sony don’t put false colours as a tool into their monitors. It seems to be an easier system to me. What do you think? I am relatively new to film making so I could be missing something.

[@PaulJoy]

I’m not sure. While false colour can be useful I’d much rather see a good waveform monitor and we don’t even get that with the FX3. Best solution is to add an small hdmi monitor that has better tools.

[@robknopperstudio]

Where did you find that PP3 has a proper middle grey of 44 and maximum brightness of 108, and S log 3 has a proper middle grey of 41 with max brightness of 94? I would love to find that info for all the other picture profiles, stills, and for other Sony cameras. Thank you!

[@PaulJoy]

Sony release white papers for their gammas that tell you the target exposure values. I’m not sure there’s a single place, it normally takes a bit of Googling.

[@boontingbanna4499]

thk.

[@Flickerbookable]

Hi Paul, I love your videos on the FX3. I was wondering g if you could recommend the best zebra settings for skin tones using s-Cinetone profile? Thanks P.

[@PaulJoy]

Hi Paul, thanks for the nice comment. S-Cinetone allows for some room with exposure choice but is fairly similar to a normal profile in settings so I’d be looking for skin tone zebras around 55-65% depending on the rest of the scene.

[@Flickerbookable]

@@PaulJoyThat’s great, thanks for the support Paul and keep up your wonderful channel. P.

[@pierre1509]

Very nice video, with clear explanations and a practical perspective. I have one question : you mean that Rec.709 clips when zebras reach 109, right ?

[@PaulJoy]

Each gamma curve / picture profile can have a different point that it clips at, which one are you referring too?

[@pierre1509]

@@PaulJoy Thanks for the follow up. My Sony camera records HLG files but it can display (and only display) Rec709. I guess that for Zebras display, Rec709 is what matters.

[@amandatruong8875]

Thank you! I'm confused about what the "range" for the "std&range" does for the zebras? :)

[@PaulJoy]

So if you set it to say 55IRE and set the range to 5 then anything between 50 and 60 will show a zebra.

[@lennrad]

Hey Paul, great video, thank you very much for your precious explainations! I have one question: What exactly does the item with the letters Av and the circle with the solid line mean, as it appears in your video at around 6:38 ? It's always visible on the screen of my Sony A7s III. Greetings!

[@PaulJoy]

You're very welcome, I think you forgot the question :)

[@RandumbTech]

He's using flexible exposure mode and and locking the iris. I prefer shooting this way as well because there are often times when I want to lock one or all of ISO, shutter angle, or iris.

[@PaulJoy]

@@RandumbTech Spot on, thanks. Sorry I missed that you updated your comment lennrad, I don’t get notified about edits to comments.

[@PaulJoy]

I made a video about flexible exposure mode which might help @lennrad kzbin.info/www/bejne/pGSuoaSddseJnNk

[@ivanmadethis]

Really loved your tutorial! The only problem I have is that even when I have face priority in auto exposure mode enabled the FX3 still underexposes my image and tries to protect the highlights, thus heavily underexposing the subject in the foreground if there is a bright sky behind them for example. I haven't been able to figure out how to keep my exposure consistent on subject whether I'm filming with the sun behind or in front of me. Any tips?

[@PaulJoy]

Using auto exposure in challenging conditions like shooting in bright sunshine is going to be tough for most cameras. In those conditions if you have to use auto then I’d look at setting the EV value a little higher, maybe +1 or +2 which will force the camera to increase the levels. Ultimately though, the best approach will be to use zebras set for skin tones and adjust exposure manually to get the zebras showing up on the faces.

[@ivanmadethis]

@@PaulJoy Yeah, that's mostly what I've been doing and using manual exposure. Thanks for the reply. It always good to get a 2nd opinion :)

[@ilkergur7003]

Hi there great video… i mostly shoot underwater or wildlife. So using auto iso is a must because ligth conditions change very quickly. What would u say exposing to grey card with spot metering until the mm reads 0. That should be correct exposure? Than ael it until ligthing change? Would that be correct approach? Thx a lot.

[@PaulJoy]

That's not something I have any experience with (underwater) but my guess would be that using a card wouldn't be practical. I won;t generally use one in any outdoor setting as the light is so changeable and the brightness of different subjects will vary. I think I'd be led by the histogram and the display on that one and monitoring for anything blowing out. Sorry I can't be more specific.

[@ilkergur7003]

@@PaulJoy thx for taking the time….

[@KevinMcKinneyFilms]

Someone needs to do a video about PP10. It seems like a happy medium between less grading and extra latitude.

[@PaulJoy]

Gerald Undone has a few HLG videos I think... kzbin.info

[@ACDC.]

👏🏽

[@PaulJoy]

Thanks

[@jimpurdum4695]

Hi Paul, great info! My A1 zebras don’t match the zebras on my Atomos V. Do you know what could be causing that? Thanks!

[@PaulJoy]

Hi Jim. Are you using a LUT with the Ninja? Annoyingly the Ninjas exposure tools are also effected by any lut thats in use.

[@magpiemike100]

Jim, I've seen this with a lot of external monitors that provide zebras. They seldom match up. As a rule of thumb, I trust my zebras provided on my Sony. If you put a white card up and set your zebras (any value you'd like) with your Atomos attached; proceed with exposing the white card with some zebras... Then adjust the Atomos zebra setting to approximately match the zebras you're seeing on the A1. Make note (-5 or whatever) -5 Match Zebras etc. Ive been doing this for years as just about every component that provides zebras are wildly different from the camera that I am using... My a7siii paired with my Odyssey 7Q+ for example is matched when I lower the 7Q minus 5.

[@exoops]

Hi Paul. Is there a reason you fixed your shutter at 1/50? Sorry for dumb question

[@PaulJoy]

Not a dumb question Pete, I like to fix my shutter speed as that defines motion blur. For 25 fps 1/50th is a typical setting for the amount of motion blur we are accustomed to in movies and TV.

[@JoelRiveraMD]

Would S Cinetone use the same zebra levels as Rec 709 ? What zebra values would you use for S Cinetone ?

[@PaulJoy]

No it’s different to rec709 and can be more flexible so there’s more room for choice. This is what I use as a starting point… Middle Grey: 41% Skin Tones: 63% White Card: 85% Blown: 94%

[@joykuo8971]

Just wondering. How do you set the exposure for filming a product like White "PS5" or Black "Xblox" in Slog 3?

[@PaulJoy]

Both examples would depend on what else is in the frame, however the simplest answer would be to use a grey card and expose as I have described in this video. If the middle grey is exposed correctly at the same location as the product then it should be correctly exposed. The longer answer and one that I would likely use is to be guided by the histogram and zebras to make sure nothing is over exposed and also keeping scene as much out of the shadows as possible. That way you should be able to then adjust in post to give the best results.

[@joshuafcenters]

How do you get the square to move? Mine wont move

[@PaulJoy]

Can you be a little more specific about the area in the video that you're struggling with? I'm not sure which box you are referring to.

[@pablochacon6768]

But how do you expose if you are outside and film while walking around. And ur multimeter is like really jumping up and down multiple stops all the time? Pls someone help!

[@PaulJoy]

You can't just set exposure in a changeable environment. You have to think one shot at a time and set the camera to the optimum setting to capture that shot. If you need to capture a longer scene through changeable lighting then you can look at auto exposure options but they too can be challenging.

[@sangmoonkim2335]

This tutorial is a really brilliant work ! I sincerely appreciate your kindly sharing great insight with us

[@PaulJoy]

Glad it was helpful!